Blanked in Homer today

Headed to Homer at 0 dark 30 this morning. Started fishing 10:30. Water was a bit choppy, but got better as the day progressed. I was one of 3 kayakers fishing. There were a half dozen or so powerboats working the area. I fished about 3 hours and didn't see a king on any boat. Low_Sky did report seeing one fish picked up. I wasn't seeing much on my sounder either. The bite may have picked up later in the flood, but it didn't work for me.

Maybe we'll get a report if things changed after I left.

I remain kingless. Got off the water around 4:00. Didn't see much action out there for the gas burning fleet either, but it was quite the rodeo with everything from kayaks to 40+' commercial boats trying to troll something up in front of the condos.


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Thanks for the update. Too bad it didn't turn on for you. It was quite the menagerie of boats out on Saturday. Maybe next time.

Thanks to you both for weekend observations.

Gale Force from now through Thursday for middle Inlet and Small Craft in Homer. Not friendly skies.

Looks like Friday the weather is going to finally lay down pretty nice providing the forecast holds up. And warm temps too.  More experimental gear and tackle arriving in the mail daily.     Might have some new rigs to try by then. Good thing the Kenai River is still ice free so I can do some trial runs in the backyard to check the action before hand.
 But forecast is for increasing winds around mid day Saturday and Sunday so it may only be a one day window.

As an aside, I noticed over the last two weeks that ALL of the Mike's Brine & Tight herring brine solutions in natural clear and blue dye (the only thing on the shelves) have sold out at Trustworthy Hardware. Every day I stopped by there were fewer and fewer jugs. Looks like someone was stocking up to do some bait processing.     Glad I got a couple extra bottles earlier; hate to wait until spring when the store finally converts from ice fishing to open water again.

Low_Sky we got to get you some king slime on your craft and break the "curse"!! Where's Rudy when you need him! LOL

Low_Sky we got to get you some king slime on your craft and break the "curse"!! Where's Rudy when you need him! LOL

Coming from Anchorage, it seems like I'm always a day late and a dollar short.  I know I just have to keep trying, but it's getting old spending a weekend a tank and a half of gas to get blanked.  It was a lot easier to justify when I was living in Soldotna. 

Coming from Anchorage, it seems like I'm always a day late and a dollar short.  I know I just have to keep trying, but it's getting old spending a weekend a tank and a half of gas to get blanked.  It was a lot easier to justify when I was living in Soldotna.

I hear ya. It amazes me how many folks I know will make the drive from Anch or the Valley at the drop of a hat to come down to the Kenai River for fishing, over and over all summer. Damn that is a lot of road time and mileage on the rigs too.

I've lived on the Peninsula since 1970 and in Soldotna since 1981 so all my KP recreational excursions have been Day Trips since nothing is more than 2 hours drive from my bed. Its spoiled me for sure. But with winter conditions on the roads and considering making a trip to Homer two days in a row for winter kayak fishing has a lot of drawbacks. Icy roads, moose collision potential, double the fuel cost, and double the amount of time driving both ways. So today I've been looking over the rates at Land's End for overnighters. Right off the top that would save me enough in fuel costs to pay for half the room rate for the night. Not to mention having the fishing right outside my door with an opportunity to go back to the beach and room for a break, lunch, hot coffee, nap, or whatever. Plus you can get an early start on two days in a row without the fatigue and stress of the long drive the 2nd day.  I can see why Rudy opts for that arrangement on a number of occasions. Now if I had a camper on the truck I'd just go with that for a 2 day trip but I haven't found the right one yet. And I'm just not into winter tent camping even if its free on the Spit right now.

I put a temporary tarp on the power boat before our snow the other day in the hopes the weather and temps will cooperate for at least one more forray down to the Spit on Friday to try more experimental rigs with the downrigger cam before I tarp it for the winter and switch to the kayak until spring. Hoping to get enough experience and knowledge to continue my streak once I'm out there pedaling. So far two days of fishing, six pieces of bait, 4 kings and a halibut.

Just doctored up some brined hooligan with Bad Azz UV bait dye in Sunset Orange and that dye does have some fluorescence to it. Looks pretty good in daylight and not too bad in blacklight.


You notice how withered the belly area looks? Well that is actually a result of vac packing these smelt while they are fresh and unfrozen. The vacuum sucks out all the eggs from their bellies. In the future, I'll be laying out my hooligan on saved up meat trays and freezing them first then vacuum pack them so they retain the full belly look. Probably won't make any difference but.....ya never know.  This one sure smells good to me.

Friday 11/11 looks like a good weather window. Decreased chance of rain at 32% to 46% all day long, 2 ft seas, and 15kts from the NE. That direction should offer some flat water and decent visibility conditions too for downrigger filming.

40°F and rain in Soldotna today. Heading to the PO to pick up another "secret weapon" from Hong Kong I hope to have rigged up before heading down in the morning. This one is very exciting and has never been tested by anyone that I know of. I'm guessing the flop-failure odds are at least 50/50 at this untested point but if nothing else I'll have a toy for some different kind of outings in the future. So its not a waste of money or time.

Anyone going to Homer Friday or the weekend?

Is this weekend good?


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Is this weekend good?

To answer your question based on the information I mention below, it looks like Friday and Saturday should have the mildest of wind and water conditions before it picks up.

I'm sure all those "old timers" who have been participating in this fishery for a while or longer have their own sources of weather info so this may be redundant or not as good as other sources. But its what I use as my most dependable references.
The Marine Forecast for Kachemak Bay area. This covers from the head of the bay all the way to the line between Pogi Pt. (Seldovia) and Bluff Pt.  It is updated at least every 12 hours and sometimes more frequently during severe weather changes.
http://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=pkz141&syn=pkz197

The Wunderground HOMER current weather and forecast.  I have been monitoring this for many months and cross referencing the Radar map on the page for rain showers VS the timeline chart for when and how much rain is predicted to occur. I have found this to be extremely accurate, often right down to the minute for when rain was to start. I use the Soldotna page version for my home and its very reliable too.  The forecast "days out" remain consistent from day to day unlike the nightly weather news which changes dramatically from one day to the next quite often.
https://www.wunderground.com/us/ak/homer/zmw:99603.1.99999?MR=1

The Homer Spit Webcams. Realtime images of the harbor, Lands End and the Green Can every minute during daylight. Its a great resource to use in conjunction with the marine forecast and the wunderground predictions for rain, wind, sun, and temperatures to give you confidence in using all these together for your best chance at second guessing Mother Nature.  You can even view the kayakers and power boats working the fishery each day they are out.
http://www.homerwebcams.com/

And lastly, because the Homer Spit is not oriented in a true North/South orientation, I use this little graphic I put together to give me an accurate idea of exactly which way the waves will be coming from based on the forecasts.




Here are a couple of snaps from the webcams on Dream days and Nightmare days.

[emoji106]


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0930 Friday. Wonderful day. Hitching the boat and heading south!  Will report back this evening. Should be killer. Check the webcams.