By James Clark
Fishing in Homer, Alaska, by definition means fishing for king salmon. Although Homer is known as the halibut capital of the world for the incredible catches of these door-sized fish, shore angling in Homer will produce giant salmon approaching the 100-pound mark from October to April. King salmon are endangered and must be released back into the wild, but they are a prized fighting fish long remembered for their mighty battles on the line. You can also expect to catch hatchery spawned chinook, a slightly smaller cousin to the king salmon, that can be kept. Follow these strategies to catch them.
Big Gear for Big Fish
King salmon and chinook demand rods rated at least 30 pounds, and reels spooled with 60 to 70 pound test line. An angry King Salmon can easily bend your rod almost double, so bring sturdy equipment to the river.
Similarly, these big fish want a big meal. This means casting large spoons and spinners rigged with treble hooks, or 4/0 hooks baited with salmon eggs (where legal). Long-tailed flies weighted 1/4 to 1/2 oz.and tied with bright pink materials also produce savage strikes.
Casting Techniques
From the shoreline casting into Homer rivers for salmon and chinook, there are three basic techniques. Pinging is bottom fishing with salmon eggs or pink flies. Casting involves hitting pools and still water in the ebb of a river. Flipping is essentially drift fishing--you cast upstream and allow the line to flow past you.
All three methods of shore fishing produce good results, depending on weather conditions. Chinook and salmon tend to move into pools and hover in slow water during overcast weather, so casting to pools is a good strategy, using hooks baited with salmon eggs or pink tube jigs. During the fall months, bottom fishing, or plunking, is a good technique. Flipping, or drift fishing, is effective in the early spring when the fish are more active.
Pick Your Spot
Salmon and Chinook congregate in cooler water, so pick places to cast from the shore where natural shade, such as overhanging trees, provides cover over the river.
Look for areas with submerged structure, such as rocks and logs. Salmon tend to hang around covered areas waiting for a meal to drift by. In hot weather, when the fish are lazy and moving slow, your best strategy will be to cast a flashy spoon or spinner past a likely hole, then reel back with a steady retrieval. A few of these casts may well annoy a big chinook and provoke him into striking your lure.
About the Author:
James Clark began his career in 1985. He has written about electronics, appliance repair and outdoor topics for a variety of publications and websites. He has more than four years of experience in appliance and electrical repairs. Clark holds a bachelor's degree in political science.
