Halibut heaven

June 15, 2012

I've been pretty busy for the last week and negligent of my "news" reporting, but we've limited out on some pretty nice halibut every day. Here's what we got today. The big one was 40 lbs.

News

Halibut heaven and a tagged one, too!!!

After a couple of days of difficult fishing weather we finally got a pretty nice day out there. And this was our reward:

The 3 bigger ones were 35, 27 and 23 pounds, and the 3 smaller ones around 12 or so. And when we got the 23 we actually hooked and landed one just slightly smaller, but since the 23 was our "limit" we had to throw the slightly smaller one back. Oh well.

We also caught a 2012 Jackpot Halibut Derby tagged fish that would have been worth 100 "Homer Bucks" if my clients had purchased tickets, but they opted out and we just let it go for someone else to catch. It just goes to show that catching tagged fish is NOT as difficult as some people think it is. This is the second "previous year's" tagged fish I've pulled into my boat in the last couple of years.

Mo' butt

Wow. What a day! Started out with almost flat water heading out, but over the next hour or so built up to about 5 footers coming through. We were able to get this limit in about an hour, but by that time it was time to head for calmer waters. Nothing really to brag about size wise, but a nice limit nonetheless.

Great halibut day and a king, too, for two!

This haul today netted my 2 clients 42 lbs. of halibut filets and a little bit of king salmon, too. Not a bad day of fishing out there.

Penny's Spot picking up!

I did a solo run today to check out how the halibut are stacking up at my favorite "close in" hole (I call it Penny's Spot) and it seems to be picking up there. I got these two chunky 12 pounders today, caught and released 2 that were just a bit smaller, all in about 2 hours. Not HOT, but sure worth the effort. With a little more effort, and a few more rods out, that 50 pounder might just materialize.

Winter??? king.

I did a solo run today to try and catch some dinner and was NOT disappointed. This 20 pounder decided to "take the bait" and a big chunk of it will be going on my grill in about an hour.

HALIBUT!!!

Man, if you're not out there right now fishing for halibut, I don't know why. The fishing isn't HOT!!!, but there certainly are fish to be found and decent limits aren't out of the question. I went out by myself today and boated 2 fish a little over 20 lbs. and a few in the 10 to 15 lb. range. The one on the top is just shy of 21 lbs. (36") and then I settled for a "dinker" to finish off the day.

"Winter" kings

Well, the inch of snow we got last night didn't sway me and I decided to head out with Penny to see if we could get an early spawing king today. The "bad news" is we didn't catch a spawner, but the "good news" is we caught a really nice "winter" king that I ended up releasing at the boat. I'd reasonably estimate this beautiful little lady was in the 18 to 20 pound range.

Halibut heating up

Today was "tagging day" for the Homer Jackpot Halibut derby (www.homerhalibutderby.com) and my 4 sponsor fishermen and I tagged our 10 halibut in a few hours and then spent the rest of the day putting fish in the box for them to take home. Oddly enough, the first halibut we caught in the morning was actually too big to be tagged, so the 44 inch, 37 pounder went into the fish box. Later in the day we put a 25 pounder into the box and then also a couple of "upper teen" fish. Not a bad day all in all. And it's only going to get better from here on out! Come 'n get 'em!!!

Halibut and kings

Just an update on how the fishing has been lately since it's been a while.

There are halibut being caught now. I went out about a week ago and caught about a million cod and one 11 pound halibut. But I've heard reports of good catches if you're in the right spot at the right time.

Same thing for kings. I heard one report of a 42 pound spawing king being caught far out from Homer, but nothing closer in. And the "winter" king fishing is still holding steady. I got a 14 pounder the same day I got that halibut that I released. And I fished for a little while yesterday, but didn't catch anything. There were fish being caught here and there, but sounded like others weren't doing much better than I was.

Halibut should be heating up any day now, so come and get 'em.

Spring king and halibut

King fishing once again has been pretty spotty, but if you're in the right place at the right time you'll find fish. I went out on a solo scouting mission yesterday and boated this 16 lb. beauty in the first 20 minutes. Then in the next hour I had two really strong takedowns that resulted in missed fish. They're out there! And the spawners should be coming into town pretty soon, too.

And I've heard reliable reports that some decent sized halibut are starting to come into the area. Haven't been out and tried for any yet, but I'll be doing that VERY soon! Stay tuned.

Winter kings spotty!

Well, the winter king fishing lately has been VERY spotty. Basically if you're in just the right spot at just the right time you'll connect. But you sure have to work hard to find 'em. Here are pics of two of the bigger ones we got out there this last week:

Todd with his 21 lb. bruiser. And:

Rubin with an 18 lb. beauty! Fish on!!!

...and more kings!

February 09, 2013

Jane with the two kings we got yesterday. 22 lbs. and 14 lbs.

Spring king!

February 06, 2013

It was like spring out there yesterday! Gorgeous weather and a gorgeous fish to go with it. This little lady was 16 lbs.

February 03, 2013

Bill and Heath with 2 kings we got yesterday---29 lbs. and 12 lbs.

