Our Fishing Charters

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.

The non-pelagic rockfish found around Seward, Alaska are some of the most striking fish in our waters—vibrant reds, oranges, and bold markings that light up the rocky seafloor. There are 32 different types of these long-lived, slow-growing bottom dwellers. Such as Yelloweye, Copper, Tiger, China, and Quillback. Rockfish prefer steep reefs and structure, making them a rewarding and memorable catch for anglers who venture deep. Because they’re so unique and sensitive to overfishing, regulations in our area are strict: anglers may keep three rockfish per day in total, but only one can be a non-pelagic species. A shortraker rockfish is shown in this picture.

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.

Yellow Eye Rockfish are one of the tastiest and more popular of the 32 different species of non-pelagic rockfish we catch, and also one of the oldest. Also called red snapper, they 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 starting July 1st.  They are incredibly good-eating, gorgeous fish which initially hit like a truck.  They 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.

King salmon (chinook) are the largest Pacific salmon—typically about 3 feet and 30 pounds but capable of reaching roughly 4.9 feet and 129 pounds—and most spend around five years in the ocean (some up to eight). In Seward we encounter year-round “feeder kings,” ocean fish cruising Resurrection Bay before their eventual river runs; we fish them by trolling or mooching with hardware and bait, working the full water column on semi-light tackle for an exciting fight. While kings aren’t our primary target on standard trips, we do catch them, and if you’d like your best shot at harvesting one, the spring combo trip is the time to try. The daily limit in our local waters is usually one king per person (subject to ADF&G Emergency Orders), and you’ll need both an Alaska sport-fishing license and a King Salmon Stamp to retain one. We also occasionally land “white kings,” a delicious, less common variant here.

These salmon do not reside in fresh water for any extended period, unlike coho, chinook and sockeye salmon. Their average length is 20 to 25 inches and their average weight is 3.5 to 5 pounds. We do not target pink salmon, but we do catch them while fishing for rockfish or silver salmon. They often get released when we are targeting silvers, it is most folks’ preference to keep silvers instead of pink salmon. They are great eating if cooked shortly after catching vs. freezing and eating later on.  You can also catch pink salmon right in front of our main office,  right on the beach, in the late summer.

Silvers start their annual return to their freshwater streams in mid-July and August. They average 8-20 lbs and are a lot of fun to catch. They put up a good fight and it’s exciting to watch the fish rip around the boat and leap into the air during the fight! People of all ages are capable of catching Silvers, and kids do very well with these fish. Seward has one of the better Silver Salmon sport fisheries on the Kenai Peninsula, and charter operators actually come from other towns to fish here. Silvers are remarkably tasty, and we take extra care with our salmon, keeping them in coolers with ice and saltwater so they stay firm and fresh no matter what time of day they were caught.  Miller’s Landing has its own ice maker, and we outfit the charters daily with a stock of ice for the catch. When the bite is on, it’s a complete frenzy. Everyone on the boat can fish at the same time!

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.

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.