Homer Alaska

[Doc Highwall]

I will be leaving for Homer Alaska in two hours and will not be able to have any Wi-Fi unless I go to the McDonald's in town so my participation here will be very limited.


I am not going to return until September, helping a friend finish building a house.

But hunting and fishing will be done on a regular basis and I hope to be able to post some pictures.

Doc Highwall:D:bigsmyl2:

[Bjornb]

Doc,
enjoy your summer up there! I'll be about 1 1/2 hrs. up the road most of July, so if you want to do some Kenai River salmon fishing send me a pm.

Homer rocks, it can be difficult to extricate oneself from the Salty Dog Saloon. Ask me how I know.

[mold maker]

I've wanted to make a trip to Alaska for many years, but something always got in the way. Now old age and arthritis are perminately grounding me.
I'll be right there with ya, though in spirit only.
Have some fun for me.

[white eagle]

have a good time finishing up an the house and goofing around
sounds like a blast to me,in need of a mason??;-)
Bjorn was that you sitting in the corner?:kidding:

[1Shirt]

Spent a week on Homer Spit a few years back. Even went to a movie in a large quanset hut, with a group of Russian kids dressed in traditional Russian clothing. Sea food was outstanding, and watching the crab cages loaded onto the ships was something else.
1Shirt!

[jonp]

Alaska is on my bucket list. I had a chance to haul a load of beer up the AlCan years ago and didn't do it for some reason. Still kicking myself in the butt for that.

Have a nice summer up there and by all means take up the salmon fishing offer

[Akheloce]

Enjoy yourself in my home town... Few other places with Wifi- Spit Spots has several locations with limited bandwidth for free, or daily/ weekly plans.

[Plate plinker]

been to homer, Alaska as a whole was fabulous. Lucky bugger you are.

[tygar]

Son said Anchorage was 91 degrees today. Wonder what Homers doing? Fires all over the place. Best place to be might be on the water.

[duckey]

Been there quite a few times. Caught a nice king salmon on the fly at the Homer Hole on the spit.

[MaryB]

Figures, if it is warm in Anchorage it is cold in MN... 68 for a high today and already dropped to 52...


Son said Anchorage was 91 degrees today. Wonder what Homers doing? Fires all over the place. Best place to be might be on the water.

[RugerFan]

I should be down there next month to catch some halibut and look for a black bear. If you see a blue and silver Alumaweld on the water, give a wave.

[Doc Highwall]

I am sitting here at McDonald's at 2:44 PM and checking in, everything is great. With the fires the sunsets have been great, here is a picture from the house deck the first day I arrived about 11 PM.
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As you can see the smoke has added color to the sky.
I have taken many pictures and hope to post more later.

Today we are going to buy hunting and fishing license's, not everyone is going to hunt but everyone is going to fish.

[snowwolfe]

I used to run to Homer 3-4 times every winter to photograph eagles when Jean (the eagle lady) was still alive. Used to run to McDonalds for breakfast. Two years running I would usually see the same moose walk up to the drive thru window and someone inside would hand out a cookie to the moose. Amazing sight. Never photographed it because I always thought if the word got out McDonalds and that employee would get an ear full since it was technically illegal to feed the moose.

[Doc Highwall]

I am back to McDonald's again, not much to report but most of the Sheetrock is up on the first floor and the taping and compound will start in a few days.

[MaryB]

I HATE drywall taping and mudding! With a passion!

[edler7]

My dollar is on the wall at the Salty Dog. Celebrated a birthday there with JD shots and raw oysters for breakfast.

My best bud has lived in Homer since 1976.

[OldFogey]

My dollar is on the wall, too. Was there in 2006. Wish I was there now.

[Akheloce]

Lol John cleans the dollars off every few years

[RugerFan]

I was out in Kachemak Bay last Thur & Fri catching halibut with a buddy. We were loading them into a 100 qt cooler.

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l449/wolf913/Halibut%20in%20a%20100%20Qt%20cooler_2_zps7ij6lvqe .jpg (http://s331.photobucket.com/user/wolf913/media/Halibut%20in%20a%20100%20Qt%20cooler_2_zps7ij6lvqe .jpg.html)

Earlier in the week we were catching sockeye on the Kenai River.

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l449/wolf913/2420Jun202015_2_zpsn4aieoap.jpg (http://s331.photobucket.com/user/wolf913/media/2420Jun202015_2_zpsn4aieoap.jpg.html)

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l449/wolf913/8dce22c1-d5dd-4ecf-ab6b-1a795cf1a24a_zpsfosrh5ab.jpg (http://s331.photobucket.com/user/wolf913/media/8dce22c1-d5dd-4ecf-ab6b-1a795cf1a24a_zpsfosrh5ab.jpg.html)

I hope to be out of Homer again next month chasing after bear and catching more halibut.

