Kachemak Bay (Homer) fishing conditions and tides
Alaska · Pacific coast · 17.5 ft mean tide range · 30 ppt
Tides over 17 feet, halibut grounds and the salmon-rich waters off the Homer Spit
Current conditions
Very Good
Fishing score 79/100
How this score is calculated
45°F against a 38–50°F band for pacific halibut.
Slack high at 15.8 ft, moving 0.3 ft/hr. Near slack — expect fish to reposition and the bite to pause.
6 mph out of the SW. Workable wind with useful chop.
2.4 ft at 12 seconds. Good working surf for beaches and inlets.
Good working clarity with some colour for cover.
30.06 inHg and rising.
56% illumination — neap tides with a smaller exchange.
Fall pattern is fully established for this zone.
What should I do today?
The highest-percentage pattern for this tide and this wind.
Backup pattern
King Salmon — casting spinners and spoons from the beach in 2–20 ft. The Nick Dudiak Lagoon on the Spit holds a hatchery return you can fish from the beach.
Right now
Current conditions
Tide
Slack high
15.8 ft, -0.3 ft/hr
Next high
—
Tomorrow
Next low
—
Tomorrow
Mean range
17.5 ft
Typical high-to-low swing
Water temp
45°F
-1.6°F / 3 days
Water clarity
Lightly stained
Salinity about 30 ppt
Swell
2.4 ft
12 second period
Wind
6 mph
Out of the SW
Pressure
30.06"
Rising pressure — clearing behind a front
Air temp
46°F
7% cloud cover
Moon
56%
First Quarter · solunar 12/100
Daylight
7:08 AM
Sunset 4:33 PM
Timing
Today's tides and fishing windows
- Low tide (2.7 ft) — tide change window1:28 AM – 3:28 AM
- Solunar major 25:46 AM – 7:46 AM
- Morning prime window6:43 AM – 9:28 AM
- Sunrise7:08 AM
- High tide (15.8 ft) — tide change window7:41 AM – 9:41 AM
- Low tide (1.7 ft) — tide change window1:53 PM – 3:53 PM
- Evening window2:33 PM – 5:08 PM
- Sunset4:33 PM
- Solunar major 15:46 PM – 7:46 PM
- High tide (14.8 ft) — tide change window8:06 PM – 10:06 PM
Targets
Target species in this zone
| Species | Activity | Depth | Best tide | Technique | Bait | Active temp | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Halibut | ★★★★★ | 80–300 ft | The two hours either side of slack, when you can hold bottom | Circle-hook bait rig on the bottom or a heavy jig | Herring, salmon head, octopus | 38–50°F | May through September |
| King Salmon | ★★★★☆ | 2–20 ft | Incoming tide filling the lagoon | Casting spinners and spoons from the beach | Herring, roe | 42–52°F | Late May through June |
| Silver (Coho) Salmon | ★★★★★ | 2–60 ft | Incoming tide on the beach | Casting spoons, trolling in the bay | Herring | 44–54°F | August through September |
| Lingcod & Rockfish | ★★★★☆ | 60–250 ft | Light current | Jigging heavy leadhead swimbaits | Herring | 40–50°F | July through September |
- Pacific Halibut: Feed over gravel and mud in 120–300 ft; the best drifts cover the edges of the underwater humps.
- King Salmon: The Nick Dudiak Lagoon on the Spit holds a hatchery return you can fish from the beach.
- Silver (Coho) Salmon: Return to the Spit and the bay in August, aggressive and willing to chase.
- Lingcod & Rockfish: Hold on the rock pinnacles toward the outer bay and Point Adam.
Structure
Habitat and structure that holds fish
- Deep bay flat
- Rock reef
- Glacial fjord
- Gravel beach
- Kelp
- Bluff Point
- Point Pogibshi
- Flat Island
- Homer Spit lagoon
- Halibut Cove entrance
Surf and beach notes
Exposed water in Cook Inlet builds a short, steep chop quickly on a wind-against-tide day — dangerous for small boats.
Bait in the zone
Herring for everything; salmon heads and octopus for the biggest halibut.
Patterns
Season-by-season patterns
Spring
38–44°FHalibut move shallower as the water warms; king salmon return to the Spit lagoon in late May.
Summer
50–55°FPeak season — halibut charters run daily and silvers build through August.
