Welcome back to Reeling ‘Em In for its 2025 summer run of fish stories, tips, creative white lies, and angling reports from around the salty ‘hood.

Yup, it’s time once again to fire up the lawn tractor, hook onto a tow chain, and attempt to separate the rusting fishing gear in your cooler-size tackle box.

Tip: I usually spray a couple of cans of WD-40 on the contents 24 hours prior to the tug-of-war in hopes of loosening things up a bit.

This should be an interesting and busy Memorial Day weekend.

The weather forecast looks pretty good so far thus generating a tsunami of tourists and angling-famished fanatics heading our way in search of halibut or confirm the rumor of a disoriented king in the Fishing Hole.

As always, our extensive staff will attempt to ferret out hot spots for discerning piscators and screen questionable reports provided by dubious dipsticks with the credibility of bitcoin peddlers at a yard sale.

We will also strive to keep you advised as to what’s up with the restrictions on our local fresh water streams and attempt give you a heads-up on any new emergency orders that you need to be aware of to avoid fines, gear confiscation, and styling the latest in handcuff gear.

Hints: A valid fishing license would also be a cool idea along with a king stamp, recording document, and current tide book.

Also, make sure you have the 2025 version of the Sports Fishing Regulations Summary booklet for Southcentral Alaska. It contains a plethora of excellent information and has pretty pictures for those of you who dropped out of preschool.

Time now to take a look at the fishing report for the week of May 20:

Freshwater Fishing

The Anchor River and Deep Creek are closed to all sport fishing through July 15. You could just have a picnic and stare at the water to see if anything shows up.

The Ninilchik River is open to fishing for hatchery king salmon May 24-26. Although water conditions are good, expect the fishing to be slow as there are very few kings staged in the river this early in the run. The short opening should be interesting. Elbow room will probably be at a premium so those few hatchery kings better keep their mouths shut and duck.

Spinners and spoons are the best bet since the fishery is closed to the use of bait this season. If you incidentally hook a steelhead or wild king salmon, get them to the bank as quickly as possible and release them without removing them from the water. Note: You never can tell who’s watching.

Saltwater Fishing

Kachemak Bay/Cook Inlet

Halibut

Halibut fishing is off to a rockin’ start and should begin firing on all cylinders during the next few weeks. At the moment, the steady action is at offshore locations but for those looking for buffed up flats, try the shallow water from Bluff Point to Anchor Point.

King Salmon

King fishing south of Bluff Point has been fair to good, with scattered reports from the Bluff area as well as throughout inner Kachemak Bay.

Small troll herring or spoons behind a flasher remains the most popular setup, but hootchies and tube flies will also produce take downs. To ferret out kings at any location, give a shot at setting your gear at different depths including mid-water column and 10 feet off the bottom.

Surf Fishing

Surf fishing on Cook Inlet beaches has been pretty fair recently. Anglers are nailing a variety of groundfish including halibut, sculpins, skates, sharks, flounders, cod and a few snags.

Don’t forget about fishing off the tip of the Homer Spit — that location can be productive for a variety of groundfish including things that you thought were extinct and are looking back at you like you’re a snack.

Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon

There are no signs of any kings at the NDFL but there should be a few any day now — expect slow crawl fishing to continue throughout the weekend.

Fishing the incoming or outgoing tide is typically your best bet — the tide should be flooding into the lagoon around the +11 ft height. Roe under a bobber, herring, and spinners are all successful approaches for bringing on the strikes. Snagging is closed and remember to practice your penmanship so you can record your catch. Some of you are very forgetful.

Emergency Orders

Anchor River and Deep Creek Closed to Sport Fishing

Sport Fishing for King Salmon Closed in Upper Cook Inlet Salt Waters

King Salmon Bag Limit Reduced from 2 to 1 in Lower Cook Inlet Salt Waters

Changes to King Salmon Gear in the Ninilchik River

Looking for additional information? Contact the Homer ADF&G Office at 907-235-8191.

Nick can be reached at ncvarney@gmail.com if he isn’t still recovering from dodging holiday Spit traffic, half gassed campers and assorted wandering pets with a hankering for knee caps.