Halibut in Alaska (correction)

[besserheimerphat]

I'm going out to Seattle in October. I kind of want to look into this now.

In October you might be looking at river drift boat tours rather than saltwater boats. I mean you can book either, but for the salmon run the mature ones are up river by then. There are always immature (but still big and delicious) salmon in the ocean/sound.

Salmon run fishing can be a combat sport out here. You can fish river banks by yourself, but it will be nearly shoulder-to-shoulder anywhere there is public access.

Another thing I learned after moving here is fishing regs are WAY more complicated than in Iowa, and can literally change by the day. I'd highly recommend getting some kind of guide who can help make sure you stay legal if you don't fish here often.

 

[madguy30]

In October you might be looking at river drift boat tours rather than saltwater boats. I mean you can book either, but for the salmon run the mature ones are up river by then. There are always immature (but still big and delicious) salmon in the ocean/sound.

Salmon run fishing can be a combat sport out here. You can fish river banks by yourself, but it will be nearly shoulder-to-shoulder anywhere there is public access.

Another thing I learned after moving here is fishing regs are WAY more complicated than in Iowa, and can literally change by the day. I'd highly recommend getting some kind of guide who can help make sure you stay legal if you don't fish here often.

Same with Oregon. It took quite a bit of investigating to find out if I could just fish some streams for resident trout.

 

[Cyburbbalz]

Makes you want to go to Alaska "just for the halibut"...

I'm going out to Seattle in October. I kind of want to look into this now.

October is too late sorry man

 

[deadeyededric]

October is too late sorry man

Maybe I'll just climb a mountain instead.

 

[Cyburbbalz]

Maybe I'll just climb a mountain instead.

That would be cool.

 

[besserheimerphat]

October is too late sorry man

October is not too late to go salmon fishing. It may not be considered peak season, but there are lots of fish to be caught. October forecast details from the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife is below:

Look forward to fall coho salmon fishing, and more

Following up on his Washington 2023–24 summer salmon planner last issue, Mark Yuasa scopes out October 2023 -April 2024 opportunities

wdfw.medium.com

 

[besserheimerphat]

Maybe I'll just climb a mountain instead.

If you want to do mountain stuff, the big ones out here are of course Rainier to the south or Mt Baker to the north. Both will be 2 hours or more to drive to. Roads should still be in good shape, but there's a good chance it will snow at higher elevations. The Hwy 20 pass that goes through the North Cascades at about 5500 feet is typically closed from mid-November to mid-May because they can't keep up with the snow. But there is a lot of cool stuff to see at lower elevations. Snoqualmie Falls for example. Just know that whatever you do, it will probably be in the 50s and drizzly in October.

I am not a mountain climber, so other than driving to them I'm not much help there.

 

[Cyburbbalz]

October is not too late to go salmon fishing. It may not be considered peak season, but there are lots of fish to be caught. October forecast details from the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife is below:

Look forward to fall coho salmon fishing, and more

Following up on his Washington 2023–24 summer salmon planner last issue, Mark Yuasa scopes out October 2023 -April 2024 opportunities

wdfw.medium.com

I thought the thread was about halibut fishing. You are correct about the salmon.

 

[deadeyededric]

If you want to do mountain stuff, the big ones out here are of course Rainier to the south or Mt Baker to the north. Both will be 2 hours or more to drive to. Roads should still be in good shape, but there's a good chance it will snow at higher elevations. The Hwy 20 pass that goes through the North Cascades at about 5500 feet is typically closed from mid-November to mid-May because they can't keep up with the snow. But there is a lot of cool stuff to see at lower elevations. Snoqualmie Falls for example. Just know that whatever you do, it will probably be in the 50s and drizzly in October.

I am not a mountain climber, so other than driving to them I'm not much help there.

I'm going to go down to St. Helens. I haven't been down there since I was a kid. I may try and go to a game at Husky Stadium if they are in town. My aunt is living way the hell out in Lacey now so I'm not right in Seattle when I'm there anymore.

 

[CloneAlta]

Going to Seattle for work in August; thinking about some personal days in Alaska for Halibut fishing.

Went to Alaska for Halibut fishing out of Seward about 5 years ago and I wasn't impressed and frankly disappointed.

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions on a solid guided fishing trip out of Alaska?

TIA!!!
Go State
F*&K iowa

I have fished for salmon in Illamnia, AK twice & Halibut once in the bay next to Homer. Had great success in Homer, catching several smaller Halibut and one 110# monster that was taller than me when hung up. There is a company in Homer that will dress out your Halibut, flash freeze it & vacuum package it very quickly when you finish.

