Halibut Fishing Alaska

Halibut fishing is what Homer is famous for and Homer Ocean Charters has been fishing halibut out of Homer since 1979 as a legally permitted business.  We operate full-day trips and multiple-day long range trips. Our halibut fishing season begins in late April and we fish until mid September. The daily limit for halibut remains at 2 per person.
Our knowledgeable and helpful office staff can help you with your fishing needs and arrange lodging, flight seeing, kayaking, bear viewing, water taxi service, and many activities for you while you are in Homer. For all of our fishing trips, you will need to purchase a fishing license and bring your drinks, snacks, and meals for the day. You never know what the weather is going to do out on the ocean, so it’s best to be prepared with warm layered clothes and light rain gear.

A halibut fishing day trip begins with an advance reservation to our office although walk-ins are gladly taken on a space available basis.  Check in is at 6:30 a.m. for a 7 a.m. departure daily, except for September, when the waning sunlight mandates a 7:30 a.m. check in and 8 a.m. departure.  At check in we will answer any last questions, provide you with free coffee, sell you licenses and halibut derby tickets if needed, and probably try to sell you a shirt or hat. Your captain will greet you at our office and escort you to his boat.  Once on the boat, you will be given a safety briefing, fill out the necessary paperwork, and we'll probably try to sell you a shirt or hat again.

The ride out to the fishing grounds will be anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours.  Yes, we travel a long way sometimes; our goal to provide you with the best halibut fishing possible.  Because all of our vessels are twin diesel powered, they are fast enough to get you to the fishing grounds quickly, economical enough to go anywhere we want, and safe enough to get you home.  The trip is more than your basic boat ride, however.  We usually travel near the beautiful shore line and regularly see sea otters, whales, puffins, and other sea life.  You never know what you’re going to see, so be sure to bring your camera!  The ride will give you ample time to decide on a color for that new shirt and/or hat or to admire the one you already purchased.

Once at the fishing grounds, you will be given instruction on the proper halibut fishing technique.  Your hook will be baited, and the halibut will be handled for you.   We are there to help at all times and you won’t even have to touch your fish unless you want.  As every day of fishing is different, we may stay in one spot all day or move to several locations.  When fishing is complete, we will return to Homer.  Your fish will be filleted for you free of charge on every fishing trip.  On our larger boats, fish are most often filleted on board on the ride back to the harbor.  Sometimes, we will bring them in and hang them in front of the office for pictures and weights.  On the smaller 6 pack boats, fish will almost always be hung at the office for filleting.   While we are filleting is a great opportunity to purchase that shirt or hat!

A half halibut fishing day trip begins with check in at 6:30 a.m. for a 7 a.m. departure and 12:30 p.m for a 1 p.m. departure daily. These trips are great for families, those who only have a short time in town, or would like to try their hand at it before committing to a full day of fishing. We don't go as far and the fish aren't usually as big as on a full day trip but you will get fish. If you are a serious fisherman we recommend our full day trips.

In the office we will answer any last questions, provide you with free coffee, and sell you licenses and halibut derby tickets if needed, and probably try to sell you a shirt or hat. Your captain will greet you at our office and escort you to his boat. Once on the boat, you will be given a safety briefing, fill out necessary paperwork, and we'll probably try to sell you a shirt or hat again.

The ride out to the fishing grounds on a half day trip will be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Although we don't travel as far and fish as long as a full day charter, your captain and crew will work hard to get you some good fishing.

Once at the fishing grounds, you will be given instruction on the proper halibut fishing technique. Your hook will be baited, and the halibut will be handled for you. We are there to help at all times. When fishing is complete, we will return to Homer. We fillet your fish on the ride home.

Halibut fishing in Homer is probably the most consistent fishery in Alaska and we have one of the best success rates around.  Our boats limit out the majority of the time.  While larger fish may be caught, the average sport caught fish is 20 - 30 pounds.  The keys to improving on this are listening to what we say, fishing hard all day, and of course a little luck (and having on an H.O.C. shirt and hat!).  The limit is two halibut per day, four in possession.   State law requires that each person hook their own two fish.  Once the fish are processed they are off of your possession limit.  You may catch and release halibut until you get the two you decide to keep.  Once a fish is brought into the boat, it goes onto your limit.  We encourage you to keep only the halibut you can realistically eat, release the big spawning fish if you are not going to eat them, they'll only get bigger and produce more halibut.  Halibut dress out at 60%+, a 30 pound fish will yield 15-20 lbs. of boneless fillets, that is a lot of fish.

We give your halibut to you in the filleted form, from here you have several options. You can take the fish and process it yourself, or you can have a processor do it for you. We recommend Homer Fish Processing or Coal Point Trading Company to all of our customers. After the filleting, the processor will pick up your fish right at the boat or at our office. They will further process your fish, and vacuum pack it into whatever size package you desire and quick freeze it. They will keep your fish until you are ready to depart, you can take it as is or have them pack it in airline approved insulated boxes. The least expensive method is to take the fish home as luggage, if this is not practical, they can Federal Express it to you overnight after you get home. Coal Point also has a nice retail seafood shop with excellent products. Homer Fish Processing also smokes fish. Prices are very similar. For questions contact: Homer Fish Processing at www.myalaskafish.com (phone 907-235-1997) or Coal Point Trading Company at www.welovefish.com (phone 907-235-3877).

 You may request to go an a particular vessel or size vessel.  Some people prefer the stability and comfort of a larger vessel and others prefer six passenger vessels, we have the best of both.  Be sure to ask us about options available for children.  Non-fishing passengers or guests may also be accommodated for a $100 charge on full day fishing trips on our larger boats only.  Again, they will not be allowed a limit of fish.  Full payment will be required from everyone on all six passenger vessels.

Be sure to bring all that you would like to eat and drink, warm layered clothes, hat and gloves, raingear, boots are not necessary but nice if it rains hard. A camera and binoculars are nice to bring but are optional. We have a lot of room on all of our boats, bring whatever clothing you think you might need, you can always take it off. If you do not have time to pack a lunch of your own, we can arrange a charter lunch that you can pick up in the morning, they are $13, and should be ordered at least 24 hours in advance. We have free coffee in our office. You will also need a fishing license. A salmon tag is required for king salmon. Licenses and stamps can be purchased in our office or you can save time and go on line to www.adfg.alaska.gov and purchase them.

Why yes we do!  We have very nice T-shirts along with quality, heavy weight sweatshirts, and an assortment of hats, call now, office staff are standing by.

Our day trip fishing rates for 2012 are:

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Homer Ocean Charters 907-235-6212 and 907-235-8251 (fax) Toll free 1-800-426-6212 Winter hours start Sept 15: 10-4 p.m. (Alaska time - 4 hours earlier than east coast) Email: hoc@xyz.net

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