Ketchikan AK fishing trip

[ERSS]

My son graduates from high school in a few days and despite a crazy schedule this summer I am planning to take him to AK fishing for a 4-5 day trip before he heads away to college in the fall. I have never been to AK and am open to any suggestions for what would basically be a moderate cost fishing trip. At this point my plan is to fly into Ketchikan in July or early August, spend 2 days fishing for salmon with a local charter, a day lounging around town, and maybe a day fishing local streams. Would greatly appreciate any advice regarding reputable day charters out of Ketchikan or any local intel. Thanks in advance.

 

[ERSS]

After a little more research, looks like July/August may be a little late for the salmon

 

[ringer]

I would think May/June for kings but July should be good for silvers and halibut. The charter companies should have a fish run calendar for the area.

 

[Goldtip]

Certainly your dates are to late for Kings, but yes, the silvers should be good right around then. Drawback to Ketchikan is the Halibut limit is down to one fish daily I believe, at least it was 2 years ago. Further north on the peninsula at Homer and Seward the Halibut limit is still up at 2 daily fish, and the August time frame you would still catch the end of the silver run as well.

 

[fishing4sanity]

I've only been to Alaska twice, but the first time was so fun we went back to the same place the next year. The fishing was very good both years, that was way back in early August of '95 & '96 so it may not mean much today. We stayed at Leonard's Landing in Yakutat, Yakutat has daily airline service but is a small town. We fished with Absolut Charters on the ocean for salmon, halibut and bottom fish and then fished the Situk River on our own. The Situk is small enough to fish with waders but had some very nice fish in it - and bears as well. I believe the lodge has changed hands since then, but I've always wanted to go back. Yakutat and the Situk might be worth a look ......... now, I really want to go again.
http://www.leonardslanding.com/index.htm

 

[StHubert]

If you are going to fish the streams you should take a look at the tide table and fish at the high tide, that is when most of the fish will make a run up the stream. Assuming you are going to be within a few miles of the ocean.

http://www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/References/Tides/tides.html

We would also pack our clothes in our coolers for the trip up and save on luggage fees from the airlines. Also, if you are bringing a rod tube up, I would also stuff some clothing in there to keep your rods from moving around.

 

[Kaitum]

I go on a couple charter trips each year out of Seward, AK, so here are some numbers for a rough cost estimate. It will depend if you're on a boat with 16 others or just a 6-pack. Generally the larger the number of people the less the cost / person will be. I've only ever fished on a 6-pack boat. Combo all day salmon / halibut usually runs $285 + tax / person. Single species all day trips are generally around $250 + tax / person. Plus tip if you're so inclined. Half day salmon or halibut trips are considerably less, especially if you're on a boat with a bunch of other folks. Enjoy the trip!

 

[ringer]

I used to fish Yakutat every september for silvers and halibut and stayed with old Leonard a couple of times at his Airport lodge. August can be very iffy for the silver run there.

 

[Calvin]

After a little more research, looks like July/August may be a little late for the salmon

Not sure where you are getting your info.

Here's the deal on SE AK charters.

Limits this year are a bit tougher for kings. After July 1st, 2 kings annual limit, non-res. 1 after July 15th. Coho limits stay the same at 6. For charter, the halibut limit is 1 per day, over 68" or under 45". (reverse slot) A good guide should be able to get you a 25lb average on the halibut. A crummy guide will get you a 9lb average.

Ketchikan is an OK port to go out of. If you have a guide willing to make a run to the E side of POW and fish Shakan and Kendrick, you'll do great. Get one that stays local, and it's a bit tougher. It's combo fishing in SE. So, you'll get a mixed bag of kings, coho, halibut, ling, yellow eye, and rockfish in a days fishing.

July and Aug are fine for salmon. Kings taper off about Aug 10th.. but we still get em. Silvers show up about July 10th in decent numbers, and taper off at the end of Aug. Sept can be good though. Halibut remain strong throughout the summer.

Some good guides out of Ketchikan, and some crummy ones. The ones that cater to the cruise ship crowd just stay local and are happy with humpies,as the cruise fish passengers don't take home fish anyway. The ones that make the longer runs will load you up on fish.

Good luck.

 

[npaden]

Okay, a day late and a dollar short here. I'll be in Ketchikan on a cruise ship stop on Sunday June 23rd. Would like to fish for Halibut, but it sounds a little early for them. Kings would be cool too.

I thought I could keep the fish and have them process and ship them to me? Is that possible?

Any specific recommendations?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[npaden]

Looks like I'm out of luck a little on fishing at Ketchikan. Just double checked my itinerary and we are only in port 7:00 am to 1:00 pm in Ketchikan so not much of a chance to do any real fishing.

