Guided & Self-Guided Halibut Fishing
Fishing The Inside Passage: Protected Waters and Faster Runs to the Halibut Grounds
The Halibut fishing around Ketchikan is phenomenal. Large tides, mass bait fish, and huge schools of migrating salmon and cod provide an abundance of food for the giant flatfish to feed on.
What sets Ketchikan apart as a halibut fishing destination? Simply put, its geographic location. Ketchikan is located in what Alaskans call “the inside,” referring to the Inside Passage. The inside passages and islands around Ketchikan give protection from the wind and large swells of the open ocean. These protected waters allow you to get to the fishing grounds faster, increase fishing opportunity, and make fishing much more enjoyable. The prime halibut fishing grounds are just a 30-45 minute run from our lodge. The many islands around Ketchikan mean we can run in any direction to stay out of foul weather while still finding fish.
Guided Halibut Fishing:
The easiest way to hook into one of these heart-pounding, arm-wrenching behemoths. Our guided trips put you on the water for a full 8-10 hour day and take place within a 40-mile radius from the lodge. Most of the fishing is done within an hour’s ride of the dock. Most of our halibut fishing is done from anchor at depths ranging from 150 ft – 350 ft. Slack water, small tides, and good weather also provide opportunities to drift fish. We catch our halibut using several different techniques, including bait fishing with circle hooks, jig fishing, and mooching. We rarely use more than 32 oz of weight to stay on-bottom.
Self-Guided Halibut Fishing:
Can be done within a 30-45 minute ride from the lodge in our 21’–23′ aluminum boats. The GPS plotter, fish finder, nautical charts, and species identification sheets included with the boat will assist you in your search for halibut. Our dockhands will suggest places for you to safely fish based on weather, tides, and recent catch rates. Our self-guided fishing trips include halibut rods, a gaff hook, a fish club, a large shark hook, and a halibut harpoon to help wrestle the big ones aboard.
Decoding Halibut Markings
What the Red Rash and Color Clues Tell Anglers
In the summer, Southeast Alaska halibut hang out in several different sea bed types, but the one thing they all have in common is food. Halibut eat crab, shrimp, cod, herring, squid, octopus, salmon, etc.—they are truly the pigs of the sea. Halibut travel the inside waters through channels, up canals, and into shallow bays searching for food.
Halibut seem to prefer sandy or gravely bottoms, but you will also find them around pinnacles, rock piles, mud bottoms, and shorelines amongst schools of herring and salmon.
Halibut Color, Camouflage, and Markings
Halibut are somewhat of a chameleon, as the dark side of their body will take on the colors of the bottom they frequent, giving them perfect halibut camouflage to surprise their prey. An olive green, brown, and tan spotted pattern most likely means a gravely bottom, while a dark brown shaded fish is probably hanging out in the mud. This variation is the key to understanding halibut color depending on habitat.
The white underside of a halibut helps hide young fish from predators looking upwards. If you fish for halibut long enough, you’re bound to encounter one with red markings on the white side. These marks might look like red dots or scuff marks resembling a rash, but they are actually a key clue: this halibut marking means the fish has been on the move and is actively migrating.
Our Location Is Prime
We have the best launch site in Ketchikan, giving you access to fishing grounds just minutes from our dock! Located on the north end, 20 miles from downtown Ketchikan, you will be fishing the waters of Clover Passage, Behm Canal, East Prince of Wales Island, and other areas along the Inside Passage.
