By Nick Varney

Special to the Homer Independent Press

The curtains are slowly starting to close on the seasonal runs, but the halibut are still plentiful and feisty as their slow retreat to deeper waters commences.

Some moldering ole boys that I’ve fished with for years struck it rich fishing from their skiffs around Mud Bay. Nothing spectacular in size, averaging around 20 pounds with one flat checking on board at 42 pounds, plus. Not bad, especially when considering the little fuel and time it took to get at them. Hint: They fish what they call “the Dips” as the tide rises.

The cleaning tables displayed a cornucopia of critters from the sea, along with some rather interesting stories behind the catches.

One woman claimed she lost her first-ever salmon a few feet from their boat when a shark slammed it and took the fish along with her pole.

To say she was a bit upset didn’t come close to what happened when she attempted to clean a small cod she caught.

As the scene unfolded, so did her anger, which morphed into an exhibition of how to turn a little finned critter into a pile of whack-a-mole sushi with a technique that cleared her side of the table, encouraged by a blast of flaming profanity that would have embarrassed a Hell’s Angel in a bar brawl. Note: She was last spotted storming toward the Dawg with what seemed to be smoke leaking from her ears. No sign of her husband.

As a side note: It looks as though more and more fishermen are cashing in on the lack of a limit on those delicious, mild white-meat, Pacific Cod to fill part of their freezers. Several of the tables were stacked with the fish during the week where coolers were filled with nifty-looking fillets just waiting for a coating of beer batter.

Time now to take a look at the fishing report for the week of Aug. 10.

Freshwater Fishing

Expect middling luck fishing for dollies and pathetic to fair fishing for coho in lower sections of the lower Kenai Peninsula roadside streams.

Beads and small spinners are key to getting into some righteous action with the dollies.

Primo cured salmon roe clusters suspended beneath a steelhead float work just fine for silvers but flashy spinners, spoons, plugs and red accented flies will also bring on the strikes.

For the best shot at some action, hit them during the early morning hours or at the mouth during the incoming tide. Combine both, if the timing is right, and hold on to your hat.

The upstream sections of the lower Kenai Peninsula roadside streams are open to sport fishing except for salmon. Don’t expect much when fishing for dollies given the low counts.

Saltwater Fishing

Kachemak Bay/Cook Inlet

Halibut

Halibut fishing remained beyond respectable last week.

The best ‘but slamming opportunities remain in the offshore locations, although some slabs have been caught closer to shore in the Upper Cook Inlet.

King and Coho Salmon

King and silver fishing remained fair last week. As with the halibut, most of the fish are coming from offshore locations.

Small troll herring or spoons behind a flasher remain the “go to” setup, but hootchies and tube flies will also attract hits.

To track down salmon at any location, try setting the gear at different depths including mid-water column and 10 feet off the bottom.

Lingcod

Expect moderate to superb fishing over the next week if the seas are in a good enough mood to let you make it out to fish along the coast from the Chugach Islands to Gore Point.

Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon

Fishing has been putting on the brakes for coho arriving at the Dudiak Lagoon. Roe under a bobber, plug-cut herring, and red accented spinners are all fine strike enhancers if you can get them to bite once the sad lot of floss-snaggers start harassing them.

Surf Fishing

Whiskey Gulch and Deep Creek are still dandy options for landing halibut from shore.

Don’t forget about fishing off the tip of the Homer Spit because angling along the beach can be a kick.

There’s plenty of cod species, tender flatfish and a few wandering salmon available, along with interesting creatures that would enjoy you as a snack if they were just a bit bigger and you turned your back.

Emergency Orders

Please review the emergency orders and advisory announcements below in their entirety before heading out on your next fishing trip.


King Salmon Restrictions in Cook Inlet Salt Waters

Rockfish Restrictions in North Gulf Coast and Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast Sport and Personal Use Razor Clam Permit Now Required

Until next week…

Nick can be reached at ncvarney@gmail.com if you have any tips, tales, tolerable lies or just want to rant about something.