The fishing for king salmon has been very good lately here in Homer, Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. This is the time of year that we are able to target the kings around the bait that is coming in the form of hooligan and herring that are arriving to spawn. These are fat fish and very good eating. I had the pleasure of taking the “Gorton’s Fisherman” (their head of marketing) and his son last week and we caught some dandy kings. Rick actually gave me one as he said that “I had exceeded his expectations as far as how much they would catch!” I was so happy to accept a fresh king to bring home to Debra. On Sunday, May 1st, we had six people out on a halibut trip and since it was the opening day of the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby, I encouraged everyone to buy a ticket. My intention was to target the area where we had tagged the fish for the derby just a couple of weeks earlier. Well, fishing was slow in that area, so we moved out toward Point Pogibshi a bit and anchored in 200′ feet of water. The fishing was difficult in the current with 3# of lead, but we were catching halibut, our target. Jean Manson hooked a fish that was heavy and after a good battle, we boated a 90# halibut that made her the leader in the ladie’s division of the derby for May. Not sure it will hold up, as May brings some big fish, but it was fun to see her standing next to her fish.

The last couple of weeks of April proved to be some of the best king salmon fishing of the year so far. We had some awesome days fishing out near Seldovia this winter, but the fish caught in the last couple of weeks seemed to be a larger average size. It was great to see so much success in the fleet and the “Julia Lynn” got her share. The most memorable for me was the 25# white king that I set the hook on and let someone reel in for me. I did trade it out for a smaller fish in the end, but that was a nice way to end the day! We have had a good group of folks come and fish this Spring and there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing a smile on an anglers face when reeling in a king salmon. Thanks you Lauren for sending me photos of your trip…..this is always appreciated. It is hard to steer and net fish AND take photos.

The “Julia Lynn” competed in the 2011 Winter King Salmon Tournament in Homer on March 19th. Tom Hyatt from Anchorage and three friends and associates chartered the boat and set out for a fun day on Kachemak Bay. Spirits and hopes were high and the weather couldn’t have been better. We trolled the bluffs for six hours to no avail. There were a bunch of fish called in by 3PM, over 100 and we were chewing our nails. Then at 3:10 PM, just 50 minutes before the end of the tournament, #4 rod went off. This had been Tom’s rod all day and all four anglers were poised to take a rod and clear the deck. The crew never gave up and we were in it till the end. The fish was a beauty and swam into the net and onto the deck. It was buried in ice before anyone could even take a photo. It weighed in at 25.6# at tournament headquarters located at Coal Point Seafoods (www.welovefish.com) and ended up being third place overall for the day. The one side-bet that the guys had made, the $100 category got swooped up by the #1 fish (30#), so just the 3rd place money was awarded to Tom, but that totaled $9460, so he had a good day. For the crew of the “Julia Lynn”, myself and Sadie Mumma, the day was an enjoyable one with four attentive anglers just out for a good day on the water.

Here are a couple of Kachemak Bay Homer Alaska fishing photos in April – Captain Pete filleting salmon and halibut:  That was a nice day on the Bay!

These two young ladies (my grand-daughters) are wearing their hats near Kona, Hawaii. If you have a favorite picture wearing your Capt. Pete hat, send it along and I will post it here. I will be wearing mine while fishing for king salmon on the “Julia Lynn” this weekend!