# alaska salmon and halibut info pleas



## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

alaska salmon and halibut fishing outfitters that you guys would suggest or recommend. If you know the rates that would be great. Looking to give it a try this year.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Where do you want to fish out of? Whats your budget? I've been up there so many times I honestly cant remember the total... 14 to 16 trips. There are a few places you can rent a small aluminum boat and DIY, others you get a full fledged charter boat. Occasionally you get a fantastic captain on a charter and have a great time. My last charter for 'butts sucked... he drove us 2 hours out into the middle of no-where and wanted us to fish in 650ft of water 


-DallanC


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

These guys were great and Ralph is out of Salt Lake.
http://www.gonefishinlodge.com/
I will use them again. Here are a couple of pics from my trip. This was on the Kenai.
[attachment=1cn3fdk6]IMG_0069.jpg[/attachmentcn3fdk6]
[attachment=2cn3fdk6]IMG_0242.jpg[/attachmentcn3fdk6]

This is Ralph our guide filleting some Sockeye (red) salmon that we caught on a fly-out or also called a fly-in. We flew across the Cook Inlet to Big River Lake, that is where we got the bear pics also.
[attachment=0cn3fdk6]IMG_0125.jpg[/attachmentcn3fdk6]


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

Give Bill Miller a call. There website is www.landsendlodge.com. They run a good operation, and you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer guy than Bill. They mostly do salt water, but there is some great freshwater on the island as well. If you decide to go that route I can give you some info on the freshwater end of things.


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## Fire Yote (Dec 31, 2011)

I'm headed to "Clover Pass" in Ketchican in August for my first trip!
I expect it to be AWESOME!!
Salmon and Halibut all day long from what I hear!
We will guide one day and DIY the other 4.
Not sure of the price as it was a Christmas gift from my wife and she won't tell me the prices!
Typical wife!!


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

svmoose said:


> Give Bill Miller a call. There website is http://www.landsendlodge.com. They run a good operation, and you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer guy than Bill. They mostly do salt water, but there is some great freshwater on the island as well. If you decide to go that route I can give you some info on the freshwater end of things.


+1. I greatly enjoyed a trip with them in 2009. First rate. I pray I can get up there at least once or twice more in my lifetime.

As for what trips or outfitters to use, if we have an idea on cost you can afford, time you have and species you are after, we might be able to help you better.


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

Not sure what to afford. We don't need 5 star lodging and a french chef. Just a place to sleep something warm to eat. Thinking 5 nights, 4 days. I have never been to Alaska. 7 of us talking about going. Don't even know what city to go out of, but in looking it looks like flying into Anchorage, then driving would be the cheapest route. In short, I am trying to figure out what to ask/know so we can get some hard numbers together, and even so we can know what to ask outfitters.


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## cacherinthewry (Dec 20, 2007)

If you want to just catch salmon and don't care what species, you can go pretty much any time. But if you want to catch sockeye or silvers or kings you need to look at the fishing calendars. They all run at different times of the year, and peak at fairly predictable times on each individual river. Lots of DIY people base out of Soldotna or Homer, and both towns have lots of lodging options, from rough cabins to motels to high end lodges. Homer has LOTS of options for halibut trips. I use http://www.awardcharters.com/ or http://www.fishinghomeralaska.com/ . You may have to shop around to find a company that can take 7 on the boat. If you want the best halibut fishing, plan your trip around the tides that fish best (talk to your charter). If you want to bring fish home, plan your halibut day around the end of the trip, have your fish packed & frozen, & pick up on your way to the airport. It'll stay frozen for the return trip. There are packers in pretty much any town you'd use for a base, and most lodges have freezers to hold your packed fish as well. Plan ahead for the cost of packing/storing your fish...it ain't free.

Some DIY folks pack their clothing into coolers for the way up. They take grubby stuff and throw it away at the end of their trip, and pack their "luggage" full of fish for the return trip. Most use the foam & cardboard packing that the processors offer, and carry on their personal stuff. The airlines allow 2 coolers of fish per person on the return trip (with weight restrictions), but I'm sure you'll pay dearly if you need to add a bag because you overpacked.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

As I said I used "Gone Fishin Lodge". I will tell you a little about the experience.

The lodge is great, you have cooking facilities available from inside to outdoor grills.
They provide breakfast but you fix it yourself in the main kitchen. All other meals is on your own. That is why the packages are from less than $2000 to around $3000 depending on time of year. 4 of us went and total cost from Utah and back was $3500 each, this was in June. Next trip I want to go in July, I figure it will cost $800 to $1000 more that time of year.

We went to the local grocery store bought stuff for meals and snacks and made our own lunches for the day. We ate out sometimes in Soldatna and several of the nights I bar-b-qued some of the days catch, nothing like fresh halibut or salmon on the barbie at the end of the day. Some times we shared with others at the lodge to try different ways that different people cooked their fish.

We flew into Anchorage and rented a car and drove to Soldatna, beautiful dirve. They provide the guides and give you directions where to go. This trip we went on the Keanai River for Kings two differnt days with two different guides. We went out on the Cook Inlet two differnt days with the same captain for halibut. And one day we went on the flly-in for red salmon. On our free day and several other days with free time after our guded trip was over, (remember their are over 20 hours of daylight in the summer) we did the combat fishing on the Kenai I didn't think I would like the combat fishing but it was a blast.


I could now do a self guided on the Kenai, a lot of people fly up and rent a small motor home and stay at camp grounds. But for the convienience I will use these guys again.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Doc Warners. If I remember right, they are near Ketchican. 

If you have some time before you want to book, go to the International Sportsman's Expo at the South Towne Expo center in March. There are TONS of outfitters and lodges represented there. Anything from DIY to wipe-your-backside-for-you type operations. Sometimes if you book at the show you can get some good discounts on different things, especially if you choose to go at off-peak times.


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## gnfishn (Sep 25, 2007)

I'll chime in on Doc Warners. My trip with them was in 2008 so I'll give you what I can remember  
You fly into Juneau and they meet you at the airport and get you on a bus to a ferry. Ferry ride x 2 hours to the Icy Straight inlet where the lodge/cabins/boats are. It is a "self-guided" trip but they provide the boats and all equipment (except for flyfishing equip, and I would not recommend this outfit if you are interested in fly or river fishing) and they teach you how to use it all. They have guides who are in boats all day checking on all groups and give you pointers on techique and locations. All meals are provided, hot breakfast before heading out, packed lunch for the boat, hot dinner. They fillet and vacuum pack all of your fish and pack them in boxes for you to take home. They have a room just for drying your clothing out so that each morning you have dry, warm clothes to put on. This was a fantastic trip and it was so nice to not have to make multiple arrangements for guides and rental cars, food etc. 5 full days of fishing and 2 days of travel. One thing I missed out on that many loved was there is an area you can fish for halibut while you watch the whales swimming/jumping. The guys I went with did not want to see that but I will definitely do that if I ever return. Those that took the time to do that said it was incredible and a definite highlight of the trip. I did take the boat out alone before dinner for 45 minutes and cruised the shorelines and saw 2 groups of bears and a baby moose. As I said before great trip but not for those who want to flyfish or fish rivers. Can't remember the details on costs but there is a good lesson in that too.....I may not remember the cost but I sure do remember the awesome memories!


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I would like to recommend Alaska River Adventures, out of Coopers Landing.

http://www.alaskariveradv.com/

A top notch outfit!

We did a day for ocean dwellers..










A couple of days for reds..










And a couple of days for kings..










Have fun!


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

If you want to cut the cost of your trip in half, then look into Canada vs. Alaska. Same fish, half the price.


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