[tygar]

Nice "chickens" & combat fishing on the Kenai. I know some big ones come out of there every year but I caught more & the biggest when I lived in Ketchikan. Actually caught my biggest about 200 yds out of the marina where I kept my boat at N. Pt. Higgins.

It doesn't matter where your at in AK the fishing is great!

[MaryB]

Doesn't matter where in the world you are fishing is great! Because it beats being indoors or working!

[2wheelDuke]

Have fun. I'd love to visit Alaska one of these days. Maybe next summer.

[Plate plinker]

How do Alaskans get anything thing done with all the fishing and hunting in the way?

[tygar]

Since its light until 1 or 2am, you go fishing after work & then find a nice hidey hole at work the next day & sleep. Or be the boss & call in a fishing day!

[4719dave]

Well, that's a place im die to go to ...Might have to send the wife off with the youngest to rome and me and the little red neck in the house do some fishing ,your so lucky ..have fun be safe .

[Doc Highwall]

Well it is Sunday again and back at McDonald's for breakfast and catching up on e-mails. the whole down stairs apartment is sheet-rocked and taped and has the mud finished sanded, the bedroom is panted and just needs the wood work done.

Having a real shower in the house makes a real difference then the one in the camper, also the laundry room is finished and we have already done the wash, feels great to have a lot of clean stuff to wear and only a small dirty pile.

The boat was worked on yesterday and we will be out fishing today with it.

I will check back next Sunday with a update.

[Bad Water Bill]

PICTURES PICTURES

It ain't happening if there ain't any purdy pikchers.:bigsmyl2:

[Doc Highwall]

This is me on the left, with Nate my friends next door neighbors kid that is helping to build the house after fishing on the end of the Homer Spit.

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[starmac]

How do Alaskans get anything thing done with all the fishing and hunting in the way?

Contrary to popular belief, hunting seasons are pretty short here, except bear in this area which is year round.
Also contrary to popular belief, Alaska, while it does have great hunting opurtunities, it has low game densities, compared to most states in the lower 48.
Fishing is also great and out of this world, but if you are talking salmon it is only during the runs, and our daily limits suck big time if you fish for a food source. Living in the interior, if you want to fill your freezer, the best way is to hit the dipnetting areas, where you can actually keep enough fish to make it worth the drive.
We have a local lake system here that has some out of this world pike fishing. There is a five fish limit though, and because of the time it takes to get to the fishing holes, you really need to camp for a day or two, or week. lol Even if you camp for a few days, you can still only bring 5 fish back, because of possession limits, which also sucks.

We have great trophy fishing and hunting, but it is not like you can do it anytime you get the chance, you have to try and balance your fishing trips with the runs, which can be a pain if you have to work for a living. I have driven 400 miles before, just to find out that the run was over 2 days ago, which meant it went from GREAT fishing (when I was working) to wetting a line 2 days later. lol

[bearcove]

+1 I quit hunting cause it was usually while I was fishing. I took some of the neighbor kids up river in my boat I fished Silvers or Kings while they went moose hunting.

Get back home clean my fish, wake up in morning with a cooler full of moose sitting on my ADN!

[bearcove]

If you won the lottery you could hit a lot of stuff!

[Akheloce]

Speaking for myself, from Homer specifically-

Ocean fishing is doable after work, but plan on it being a late night... If you don't have a slip, the rigamorol of the boat launch takes awhile. During the weekend, forget it. The Anchoraguans (people from Los Anchorage) clog up the small boat harbor.

During hunting season- which for us usually means moose season, there are a lot of people, and little acreage accessible by land. I have a place that's 30 miles out of town, 9 miles from the road. During moose season, there are LITERALLY traffic jams on the trails with ATV's.

In order to have a perceived "Alaskan Experience" you really need an airplane, and several weeks a year off work.

Very little of Alaska is not owned by the Feds, and even less is able to be gotten to by land.

[Plate plinker]

@starmac
My dads school friend has a brother in law up in Fairbanks. I know he could catch grayling out in the bush at his lodge. Do you have better opportunity hitting the small water fishing too?

[MaryB]

Your seasons are long compared to here! Deer season here is only a week long for example!


