I have a love of fishing. My sister and I share this love with our father. I can remember fishing off the docks in Anna Maria Island and going to Annie’s Bait and Tackle to get another dozen shrimp. We would fish for hours. I still love it to this day. I have passed on my love for fishing to my son. In my previous blog post, I discussed my bucket list sailfish fishing trip in Costa Rica for my 40th birthday celebration. My son and I were able to talk my husband into another half day fishing charter as an excursion while sailing on the Norwegian Bliss. This time, we tried our hand at salmon fishing in Ketchikan, Alaska.

I did not book the fishing charter as a shore excursion through the cruise ship. As discussed previously in “How to Save Money on Shore Excursions”, I give tips on researching your own shore excursions to save yourself a great deal of money. I researched charters in the Ketchikan area providing a half day charter with pick up at the cruise port using TripAdvisor as a resource for reviews. I decided on Avid Angler Charters.

On Monday morning bright and early, our ship docked in port. Within a few steps of our debarkation from the Norwegian Bliss, we were greeted by Captain Larry from Avid Anglers. Minutes later we were on the boat and headed out to fish. No wasted time with transportation too and from the cruise ship to the boat! Our charter included the three of us and two other men from our same cruise ship. The price was $175 per person.

Related: Ten Reasons to Cruise on the Norwegian Bliss

There were many fishing boats out fishing. Captain Larry explained Monday was a day of the week where commercial fisherman were permitted to fish so we would have competition for salmon. What a bummer! He dropped several lines off the back of the boat and we began trolling for Alaskan Salmon.

The boat had a restroom onboard as well as an indoor cabin. This was fortunate as the weather in Ketchikan was cold and rainy. My son spent time in the cabin sheltered from the chilly winds and rain. The rain was a constant drizzle but with the cooler temperatures, it was quite miserable!

We took turns attempting to reel in a fish. We had several on the lines but never got one to the boat. Super disappointing, but that is fishing! As many say, “If it was not a sport of chance, it would be called catching, not fishing”.

Though we had poor luck in bringing a fish into the boat, we did have a great time trying to reel a fish in. Captain Larry tried different locations in an attempt to land an Alaskan salmon.

After the fishing charter, we walked through the town of Ketchikan viewing several totems in town. Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of totem poles. There are 80 Native American Totem Poles located in Ketchikan Alaska, it seems you can’t go a few blocks without seeing one! There are several shore excursions offered by the cruise ship and shore excursion companies in the area to the Totem Bight State National Park, however we used the free walking map provided by the Department of Tourism.

I wish we could have seen more totems than we did, however the rain and cold deterred us. We were down right frigid! Thank goodness for those ponchos and warm winter gear!

Related: Packing tips for an Alaskan cruise

I would highly recommend trying your hand at salmon fishing in Ketchikan, Alaska with Avid Anglers Charters. On Mondays, you will have to compete with commercial fisherman. Had we to do it over again, I would recommend choosing a date later in June or July. In comparison, we were in Alaska the first week in June but Captain Larry did state the weather would be better as the summer progressed. Also, the number of salmon would be more plentiful later in the summer season as well.

Have you fished in Alaska? What was your experience? I would love to hear from you!

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