ketchikan salmon fishing

[joanfred]

I had read all the great reports about fishing in Ketchikan, so thought this would be fun for me and husband. It turned out to be a very long 4 hours as it was cool and raining and did not catch any fish. So just remember you do not always have fish to send home and we spent all our time in Ketchikan on this trip so did not see anything else.

[chipmaster]

Sorry to hear of your luck, you do bring up a a MOST important point that people must remember.

 

Its called "fishing" if catching was guranteed then it would be called "catching"

 

If it isn't what you want to do or if there are other things one should consider the cons and be happy just to be out "fishing"

 

I had read all the great reports about fishing in Ketchikan, so thought this would be fun for me and husband. It turned out to be a very long 4 hours as it was cool and raining and did not catch any fish. So just remember you do not always have fish to send home and we spent all our time in Ketchikan on this trip so did not see anything else.

[chipmaster]

One last update, we are back. Fishing with Ken was great. He trusted his instincts when the other charter gave up at the "hot" spot. He changed lures and got the fish to bite. We knew they were there as they were jumping everywhere but simply not biting. I know this is no gurantee for others, but Ken was at the dock at the time he said. His boat was just a 2' walk from our ship, we cruised out way beyond the where the other cruiseline charter boats were and after about an hour of fishing finally got the catching going. Ken works hard for you!

 

Happy fishing!

[Ashleezmom]

One last update, we are back. Fishing with Ken was great. He trusted his instincts when the other charter gave up at the "hot" spot. He changed lures and got the fish to bite. We knew they were there as they were jumping everywhere but simply not biting. I know this is no gurantee for others, but Ken was at the dock at the time he said. His boat was just a 2' walk from our ship, we cruised out way beyond the where the other cruiseline charter boats were and after about an hour of fishing finally got the catching going. Ken works hard for you!

 

Happy fishing!

 

Wow sounds like a great time..Did yu send your fish back? and if you did could you tell us the cost?

[fengshuibabe]

Spoke with Ken today and he already has 2 people booked the day we are in port. I have a family of 5 so he is unable to accommodate us. My 10 year old son is dying to fish while my 15 year old daughter just wants to see wildlife. Do you have an other recommendations of another captain who would be able to take care of all of us? Some fishing, some wildlife viewing on purpose? I would like to charter for around $600 or so for the entire boat...suggestions?

[chipmaster]

We shipped the fish back, gave 10 or so fillets away, and had our first one this past Thursday, yumm.

 

Our fish was processed by http://www.cedarslodge.com/ Processing $1.95/lbs fresh fillets, smoked $3.95/lbs. Total after adding box, shipping surcharge, tax worked out to about $6/lb. I'm a bit dissapointed that we ended up with ony 48lbs off the 5 fish, but not complaining :D

 

After figuring cost of the charter, licenses and everything else comes to little over 20 bucks/lb, not too bad either :o

 

Wow sounds like a great time..Did yu send your fish back? and if you did could you tell us the cost?

[chipmaster]

Did you talk to Ken about a referral? On the boat he mentioned that he has several other captains that he farms out to.

 

Good luck!

 

Spoke with Ken today and he already has 2 people booked the day we are in port. I have a family of 5 so he is unable to accommodate us. My 10 year old son is dying to fish while my 15 year old daughter just wants to see wildlife. Do you have an other recommendations of another captain who would be able to take care of all of us? Some fishing, some wildlife viewing on purpose? I would like to charter for around $600 or so for the entire boat...suggestions?

[Ashleezmom]

We shipped the fish back, gave 10 or so fillets away, and had our first one this past Thursday, yumm.

 

Our fish was processed by http://www.cedarslodge.com/ Processing $1.95/lbs fresh fillets, smoked $3.95/lbs. Total after adding box, shipping surcharge, tax worked out to about $6/lb. I'm a bit dissapointed that we ended up with ony 48lbs off the 5 fish, but not complaining :D

 

After figuring cost of the charter, licenses and everything else comes to little over 20 bucks/lb, not too bad either :o

 

Thanks sooo much for the info. My DH and his buddies will be fishing in Ketchikan on our trip, but unfortunately Ken doesnt work on Sunday, the day we are in port :(:( So they just went ahead and booked the ships excursion.

[fengshuibabe]

Ken just called me and asked if I wanted to do a 3 hour charter with him after his morning jaunt with the other group (my previous post was that he could not fit my family in his boat as he already had 2 people booked for his normal 4 hour trip). I am thrilled he made this suggestion to accommodate us. He indicated that the fishing should still be great between 11-2 and we'd still make our ship since it is in port until 3. Thank you Ken!--looking forward to firming up the details after his morning excursion. I will post our experience on CC when we return.

[nancycruiser]

Curious as to what day you are trying to book as my husband and I are booked with Captain Ken on September 6th.

[fengshuibabe]

Ha, Sept 6th is my birthday and you'll be fishing :) We are on our cruise the 7th-14th of August--so a month earlier.

[iTinKso]

My husband and I fished with Ken just last week. A family of 4 from Minnesota were also aboard so the rate was even less than what Ken had initially quoted for us! We caught a boatload of salmon - four kinds: king, pink, coho and chum and are expecting our processed shipment today. Fishing was the highlight of our cruise excursions. We highly recommend Ken/Northern Lights Charters - he is the best!!

