I hope you don't mind if I put my 2 cents in here.

I have a friend on the Kenai who happens to be a fishing guide. I've
been up there twice a year for several years now, but my only problem is
that my kids catch bigger fish than I do. Last 4th of July my daughter
Julia, who was 6 months pregnant at the time, caught a 65# king in the
Kenai. Before that, my 10 year old daughter caught a 50# king.

My biggest was 42# and I caught that one in the nearby Kasilof River. I
actually caught 4 kings that day, all over 30#, and kept only the
female. I like the Kasilof better than the Kenai as it is much less
crowded and quiet as drift boats (no motors) are used in this shallow
river. The Kasilof also gets a very strong run of sockeye in the
summer, not to mention the steelhead and dollies that are prevalent.

Outdoors Magazine wrote:

Jen,
A friend of mine from AK sent me the following for you:
-----Original Message-----

Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 3:18 PM

Subject: Homer, Alaska vs. Valdez - for fishing and sightseeing



James:

Homer is too busy and commercialized, and the halibut fishing while 'famous'

is not as scenic..you wind up in Cook Inlet, which is murky and boring.

However, if the kings are in you can usually find a combo trip where you

fish 'butts on slack tide and troll for kings when during the rips....so the

fishing can be better, but its still a real scenic yawner (but recall that I

lived there 15 years/travel there, so that's a "locals" perspective).

Valdez is far more attractive, and while not as notorious for halibut it's

where all we "locals" went/go...stay away from the tourists on the Kenai.

Maybe fewer fish, but typically larger in Valdez. Valdez arm has no king

fishing, but if you get out into the Sound and over toward the east near the

Copper River, the king fishing is typically better than the Kenai, but with

smaller fish. Don't know where they're thinking of staying, but there are

few places in either Valdez or Homer...and at that time of the year will be

getting pretty booked up.

The ferry ride Valdez-Whittier is okay, but the ferry moves right along and

the view are "too far out" for the most part. You can go right past the

Columbia glacier and not see it if the fogs down. In Valdez, there's an

outfit called Stan Stephens charters that runs great trips around there,

used to have a smaller boat that got fairly close to the glacier (though

that was when it stuck out into the bay more), and they also have drop-off

options if you want to kayak/camp if memory serves. Also, for a less

"touristy" run, they can go from Valdez-Cordova-Whittier on the Ferry and

stay a few days to screw around Cordova, which is a pretty cool place as

you'll see way more stuff. Whittier is almost always torrential rain and

almost no visibility, so don't expect much....basically an ugly shipping

terminal/railyard surrounded by steep mountains in a narrow fjord, with

visibility typically about 500' AGL in the summer...much, much nicer in the

dead of winter as it's cold and clear, but still open water.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

Theodolphus Hekarz





--
Regards,
Philip R. Gantt
Phil's Fine Foods, Inc.
http://www.seasoned.com/
http://www.grillmates.biz/
http://www.mgfalaska.com/