One tip I learned from my seasoned Alaskan host: DO NOT bring a Halibut of any significant size into the boat until it has been shot in the head (he used a 410 shotgun) and gaffed to make sure it does not flop around in the boat and break one of your legs.

 

[Agkistrodon]

October is not too late to go salmon fishing. It may not be considered peak season, but there are lots of fish to be caught. October forecast details from the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife is below:

Look forward to fall coho salmon fishing, and more

Following up on his Washington 2023–24 summer salmon planner last issue, Mark Yuasa scopes out October 2023 -April 2024 opportunities

wdfw.medium.com

Yeah, I was going to suggest Coho would probably be open around that time. I like them better than Chinook anyways.

 

[Agkistrodon]

I'm go going to go down to St. Helens. I haven't been down there since I was a kid. I may try and go to a game at Husky Stadium if they are in town. My aunt is living way the hell out in Lacey now so I'm not right in Seattle when I'm there anymore.

FYI for your trip to Helens - Johnston Ridge is closed right now. There was a landslide back in May about 1 mile before the observatory parking lot.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I'm going out to Seattle in October. I kind of want to look into this now.

We went to Westport every year (down close to the Oregon border). A lot of times the catch depends on the skipper's nose for fish.

 

[deadeyededric]

FYI for your trip to Helens - Johnston Ridge is closed right now. There was a landslide back in May about 1 mile before the observatory parking lot.

Is that about a 3-hour drive from Tacoma?

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Is that about a 3-hour drive from Tacoma?

Has to be less than that, because we lived in Bellevue and it was about 2.5 hours from there. Tacoma is between Bellevue and West Port, so I'd guess it's about 1.5 or a little more hours from Tacoma.

 

[deadeyededric]

Has to be less than that, because we lived in Bellevue and it was about 2.5 hours from there. Tacoma is between Bellevue and West Port, so I'd guess it's about 1.5 or a little more hours from Tacoma.

My grandfather used to live in the Yarrow Point part of Bellevue. I remember when the only thing there was Bellevue Square Mall. Now it has a better skyline than most major cities.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

My grandfather used to live in the Yarrow Point part of Bellevue. I remember when the only thing there was Bellevue Square Mall. Now it has a better skyline than most major cities.

Bellevue today is NOT the Bellevue of my childhood. We lived at the base of Evergreen Point in the Medina area (before it incorporated). Lived there from 60 to 66 and again from 69 to 73 (when I graduated from BHS). When was he there?

 

[t-noah]

Going to Seattle for work in August; thinking about some personal days in Alaska for Halibut fishing.

Went to Alaska for Halibut fishing out of Seward about 5 years ago and I wasn't impressed and frankly disappointed.

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions on a solid guided fishing trip out of Alaska?

TIA!!!
Go State
F*&K iowa

This is an odd numbered year, which means the pink salmon will be running too. They only run every other year, but in huge numbers. They are smaller and people here look down on them compared to King/Chinook and Coho because they aren't quite as good eating, but still damn good to an Iowa boy.

The halibut down here tend to run smaller than Alaska, but they all taste amazing.

Halibut and flounder are pretty cool fish, how the eyes evolved to one side, mostly for bottom feeding?

 

[deadeyededric]

Bellevue today is NOT the Bellevue of my childhood. We lived at the base of Evergreen Point in the Medina area (before it incorporated). Lived there from 60 to 66 and again from 69 to 73 (when I graduated from BHS). When was he there?

1972-1999. The house he lived in is worth like 3.8 million today. He bought that house for like 150k. I didn't realize Yarrow Point was considered it's own town. I just thought it was part of Bellevue.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

1972-1999. The house he lived in is worth like 3.8 million today. He bought that house for like 150k. I didn't realize Yarrow Point was considered it's own town. I just thought it was part of Bellevue.

When I was there, the Points (Evergreen, Hunts & Yarrow) and Medina were "neighborhoods". Technically, they were incorporated cities, but for the post office, our address was Bellevue. The house my parents bought in 1960 for 15K is now estimated at somewhere around 2.5M. The second house, bought in 1969 for 30K, is now estimated at 3.8M. Both now have Medina addresses instead of Bellevue. Fun fact: Bezos & Gates both live in Medina...it's a much more ritzy area than when we were there. One of the many reasons I will never live in that area again!