This skipper was referred to Butch by another local fishing charter Captain in Ketchikan that we rely on for many things. Since we know the referring Captain to be a superb fisherman, we paid special attention to his suggestion that we need to book for this skipper! And this area is known for its high productivity of fish!
This is a friendly, fun loving, knowledgeable and hard fishing Captain, who know the Alaskan waters in his area intimately, and who produces big time for his charter clients. He is technically proficient in all techniques including: down-rigging , drifting, bottom rolling and pulling flashers, dodgers, squids and spoons. He is especially good at halibut fishing . And in June the big King Salmon are usually targeted. Halibut are good from mid- June thru late September. Silvers are around all summer into early fall. Rockfish, ling cod and a host of bottom dwellers make for great eating, so do take some home!
He has good tackle, and more importantly he has a brand new 2019 specially built Hewes boat for his charter clients. It is a full 27’ long, with a cabin and a head, so you can stay out of the wind and nasty weather should there be any. Gives you places to sit while he is running as well. Just bring warm clothes, rain gear and your lunch and beverages.
On your return to shore, he will arrange to have all your fish cleaned and vacuum packed, and flash frozen and put into cardboard fish boxes for your trip home— or you can elect to save money and clean them yourself. But you then will need at least a freezer, and ideally you might want to consider bring along a small vacuum sealer and plastic. If you have them do it, it will cost you $2.50 per pound, but they handle everything including getting rid of carcasses. You just pick up your prepacked box of fish and fly it home.
2020 PRICING: He does not himself supply lodging or meals. He is a day charter, so you will book how ever many days you want. Cost is $450 per person per day, minimum of 3-4 people.
There are several lodging options. One is to book on your own with the Lodge he works with, but they are often full and his open days may not coincide with lodge availability. Better choices are to book an Air B&B or thru VRBO, or a local hotel such as the Landings in Ketchikan. For a large list of rental homes and cabins go to this website or phone them: www.alaskatravelers.com cell: 907 254 2050. BUT- you must first know your charter dates!!! We help you with that here at Hunt Nation.
COST ESTIMATE: FOR 4 PEOPLE, 4 NIGHTS, 3 DAYS FISHING, RENTAL CAR AND LODGING AND FOOD:
CHARTER 3 DAYS, 4 PEOPLE $1350 PER PERSON
LODGING- HOUSE @ $300/NIGHT FOR 4= $75 pp 300 PER PERSON
CAR RENTAL 4 DAYS 75 PER PERSON
FOOD PER PERSON @ $50 PER DAY 200 PER PERSON
Total $1925.
A rental house One hotel- the Landing (with restaurant)
Meals vary with your choice of lodging. There are many very good restaurants in Ketchikan, but because of the remoteness you will find meals expensive as is food. Least expensive is to cook your own if you have use of a kitchen. You will also need a rental car. There are many private rentals that are cheap to rent, checkout the website : https://turo.com . But there are other rentals as well.
TRAVEL AND TOURING: You normally will need to fly via Alaska Airlines from Seattle into Ketchikan. Alaska Air has (or had) a promotion whereby if you acquire one of their charge cards you can get one companion ticket every year for only $99. We use that all that time ourselves. Awesome deal.
For touring, the car is very handy. It will get you around town to the museums, shops. There are also cabs to be hired. A ton of restaurants, shops and more. One huge sporting goods store in the main harbor as well. One thing we highly recommend is a tour of the Misty Isles. Mind boggling vistas of cliffs plunging into deep fjords. Several local tour companies offer these trips. You won’t be disappointed. You can also hire float plane tours reaching even to the glaciers. We have been to Ketchikan many times- and always look forward to it.
