Salmon Charter Fishing Trips In Homer, Alaska

What does a typical day look like?

Salmon fishing with DeepStrike Sportfishing on the edge waters of the Gulf of Alaska is world-class.

“Like a box of chocolates...” with all five species of salmon often present at once, “...you never know what you’re gonna get!”

All five species of Pacific salmon begin their lives in rivers. Then they migrate out-to-sea to feed and grow before returning to their same rivers of origin to spawn and die.

During their time in the ocean, some salmon travel thousands of miles in search of the best feeding grounds.

Homer, Alaska’s proximity to the Gulf puts us in some of the MOST desirable salmon feeding grounds in the WORLD!

Salmon travel from as far away as Russia and California to feed in our fishing grounds before continuing roundtrip back to the rivers they were born in.

Targeting salmon on the ocean means DeepStrike fishes a ‘mixed-stock’ of fish—originating from locations all across the Northern Pacific Ocean.

Why does fishing a mixed-stock of salmon matter to our customers? It matters because it creates a “safety net” for your fishing success!

When anglers target salmon in a river — as opposed to the ocean — they are at the mercy of THAT river’s run timing, run strength, and local regulations.

At times, anglers may book a trip for a particular river — but upon arriving — find out that the run is weak, that fishing has been closed, or that the fish simply are not there yet.

By targeting mixed-stocks and mixed-species in the ocean, DeepStrike anglers avoid much of the risk associated with choosing a particular river system.

So, our guests can STILL have a great day of salmon fishing, even when local Alaskan river stocks are down, or the fish are simply “not in” the rivers yet.

Salmon-in-the-ocean are one of the world’s MOST desirable table fares, with some king salmon selling as high as $35 per pound at market.

However, as salmon get closer to their river of origin, their bodies begin to change and their reproductive systems pull fats and oils from their flesh to prepare for spawning.

Some salmon species—such as pinks and chums—are excellent to eat while in the ocean, but become almost inedible after an extended stay in the freshwater river where they will spawn.

What does a Homer salmon fishing charter experience entail? Visit our Trip Checklist to prepare for your trip.

Best Times to Fish

Salmon migrate through the area during certain windows of time, known as “runs.”

The silver salmon run is roughly July 25th – August 25th.

Migrating king salmon frequent the waters around Homer all 12 months of the year.