Winter king nirvana!

January 10, 2013

I went out by myself (well, Penny came along, as usual) today and in just an hour and 10 mins. put these two honeys into my fish box---14 and 21 lbs. of deliciousness! They're out there!! Come and get 'em!!!

Winter kings!

January 06, 2013

It's been a while since I last updated my "News" but the winter king fishing lately has been good if you find the fish. These are two I picked up just a couple of days ago:

16 and 17 pounds of fun! And one was a "white" king!

The latest news! Lots of late season halibut and TONS of winter kings!!!

October 13, 2012

Well it's time to play a little catch-up. I've been pretty busy fishing in the last couple of weeks and have been VERY negligent in my "News" reporting, but I've been fishing so much because the winter king fishing has been absolutely red hot!

Here's what's been happening:

On Sept. 29th my clients and I brought back a nice limit of late season halibut and a couple of kings, too:

Last weekend my good buddy Chris Creglow, his son Jake, Penny and I entered the Homer Elks Winter King Tournament as "Team Muttley Crew" and in two days of fishing we boated six nice kings including the Tournament WINNER!!!! Here's Chris holding our 28.5 lb. winning fish:

Then on Monday (Oct. 8th) I took my two clients out to the same spot we were fishing at for the derby and got these beauties, all in the 14 to 19 lb. range:

And then Tues. (Oct 9th) my two clients wanted to see if they could fill their freezer with some late season halibut before going after some kings and in just a half hour of plunking we got these nice little chickens (10 lbs. up to 19 lbs.) at "Penny's Spot". We then went back to the very same spot that I'd been fishing for kings for the last few days and managed to get these beauties:

Then on Wed. and Thurs. I fished with my good buddy Jim Lavrakas on his boat "Skookum" (www.akskookumcharters.com). And on Wed., we fished "my favorite spot" again and pulled in a nice limit of 4 kings for the two of us, all in the 14 to 18 pound range, and only in a few hours of fishing. (Sorry, no pic!)

As we were heading back in Wed. we noticed a couple of boats trolling "The Green Can" area and we decided we'd get together and try it on Thursday. To make a not too long story even shorter, in just about 3 hours we hooked into a total of 6 kings, three of which stole our herring and resulted in missed fish, two smaller kings (maybe 3 to 5 lbs. at the most) which we released, and then one around 10 lbs. that we decided to keep.

Hope this is a precursor to a stellar winter king season!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy fishieeee!

August 27, 2012

Wow! I know it's no excuse, but I have been incredibly busy for the last few weeks (have only had two days "off" in 3 weeks), but I have been REALLY negligent in my "News" posting duties. To make up for that, here are pics of some of the best catches since my last "News" report:

From Aug. 8th a nice limit of halibut and a limit of yelloweye:

From Aug. 9th, once again, a nice limit of halibut, a couple of nice lings, and a limit of yelloweye:

Then on Aug. 17th Melissa Metz connected with this amazing 27.2 lb. yelloweye. It qualified Melissa for an ADF&G Trophy Fish Certificate (and the THIRD ADF&G Trophy Fish pulled into my boat in the last 3 weeks!!!):

And we also got a bunch of really nice lings. Here I am holding the two biggest ones---47 lbs. and 49 lbs.!!!:

On Aug. 27th we decided to concentrate on just salmon and here's Harland Danielsen with the 18 lb. feeder king he pulled in:

Then on Aug. 24th, this little guy, who we dubbed The Ugly Fish Kid for his propensity for hauling in some BIG "Ugly Fish" (sculpins) actually hooked and reeled in most of the way (Dad helped him for the last few yards) his first ever halibut. This is why I love my job so much:

And on Aug. 25th we decided to concentrate on catching lings and this was the result for the 3 or us:

Here I am with the big 'un at 52 lbs:

Then finally on Aug. 26th after getting a limit of halibut at Penny's Spot we headed to the "head of the bay" to fish for feeder kings, and this is what Ann Aggers was able to haul in---a really nice 17 lb. feeder king:

That pretty much catches me up for Aug., but more "News" to come in the next few days!

Another absolutely stellar day!!!

August 08, 2012

Wow. It doesn't get much better than this. Beautiful water, decent weather and some incredible fish.

Our catch for the day!

Tim with his 22.2 lb. yelloweye which is an ADF&G Trophy Fish Program fish.

A nice looking ling with a Boneyard Baits grub/jig in its mouth. This is the way it came into the boat.

It doesn't get much better than this!

August 06, 2012

WOW! Today was absolutely one of the best charter days I've ever had. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Me lying amongst a limit of halibut (the big one was 148 lbs. and 66" long), 3 lings (the biggest was 30 lbs.), 2 pretty nice yelloweye, and one lonely black rockfish.

My clients, Hank and Cathy, with the 148 pounder.

Absolutely a stellar day!

