Homer Halibut Hunters offers full-day salmon fishing trips out of Homer, Alaska on all our vessels. These full-day trips usually last between 6-8 hours. Travel to the fishing grounds averages around 1 hour but can be 2+ hours on our combination salmon trips. We target salmon by using downriggers and setting bait, flashers, and other attractants, at different depths while we “troll”. Downriggers are long spools of wire to which we attach heavy weights – sometimes as much as 5 lb to 10 lb weights. To this we connect our main fishing rod and bait. This allows us to put the bait at different depths in the water. Then we begin “trolling” which is moving the boat through the water at speeds anywhere from 1 to 4 miles per hour.
Our Fishing Grounds
Not surprisingly, knowing where to fish is where it all begins. We are so fortunate to have such a massive and fertile fishing area at nearly 4,500 square miles. The fishing grounds begin almost as soon as we leave the Homer harbor extending as far north as Ninilchik and as far south as the Barren Islands.
These waters are home to millions of halibut, rockfish, lingcod, shark, Octopus, Skates, and more.
Where we fish depends on the type of trip we’re taking that day, previous days fishing quality, and of course, we always keep a mindful eye on the weather. But, the entirety of the area in red are areas we might fish on your trip.
What Type of Salmon Are Available?
There are 5 species of salmon available in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, and the surrounding waters. While our primary targets are king salmon (chinook) and silver salmon (coho), we still may catch sockeye salmon (red), pink salmon (humpy), and chum salmon (dog).
While we target king salmon and silver salmon primarily there are 5 species of salmon caught in Homer, Alaska. King (chinook), silver (coho), chum (dog), pink (humpy) and red (sockeye). Kings are caught year round whereas silvers are caught mid July – early September. We fish for salmon by trolling with downriggers.
King salmon are available year round in Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet. We break the king salmon found in this area into two categories. One group we call “Winter Kings”, which are often also called “feeder kings.” These kings stay year-round in the very nutrient-rich waters in and around the bay feeding on small baitfish. In fact there is a fantastic Winter King Fishing Tournament put on by the Homer Chamber of Commerce in mid-March each year.
Homer King Salmon Fishing
These fish come from all over and will remain until they return south as they search for their native streams. The other group are returning king salmon. Those that are returning after 4-5 years in search of their own native rivers. These fish are headed for river such as the famed Kenai River as well as the Kasilof, Anchor, Ninilchik, Deep Creek, Russian, Susitna, Knik and Matanuska rivers just to name a few of the east-side Kenai Peninsula rivers. Still others are headed to west side watersheds such as the Kustatan, McArther, Crescent, and many, many more.
Returning kings salmon will start to arrive in early June and continue into August.
Another way to think about it is like this, no matter where those fish are headed they have to pass through the waters of Cook Inlet to get there. If you were fishing the Kenai River, for example, you would only have a chance to catch a Kenai River king salmon, of which there are only about 16,500 annually. However, if you are in Cook Inlet fishing, while you have a lesser chance of catching a Kenai River king salmon, you have a much greater chance of catching a king salmon overall because you have a chance at catching any king salmon coming up through those waters to dozens of different rivers. And, this is in addition to the winter feeder kings in those waters year round.
Silver Salmon Fishing
Silver salmon fishing in the Homer area starts to increase around mid-July with the return of these fantastic, aggressive, acrobatic fish. These fish are available in good number until the end of September.
Silver salmon are significantly smaller than king salmon but significantly larger than sockeye or pink salmon. Their large numbers and schooling nature make them a blast to catch because when one fishing rods gets a strike there’s a good chance another one will immediately get a strike too. Having multiple fish hooked up at the same time is always fun.
The limit for these fish is 3 salmon per day. Silver salmon are available from late July through September. There is always the chance of catching King salmon since these fish share the same waters and king salmon are available to catch all year in Kachemak Bay.
Homer Salmon Fishing Combo Trips
Salmon fishing is available in combination with many of our other halibut trips. On Wednesdays, due to NOAA halibut fishing regulations, halibut fishing is not allowed. Therefore, on Wednesday we target salmon specifically or salmon and rockfish.
Ready To Book?
Choose Your Fishing Adventure!
3/4-Day Halibut
$275 May & September
$325 June, July, August
- Meet 7:30 AM For 8:00 AM Departure
- 5 – 7 Hours Duration
- 45 – 70 minutes to fishing grounds
Full-Day Halibut
$350 May & September
$400 June, July, August
- Meet 6:30 AM For 7:00 AM Departure
- 8 – 9 Hours Duration
- 1 – 1.5 hours to fishing grounds
Trophy Halibut & Rockfish
$400 May & September
$450 June, July, August
- Meet 6:30 AM For 7:00 AM Departure
- 8 – 9 Hours Duration
- 1.5 – 2 hours to fishing grounds
Halibut & Salmon
$400 May & September
$450 June, July, August
- Meet 6:30 AM For 7:00 AM Departure
- 6 – 8 Hours Duration
- 1 – 1.5 hours to fishing grounds
Triple Threat: Halibut,
Rockfish & Salmon
$450 May & September
$500 June, July, August
- Meet 6:30 AM For 7:00 AM Departure
- 9 – 10 Hours Duration
- 2 – 2.5 hours to fishing grounds
Salmon & Rockfish
(Wednesday Only)
$400 May & September
$450 June, July, August
- Meet 6:30 AM For 7:00 AM Departure
- 8 – 9 Hours Duration
- 1.5 – 2 hours to fishing grounds