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Halibut Fishing Charter

Quick Details

Person
$365
Early Season Book the Boat 6am - 6pm: 10 anglers & 6 passengers max Exclusive use of the boat for up to 16 Apr 11 - June 19
$3759
Early Season Book the Boat 6am - 5pm: 6 anglers max Exclusive use of the boat for up to 6 Apr 11 - Jun 19
$2190
Peak Season Halibut Hunt - Book the Boat 6am - 6pm: 10 anglers & 6 passengers max Exclusive use of the boat for up to 16 Jun 20 - Sept 8
$6160
Peak Season Halibut Hunt - Book the Boat 6am - 5pm: 6 anglers max Exclusive use of the boat for up to 6 June 20 through Sept 8
$2640

Full-Day Halibut Fishing Charter Seward, Alaska

Come join us on a Miller’s Landing Full-Day Fishing Charter for halibut! You’ll have the opportunity to catch and retain nice-sized halibut, yellow eye, and black rockfish from our custom-built boats. Our catch records are among the best in the Seward area!  We also often encounter whales and other sea life while fishing, and we always slow the boat down to take a closer look at wildlife. It’s a stunning environment in which to spend your day, rain or shine.

We offer these trips daily from April 11 – June 19 before the silver salmon arrive. Afterwards, we only sell per person season on our Combination Fishing Charters for all species. Once the season picks up we only offer this trip as a whole boat booking for anglers who JUST want to target halibut during peak season.

From June 20 you can charter the entire boat to focus entirely on large halibut. If we limit out early, we can head home if you’d like or continue fishing for other species!

Non-Halibut Wednesdays

Note that Halibut fishing regulations for commercial operators are announced in March each year, and we will update this page as we learn these for 2024. If you’re planning to visit during these dates, or hoped to go fishing on a Wednesday, the most common closure day, the Best of Alaska fishing/sightseeing/kayaking tour or half day salmon/rockfish tours are other great options!

 

Our Methods

Our method of targeting halibut is different from many other halibut charters, and it’s worked well for us for over 40 years. We often drift over our fishing grounds, then move back over them and drift again. Although we do drop anchor when the captain thinks it’s the right thing to do, our angling is generally more dynamic. While anchoring is popular, often easier on the anglers, and can be very productive – our attentive guides (with engaged clients!) are often able to locate where the fish are on the structure while drifting, as opposed to sitting, chumming, and hoping.

When fishing on a drift, you must constantly be watching your gear, as the depth often changes while the boat moves over the structure. You catch fish all through the water column, on the way down at the start of a drift, along the rising and falling bathymetry, as well as on the way up which is something you can miss when sitting at anchor. This means that you are actively engaged in fishing; your rod is not sitting in a holder all day while you wait for something to happen, and most of our clients find this a highly rewarding experience. You always have the option to feel the fish bite with the rod in your hands, hook the fish yourself, and reel it up! While it sounds obvious, this is not always an industry standard for halibut fishing charters in Alaska.

Our method of fishing can be costly for an operator. Gear can get hooked on the bottom more frequently while drift fishing, mismanaged lines can get tangled, and it’s harder for the captain who has to control the rate of drift. We’ve found that by mixing it up, we can often put our clients on fish when others can’t.

So if you’re looking for a different kind of halibut charter service, one that is more active and engaging, give us a call. We know you’ll be glad you did.

Fuel Surcharge:

Please know that fuel is the largest expense we have as charter operators. Our prices reflect the price of fuel at the time of publishing. In previous years we have not added a fuel surcharge, however, due to the volatile and uncertain nature of fuel prices, Millers Landing reserves the right to add a fuel surcharge to the trip rates.

A fuel surcharge will only be applied in the event of soaring fuel prices based on the price of fuel at the time of your charter. Should the price of marine fuel remain under $4.50 per gallon there will be no additional charge.

This will ensure that we are able to take you to the best fishing grounds without regard for the cost of fuel or how far we must travel. By adding a fee schedule we can mitigate that concern, and provide you the ultimate fishing experience.

