My 2016 season

2016 was an awesome year for me all they way from setting my personal best halibut and king, the places we went, the species we caught and the knowledge gained.
 
Halibut
  My favorite part had to be the halibut fishing, I think we (me and john) really got dialed in on where to go, what to use, what to look for......it goes on and on. The year consisted of several 50 to 70lb fish and one 96lb fish which took my addiction to a whole other level. My favorite part about halibut fishing is they grow to enormous size and second out of a kayak they are just down right bulls. The battle from the time the hook is set until you break out the harpoon is exciting. This year narrowed down our collection of tackle to just a few that always seem to produce. The kodiak custom jigs are just outright killers always seem to produce a fish. But my favorite is about a 10 to 15 inch cod or pollock, the strike is always insane and more than likely a sizable fish. We spent a lot of time zipping around kachemak bay to various places in my powerboat with 3 outbacks strapped to it which takes the experience to another level. We saw some killer places and caught some awesome fish and I damn sure cant wait to do it again.

  Kings
2016 was definitely my best year for kings so far all right in front of lands end. A few trips we had the fish were so thick but small with a few bruisers that we could really experiment with different tackle. The most productive were silver horde and of course herring. But most everything we tried caught fish. I as well as my buddy john (lawngjohn on forum) use downriggers almost exclusively. To me, I think this is the most productive way to catch these things. The fact that I always know where my bait is and that I can drop my bait to fish I see on the sonar makes me think at least I have a better chance of catching them. We caught some really nice kings last summer and I can only hope 2017 is better. My favorite king was my 2016 was definitely my derby entry fish even though there was some mixed feelings about the derby it was still an unreal experience which I hope I can repeat this year.

In the end its all about a good time, meeting other hopeless addicts like myself, and the overall experience.

I wish everybody the best of luck at this years derby, and I will definitely see you there.

2016 was an awesome year for me all they way from setting my personal best halibut and king, the places we went, the species we caught and the knowledge gained.

In the end its all about a good time, meeting other hopeless addicts like myself, and the overall experience.

Amen, congrats on such a great year of fishing & creating legendary memories. Fishing for the Gods; leaving me dreaming of man vs nature on The Last Frontier. 

Very nice!!!

You definitely had the kings dialed in this year off the spit.  Sounds like you had a productive halibut season as well! 

The Homer Winter King Derby is coming up! 

Let's do it again!!!

Sounds like a great year!

Great recap, Jake. I'll see you out there and hope some of your success rubs off on me when we cross paths!  2016 was a bit of a bust for me. Biggest halibut was in the low 20s, blanked on kings. I didn't get on the water as much as I wanted after moving to Anchorage but I still caught fish and had fun, which is what counts most.


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Nice write up, you guys killed it last year. Wish you the same success this season. My 2016 started out great with a couple nice kings out of WG and some decent halibut. After that I could not for the life of me hook into another king. I think your statement about using a downrigger is absolutely true. I recently purchased a line counter reel and plan on using that with a dipsy diver to try get my bait where it needs to be. Good luck this year and see you on the water.


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For sure I'm ready for it ! I'll definitely see you guys out there .

Excited to see you guys at the Winter King Derby! I was happy with my 2016 year, but definitely look to improve in 2017. I just got started last summer and caught a couple of small halibut in the Inlet. I had much more luck catching kings in Homer off the spit and out by the buoy in the fall and this winter. My goal is to catch a monster halibut and some kings in the inlet this summer! I would even like to venture fishing for kings in the Kenai on No-motor Mondays if I can get another crazy person to go along with me. I was addicted to fishing prior to fishing from a kayak, and now it's completely ridiculous!


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Excited to see you guys at the Winter King Derby! I was happy with my 2016 year, but definitely look to improve in 2017. I just got started last summer and caught a couple of small halibut in the Inlet. I had much more luck catching kings in Homer off the spit and out by the buoy in the fall and this winter. My goal is to catch a monster halibut and some kings in the inlet this summer! I would even like to venture fishing for kings in the Kenai on No-motor Mondays if I can get another crazy person to go along with me. I was addicted to fishing prior to fishing from a kayak, and now it's completely ridiculous!


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Hey Kat!  I think you are still the only kayaker I am aware of who has landed a king in 2017 from Alaska! 

As far as the Kenai River goes, I don't think you need to wait for non motorized mondays.  To be perfectly honest, the fishing is easier on the non-motorized days, but the scariness of boat traffic is actually almost worse on the non-motorized days.  That's because now every human being on the planet...well the Kenai Peninsula at any rate who owns a boat is no longer fishing out of it (i.e. holding in one place steadily).  But instead, they are zooming up and down the rivers dropping off red salmon fisherman or dip netting.  Its actually a lot scarier in my opinion. They need to ban motorized traffic completely on Monday say above the Kenai Bridge.  So far I have tried it three times, and hooked one king back trolling but immediately lost it.  It would be insane though!  It took a lot of effort and concentration to land a pink salmon last year on the Kenai. 

If you time it correctly, during the summer, if I lived in the area, I would focus my fishing during the after 6pm hours.  Traffic is a lot thinner.  One thing I have done a couple of times is to pick a big tide.  Then launch out of Cunnigham park as the tide is coming in.  I could pedal up to about Eagle Rock.  Then I back trolled back down and flipped for reds and took out at the same place I launched. 

I'm up for it, we will have to get a few folks together!!!

I'd be up to giving that sort of trip a try. I know a little less than nothing about Kenai River King Fishing. I'm a little embarrassed saying that, considering I've lived on the Peninsula all my life and was a saltwater guide for 20 years. I hope to see you all on the water soon.