First of all, Anchorage is Alaska’s nearest city. From there you are only a 15 minute drive from Alaska.
The biggest thing to consider when planning your fishing is timing. All the fishing places mentioned have their time of year to go. So be very careful every time someone suggests a place to you. They may have had a great trip, but at a different time of year – and a couple weeks can make a huge difference! You mentioned coming in early to mid June. The upper Kenai River doesn’t open to salmon fishing
until June 11[SUP]
th[/SUP]
. The lower river is open to fishing, however the vast majority of the early run (June) fish are heading for the Russian (upper river). If coming
after July 10[SUP]
th[/SUP], then I would fish the lower river for Kenai River pigs. The upper river is a zoo the first and usually the second week(end) it is open so prepare yourself. It won’t be your quiet Alaska experience – it will make
4[SUP]
th[/SUP]
of July at government bay seem like a ghost town. But the fishing can be unreal and fighting sockeye in the fast Kenai River on an 8wt is one of my favorite things in the world. Here is a link to the historic timing:
https://adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/index.cfm?ADFG=main.displayResults pray for another year like 2019! It was UNREAL! Keep in mind while looking at that chart that the weir is up the Russian River. Those fish would be fishable in the upper Kenai River 2-4 days before they are actually counted.
Saltwater salmon fishing is going to be tough in June. Seward is great for salmon fishing once the coho move in about the second week of July. In June you may pick up a king or something moving into a bay but it will be pretty spotty anywhere near port in June.
I am unimpressed with Homer. The only conclusion I can come up with is that they must have the absolute best tourism and marketing people in probably the world. It’s out of the way and for the “Halibut capital of the world,” I wouldn’t even put it in my top ten places to fish for halibut in Alaska. I’m still sold on Ninilchik for halibut. The boat ride is short and there are plenty of fish. The only thing that it lacks is scenery – as mentioned, Seward is pretty unreal. I would say that if you really wanted to fish for salmon in the saltwater, Ninilchik is also your best bet. They troll along the bluffs and pick off chinook that are moving up the inlet into the Kenai and Kasilof. If you really want to go to Homer, it’s only an hour or so from Ninilchik. Also, the Kasilof is probably your best bet if you want to catch a freshwater chinook. Be very weary and do your homework – the Chinook regulations change by the day and it is a feast or famine type of fish right now.
I would go to Seward, but I don’t think I would fish there in June. As mentioned, Coho move in mid july and Ling Cod doesn’t open
until July 1[SUP]
st[/SUP]
. Those are the two big things Seward has going for it (besides the scenery). To reach fish in June you will be traveling by boat 2-3 hours total and the cost is probably double that of Ninilchik.
I would fish the upper Kenai mid week for sockeye, fish halibut out of Ninilchik (and ask about trolling for kings), and then maybe do one of the tourist boats for whales and glaciers out of Seward.
Be aware of the scale of the map when planning your trip. Denali is a 5 hour drive north of Anchorage. Homer is a 5 hour drive south. That is with no traffic and no stops. So going to Denali will cost you two days of just driving. Keep in mind that Denali is only in view about 10% of the time during the summer. I haven’t seen it for two months. It’s a pretty uneventful place if you can’t see the mountain.
The drive north of Palmer to the Matanuska glacier is worth it. It takes about 1.5 hours and then you can access the glacier by foot. It’s pretty unreal. And at this rate, the opportunity probably won’t be there to walk on that glacier in 10 years.
Good luck with your trip planning