Contrary to popular belief, hunting seasons are pretty short here, except bear in this area which is year round.
Also contrary to popular belief, Alaska, while it does have great hunting opurtunities, it has low game densities, compared to most states in the lower 48.
Fishing is also great and out of this world, but if you are talking salmon it is only during the runs, and our daily limits suck big time if you fish for a food source. Living in the interior, if you want to fill your freezer, the best way is to hit the dipnetting areas, where you can actually keep enough fish to make it worth the drive.
We have a local lake system here that has some out of this world pike fishing. There is a five fish limit though, and because of the time it takes to get to the fishing holes, you really need to camp for a day or two, or week. lol Even if you camp for a few days, you can still only bring 5 fish back, because of possession limits, which also sucks.

We have great trophy fishing and hunting, but it is not like you can do it anytime you get the chance, you have to try and balance your fishing trips with the runs, which can be a pain if you have to work for a living. I have driven 400 miles before, just to find out that the run was over 2 days ago, which meant it went from GREAT fishing (when I was working) to wetting a line 2 days later. lol

[leadman]

The population here in Az. was just over 1 million when we moved here in 1981. Now there are almost 4 million in the "valley", phoenix metro area.
Took me over 30 years to get drawn for an antelope tag here. Have gotten probably over 15 elk so no complaints there.
Just this week the game and fish released info on mercury in our favorite lake to fish. Think this was the last of the warm water lakes to get this warning. Most of the cold water lakes also have it. They say to limit consumption to 2.3 ounces a week.

I would like to visit Alaska and do some ocean and stream fishing. Cold really bothers me now so may not happen.

Glad Doc is having a good time and not working too hard. Nice when your friends are around to share the load and just bs with. Keep up the good work.

[starmac]

Leadman, I wouldn't turn down an Alaskan trip because cold bothers you just yet.
I had given up the thought of living in Alaska because authritus was getting tough in New Mexico winters.
I was Hauling loads back and forth from the lower 48, and remarked to my wife, that I didn't remember any trouble, so I paid attention the next trip. Temps were down as low as 30 below, and no authritus problems.
It is hard to explain, but the cold here feels different, it is not at all uncommon to run around in shirt sleeves in the 40's even down to the high 30's, where I would be suited up in my warmest gear down south.

Mary I wasn't thinking deer, as we do not even have them in the interior, soooo no season at all for us. Moose is our main hunting season, and is 2 weeks in most units, we do have a winter hunt you can get a permit for in some units if you don't fill your tag in the regular season though.
Our local caribou season goes by quota numbers, and might be as long as 3 days, or as short as one day.
Up north, there is longer caribou seasons.

[tygar]

Wellll now, guess I need to jump in. After living in AK for various parts of 4 decades & having moved out because of the cold, I can say from my view point it can get cold & it can really suck!

When I lived in Ketchikan & Wasilla we had the ocean effect & it could very much have the Eastern US bone chilling effect. But! no where near as cold as FBs & the interior where it is very dry.

I have spent lots of time in the dead of winter in FBs, Bethel, Kotzebue etc & when it's 0 or 20 below or just pick a temp & the wind is blowing sideways, it reallllly sucks!

Now after saying that, it is no colder than living in Eastern Oregon, Montana, Wyoming etc when it's cold there.

The BIG difference is it lasts a LOT longer!

Starmac is right on about shirt sleeves at 40 or 50 & a light windbreaker in the 20s (as long as the wind isn't blowing).

It can also be "warm" right up till Xmas. I can remember years when we were out on our training field in Kincaid park doing bite work with the dogs & sweating our azes off in November & into Dec with temps in the 40s.

I can also remember 40 days straight from 0 to 40 below in Nov/Dec & 5' of snow in Oct.

I also know I would never have left if I hadn't of gotten sick & couldn't take the cold any more. There is no better place to live. From rain forest in the SE to tundra in the N, it is a amazing land.

As far as hunting & fishing goes you need a boat or plane to really access the remote areas & escape the combat fishing & road warrior hunters & the 4 wheelers off the road system.

Even though you have that, you can still hunt locally & do OK. I killed a nice moose off my 4 wheeler 1/2 mile from my place in Wasilla & have got bear & moose by boat hunting the Little Su, Big Su, Deshka etc. In Ketchikan you almost had to have a boat to do anything & the same thing applied. With my boat I caught halibut to 175#, 40# kings, tons of silvers & reds, moose & bear, black tails & had goats not far away. (to lazy to hunt them)

Great place but winters are cold!

[Akheloce]

Oh yeah, and the ground shakes quite a bit up here... Just had a 6.2 about 15 minutes ago

[starmac]

@starmac
My dads school friend has a brother in law up in Fairbanks. I know he could catch grayling out in the bush at his lodge. Do you have better opportunity hitting the small water fishing too?

