Kids too young for halibut fishing?

[JP96]

We were planning to do some halibut fishing with our 8 and 11 year old boys, possibly in Whittier. My husband is now thinking we should wait a few years until they are older, since they will not be able to reel the halibut in on their own.

 

Has anyone taken kids this young and what has been your experience?

 

Thanks

[Kamloops50]

We were planning to do some halibut fishing with our 8 and 11 year old boys, possibly in Whittier. My husband is now thinking we should wait a few years until they are older, since they will not be able to reel the halibut in on their own.

 

Has anyone taken kids this young and what has been your experience?

 

Thanks

 

I would agree with your husband . Even my wife can't bring a halibut up from the bottom. I have some trouble as well. Try salmon fishing with boys instead .

[slider728]

My brother and I have been halibut fishing since we were barely walking.

 

I agree with your husband that your children will likely not be able to play a halibut by themselves, especially a sizable one. I'm not sure what the water depth is in Whittier, but where I fish, it is usually in about 300 feet of water. Pulling 10 pounds at that depth easily feels like 30, 40, or 50 at first.

 

However. if it is something your kids really want to do, then I would take them. I say this for two reasons.

 

1. Some of the coolest things I have ever seen in Alaska are out on the water. Eagles fishing, sea lions stealing fish from a stringer, whales playing, whales spraying on you, etc... IMHO, there is so much more to fishing on the ocean than catching fish. The ocean is beautiful and you see beautiful things. Are you guaranteed to see something spectacular? No, the things I can list off that I've seen is awesome, but I've been fishing the waters in SE Alaska for over 35 years. However, you aren't going to see anything you can't see at home in the hotel room.

 

2. While halibut can be difficult to play and reel in, they can also be very easy, especially the big ones. Again, I cannot comment on the waters of Whittier, but where I fish, there is usually a current with the tides. Once a halibut gets tired, all you really need to do is keep their head pointed up and the current brings them to the surface, like a dive plane on a submarine. If this were my kids out on the boat, I would play the halibut for awhile until it seems to start to tire. At that point, I'd hand off the rod to the younger ones so they can finish the job.

 

 

If the kids really don't seem into it, then I agree with your husband and just save the money and not take them halibut fishing. From my understanding, those charters aren't cheap.

Edited March 6, 2015 by slider728
Misspelling

[JP96]

Thank you to both of you for your feedback. I'm sure I could not pull in a halibut. The charters I have contacted insist on our renting a private charter for the day because of the kids. You are correct that it is quite expensive, upwards of $2000 for the day. I'm not sure if salmon fishing in Ketchikan would run about the same.

 

Perhaps we could see the same sights you are describing on a day cruise...for a lot less.

[teachatthebeach]

We have a salmon fishing charter booked in Ketchikan for about $450 for 3 of us. That includes my 10 year old daughter. It's a half-day charter.

[teachatthebeach]

Just checked and the excursion is actually closer to $650 for the 3 of us. We are using Ketchikan Fishing Charters.

[JP96]

Did you book this independently?

 

Thanks

[teachatthebeach]

Did

you book this independently?

 

Thanks

 

Yes. I booked independently.

[JP96]

Did they tell you how many people could be on the boat? Thx

[teachatthebeach]

They take up to 6 people.

[donaldsc]

We were planning to do some halibut fishing with our 8 and 11 year old boys, possibly in Whittier. My husband is now thinking we should wait a few years until they are older, since they will not be able to reel the halibut in on their own.

 

Has anyone taken kids this young and what has been your experience?

 

Thanks

 

We did a head boat halibut trip out of Homer. There were a lot more than 6 people fishing on the boat.

 

I know that it was not too expensive as I would have remembered it if the cost was anywhere near what others have said. Once my wife had hooked her fish and started to reel it in, a young boy helped her reel it in the rest of the way. He could not have been much older than 11. Your 8 year old might have a problem however.

 

DON

[mapleleaves]

Members of my family do an annual fishing trip to Sitka every June. The kids didn't tag along until they were teenagers. Killing the fish when they're brought on board seemed to gross out the younger ones.

I think the limit is down to 1 for halibut!

This company has been positively reviewed on this forum. Maybe you can find someone on your roll call to charter a boat ...$599

http://ketchikanfishing.net/index.html

[Budget Queen]

My family has been going with Ken of Northern Lights out of Ketchikan for many years, and highly recommend him. They are picky and aren't interested in going with anyone else there. It is far more frequent to catch salmon. Be certain to budget in your processing fees- since a significant priority for some is the fish. :)

[donaldsc]

Be certain to budget in your processing fees- since a significant priority for some is the fish. :)

 

Tell me about it. My wif and I caught 2 halibut each (about 20# per fish) on our Homer trip. I paid for the fishing trip, paid for the processing and paid for having them sent home by overnight FedEx. I do not want to know what that fish cost me per pound but it was delicious.

 

Funny story about getting fish home. We had a group on our boat who were from AK and they did halibut fishing regularly. The had a freezer rigged on a trailer. When they drove home, they plugged the freezer into the motel each night and it kept the fish frozen during the day until they got home.

 

DON

[greatam]

Tell me about it. My wif and I caught 2 halibut each (about 20# per fish) on our Homer trip. I paid for the fishing trip, paid for the processing and paid for having them sent home by overnight FedEx. I do not want to know what that fish cost me per pound but it was delicious.

 

Even shipping it home was probably cheaper than buying it in the store. I was in the fish market in Phoenix two weeks ago and halibut was $19.29 per pound. Even at Walmart, the frozen packaged halibut is about $16.00 per bag and I don't even know if that is a pound.

 

When my husband was still alive, every year we would do the double limit overnight fishing trip. http://www.halibutfishinghomeralaska.com/overnight_fishing_trips.htm

 

8 fish between the two of us. We kept mostly "chicken" halibut-small, 30-40 pounders-the best eating. But still yielded about 125-200# of cleaned, filleted fish. Even at $10.00 per pound, we well paid for airfare, boat trip and processing. We brought the fish home on the plane with us in either large coolers or regular styrofoam fish boxes. Can't do that if you are on a cruise, I know but if you take an extra day after your cruise, you could sure take your fish home at quite a discount on shipping.

 

To the OP-I don't think your kids are going to enjoy it much. As mapleleaves posted, killing the fish you just caught could really gross them out. And they will definitely need help pulling up the fish, even a small chicken halibut. And the price quoted is waaay, waaay, waay over the top. A 1/2 day charter (not private) most places in Alaska is about $150-160pp with most charter operators giving a slight discount for kids. So even with 4 of you at full price on a non private charter, it would only be $600+.

[Budget Queen]

Only a suggestion- for some people, with fishing mainland Alaska, eg, out of the Kenai Peninsula as example. Itinerary routing could reduce your costs, by fishing at the end of your trip, and you taking the fish home via checked baggage. Even with some added baggage costs, it could still be a savings.

 

I remember several years ago, my family- fishing like mad. We do get 6 free checked bags between my husband and I, with the fish costing nothing for "shipping". The costs were for packaging/processing however. :)

 

This is the only fish I eat. I love halibut- and when it's gone- I don't get anymore, until I'm back in Alaska. :) But my family rarely get halibut with salmon their priority. :)