Fall
44–50°FSilvers peak in early September, then weather begins to limit the days you can get out.
Winter
36–40°FVery limited fishing; a handful of winter king trolling days on calm weather windows.
Outlook
7-day fishing forecast
| Day | Score | Water | Wind | Swell | First high tide | Best species | Morning window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 79Very Good | 45°F | 6 mph SW | 2.4 ft | 8:41 AM (15.8 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:43 AM – 9:28 AM |
| Tue | 87Excellent | 45°F | 11 mph NE | 3.3 ft | 9:31 AM (16.7 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:46 AM – 9:31 AM |
| Wed | 98Excellent | 44°F | 8 mph NE | 2.1 ft | 10:22 AM (17.6 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:48 AM – 9:33 AM |
| Thu | 95Excellent | 45°F | 3 mph E | 1.9 ft | 11:12 AM (18.3 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:51 AM – 9:36 AM |
| Fri | 85Excellent | 47°F | 20 mph NW | 4.1 ft | 12:02 PM (18.9 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:53 AM – 9:38 AM |
| Sat | 98Excellent | 46°F | 6 mph E | 2 ft | 12:28 AM (19.3 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:56 AM – 9:41 AM |
| Sun | 93Excellent | 46°F | 5 mph E | 2 ft | 1:18 AM (19.6 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:58 AM – 9:43 AM |
Trends
Last 7 days
Water temperature
44°F → 45°F
Wind
20 mph → 6 mph
Swell
4.7 ft → 2.4 ft
Daily score
88 → 79
Water temperature has been stable within 1°F all week, so the established fall pattern should hold.
The water
About Kachemak Bay (Homer)
Kachemak Bay has one of the largest tide ranges in North America — spring tides can exceed 25 ft from low to high. That exchange moves huge volumes of nutrient-rich water past rocky points and over the halibut flats of Cook Inlet. Homer is the launch point for halibut grounds, and the Spit itself hosts a hatchery-run king salmon fishery you can reach on foot.
Local knowledge
Expert notes
- With a 17 ft average range, launching and retrieving is a timing exercise. Note the low tide time before you leave the harbor or you will be waiting hours for water at the ramp.
- Halibut sit on the up-current edge of a hump. Anchor so your bait sits just behind the crest and let the scent trail run down-current.
- Silvers at the Fishing Hole bite hardest on the incoming, as fresh fish push into the lagoon. The dead-low period there is usually a waste of time.
Logistics
Access, ramps and launches
boat ramp
Homer Spit ramp
Main launch for the bay and the halibut grounds; huge tide swings mean checking your trailer depth.
shore
Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon
The Fishing Hole on the Spit — beach access to returning hatchery kings and silvers.
marina
Homer Harbor
Full service harbor, charters, fuel and processing.
kayak launch
Halibut Cove kayak access
Protected water across the bay, best on calm summer mornings.
Rules
Regulations
- Alaska sport fishing license required, plus a king salmon stamp for kings.
- Halibut has daily bag limits and, for charter anglers, size restrictions set annually.
- Some areas have emergency orders that close or restrict king salmon fishing mid-season.
Always verify current regulations with the relevant state wildlife agency before fishing. Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Transparency
Data sources
Where this data comes from
Conditions are modelled from each water's documented climate, structure and seasonal patterns. Modules marked “Live data integration pending” are not yet pulling from their API, so those values are clearly labelled as sample data rather than presented as real-time readings.
Weather API
PendingNOAA / National Weather Service — Air temperature, wind, cloud cover, rainfall and barometric pressure with a 7-day forecast.
Water Level & Flow API
PendingUSGS Water Services — Reservoir stage, discharge and 7-day level trend from the nearest gauge.
Water Temperature
PendingUSGS / NOAA buoys — Surface water temperature and its multi-day trend.
Tide & Current API
PendingNOAA CO-OPS — Tide predictions, current direction and speed for coastal zones.
Moon & Solunar
LiveComputed on-site — Moon phase, illumination and solunar major/minor periods are calculated from date and coordinates.
Water Clarity
PendingSatellite imagery + angler reports — Visibility estimates by lake arm, refined by submitted fishing reports.
Fishing Regulations
PendingState wildlife agencies — License, size and creel rules, linked to the official agency page for verification.
Map Data
PendingBathymetry + access point database — Depth zones, structure locations and boat ramps for the lake infographic.
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