Media Comments

Peninsula Clarion, Outdoors, Aug. 2, 2002

COMBO TRIP
by
Les Palmer

Monday, I spent several happy hours on lower Cook Inlet, fishing with four other dudes aboard the Cruiser VI, a well-equipped 29-foot Blackfin out of Homer.

Captain Steve Novakovich had wanted to fish for silver salmon near Elizabeth and Perl islands, where the silvers had been practically jumping in the boat. But big waves and an ominous weather report discouraged him from going that far south. Instead, we fished about 30 miles due west of the Homer Spit.

The Cruiser VI is my kind of boat, and Novakovich is just enough of a maverick to make things interesting. While a lot of other charter outfits fish with the old standard tuna sticks and 120-pound line, Novakovich likes to fish with relatively light tackle. Most other skippers anchor up and fish with baited circle hooks, but he likes to drift and jig, whenever possible.

On Monday, with a difference of only 15 feet between high and low tide, there wasn't too much tidal current, so drift jigging in lower Cook Inlet was possible. By using superbraid lines and using jigs of varying weights, we were able to fish the bottom at depths from 130 feet to 200 feet.

The trick to this kind of fishing is to use the lightest jig possible. There's a world of difference between repeatedly lifting 6 ounces and 12 ounces. Most of the time, we were able to find bottom with the 6-ouncers.

Novakovich likes to use a feathered, lead-head jig that's made in Florida. When the bite is slow, he adds a strip of belly meat to the hook. With bait, the fish will bite even if you're not jigging.

We didn't catch any barn doors, but that was good. No one had a Homer Halibut Derby ticket, anyhow. We just wanted a couple of eating size halibut, and that's what we caught. They weighed between 15 and 30 pounds, and they fought like tigers on that light tackle.

Having caught our limits of halibut, we spent the rest of the trip trolling for salmon with downriggers, using a green flasher ahead of a small, green hootchie.

The first few salmon were pinks, hooked at a depth of 35 feet. Nice, bright fish, those went in the fish box. No snobs aboard this boat. We then increased the depth to 70 feet and began catching silvers.

I've seen this same thing happen on Prince William Sound, where by fishing deep, you can usually avoid catching pinks. This is one of the big advantages of downriggers -- knowing where in the water column the fish are, and being able to fish that depth repeatedly.

The Cruiser VI, being a Florida boat, also has outriggers. When the bite is slow, as it usually is when king salmon are involved, Novakovich sometimes employs them. Not only do outriggers give a better spread than downriggers, but they also give the baits a more enticing action. When the boat turns, the baits on the outside of the turn speed up and rise, while the ones on the inside slow down and fall.

Monday, the bite was neither hot nor cold, but just right. About every five minutes, or so, a salmon would grab a hootchie, a rod would snap up, and whoever was watching the rods would yell, Fish! Fish! Sometimes, the fish would get off before it could be brought to the net. Usually, it ended up in the fish box.

When one of us was reeling in a salmon, the other line was left fishing. Lots of times, these saltwater salmon are in schools, and double hook-ups are fairly common, if you have two lines in the water.

The wind predicted by the marine weather reports never materialized. Running back to Homer on a following sea with a fish box full of halibut and salmon was pure pleasure.

If you haven't taken one of these combo trips, give it a try. They usually cost more, but they're almost always worth it. This time of year, it's halibut and silvers. Earlier, it's halibut and king salmon. You may never book a plain-old halibut charter again.

Les Palmer is a freelance writer who lives in Sterling.