 

PRICE OF FUEL FUEL SURCHARGE
UNDER $4.50 PER GALLON NO SURCHARGE
$4.51 – $5.00 PER GALLON $10 PER PERSON PER DAY
$5.01 – $6.00 PER GALLON $20 PER PERSON PER DAY
$6.01 – $7.00 PER GALLON $30 PER PERSON PER DAY
$7.01 – $8.00 PER GALLON $40 PER PERSON PER DAY

More Information

Get ready for a day full of stunning views, good company, and a true Alaskan fishing experience that will leave you with several great fishing stories! Some halibut fishing charter departures can be booked to include a fully guided kayaking day trip to the glaciers, for those in your party not interested in fishing, but wanting to stay with the group. We also often use this vessel to drop off kayakers in the national park — this is the reason for the later return and does not cut into your fishing time, nor does it affect where we fish.

Below is more information about our itinerary, fishing regulations, and competitions.

What to Catch

Pelagic Rockfish

Black Bass - Dusky - Widow - Yellowtail - Blue

Black Bass are both exciting and fun to catch. They are the most prolific of the pelagic Rockfish species and are found near shallow rocky areas.  Fishermen are limited to a set number of pelagic and nonpelagic rockfish per day, and we make an effort to catch both to reach the limit. These fish average about 4 to 5 pounds but range up to 12 pounds. We often fish for them with light/medium-weight tackle. These fish are great fun for young and big kids alike as they hit fast and furious, are located all throughout the water column near rock structure, and can liven up a lull in the bite. They are excellent fried, baked, or blackened.

Pacific Halibut

Pacific Halibut is the most desired and largest fish of Alaska’s sport fisheries. They are plentiful in our waters throughout the season and can be caught May-September. Sport-caught Halibut usually range from 20-50 lbs, although larger fish are not uncommon. People frequently ask about the size of the halibut we catch, but that question is impossible to answer from day to day. We commonly catch fish over 100 lbs, but we commonly catch average-sized Halibut as well. It’s up to you to listen to your guide, attend your line, and do your best to maximize your catch! We’ve caught 156lb Halibut on Salmon rods while fishing for Rockfish, with a tiny little hook and skimpy piece of herring. We’ve also caught 300lb Halibut on whole Salmon carcases threaded with circle hooks at 400′.  Nobody can forecast a day of fishing, but we work as hard as we can to make it a success.

Lingcod

Buffalo Cod - Cultus Cod

Ling season opens July 1st, and they aren’t actually Cod at all! Lings are members of the Greenling family, and in some cases their flesh is naturally tinted green or blue, turning white when cooked. They eat a great deal of chlorophyll, lending the fish its unusual tint.  These fish can grow to over 80 lbs. They look like prehistoric sea monsters and are apex predators, often shunning bait and going instead for an actively worked jig. Lings can be caught at almost any depth, but we catch most of them at 30-275 feet. Many people prefer the moist, succulent, white meat of Ling Cod to Halibut. Lings are often caught pre-season but must be released prior to July 1st.

Non-Pelagic Rockfish

Yellow Eye - Red Snapper

Yellow Eye Rockfish are one of the tastiest fish we catch, and also one of the oldest. They are non-pelagic rockfish, which means they’re one of 32 different species in the same classification caught in Alaska.  Other non-pelagic rockfish we catch are Copper, China, Silver gray, Tiger, et al.  They are generally speaking all of the “colorful” species of rockfish.    Red Snapper and their non-pelagic brethren live to be incredibly old – they grow about an inch per year, don’t start breeding until they’re 7, and the eggs have less than a 1% survival rate.  They live where they are born, and as such are limited in most areas to 1 per person per day.  They are incredibly good-eating, gorgeous fish which initially hit like a truck.  Red Snapper can get up to 32 lbs, and we’ve had them swallow the whole salmon on halibut gear. They are generally caught while fishing for halibut and ling cod.

Pacific Cod

Alaska Cod - Gray Cod - True Cod

While Pacific Cod are not the target species around here, they are great eating and fun to catch. There is never a guarantee of when we catch them. Some days we are “covered up with cod” while halibut fishing and it’s as fast as you get to the bottom. These fish live up to 20 years and grow up to 6 ft in length. Pacific Cod migrate as far as 490 miles in a year from the Gulf of Alaska to the west coast of Norway. Cod is quite healthy like most fish and is great cooked in butter on a hot skillet.