Some bigger butt

August 01, 2012

I've been pretty negligent in my "news" updates lately, but that's because I've been fishing every day for the last few weeks. Here's what we got today. The 4 bigger ones were 43, 34, 28 and 23 lbs. each:

And Charlie Perez with the 43 pounder he pulled in:

My bad!!!

Well, I've been busier than you know what lately---charters every day for the last 11 out of 12 days---and have been very bad about posting our daily catch pics. But here are a couple from the last couple of days. This was a limit of halibut and black rockfish we got a few days ago:

In this pic the halibut are 28 lbs. and 36 lbs.:

And today we got a limit of halibut with the two larger ones both at 26 lbs., and a nice little feeder king, too:

Also, some very credible reports of silvers starting to show up. Hi ho silvers away!

Ling heavan!

Today was definitely one of the best charters on record for me. Bill and Mike Clark and I got some of the biggest lings I've ever pulled into my boat, as well as some beautiful yelloweyes and a limit of butt as well. This was our total catch for the day:

And the three of us with the three biggest lings. From left to right, Mike with a 43 pounder, Bill with a 51 pounder and me with a 58 pounder:

Butt 'o plenty!

Hit one of my favorite spots today (Twin Peaks) and got into a mess of halibut. We must have picked through about 30 halibut in just a few hours to get a limit with the smallest at around 15 lbs. and the big 'un weighing in at 36 lbs. Gorgeous day!

And Rick with his 36 pounder.

A 35 lb. ling and a beautiful yelloweye!

Not the best weather day out there today, but we managed to get a beautiful 35 lb. ling cod, and another really nice yelloweye. Not to mention the limit of butt!

Yelloweyes and black bass!

Had a pretty decent day today with a limit of nice halibut, two very nice yelloweyes and a couple of very nice black rockfish.

Another nice butt!

This is one of the big ones that didn't get away! 53.5 inches and 65 lbs!!

Orcas!

This actually happened about two weeks ago, but I'm just remembering to post this (thanks to a slew of emails from a pesky Texan girl who insists on going fishing with me and Penny). ;-)

My clients and I were about 22 miles out from the Spit and in a 4 or 5 hour period we spotted about a dozen or so orcas all around us. Here's a shot of one that was about 150 yards or so away:

And this one actually swam right under my boat and surfaced about 20 ft. away from us:

Busy, busy, busy!!!

I've been busier than you know what for the last week or so and haven't had much time to update my news. But I've been getting limits of halibut every day, but the king fishing has been very spotty. Have heard reports of kings being caught here and there, but you just have to be in the right spot at the right time. Here are pics of some of the halibut limits we've gotten in the last week:

Nice butt!

Had a really great halibut day out there today. Got a limit of nice fish including one at 42 lbs. and another at 38 lbs. Jeremy holding the 42 pounder.

Halibut heaven

I've been pretty busy for the last week and negligent of my "news" reporting, but we've limited out on some pretty nice halibut every day. Here's what we got today. The big one was 40 lbs.

King sized treat!

After we got a nice limit of halibut we went and trolled for kings. This beautiful spawner tipped the scales at 28 lbs.

Waves will not deter us!

We fished through 4 and 5 foot wind waves today, but were able to fill out a limit in just a couple of hours. The two big ones were 30 and 28 lbs.

Mo' butt.

Kind of rough day out on K-Bay today, but my wonderful client, Stan, and I managed to get a limit. Average size about 17 lbs.

Stellar day on K-Bay

Absolutely stellar weather day yesterday while we picked through a few dozen smaller halibut to come up with this day's catch, and then went up to Whiskey Gulch and limited on these 3 kings in fairly short order.

Mo' halibut

We got some pretty decent halibut today despite what the weather gods threw our way. Here's Charlie with 2 of the bigger ones (the one on the left there was 39 lbs. and the right, 26 lbs.):

And the total catch for the day (minus two nice black rock fish):

Halibut and a king.

Not a bad day out there today. The two bigger halibut were 25 and 24 pounds and the king went 15 lbs.

And the halibut keep coming!

I was out with a wonderful bunch of people two days ago and got a mess of decent halibut:

And as an added treat, this was the first hallibut Schuyler hooked and reeled in all by himself:

Another pretty decent halibut day!

My client Cale and I were able to boat 4 decent halibut today. It was slow, but definitely productive. The biggest one there was 37 lbs. We tried for kings for a few hours, but couldn't seem to find any out at the Bluffs. Next time!

Early halibut and a king.

A pretty nice day today with 4 halibut (one about 20 lbs. and one about 19 and two chickens) and then a 9.3 lb. king just to top things off. Unfortunately didn't have time for a picture.

Mo' kings, but no butt

I tried for halibut first today, but there were so many cod I couldn't keep them off my line, so no halibut. But the kings were nice to me today. I caught and released one that was about 15 lbs. and then caught and retained this one that, oddly enough, was 15 lbs. as well.

FISH ON 2012!

Today marked the beginning of a new season for me and what better way to start things off than with a threesome of beautiful fish. The two halibut went 16 and 25 lbs. and the king was 15 lbs. What a day and the season has just begun! FISH ON!