Homer, Alaska, The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World

We followed the coast of Cook Inlet the 130 km from Stoldotna to Homer. There were lots of trees, campgrounds and RV parks, and lakes. This is a huge recreation area for Alaskans and visitors alike. I enjoyed the wildflowers along the roads, especially the Lupines.

I spotted a home part way along the highway with a complete set of agility equipment in the yard. That was unexpected. They would have to travel quite a long way for competitions.

There are lots of bald eagles, too, but I’m not quick enough with the camera to capture them when we’re driving. For example, as we drove over Anchor River, I looked down at the river and there was a huge eagle just sitting on the bank.

There was a pull-off as we approached Homer with a welcome sign and beautiful views of Kachemak bay, the spit, the mountains, volcanoes and glaciers. Gorgeous.

Once we came down the bluff, we found that Homer is a funky little town with lots of artsy shops and even more fish charter operators.

We settled in at the tiny ‘Castaway’ park that we spotted on the drive down the spit (a very narrow strip of land jutting out from the coast). It is right on the ocean and has electricity and wi fi for $25/night. Most places charge $40/night for electric and the new full service park right across the road is charging $83. So, I’ll put up with the tight spacing for the location and reasonable price. We are able to watch the tide come in and out, the boats heading out fishing, etc. through our front windows! And, I can let the dogs run off-leash on the beach. They love that!

After setting up camp, we rode our bikes further down the spit, into the heart of the action. We checked out the Salty Dawg Saloon. It’s a very old collection of buildings and its ceiling and walls are plastered with dollar bills with people’s names written on them.

Then we went next door to the ‘Happy Face’ restaurant for their halibut fish and chips special. We shared the plate so we could each have a bowl of clam chowder, too. All seafood here is fresh – literally right off the boat.

While we were in this upstairs restaurant, I noticed some serious fish filleting going on across the street which we went to watch as soon as we were done. The charters were coming in and the amount of halibut they caught was jaw-dropping. This picture shows the catch of six guys that were out for about five hours. The biggest halibut on the left weighed over 80 pounds!

And of course the people filleting the fish were pros and whipped through them very quickly.

Anyway, after seeing that, there was no way I’m going to miss out on fishing for halibut, too. We went and talked to some of the charter companies and quite a few are running half-day trips that will fit our time and money budget. We’ll firm up our plans in the morning but are hoping to get out fishing tomorrow afternoon.

This is a picture of some of the boats in the HUGE marina:


We'll spend probably three nights here before going to Seward for a few days.