Roe's Fishing Charter
Ninilchik, AK

Today was my venture out 20 miles into the wild waters! As I tagged along on Roe's Fishing Charter, we were in search of halibut. I have joined the Buckmaster family from Lansing, Iowa to vicariously enjoy their adventures!

The captain of our 30' boat today was Richie Roe, with Christy along as first mate. And let me tell you, these folks kept busy the whole time! The boat itself will hold 6 additional passengers and everything was spotless. As we arrived at the launch and climbed into the boat, Mike (who doesn't exactly have "sea" legs!) and Lexxus took off to explore the area around Ninilchik, and get us checked in at Creekside Inn. This fishing review had been set up for us by the Creekside Inn.

Since I have never been on a fishing charter, this was a unique experience for me and I want to thank the Roes and the Buckmasters for allowing me share their day. It was a pleasure to see this family....Joey and Raleigh, Dom (junior in high school), Owen (freshman in college) and Drew (just graduated from college)....enjoying a family vacation together. It's quite unusual these days to see a complete family unit who actually like each other! It was quite refreshing.

The water was relatively smooth on our way out to select a fishing spot. Richie stopped a couple of times to "test the waters" and finally selected a spot with a fabulous view of the mountains in the distance. He explained to me about the tides and that since they would be fishing at about 280 feet, we had to wait about 20 minutes until there was not such a strong undertow at the bottom (at least I think that's what I understood!)

The Buckmasters had fished with Richie just a couple of days before and were limited on the amount of fish they could carry back with them. So, it was agreed that they would release any halibut larger than about 40 pounds. Christy explained that the larger fish are the ones that are reproducing. In addition, the meat in the smaller halibut has a finer texture. She said that if their fishermen are not actually going to keep the meat from a larger fish, that they encourage them to release them rather than just have a huge fish for show. I thought this was a very eco-minded attitude and applaud their concern. Richie Roe has been fishing these waters all his life and seems very attuned to protecting the environment and ensuring that fishing will remain available for a long time to come.

The first fish of the day was about a 40 pound halibut and caught within minutes by Dom! As I watched this strong young man struggle to get that fish up from 280 feet, I was glad that I was an observer! It most likely would have pulled the pole right from my hands before I even got started! This fishing looked like hard work!

Each of the Buckmasters had caught at least one, if not their limit of 2, when Drew hooked a big one! It turned out to be about 110 pounds by Richie & Christy's reckoning and it took a long time to reel that one in from the bottom! After we got photos and admired the catch, Richie tried for several minutes to free the hook, but eventually ended up cutting the line to release it. He explained that the hook would dissolve in a couple of days and the fish would be as good as new.

The Roe's will keep a charter out as long as possible until all the fishermen have had a chance to catch their limit and after about 6 hours, it was time for us to return. We approached the launch, where a tractor actually drives down the beach to retrieve the boat, and our adventure was nearly over. We returned to the Charter home base and the fish were hung up for a photo shoot. Christy then presented us with a couple of halibut fillets to take along. She wanted to give us more, but the freezer space in the Eagle is quite limited! But, we appreciated the fillets and will save them to share with Mike's Dad when we return to South Carolina later this year.

Raleigh, Owen, Joey, Dom and Drew Buckmaster

These are great folks to have for fishing guides....they do all the messy work, were always there to help out, are extremely knowledgeable and made the trip very enjoyable. As I looked around at the other boats both in the water and launching or returning, I think that the boats from Roe's Fishing Charters were some of the best looking ones there! So, when planning your fishing trip on the Kenai Peninsula, consider stopping at Ninilchik on your way to Homer and contact the Roe's! Visit their Website, make your reservations (both boats are full nearly every day during the summer!) and be sure to tell them that Cruising America sent you their way!