Homer Halibut Fishing Charters Alaska Ocean Pros — Local services in Homer

We went on a bear watching tour from Homer Harbor to Chinitna Bay in Lake Clarke National Park with Alaska Ocean Pros on July 4. We booked the tour in March. Our capatain was Jimmy and our first mate was Sam. Departure was scheduled for noon. There were 4 other people on the boat with us. Originally there was supposed to be a full boat, but two parties didn't show up. Jimmy tried to called them, but got no answer.

The day was pretty windy so we had a very rough 2-hour ride over the Cook Inlet. Jimmy was very active in navigating over the swells and cutting the throttle to avoid pounding. The views on the ride were amazing. We could see Mounts Iliana a and Augustine (two volcanoes) very clearly. We saw a number of sea otters near Homer and lots of sea birds (Sam told us what kind, but I forget. Possibly Murres).

When we arrived at the bay we were dropped off at a bear viewing site. Jimmy pulled the boat very close to shore and lowered the ramp. Sam added a gangplank to the ramp so we could walk ashore with dry feet. Jimmy stayed in the boat offshore and Sam went with us (you are not allowed to have bear spray). It was a short walk to the first bear viewing station. There were two sows (one with one cub and one with another) who were pretty close to the viewing area. They seemed to mostly ignore us, but did move a little farther away as we were there. There were a total of 13 bears visible in the meadow. I have a full-frame camer and a 400 mm lens with a 1.4x extender and was able to get some nice bear pictures, though not has exciting as if they had been chasing salmon.

After a while, Jimmy picked us up and moved us to another viewing area. At that area there was one sow with 2 cups close to us and another bear in the distance. This one wasn’t quite as close as at the first viewing site. We walked to a 3rd site and saw another bear, but farther away. We were at the 3 viewing sites a total of a little less than 2 hours. We saw 2 other groups, I think staying at Bear Lodge who traveled in a bus on the beach, at the later 2 viewing areas. Sam told us they would have to wait for low tide to go to the 1st area we visited because their bus had to stay on the beach and there was private land in between.

The ride back was similar to the ride there. My wife often gets motion sick. She took Antivert (OTC meclizine) before both trips and was fine. I wasn’t the least bit sick and it never felt unsafe, but the ride wasn’t pleasant. We had to stay in the cabin to avoid getting wet, and I couldn’t take pictures on the trip.

It was a fantastic trip and well worth the two hour trip each way. The crew was great and I would highly recommend...

I went on the Casino boat with Capt Gabe and Guide Brit. This is not a photography boat trip but rather a zippy full throttle airborne water taxi. Brit was a young guy but extremely knowledgeable about bears and I felt very safe along his guides through the viewing points. He was a fountain of knowledge with all sorts of things and very attentive to all 14 passengers making sure we stayed together and we're having a good time. Capt Gabe was personable and fun, my only complaint would be he was on his phone texting over and hour each way until we lost reception. I felt his attention was a little distracted but he got us to and from in one piece. This is not a photography boat ride, we went very fast and even in smaller swells you could not safely be outside the cabin to take pics so we all remained inside, it felt like we were pressed for time and zipping along. Gabe did stop for a few minutes on our way back to the harbor so we could snap some otter pics which was nice. I think it depends on your intentions on how you will like this trip. If you get seasick take your dramamine, I grew up on boats so do not get sick but I can tell you with the speed and maybe 2-4ft swells (not crazy) we caught a lot of air and it was very jolting and bumpy. I think for the nearly $800 after fees and tips I will spend the extra bit and take a larger slower cruise or fly in to a park next time so I don't feel so rushed and...

This was our second and third trip with Alaska Ocean Pros. Long range halibut day 1 and Bear viewing day 2. We are from Pennsylvania (family of 4). Chartering with Alaska Ocean Pros was our driving force! We love fishing with this crew! Bear viewing was the icing on the cake. Fishing was amazing, the conditions were amazing! Many fish were caught (even by our 2 and 4 year old). We landed lots of halibut, cod and sculpins. Gabe was our captain and Sam/Gabe Jr were our deck hands. The guys were on point with all things fishing and extremely personable! Gabe runs a tight ship and always has a way of finding the best employees, including his son Gabe Jr who is probably the most impressive 12 year old deck hand out there! Bear viewing was awesome as well! We saw a ton of bears, the weather was against us (it's Alaska, don't ever depend on the weather). We saw bears up close on the shore and on foot. We saw bears in the distance with some beautiful scenery. Again a wonderful experience for all ages! The kids loved seeing the cubs playing on the shore! Jimmy was our captain and Sam was our bear guide, we also met Brit on the island from the other boat the Joker. All awesome people with tons of knowledge and so helpful at all times. Thanks again for the 2 awesome trips and the Alaskan hospitality! We...