Alaskan Fishing Charters/Resorts

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Jun 4, 2014
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North Dakota
Looking for recommendations on fishing guides and resorts in Alaska. Would like to experience everything from salmon to halibut with a little crabbing mixed in. My wife actually suggested that we use this as our honeymoon, so of course I couldn't say no!

I'd like to keep the prices reasonable, so any recommendations or advice is greatly appreciated. Any other pointers from those that have done this before?
 

MtnMuley

WKR
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Jun 11, 2016
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Alaskan Adventure Charters. Everything you would expect. Salmon, Sockeye, Halibut, Clams, Crab, etc. Mike runs a top notch place. Check him out.
 

Titan

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We stayed in the Alyeska Resort and chartered for Salmon and Halibut out of Seward. Only a 50 min drive or so.

We used fishsewardalaska.com and had a great experience.
 
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ndbwhunter
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I think the wife is really hoping to find something that's all inclusive, but the prices jump up quite a bit when you include all the meals.

Assuming that we get into the fish, what can a person reasonably expect to bring home in terms of weight?
 

Titan

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Well we caught an 80 and 100 lbs halibut along with our limit of Rockfish. I shipped back 120+ lbs of fish. Very reasonable with a Business Fedex account.

Edited: The resort kept our fish in the freezer for us so we didn't have to worry about timing. I tipped the guys loading and unloaded with a package each time. They were more excited for that than a few bucks.

Not sure how "all-inclusive" you are going to get. I think you are probably going to fish out of Homer or Seward. Not much happening in either of those places.
 
Joined
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Bothell, Wa
Island View Resort and Charters..........

Islandview Resort & Charters

They are out of Sitka and are an awesome outfit. Best in Sitka as far as I'm concerned. I first fished with them in 1990 and have been back several times. But they book up quick for the prime time of late June early July.

Typical haul is one 50# box and one 25# box. One year the fishing was so good that our 737 hit max takeoff weight with only the fish boxes in the belly. No luggage but damn there were a lot of fish boxes on that flight!
 

MtnMuley

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Pretty sure Mike still does his all inclusive trips, but you'd have to check. If so, it's very low key with some of the best fresh seafood prepared by an amazing cook.
 

Glory

Lil-Rokslider
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Sep 29, 2015
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Craig, Alaska
Craig, Alaska has some pretty good charter fishing as it puts you right in the Noyes Island area. Prince of Wales is a pretty amazing place and you won't see cruise ships or hoards of tourists. Good luck and congrats.
 

Halfslam

Lil-Rokslider
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Southeast Alaska offers many excellent fishing lodges with protected waters if sea sickness is a concern. You can expect rougher conditions further north (Seward, Homer ect...). I've fished several times in Alaska, Prince of Wales Island, Coffman Cove, Petersburg and have reservations again this year for Green Rocks Lodge out of Petersburg. Limited to 20 guests each week. They provide guides, fish processing, 3 meals a day, cabins and boats for those that would rather DIY. Very reasonable prices however best fishing dates fill up fast as with all the fishing lodges.
King salmon dates extend from May into mid July and Coho salmon start in July into September. Halibut and bottom fish run all summer. Lot's of whale sightings, eagles and the occasional black bear.
Have fun!!
 
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ndbwhunter
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Thank you for all of the information! What are your thoughts on the number of days? I'm guessing that a solid 3 days of fishing would likely be enough to wear anyone out. Is 3 days and 4 nights enough, or should I opt for the 4 days and 5 nights? I think the wife is expecting a vacation, and may not fully understand that it will be early mornings and long hours on the water.
 

Titan

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I love fishing, so does my wife. We did one full day and it just about wore us out. That being said, we both would have like to do 2 days - maybe add in some Salmon specific fishing. But it would be nice to spread those out with a rest day between.

If your in Alaska might as well spend a day or two visiting some places. See some glaciers, ride the train, kayak, whatever you like to do. We spent a morning rafting...it was too much for both of us. I like extreme sports, but being forced to swim in the 35* water before getting in the raft and then freezing while your guide does 95% off the work just wasn't much fun. Wife was terrified, and for good reason - that stretch of water was sketchy for sure!
 

VernAK

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Dec 24, 2012
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Delta Jct, Alaska
Having lived in AK for nearly 50 years, I'd leave South Central and stay in SE at a nice lodge. The diversity of fishing/crabbing/clamming is better and many waters are more protected.