Grayling fishing can be out of this world in some of the streams, even way up north, we have good pike fishing too, at times the salmon fishing can be good. The salmon are not the best eating by the time they get this far inland though, nothing like closer to the ocean.
We have great fishing and hunting, just not what folks that read about it in the magazines think. The things you read about are true, but they are expensive fly in hunts, that the average local does not go on. Our whole state only has less year round roads than most big cities down south, probably 90% or better is not accessable by road. Where my SIL hunts, they take a rollagon 105 miles from the nearest road, they burn as much as 2 thousand bucks worth of fuel. lol Many boat hunters start out with 400 gallons of gas to get to there camp and back, this is in the interior, down on the coast the boats can carry lots of fuel. lol

I'm cheap, my boat is a 17 foot canoe, with a 15 horse, I can't go the distances the air boats go, but can get away from most folks with it, on the cheap.
There are also places to get away with four wheelers, and even better with argos, without spending a small fortune.

[MaryB]

Moose here is a lottery system and often closed a lot of years. Deer, bear would be the main game animals in MN as far as eating goes.


Leadman, I wouldn't turn down an Alaskan trip because cold bothers you just yet.
I had given up the thought of living in Alaska because authritus was getting tough in New Mexico winters.
I was Hauling loads back and forth from the lower 48, and remarked to my wife, that I didn't remember any trouble, so I paid attention the next trip. Temps were down as low as 30 below, and no authritus problems.
It is hard to explain, but the cold here feels different, it is not at all uncommon to run around in shirt sleeves in the 40's even down to the high 30's, where I would be suited up in my warmest gear down south.

Mary I wasn't thinking deer, as we do not even have them in the interior, soooo no season at all for us. Moose is our main hunting season, and is 2 weeks in most units, we do have a winter hunt you can get a permit for in some units if you don't fill your tag in the regular season though.
Our local caribou season goes by quota numbers, and might be as long as 3 days, or as short as one day.
Up north, there is longer caribou seasons.

[MaryB]

I would take a pike over any of the salmon species any day!


Grayling fishing can be out of this world in some of the streams, even way up north, we have good pike fishing too, at times the salmon fishing can be good. The salmon are not the best eating by the time they get this far inland though, nothing like closer to the ocean.
We have great fishing and hunting, just not what folks that read about it in the magazines think. The things you read about are true, but they are expensive fly in hunts, that the average local does not go on. Our whole state only has less year round roads than most big cities down south, probably 90% or better is not accessable by road. Where my SIL hunts, they take a rollagon 105 miles from the nearest road, they burn as much as 2 thousand bucks worth of fuel. lol Many boat hunters start out with 400 gallons of gas to get to there camp and back, this is in the interior, down on the coast the boats can carry lots of fuel. lol

I'm cheap, my boat is a 17 foot canoe, with a 15 horse, I can't go the distances the air boats go, but can get away from most folks with it, on the cheap.
There are also places to get away with four wheelers, and even better with argos, without spending a small fortune.

[Doc Highwall]

Well it is Sunday again and just checking in, I am wearing a short sleeve shirt and sun glasses. I am leaving to go fishing now, see you next Sunday.

[Bad Water Bill]

Pictures Pictures

It ain't happening if there ain't pictures of your progress on that log cabin in the wilds of Alaska.[smilie=s:

[Doc Highwall]

Bill, I will take a picture if the house and post it. All the pictures I have taken have very large files at 16 megapixels so when I get back to CT. I will down size some and post them here. I am only here at MacDonald's looking for a flight out of Homer to Anchorage today. Well the flight is booked now and now it is time to go fishing again, I will get back to you on Sunday hopefully.

[Doc Highwall]

Well here is a picture of the house I am helping to build.
146773

I went fishing and caught a sea monster!
146774
It is a Wolf eel, ugly ad was about 4-1/2 feet long.

[Plate plinker]

Nice house, I hear those wolf ell are wicked.

[Akheloce]

What's the bait you're using in that wolf eel pic?

[Akheloce]

What's that bait you're using in that wolf eel pic?

[Bad Water Bill]

Where are the pictures of the log cabin you are supposed to be building for your blushing bride?[smilie=s:

[hithard]

that's a piece of salmon, most likely sockeye.

[Akheloce]

that's a piece of salmon, most likely sockeye.

That's what I was afraid of.

[Doc Highwall]

It is a piece of Red Salmon that was used. I also caught three Red Irish Lords with the same piece before I caught the sea monster off Yukon island in the bay.

I am in Seldovia on a black bear hunt now, hope to get one.

