Halibut Fishing Trips

A halibut trip is a summer saltwater trip to Alaska. You ride a charter boat out of a Kenai Peninsula port, fish bait near the bottom and hope for a big flatfish. With a charter crew handling the boat and gear, it can work for groups and for anglers without saltwater experience.

Pacific halibut are the largest flatfish. They can grow past 8 feet and 500 pounds and live for decades, though fish over 30 years old are rare. Females grow larger than males, so the big fish are mostly females.

Where to go for halibut

Pacific halibut live along the coast from Santa Barbara, California, to Nome, Alaska, and they are most common in the central Gulf of Alaska, especially near Kodiak Island. Most of the fishable population lives off Alaska. About 15 percent is off British Columbia and only about 2 percent off Washington, Oregon and California.

Homer, Anchor Point and Deep Creek (Lower Cook Inlet). These are the main road-accessible halibut ports on the Kenai Peninsula, and many charters run from all three. Homer and Seldovia have harbors. Anchor Point and Deep Creek launch boats from the beach with tractors. Anglers fish depths of about 50 to 200 feet near drop-offs, pinnacles and kelp beds. On rough days, boats can find shelter behind the Homer Spit and in places like Tutka Bay and around Yukon Island. Start with our Kenai Peninsula guide.

Seward (North Gulf Coast). Halibut get much of the recreational fishing effort out of Seward too. Most of this fishing takes a boat, so many anglers who do not have one book with the area’s charter fleet. ADF&G notes that costs here run relatively high.

Kodiak and the wider Gulf. Halibut are most common in the central Gulf of Alaska, around Kodiak. A trip there takes more travel than the Kenai Peninsula, but it puts you near the center of the range.

The West Coast. Washington, Oregon and California have recreational halibut fisheries, but only a small share of the population lives there. Each state’s season is divided into subareas with their own limits.

When to go

Halibut spend summers on shallow feeding grounds and move to deeper water in fall and winter to spawn, mainly from November through March. They return to nearshore feeding areas in early summer. That is why the visitor season lines up with summer. In Lower Cook Inlet, sport fishing for halibut can take place much of the year, but most of the harvest comes between May and early September.

June and July are popular months for a combined halibut and salmon trip. We’d build a spare day into the plan in case wind or seas keep the boats in.

How the trips work

Charters. Most visitors fish halibut from a charter. A typical day means a run to the fishing grounds, then bottom fishing with bait. Herring is the most popular bait. The tackle is heavy: 80- to 100-pound line and weights of roughly 16 to 48 ounces. Many anglers fish around slack tide, when the current eases. Charter vessels in Alaska need a federal permit, so you are fishing with a licensed operation.

Private and rental boats. Halibut are also fished from private and rental boats. Unguided anglers in some Alaska areas have different, sometimes less strict, limits than charter anglers. If you are new to Alaska waters, a charter is the safer way to start.

Combo trips. Kenai Peninsula ports also offer saltwater salmon fishing. All five Pacific salmon are caught in Lower Cook Inlet, and mid to late July is the best time for all of them. That makes a mixed halibut and salmon week easy to plan. See our salmon page.

Choosing a destination

• Easiest combo with rivers: Homer, Anchor Point or Deep Creek, close to the Anchor River, Deep Creek and Ninilchik River salmon fisheries.
• Seward: a North Gulf Coast port with an established charter fleet.
• Bigger trip, center of the range: Kodiak and the central Gulf of Alaska.
• No trip to Alaska: the West Coast fisheries, with much smaller seasons and shares of the stock.

Before you book

• Licenses and rules. Check ADF&G for Alaska license requirements. Halibut limits are set each year. The International Pacific Halibut Commission sets overall catch limits, and NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific council divide the catch and write the rules for charter and unguided anglers. Check ADF&G and NOAA Fisheries before you go, and see our fishing license guide.
• Ask the charter what is included (bait, tackle, license), how far they run, what happens if weather cancels the trip, and whether they offer fish processing and shipping.
• Seasickness. Ask how long the run is and how the boat fishes. Bring medication if you need it.
• Plan for weather. Keep a spare day so a rough-water cancellation does not end your trip.

Our guide to choosing a fishing charter covers deposits and cancellation policies. If you want to fish rivers as well, see our trout and salmon pages.