The Self-Proclaimed Halibut Fishing Capitol of the World

Wednesday, July 7, we headed out on a 275 mile drive from Anchorage to Homer.  Again, the weather cooperated and it was a beautiful, uneventful drive.  Along the way, we made a quick detour to check out campgrounds for a stay when our caravan ends, now in less than two weeks! 

We really enjoyed our drive around Turnagain Arm.  When we were here in '81 and again a few days earlier, when we drove to Whittier, it was overcast and the ceiling was so low you really couldn't see the mountains.  As you can see from the photos, this time the weather was picture perfect.

This time, we were also there when the tide was running out at almost full flow.  Due to the high tides here and the narrow opening at the neck of the arm, you can actually see riffles on the water as the tide flows.

We were really impressed with Homer.  The town has grown a lot since we were last there, but is still a quaint, picturesque community of around 4,000 full-time residents.  A bit touristy, perhaps, but the scenery makes up for that.

Our campground there was right on the water and we had mountain and bay views from our campsite.  We were able to sit out in the evening and just gaze at the view.  Very peaceful.

Thursday, July 8, we went on our Halibut charter.  We had enough people from our group (18) that we were able to fill the boat, which made it really nice.  We started fishing around 8:30, following a two hour, 30 mile run to our "spot" and had our limit of two Halibut each by 11:30.

Our catch was mostly in the 20-25 pound range, not whoppers, but about the average, unless you are really fishing for the big ones, which is not something we could do on this type of charter.  We "pooled" the fish and each person ended up with about 16 pounds of filets.

The fishing really was hard work.  At a depth of 200 feet and a two pound weight on the line, just reeling in to re-bait was a chore.  We were all tired when we got back to shore, even those of us who caught a nap on the way back.  We agreed that it was great fun, but not something we would want to do very often, unless we were in better condition!

Friday, July 9, was a day for general sightseeing and RV maintenance.  We washed the coach and the car.  I took the bubble wrap off the front of the coach in Anchorage, since we are pretty much past the gravel road, so now I have to deal with bugs -- and there are a lot of them up here.

Saturday, we head out on a 175 mile hop for a two day stay in Seward.  After that, we begin working our way north for Denali and our final destination in Fairbanks.

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Turnagain Arm We did the 35 mile drive in nearly perfect weather.	Homer Arrival An overlook just before dropping down into Homer. Glaciers everywhere!	Campground View Homer Spit is just barely visible at the waterline. The tide is obviously out.
Mountain View I took this panorama from the roof of the coach.	On the Spit Homer has grown up (sigh) since we were here 23 years ago.	Harbor Reflections Another "Postcard" shot. Notice the glacier in the mountains to the left.
Out for Halibut A 6:30 AM boarding.	Sue Hard at Work Nearly perfect weather conditions.	Jim Hard at Work In 200' of water with a 2 pound weight, it really was hard work.
She's Got One! Sue hauling in her first one. I was taking a break!	Sue's Second Halibut The picture says it all!	Fileting on Board Ready for packaging and flash freezing when we get to shore.
Return to Harbor Kit Carter, our fearless wagonmaster/leader,with a yawn that expresses how we all felt when we got back.