Ask the Pro's: Looking for Salmon & Halibut Combo

Welcome to the planning part of your Alaska fishing trip. The ocean offers up all types of great eating fish. Halibut and salmon are two that should not be hard to come by. First and foremost is to pick the region you want to fish in Alaska. Do you want to fish Southeast Alaska (Ketchikan- Juneau- Sitka area) or Southcentral (Seward-Homer-Kodiak). Each area is slightly different. Southest Alaska is very popular for visitors taking an Alaska cruise looking for a cruise ship fishing excursion...and for those on a cruise a fishing charter out of Ketchikan is the most popular option. I am in Southcentral (Seward), so my information is for that area, but fairly representative to all areas.

When you mention Salmon I am going to suggest Silver Salmon (Coho) as these are very plentiful and lots of fun to catch. Remember there are 5 species of Salmon (humpies/pinks, sockeye/reds, cohos/silvers, chum/dog, chinook/king) and they all have slightly different run times normally. The first run of Silvers our of my area in Seward begins late June for the first run. The second and larger run of Silvers begins mid July and peaks around Aug first week of Aug with great catches lasting to the end of the month.

Halibut is great all summer long in the Seward area. As far as tides go we leave everyday about 0630 and return to port about 6pm and catch our fish sometime during that period. Cook Inlet is tide dependent, so if you choose to fish the waters of the Cook Inlet (Homer, Deep Creek, Ninilchick, Anchor Point) then planning your Halibut fishing trip around a good tide is recommended.

Out of Seward I will fish for Halibut and Salmon every day from mid June to late August. On a combo trip your typical Halibut will be around 18lbs. For Trophy Halibut try booking a private boat or Halibut only trip.

My Full day rate per person: $250-389.00 up to 12 hr day. 3-5 Day cutomized fishing & lodging packages available as well.

Hope this information helped.

I would recommend Seward Alaska for Salmon and Halibut combo. Seward is 100 miles south of Anchorage which makes it an easy commute to fishing paradise. Peak season is May - August. Every trip I have done out of Seward I have done a combo of Silver Salmon, Halibut and Rock Fish. The great Captain's book early so book your trip as soon as you can.

I would recommend a "6 pack" boat which takes 6 people max. Your other option is a party boat which takes up to 30 people. A party boat is less expensive if you are on a budget. We always have tide in Alaska considering we have a 30 - 40 foot tide swing so tide is a non issue.

My recommendation for a full cooler of fish and a professional and experienced Captain is Justin with Just-In-Time Charters. Give him a call and he can answer any further questions.

Tight Lines

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