[Akheloce]

It is a piece of Red Salmon that was used. I also caught three Red Irish Lords with the same piece before I caught the sea monster off Yukon island in the bay.

I am in Seldovia on a black bear hunt now, hope to get one.

Unless you bought the salmon at Safeway, you broke the law.

Before going out fishing again, read the regs. Lower right corner of page 7 is the paragraph in talking about.

The book is free.

[waksupi]

Unless you bought the salmon at Safeway, you broke the law.

Before going out fishing again, read the regs. Lower right corner of page 7 is the paragraph in talking about.

The book is free.
Are the regs different for different areas? I have two friends that have been up there for a week with an outfitter catching salmon.

[Akheloce]

There are different regs for different regions, but this one is a statewide. Catching salmon is not the issue. Using it for bait is.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static-f/regulations/fishregulations/PDFs/southcentral/2015SCsouthcentralregionalregulations.pdf

Illegal methods and means here is a pretty big deal. Kinda up there with spotlighting deer in the lower 48.

[Buck Neck It]

I use red salmon for halibut bait, it works great. I go down to the local fish processor and get a bucket of heads and racks from the filleting line. The collars stay on the hook particularly well, but any part of the carcass will catch halibut and black cod, or spot prawns. This is perfectly legal.

[Akheloce]

I use red salmon for halibut bait, it works great. I go down to the local fish processor and get a bucket of heads and racks from the filleting line. The collars stay on the hook particularly well, but any part of the carcass will catch halibut and black cod, or spot prawns. This is perfectly legal.

Sure, heads and waste are legal, but in the pic, that was obviously edible meat.

[bearcove]

Yeah, unless you call belly meat waste. My favorite smoked served over pasta. Looks like someone should read the regs.

[bearcove]

The charter boats cut it off and toss it when they clean fish, so is it waste?

[Akheloce]

The reg says "heads, tails and viscera" may be used. Viscera is :

Anatomy, Zoology. the organs in the cavities of the body, especially those in the abdominal cavity.

So, the term I used (waste) was too generic. If it is muscle tissue, as used in the pic above, it is not legal, regardless of what a charter guy does with it.

The belly meat makes great sashimi btw.

[bearcove]

I love to smoke it on al foil dump all that belly fat and meat on, well anything you like...

[bearcove]

Yeah not waste.

[Bad Water Bill]

Looks like we have an undercover GAME WARDEN on our site.

[Doc Highwall]

The fish was filleted and the tail was used as bait. We were fishing for halibut but that is what I caught.
We did catch some flounder and had them for dinner that night.

[Buck Neck It]

Yep, wanton waste is a crime that can lead to a very unpleasant interaction with the State Trooper and the magistrate.

However, you should work for a week at a salmon cannery during peak run before you get too preachy. See what happens when thousands of dead fish are unloaded all at once and overwhelm the place.

I smoke the bellies and collars from salmon that I personally catch, also make soup from some of my king salmon and halibut heads (really good stuff, by the way). But I am not about to eat anything I get out of the cannery reduction tote!

[WILCO]

http://imghumour.com/assets/Uploads/Lets-Bump.jpg

[Bad Water Bill]

http://imghumour.com/assets/Uploads/Lets-Bump.jpg

Not again?

That is the 1,000,000 time today you have posted the same picture of your kitty katz.[smilie=s:

[Doc Highwall]

Today is my last day in Alaska, I am sitting in a McDonald's in Homer catching up on my e-mails and then I go home to finish packing my flight leaves at 3:50PM to Anchorage. It was a great trip of 10 weeks and I hope to post more pictures after I get home and have a WiFi connection 24/7 instead of having to come here at McDonald's.

[4719dave]

Thanks we've in joyed your vac too .Have to make it there before they bury me its on the list ..

[starmac]

Well after 10 weeks, I am suprised you are going home at all. lol The first time I came up, I stayed a month, and just about had to be bribed to leave, come to think of it I was bribed. lol

[RugerFan]

FWIW: "Pink salmon taken in a sport fishery may be used as bait, but are part of your bag limit."

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/fishregulations/PDFs/southcentral/2015SCcookinletsaltwaters.pdf

[Doc Highwall]

Here is a picture that I took from the deck of the house of Mount Iliamna.
148442

[smoked turkey]

Boy what a trip and what a place. I have also enjoyed the status reports. The wife and I would love to do it but we may have waited too long. So I say to you young pups do it while you can and have the time and stamina to do it up right.

[starmac]

Smoked turkey, we don't have an age limit up here.
Come on up, and cruise around the state on your own, the bus tours are hard on people with their asinine schedules.

[Doc Highwall]

Here is another picture of the sea monster.
148680