The Monthly Breakdown
Our halibut fishing season starts in mid-May and continues until October 1st. Peak season is from June 1 – August 31st, and we’re out on the water every single day with multiple boats that entire time period. But, fishing conditions and what is available definitely changes throughout the summer. May, June, July, and the first couple weeks of August tend towards warmer, predictable days. As we move into late August and September variability in winds and weather become a bit harder to predict.
May
Our halibut fishing season begins May 15th but we’ll be out fishing each day a few days before that making sure that everything is in tip-top shape and getting a sense of the current fishing conditions.
May brings us great weather, lots of sunshine, and an opportunity to catch king salmon, rockfish, and halibut. Halibut are starting to move in from their deeper winter waters.
The scenery is beautiful and we’ll have our first sightings of whales amongst other marine wildlife. The halibut fishing is excellent.
June
June 1st marks the beginning of the peak of our halibut fishing season and it will get busier each day. We’ll be targeting king salmon, halibut and rockfish. As we get later in June the pink salmon will start rolling in on even numbered years. We’ll also have more whale sightings.
Halibut follow the migrations of the salmon. With the early run king salmon and sockeye salmon heading for the rivers of Cook Inlet, those halibut are following so the halibut fishing only gets better
July
If June 1 marks the beginning of the peak then July 1st marks the beginning of “prime time” of our halibut fishing season. And, it’s some of the best of the year too! The weather is still gorgeous and predictable and the major salmon runs are here. Lingcod becomes available for retention on July 1st as well.
In addition we’re still targeting king salmon, rockfish and the halibut fishing is excellent.
August
The first two weeks of August are very much like July, but with each day brings a little less hours of sunlight, cooling temperatures, and more rainy days. Particularly near the end of August.
One of the best parts about late July and August, of our halibut fishing season is the arrival of the silver salmon. These are big, hard fighting, hard striking fish. Crowds around the peninsula are starting to dwindle, but the fishing is still excellent.
September
With the arrival of September 1st we are still fishing every day but starting to plan for shutting down for the summer in just 30 days. Weather is definitely more of a factor.
We encourage folks to book a halibut trip on one of the first days of their trip in case we do have to cancel due to weather. This will give us the chance to reschedule your trip which is usually not possible in June, July & August simply due to capacity.
Fishing By Species
Halibut
Our halibut fishing season is excellent from mid-May to the end of September. Halibut remain deep and further offshore during the winter months and will start to migrate back into Kachemak Bay & Cook Inlet in starting in March & April. By May, there is a lot of halibut in our waters.
While we never promise fish, limits are the norms on our trips.
King Salmon
King salmon are available year round in Kachemak bay and Cook Inlet. Many king salmon winter in the area and we call them “winter kings” or “feeder kings”
The king salmon numbers will increase in May, June, and July, as millions of king salmon return from the 4-6 year ocean journeys to spawn in the dozens of rivers that flow into Cook Inlet.
By Late August most of the returning king salmon have passed through our waters and any kings salmon we catch at that point will likely be winter feeder kings.
Silver Salmon
Silver salmon are the last salmon to arrive for the summer. They will start heading up their native streams around August first so we’ll often catch our first silver salmon in middle to late July as they have to pass through our waters first.
Peak fishing for silvers in Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet is in the middle of August and stays excellent until we close for the year October 1st.
Rockfish
Rockfish is open year round. Nonpelagic rockfish may spend their entire lives in a very small area so they are available year round for those willing to make the journey.
Limits are 5 per person per day only 1 of which may be a nonpelagic.
Rockfish peak season is from May – September.
Lingcod
It is very difficult to consistently target lingcod. For this reason we don’t offer specific lingcod trips. However, lingcod are found in the same areas that we find rockfish. So, when we are targeting rockfish we are also targeting lingcod. They live in the same areas, strike the same baits.
Lingcod is available for retention starting July 1st. If we catch a lingcod before July 1st we must release it. Lincod do not have swim bladder and therefore do not suffer barotrauma and have very low mortality rates when released.
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