Skagway is the other alternative. We are in port there from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Have to do the White Pass Summit train ride with the wife that morning, but could probably still get more time in fishing that afternoon/evening in Skagway than I could at Ketchikan.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[Dave N]

Not sure about the fishing but when we stopped there on our cruise we did the train ride. Loved it. The town itself is rather boring, so fishing might be a good time killer being in port that long. DON'T bother eating fish and chips at that little outdoor joint run by some young girls. Pretty crappy. Had a real nice shop in town if you are into knives! Be sure to check out the cliff at the pier. Ship graffiti is pretty cool.

 

[npaden]

Think I'm about set on booking a 1/2 day with the Avid Angler in Ketchikan.

Might try to book something in Skagway too.

Are humpies (pinks) really that bad that you wouldn't want to catch them?

 

[Kaitum]

Humpies aren't so bad, they just get a bad rap as they're not as desireable for table fare as reds, kings or silvers. But they're relatively easy to catch so they're great for kids. And if you get them fresh out of the salt water they're not terrible at the table. I've smoked a few fresh humpies that turned out decent. Heck, most canned salmon folks buy in the lower 48 is pink salmon.

 

[npaden]

Called a few folks today. Sounds like the humpies aren't running yet anyway so pretty much they said we would be fishing for kings. Said the limit is 6 but they aren't catching the limit yet.

Seems kind of cheap. Said 6 hours would be $450 total up to 4 people max. Right now it would be only me, but I bet I could find someone on the ship that might want to tag along if I charged them $125 - $150 or something like that.

They meet you right at the ship and so you don't waste any time messing around getting to or from the harbor.

Hmm....

 

[npaden]

I ended up booking with Fat Salmon charters in Skagway for an afternoon Salmon fishing and with True Alaskan charters in Ketchickan for a combo halibut/salmon trip Sunday morning.

Skagway just wasn't a fishing hotspot, but I got a hook wet anyway. Ended up on a boat with 5 other people. Had 4 rods out the entire boat caught 2 dolly vardens and 2 kings that were under the limit. I caught one of the small kings. Wasn't super impressed with the charter, I ended up on the dad's boat instead of the guy I booked with.

Ketchikan was a great place to fish. Never did find anyone to fish with me, but didn't think it would be that big of a deal, just cost more, but the Alaskan fishing regulations only allow 1 rod per fisherman. Not that big of a deal jigging for halibut, but a big disadvantage trolling for salmon. Caught 2 rock fish right off the bat, one decent sized, one small. Caught a small halibut that we were going to put in the holding tank to possibly release but it shook and broke the leader as he was picking him up to pull him in the boat. Ended up catching another small halibut, and he gaffed it so that was my limit on the bottom fish. That took about an hour and a half.

Went after salmon after that, hooked a couple right off the bat that were good fish according to the guide, I just didn't do my job getting them in the boat. They both spit the hook because I wasn't keeping the tension high enough. Things went cold for a while and finally hooked another and got it into the boat that time. Rod up, pull back even farther, let it go down a bit and reel like the dickens. I've always just been lazy and tried to reel in steady with the rod up but that didn't work for the first 2 kings.

Ended up going cold again after that. Might have made a difference if I could have had at least another rod in the water, but might not have. There were a bunch of other boats fishing the same spot for salmon and it went cold for them too.

The charter in Ketchikan was a lot nicer than the one in Skagway. The guy had a little 8 hp trolling motor with autopilot on it that was really nice trolling for salmon.

Nothing to write home about, but did catch a few fish. Ended up with 12lbs of fillets that I don't even want to attempt to price out how much per pound they ended up costing.

Here's the pics.

Small halibut.

Decent sized king.

Nice rockfish (didn't take a picture of the other, it was pretty small).

Would definitely recommend booking a charter if you end up on a cruise ship in Ketchikan. Seemed like a great place to fish.

 

[Calvin]

If you are serious about fishing, do yourself a favor and say away from the cruise ship charters. Come up for a 3 or 4 day trip, and then you can see what we really have to offer.

 

[gremcat]

We did the 1/2 day in Knudson cove and 4 of us almost limited on good Silvers. We ran out of fresh bait the bite was so good. Would have limited out but whenever I set a hook and tried to hand it off they would let the line go slack and slip the hook. My son had a blast. Shipped it back home and it was excellent table fair. Next time we plan to stay in SE Alaska and maybe take some small boats around the different areas. We loved it.
Also, they don't tell you that a half day is more like 3 hours when they factor in the drive to the cove. It was the highlight of our trip though and I really don't care to repeat the cruise experience though it was enjoyable. Just a little to formal for me.