Introducing the Irish Mist, My New Charter Fishing Boat in Homer, Alaska

Irish Mist halibut fishing in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Hasting Franks 2016.
Irish Mist eight-person charter halibut fishing in Homer, Alaska. Book for summer 2025 with North Country Charters! Photo by Hasting Franks.

Fun Fact: When I first showed up in Homer, Alaska I didn’t even know what a halibut was. (*gasp*) I know, it’s blasphemy to show up in the “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World” and not know much about this world-class fish. But it didn’t take long to get me in the loop.

Within 48 hours of arriving in town I was out on a charter fishing boat catching my first halibut. That captain even offered me a summer job (thanks Daniel!), and as they say, “the rest is history.”

I went on to deckhand on several charter boats and spent winters commercial fishing in Alaska and Oregon before graduating from deckhand to captain status. Fast forward another 8 years (another *gasp* — it’s hard to believe it’s been so long!) and I’m here at another milestone.

I’d like to introduce the Irish Mist, my new halibut charter fishing boat in Homer, Alaska.


BOOK NOW for summer 2025!
North Country Charters
www.northcountrycharters.com
907-235-7620


I am more than excited to get out on the water, catch some fish, and keep doing what I love to do. I hope you’ll join me!

Tips and Mistakes Spearfishing Whitefish on the Chatanika River near Fairbanks

Spearfishing whitefish on the Chatanika River, September 2023. Photo by Clay Duda.
Spearfishing whitefish on the Chatanika River near Fairbanks, Alaska, September 2023. Photo by Clay Duda.

I didn’t even know what a freshwater “whitefish” was when I applied for a permit to spearfish them. I’ve lived in Alaska for 7 years now and never drawn a tag. I’ve put in for moose and mountain goat and Kodiak elk and a bunch of other things with no luck. So I figured my chances of getting a whitefish tag was slim to none.

Then, in August, I got an email back from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game awarding my first ever Alaska draw tag: to spearfish whitefish in the Chatanika River near Fairbanks. Me and my friend Dan were the only 2 people on the Kenai Peninsula to earn a tag.

That Time We Caught a 100-Pound Halibut Hooked in the Tail

Two very happy anglers holding their catch aboard the Storm Petrel in spring 2020.

A light, icy breeze blew down Cook Inlet at we headed out of Homer, Alaska in the spring of 2020. The cloud ceiling was high, but the air was still filled with a grey morning light. A slight chop rippled the smooth, deep green ocean water as we throttled down in a thicket of kelp blooms north of Homer.

Fishing those areas can often be slow, but the fish are usually plump and healthy, and sometimes there are lunkers cruising the shallows looking for an easy meal.

It was early morning, maybe 7:30 a.m., when I threw anchor over the side of the Storm Petrel in just 30 feet of water. The stern of the boat pointed south with the gentle pull of an outgoing tide. My guys took their rods and dropped bait to the bottom — it didn’t take long to get down.

Rena’s Photos from Fishing on the Diamond Cape — Fall 2022

Biting the 'but aboard the Diamond Cape. Photo by <a href=
Capt. Clay on a rainy day. Fishing on the Diamond Cape, September 2022. Photo by Rena Spears www.countrysinnovationnation.com.

I won’t lie, when you fish every day, well, the days start to blur together after a while. It’s not that I forget them, it’s just that the waves start to overlap in my memory bank. We catch a lot of fish, and we take a lot of people fishing, and I’m way better remembering faces than I am with names.

When Rena Spears sent me an email this spring saying she had photos from a charter fishing trip she took with us in 2022, I was pretty excited. My memories of that late-season trip on Sept. 15, 2022 were pretty hazy, but once she sent along the photos everything came crisp into view.