Fishing in Skagway

[jjansen12]

My husband and I are taking our 2 sons (15 & 22) on our first Alaskan cruise in mid August. We currently have planned a fishing (salmon) charter planned in Skagway with Fat Salmon Charters.

 

Has onyone used them before?

Any recommendation on fishing charters?

Is fishing in Skagway any good?

 

Thanks for the information.

Jennifer

[amaxs469]

Jennifer, we have booked with Fat Salmon as well, and are on the Star Princess, June 29 voyage, so we will be in Skagway on Thursday, July 3. I will be happy to post any comments regarding the charter.

 

Sorry, missed the Mid-August initially...

[Alaska_or_bust]

We are going the end of August and have booked with Fat Salmon, so I am interested to hear how both of you do. Also, let me know if you see and wildlife (bears, eagles, whales, etc.) and the scenery. I am going with the husband in hopes of seeing this and he wants to catch fish!:D

[Hawaiian_A330]

We booked Fat Salmon when we were in Skagway last month on the Pearl (5/21). Four of us booked the 0730 - 1130 charter and off we went fishing! We observed some Humpbacks, eagles, and a seal along with some great scenery as we trolled. Unfortunately, the fish gods weren't on our side and we ended up fish-less. In actuality, 3 other boats went out with us and only managed 1 King that morning. Capt. Joe feared the combination of a low tide and falling barometer may have had a hand in this. All in all we enjoyed our trip with Fat Salmon and would book again. Let me know if I can answer anymore questions.:)

[Hockey19]

Two of us are on Fat Salmon 8/27. Took a leap of faith in booking only because the web site looked good and couldn't find anything negative on the boards. Got quick responses and all seeems to be set for a fun trip. Otehr posts about ship salmon fish tours are not as well reviewed. Would love to hear some experiences.

[Alaska_or_bust]

Hockey19

What time is your charter scheduled for? We are going on the 27th as well, but first thing in the morning.

[artteacher2]

hi there, we are also scheduled on with Fat salmon Charters on July 31st. please let us know how it was upon your return! we are booked for an afternoon trip and i'm wondering if i could fit in the WP train ride in the morning?

have a great time and looking forward to your report!!

[amaxs469]

Just returned (well a couple of days ago) from our eventful Alaska cruise on the Star Princess.

 

On to our great Fat Salmon charter experience. First Captain Joe was great and very knowledgeable on where to find the salmon in Skagway waters. My 12yo son was very excited when he learned we were going fishing and even more excited when he landed a king salmon. I landed one as well, and another person on our charter landed one that Captain Joe estimated was 17-18 kilos (about 45 lbs). My son's and my king salmon were around 30-35 lbs. The fourth person on our charter, was able to bring in a fish, but it got away. It cost $10 per salmon to have them processed for shipping, and they will be contacting me in a week or so to let me know how much the shipping will be and to schedule a day to have them shipped.

 

artteacher2: we did the WP in the morning. I can be a little hectic depending on where your ship is docked. Our train returned around 11:20, we rushed back to the ship, did a quick change of clothes, had a quick bite to eat and returned to the small boat harbor by 12:25, so it can be done. Our ship was at the end of the railroad dock, so it was a brisk 15 min walk from where the train drops off at the edge of town to the ship.

 

One additional note, unfortunately we did not see any wildlife on the charter. Captain Joe said they followed a whale for a little while the day before.

 

I will try to post some pictures and let me know if you have any other questions.

[advancescout]

Thanks amax.

 

I was just searching for threads about fishing in Skagway and this popped back up to the top.

 

Excellent timing!

 

One question.. was the WP worth the hassle to make it back from? If you had to choose one, would you have chosen the fishing or WP?

 

Thanks!

[artteacher2]

thank you so much for the information! We will be on the Star Princess too! My 10 year old daughter is with us. This will be our first cruise as well as our first (and likely only trip) to Alaska. I booked the fishing trip a little while back since it seemed to be an exciting and unique thing to do to me. Then, after reading comments on the boards, I was sorry I did since the train seemed like the right thing! Truth is, I can't get a grip on all the extra $$ I'm putting out for excursions. Now, I really don't want to miss out on the train especially since we have been reading so many positive comments about it. It's too late for us to cancell fishing, (besides, fishing is something that I really wanted to do in alaska) so we're going for it! taking the 7:00am Chilkoot tour and then fat Salmons @ 12:30p. What other excursion did you do? The other two excursions we have are the floatplan in Ketch, (that's really alot of $$) hope it worth it! and Ocra whale watch (everyone seems to like the whale watching). I am so glad to hear you son caught a fish! Bet that was fun. I was also wonering if you had any anxiety over making it back to the ship after the fishing? thanks again for your feedback. (I'm going to check out your pictures now)

[amaxs469]

advancescout: to be honest, due to medical reasons with my mother, I was unable to go on the WP rail in the morning, so I have no opinion on the excursion. My wife went with the kids, and said it was beautiful, and a great experience. She did suggest that the next time we go to Alaska, that we should try the longer trip that goes all the way into the Yukon.

 

artteacher2: my wife was having anxiety with us getting back when she called us at 4:15, and we were still out fishing, however, the small boat harbor (where Fat Salmon is located) is just at the end of the Railroad Dock, where the Star is docked. Its about a 5 minute walk, and there was a rather large line to get back on the ship when we arrived, so it was not an issue.

 

As far as other excursions:

 

Ketchikan: Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary through ship

Juneau: self guided Mendenhall Glacier and Mt. Roberts Tramway

Victoria: independently booked 1hr horse drawn carriage ride

 

The link in my signature is to some of the pictures from our curise, the Fat Salmon specific pictures, are on page 8 & 9.

[jjansen12]

Amaxs469,

I'm so glad to hear you had a great fishing trip with Fat Salmon Charters... my husband and two boys are so excited about it they can hardly wait. We took it on faith and a search on Google when booking with them it good to hear a review about them.

Thanks for the update!

Jennifer :)