The Alaska Railroad train to Denali is nice but in SE take the Whitepass & Yukon from Skagway to Carcross, YT [passport required].....a one day scenic and historic trip.
 
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ndbwhunter
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For the time being, I'm going to focus my research around the Sitka area. Are there any charters/lodges that I should stay away from? There are quite a few in and around Sitka.
 
Joined
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Take a hard look at Yakutat! You won't get any of the clamming or shrimping but it is by far your best bet at a fatty halibut. Other places to check out are places like Cordova and POW. One issue with southeast is that it's looking like King season will be shut down this year.

The possibilities are endless. You broke down what you're expecting pretty well but its still like someone from AK saying "looking to hunt deer in the lower 48, anyone have any suggestions."

Start by deciding what your priorities are. Freshwater stream salmon, saltwater trolling salmon, multi species saltwater, fly fishing, river floats, what species of salmon, etc. There are a lot of variables based on run timing and geographical location. You can have it all in AK, you just can't have it all at once.

Southcentral can be alright. You would just be traveling between places like Seward, Ninilchik, and Soldotna to get to the best spots for each respective species. Avoid Homer. Homer is for tourists.

Must be something about them North Dakota girls! Me and my wife are from down there in God's Country as well. We did an Alaskan fishing trip for honeymoon 1/2 in early September last year and then floated a river for caribou for honeymoon 2/2 two weeks later.
 

Glory

Lil-Rokslider
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Craig, Alaska
One issue with southeast is that it's looking like King season will be shut down this year.

In places like Juneau and Ketchikan, it might be a possibility due to SE rivers in trouble. But, the options that the ADFG put forth didn't cut the Ketchikan fleet too much. Sitka and Craig should be ok due to their outer coast locations but kings could be cut off in July at some point which happens with a low AI. The rumor is that this year will have the lowest abundance index (ai) in history for kings. Alaska Board of Fish starts on the SE King action plans tomorrow and should have it wrapped up next week. I'll post the results when I know them. They have big decisions to make due to the fact that 9 out of the 11 king rivers in SE AK aren't meeting escapement due to some poor ocean conditions we had. I'm a commercial salmon troller and a charter guy so I follow this stuff pretty closely.
 
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Halfslam

Lil-Rokslider
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Eastern Oregon
Update on my experience at Green Rocks Lodge out of Petersburg. The only good thing about Green Rocks was the food. The boats were sub par. I updated to a covered boat ($600) and was given a 18' Lowe with a top that had seen better days. The snaps would come undone at any speed over half throttle. The boat leaked like a sieve and the bilge pump ran non-stop. The owner told me not to worry that if the bilge pump quit the boat wouldn't sink completely because it had foam in the bow! That wasn't reassuring and he was serious! None of the Tohatsu kickers worked. Our main motor (Tohatsu) quit and our kicker was dead so we had to flag down a passing boat to get word to our lodge because our 2 way radio wouldn't work.
Non of the 16 guests were happy....Bad equipment, bad bait, fish filleting was butchered, no halibut checks were saved, fish boxes getting mixed up, ect...
Don't waste your vacation on Green Rocks Lodge.
 
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ndbwhunter
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Update on my experience at Green Rocks Lodge out of Petersburg. The only good thing about Green Rocks was the food. The boats were sub par. I updated to a covered boat ($600) and was given a 18' Lowe with a top that had seen better days. The snaps would come undone at any speed over half throttle. The boat leaked like a sieve and the bilge pump ran non-stop. The owner told me not to worry that if the bilge pump quit the boat wouldn't sink completely because it had foam in the bow! That wasn't reassuring and he was serious! None of the Tohatsu kickers worked. Our main motor (Tohatsu) quit and our kicker was dead so we had to flag down a passing boat to get word to our lodge because our 2 way radio wouldn't work.
Non of the 16 guests were happy....Bad equipment, bad bait, fish filleting was butchered, no halibut checks were saved, fish boxes getting mixed up, ect...
Don't waste your vacation on Green Rocks Lodge.

Wow! Thanks for the update. Oddly enough, that's one of the places that I was focusing on since I decided I'd rather make it more of a DIY trip.
 

Halfslam

Lil-Rokslider
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Wow! Thanks for the update. Oddly enough, that's one of the places that I was focusing on since I decided I'd rather make it more of a DIY trip.

I hope I saved you from a bad experience. I could have added more to that list such as trying to charge me for a banged up aluminum prop that that was damaged earlier...
A lot of lodges offer DIY trips. PM me if you want.
 
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