what to expect

Getting to Seward

Seward, Alaska is 126 miles south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. Anchorage is the nearest large airport and is the takeoff point for most people venturing to Alaska.

Most people rent a car to travel to Seward along the gorgeous Seward Highway, which has won many national awards for its spectacular beauty. Give yourself at least 2½ hours to make the trip, longer if you're a photographer. Pay close attention to speed limits along the Seward Highway, especially as you are coming into Seward. The Alaska Railroad can also bring you to Seward.

Preparing for Your Charter

We ask you to please meet us at the top of F-float at 6:00am.

F-Float is right next to Rays Resteraunt located at the Seward Small Boat Harbor.

At check-in, we will make sure you have everything you need for the trip, and give you directions to your boat. Our crew will help you transport your gear, if needed. We encourage you to take sea sickness remedies if there is any risk of you having motion sickness. We hate to see people unable to fish because they don't feel well.

A "what to bring" checklist:

• Wear warm, layered clothing
• Water-resistant shoes
• Food & beverages
• Raingear
• Hat and gloves
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Medications, sea-sickness remedies
• Don't forget your binoculars and camera
• Alaska State Fishing license can be purchased on line thru the Alaska dept. of Fish n Game website. Please print a hard copy of your Fishing license, sign it and bring the morning of your trip
• Mask

The cost of your trip includes all the bait, tackle, and gear, and the filleting of your catch.

Please let us know if you have any time restrictions on your day, such as needing to catch a train or a cruise ship. On our full-day trips, we work to be back at the dock between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., although may be back a little later if people's schedules allow. If we know you need to be in by a specific time, we can make sure that happens and fillet your fish underway, if necessary.

During Your Charter

Once you arrive at the boat, please wait on the dock until you are invited aboard by the crew. We will help you store your gear inside the cabin. Please make your fishing license available for the crew to record in the ADF&G charter logbook. Once everyone is aboard and following a safety briefing, the captain will get underway, whilethe crew provides an introduction to the fishing gear and a briefing of what to expect when we get to the fishing grounds. En route, you are welcome to sit out on deck or come inside the cabin and make yourself comfortable.

On the journey out and back from our fishing spots, you will get a sightseeing/wildlife tour as part of the trip. We frequently see sea otters, sea lions, Dall porpoises, Orca and humpback whales, and numerous species of sea birds, including cormorants, murres, and, of course, puffins. The waterways outside Seward are spectacular, with rocky islands and many hanging and tidewater glaciers.

The crew's extensive experience fishing in these waters and our top-of-the-line Garmin electronics help to put us right on the fish. The crew will work hard to provide you as much instruction and guidance as you would like - after you hook your fish they'll even give you a hand reeling if you need it! We recognize that this may be the trip of a lifetime for you, and the captain works very hard to find fishing spots that produce a quality catch. You know the adage, "They call it fishing and not catching", but we do our best to make it fishing and catching, so you're not just paying for a long (though beautiful) boat ride.

Alaska State Law prohibits us from allowing "party fishing" and from allowing clients to fish for one another. It is your choice to keep a fish or have us return it to the sea (unless it will die if released). We will mark your fish so that you get to keep the fish you caught, but once you have caught your limit, we will ask you to be a spectator until the rest of the group has limited out. If the day's not yet over, we can look around for some rockfish and have you start on a new limit!

End of the Day

Once the fishing day is over, we will start our trip back to the harbor. We target being back to port between 5:00-6:30 pm. As we travel back the deckhand will begin to pull the catch of day out of the fish box and get ready to take more pictures of you and your catch. Once everyone has their photos the crew will begin to fillet fish on the way back to the harbor. Because of the pandemic we will not being hanging fish at the dock and then filleting at the fish cleaning station. We will be filleting on the way in and will have your fillets ready once back to port. Hopefully in the future we can go back to hanging fish and taking pictures at the dock on the smaller boats. Once we arrive at port the crew will load your filleted fish in the dock cart and walk with you up to the processor. The cost of processing is not included in your charter. Gratuities to the crew are customary and appreciated. The standard is $30 per client. Tips are split between captain and deckhand's/deckhand. You can give tips to any of the crew.

We at Puffin Fishing Charters recognize the money, time, and effort it takes to plan your vacation to Alaska. We also appreciate the number of choices you have in determining with whom to go fishing. We do our best to assure you a wonderful fishing experience. Whether you're a seasoned angler or a novice fisher, we want this to be a trip that you'll not soon forget.

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