It’s that time of year when there are reds to can, rockfish to harvest, halibut to fillet, and wild dust-ups with silvers to savor. It’s the piscatorial paradise of midsummer.
We’ve accepted the fact that Alaska has sashayed over the apogee of daylight hours while the stealthy pilfering of the sun’s influence signals our slide toward the autumnal equinox.
Personally, I have no qualms about this turn of the seasons because it’s when the fishing gets hotter, as the coho commence their dance and heftier halibut move in to do battle.
Right now, the silvers are starting to get their finny freak on at our famous Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon and jumpers had been spotted along the western rocky edge of the Spit and offshore of the lagoon’s entrance.
Those wanting to seriously take on the coho challenge are gearing up to hit the hole before dawn when the sun gradually opens its groggy eyes on the bay.
Then there’s the floss-snaggers who lack the skills to fish any other way than the “cast-n-rip” approach that ends up popping hooks into the backs, sides, heads and tails of the fish as they circle, trapped, in the lagoon until the tide changes.
This sort of approach spooks salmon and can cut off “the bite” for those who are principled sportsmen.
I’m surprised they haven’t started using M-80s, but that might be a little too much when half of the campground would be staring down at them over their morning coffee.
Time now to take a look at the fishing report for the week of July 14.
Freshwater Fishing
The lower sections of the Anchor River, Deep Creek and Ninilchik River are open to sport fishing for species other than king salmon as of July 16. Gear is restricted to single hook artificial lures. Expect slow fishing for dollies. The best place to catch them and avoid kings would be in the intertidal sections of these streams. Beads, smolt patterns and small spinners will bring on the strikes.
China Poot personal use dipnet fishery has remained cookin’. So, it’s a great time to bring home sockeye for the grill, smoker and freezer.
Saltwater Fishing
Kachemak Bay/Cook Inlet
Groundfish
Halibut fishing continues to be steaming hot, but it requires anglers to explore different spots to track them down. Drifting an area first prior to setting the anchor is a way to ensure you are on them.
Both lingcod and yelloweye seasons are open and those anglers fishing the outer coast are bringing them aboard. Fishing should continue like that if weather allows.
Surf fishing has remained a popular option for those anglers without boats. Whiskey Gulch and Deep Creek are great locations to try for halibut. Fishing off the tip of the Homer Spit is still producing a variety of groundfish including halibut, sculpins, skates, sharks, flounders, and cod and even some wandering coho.
King Salmon
King fishing was poor to fair over the week. July is usually a sluggish month for them. There is a growing pack of those jerk pinks at Point Pogibshi which can be a gnarly challenge to target kings.
Try fishing deeper to avoid the idiots. Small troll herring or spoons behind a flasher work great, but hootchies and tube flies will pull them in too.
Sockeye Salmon
There should be a plethora of sockeye around Tutka Lagoon and in front of China Poot Creek. Most anglers snag these fish with weighted treble hooks.
Coho Salmon
The coho run has started to build in the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon and anglers are doing better with each tide.
Be a sport and try real fishing with eggs or cut herring under a bobber along with Vibrax spinners. Look for jumpers along the east side of the Homer Spit. High tide in Mud Bay is a great time to get into them from shore.
There are scattered reports of silvers from anglers trolling in the outer portions of Kachemak Bay. Expect slow fishing over the next week until the runs kicks into higher gear.
Emergency Orders
Lower Kenai Peninsula Roadside Streams Gear Limited to Single Hook Artificial Lures
Ninilchik River Closed to King Salmon 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
Rockfish bag limit reduction: 2 pelagic, 1 non-pelagic.
For additional information, please contact the Homer ADF&G Office at 907-235-8191.
Nick can be reached at ncvarney@gmail.com if he isn’t at the lagoon watching the salmon run the gauntlet of bare hooks and b.s. thrown by the sleazy.