Peninsula Clarion Kenai, Alaska Friday-Saturday, July 14-15, 2000 By Les Palmer "Not Just Another Fishing Trip"

   About once in every two or three years, I'll go on a fishing trip that's like the kind you dream about on long winter nights. Like the trip I took in June aboard the Cruiser VI, out of Homer.
    When we left the harbor that morning, the forecast was for increasing wind, but all hands were optimistic. Captain Novakovich steered toward the Anchor Point kelp beds, where the seas were calm, to troll for king salmon.
The Cruiser VI is a "6-pack" boat, licensed to carry six passengers. On that day, besides me, there were only two others, Bill Wills, and his daughter, Cinde Porter, of Granby, Colo.
   The run to the fishing grounds was sheer pleasure. The boat, a 29-foot Blackfin, was built in Florida for offshore fishing on the Atlantic. It sliced through the waves that would have had lesser craft pounding. The Cruiser VI is not your average charter boat.
   In fact not much about Novakovich's operation is average. He and his wife Roma own and operate the Emerald Pines Lodge, high on the ridge above Homer. They host 8 to 10 people at a time, usually in five day six night packages. They seem to thrive on the hard work and long hours. To watch them you'd think they were having as much fun as the guests.
   The usual method of trolling for kings is with downriggers. The Cruiser VI trolls with outriggers, seldom seen in Alaska except on commercial trollers in Southeast.
"Most people haven't seen them up here, just in places like Florida and Hawaii, "Novakovich said. " They allow us to make a great spread with our bait pattern when we fish salmon. Plus they look neat!"
   The bite was slow, but the water was calm and the conversation lively. About the time I was beginning to think no salmon would bite, on pulled the line from the starboard outrigger clip. Porter did a fine job of bringing it to the boat, a fat 22 pound king. That turned out to be the only salmon of the day, but the best was yet to come.
   After trolling for a while longer, Novakovich looked out at the inlet and decided it was calm enough to go out and fish for halibut. I silently wondered if we'd be able to get our baits to the bottom, since we were there during one of the biggest tide changes of the year. In my experience, that means a strong tidal current. I had no desire to be winching up four pounds of lead to check my bait.
   In a hour's run, we were well out in Cook Inlet, about 30 miles west of the Homer Spit. The water was almost flat. Not another boat was in sight.
   Imagine my surprise when the skipper handed out light outfits, rigged with 4-ounce jigs and a strip of herring. I couldn't believe those light jigs would ever hit the bottom, but they did. Part of the reason they did was the low water resistance of the "superbraid" line we were using. Another part was that we drifted, instead of anchoring, and the current wasn't bad in that part of the inlet. Finally, we were drifting along a hump where the average depth was only 100 feet.
    We caught halibut until our arms ached, releasing all but our limits. The bite never stopped. The fish weren't large- they averaged maybe 25 pounds - but on that light gear, they fought like tigers.
   "We're always looking for ways to make things more fun for our guests," Novakovich said. "Light tackle is definitely more fun."
   The highlight of the day came when a whole regiment of halibut swam around the boat like they were looking for a handout. Novakovich had seen this happen only once before, last summer. I had heard about that event, and had written a second hand account of it. Now I was seeing it myself. Catching those halibut would've been like shooting fish in a rain barrel, so the four of us mainly just watched, fascinated, until they disappeared into the depths. Those "bottom fish" swimming around on the surface were a sight I'll never forget. Good thing, too. I was engrossed with watching, and forgot all about photographing the event.

Les Palmer is a free-lance writer who lives in Sterling, Alaska

Anchorage Daily News
Sunday, July 16, 2000
By Craig Medford

"Hand feeding Halibut: A Tall Tale With Proof"

Once again we created a feeding frenzy with our light jigs, only this time it was so wild we were feeding the halibut by hand as they circled our boat.
Craig wrote a detailed account of the event, please let us know if you would like us to send you a free copy.

Craig Medford is the outdoors editor for the Anchorage Daily News.

"FLY FISHERS OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA" by Dave Youngblood October 2000" Fly Fishing the Kachemak Paradise Found" Please let us know if you would like a free copy.

For additional information call our toll free number 1-888-350-6204

or  Email us at Emerald Pines Lodge

Emerald Pines Lodge
P.O. Box 3087
Homer, Alaska 99603
Phone 907.235.6204
Fax 907.235.8439

Our Lodge ≈ Our Packages ≈ Request Form ≈ Photo Album
Location Map  ≈ Iliamna River ≈ Client Comments ≈ Our Boat
 Tide Tables ≈ Home