Everything You Need to Know About Homer, Alaska - The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World

How Did Homer, Alaska get its name?
Yes, like many a town in Alaska, this place too was named after someone. And no, that someone isn't Homer Simpson, although his likeness does occasionaly appear on tee-shirts sold in tourist shops. Instead, Homer, Alaska, was named in 1896 after a man named Homer Pennock, a gold promoter traveling in a party of 50 other brave souls seeking their fortunes in Alaska. Pennock and his party decided to settle on the Homer Spit and as local historians tell the story, discussion began as to what to name the little town. Some say others in the party suggested the name of Homer. Some historians say Pennock suggested it himself. Either way, it stuck much longer than Pennock himself. The Homer area did experience a mining rush - but it was coal, not gold. Pennock headed north to more lucrative gold fields a year later.

So, just what is the Homer Spit?
The local chamber of commerce has dubbed it, "Where the Road Ends and the Sea Begins." That's pretty much the case for this wiggly piece of land that extends about 4.5 miles long out into the Kachemak Bay section of Cook Inlet - a body of water well known for its great sport fishing. It is separated from the massive reaches of the Gulf of Alaska portion of the northern Pacific Ocean only by a section of the Kenai Penisula that acts as a land buffer. Without it, there might not be a Homer Spit. The Homer Spit isn't very wide - maybe a generous football field depending on the tide - and thus often becomes inudated with water during winter's harsh storm season. But from Memorial Day through Labor Day and a bit beyond if Mother Nature brings on an Indian summer, the Homer Spit is a place bustling with activity as hundreds of fishing charters and sighting tours based out of the Homer Small Boat Harbor and Port facilities are located there. It's the center of a halibut-fishing mecca where your catch can be on the grill of a Spit-based eatery being prepared to your personal specificiations while you stow your gear.