[fengshuibabe]

Jenny---thanks for that story! I firmed up everything with Ken last night. He is doing a quick shuffle with us==we will be transported to his boat while he is finishing up with his first guest and they will be shuttled back to the ship as we get on. He has been really fun to work with and assures me that we'll have fish to catch. Your haul sounds fantastic! Enjoy eating those yummy Kings--I don't think we'll be there at the right time for those but we're hoping for some silver and a halibut if we're lucky. :o

[iTinKso]

Jenny---thanks for that story! I firmed up everything with Ken last night. He is doing a quick shuffle with us==we will be transported to his boat while he is finishing up with his first guest and they will be shuttled back to the ship as we get on. He has been really fun to work with and assures me that we'll have fish to catch. Your haul sounds fantastic! Enjoy eating those yummy Kings--I don't think we'll be there at the right time for those but we're hoping for some silver and a halibut if we're lucky. :o

 

We landed a few small kings; halibut fishing would require a longer charter as the 1/2 day is best for salmon as we really weren't too far from the cruise ship docks. Our shipment of fillets arrived today and we received 23 lbs. of vacuum packed salmon! That was equivalent to 1/3 of the total fillets from our excursion - amazing!!

[CP3o]

How far out do you go for fishing in Ketchikan and how are the seas generally? Is this tough on people prone to sea sickness?

[fsdj1097]

How far out do you go for fishing in Ketchikan and how are the seas generally? Is this tough on people prone to sea sickness?

 

If you're salmon fishing, you're right there in the Tongass Narrows, barely out of sight of the cruise pier. However, if you're targeting halibut, you'll run out quite a ways. If you're port time is fairly short (say 6-7 hours), you probably won't have time for the halibut.

 

The seas there in the narrows are typically very calm. However, there will be some motion, so go prepared. My wife is very prone to seasickness, but didn't have a problem fishing in the narrows.

[chipmaster]

Much depends on the weather, if the wind is blowing even in the narrows and on the small fishing charters that can be significant motion. Those prone to sea / car sickness should consider that fact and take appropriate precautions.

 

Simply taking the boat out of Juneau and crossing the wakes of other vessels causes motion as well.

 

Depending on who you fish with even for salmon you can be out 20-30 minutes of fast boat time and be completely out of sight of Ketchickan, that was the case with Ken. There clearly were charter boats fishing within sight of the ship. Ken commented those were more likely the ship contracted fishing tours who almost always fish closer and sometimes are even trolling while moving to the fishing spot. Think about it, if you are a contract boat with 6 people from 3 or 4 seperate parties you need to get 8-10 strikes in the charter for everyone on the boat to get a fish to reel in. You are wasting valuable tiime sailing out to what might be further but better fishing spot. You go where any fish are biting. If you can one should consider charting the boat all to themselves. Of course if one is after deep sea then anything less than 1/2 day is really not going to cut it.

 

Happy fishing!

 

 

If you're salmon fishing, you're right there in the Tongass Narrows, barely out of sight of the cruise pier. However, if you're targeting halibut, you'll run out quite a ways. If you're port time is fairly short (say 6-7 hours), you probably won't have time for the halibut.

 

The seas there in the narrows are typically very calm. However, there will be some motion, so go prepared. My wife is very prone to seasickness, but didn't have a problem fishing in the narrows.

[tc2344]

I have been looking for information on salmon fishing in Ketchikan and thanks to this thread, you all have answered nearly all of those questions. We are planning our Alaskan cruise in May of 2011. Would you all recommend us reserving our time before hand or waiting until we hit port?

 

Teresa

[Quilting_Cruiser]

... unfortunately Ken doesnt work on Sunday...

 

 

We'll also be there on a Sunday in June. Any recommendations from anyone since Ken doesn't go out on Sundays??

[Ashleezmom]

We'll also be there on a Sunday in June. Any recommendations from anyone since Ken doesn't go out on Sundays??

 

If you contact Ken, he will refer you to someone else :D

[Omega Man]

We will be in Ketchikan in early Sept. on the Coral Princess, and would like to go on a salmon charter. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good 4 hour charter boat out of Ketchikan?:)

 

Did you finalize your salmon fishing charter out of Ketchikan?

[wheretocruise]

My husband has been trying to fish with Ken for 3 years now but schedules and lack of others going out on the same day have kept him from going with him. Ken has referred my husband three times to Ketchikan Charters. Last year he went with Danny and all 3 passengers on the boat limited out on silver salmon. He is scheduled with Danny again in 3 weeks...Good luck!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

If you contact Ken, he will refer you to someone else :D

 

Thanks!

[fsdj1097]

I have been looking for information on salmon fishing in Ketchikan and thanks to this thread, you all have answered nearly all of those questions. We are planning our Alaskan cruise in May of 2011. Would you all recommend us reserving our time before hand or waiting until we hit port?

 

Teresa

 

Most of the charters will be booked before you hit port. I would recommend contacting the company several months before your sail date.

[Putterdude]

We'll also be there on a Sunday in June. Any recommendations from anyone since Ken doesn't go out on Sundays??

 

You could try Strike Zone Charters. This business was run for years by Lewis the father of Luke. Lewis now works for his son during the season. I know Lewis quite well as he has a winter home just down the street from me in AZ.

www.alaskastrikezone.com/