1. TRAVEL FROM JUNEAU TO THE MOTHERSHIP IS INCLUDED! Our all-package rates INCLUDE a ride to the Highliner Lodge, or Emerald Island, from Juneau (and back at the end of your trip). Most lodges are located close to a city, and an airport. Those lodges don't have this $600-700 expense. But if you go to any lodge located near a town and airport, you won't be able to experience a truly remote Alaskan fishing experience... and most importantly, you won't be able to CATCH and KEEP as many fish! Those lodges are not even remotely “Closest to the Fish!” In fact, comparatively speaking… the expenses at lodges close to cities and airports are one-half what our expenses are… and their fishing is one-quarter as good as ours!

See our statement proving that we have the best fishing in Alaska here!

2. EXTRA COSTS & MISLEADING PROMOTIONS? Our prices always include an extra night's lodging. For example we offer 4 days of fishing and 5 nights of lodging. Other lodges offer 4 days and 3 nights lodging in their packages. If you go to those lodges you will have to pay for lodging and meals at a hotel for two nights (at your expense) and THE WORST PART IS... you have to travel on your first and sometimes last day of fishing... so you won't get a full day of fishing in either day. You would be lucky to get a half day of fishing! Perhaps those other lodges should say "2 full days, 2 half days and 3 night's lodging" that would be more accurate and honest.

3. ACCESS TO TWO HALIBUT REGULATORY AREAS. Most lodges can't offer you this because they have not purchased charter halibut permits for both area 2C and area 3A to make that available to you. These permits are also very expensive ($100-200K each) and that cost and opportunity is also reflected in our prices. Why is the important? Because it allows our guests to fish in the area that is most productive and has the most liberal bag and size limits on any particular day. Did you know that at some lodges you can’t even fish for halibut on certain days of the week? We can simply go to the area that provides our guests the best opportunity to catch and keep halibut!

4. TWO HALIBUT A DAY OF ANY SIZE (AREA 3A)! We offer our guests an opportunity to catch and keep two halibut a day OF ANY SIZE! Most lodges can't offer you that because they have not purchased fishing rights to covert to what is called Guided Angler Fish (GAF) to make that available to you. These permits are very expensive and that cost and opportunity is reflected in our prices.

5. WE REALLY ARE A FISHING LODGE. Yes, there are many lodges that are less expensive (and some that are much more expensive!) but what is the point of saving a few hundred dollars if you don't get the pleasure of catching and taking home your fish? Are are looking for a "fishing" lodge… or a luxury resort spa with a celebrity chef, or perhaps an “adventure” resort with a zip-line and a chance to swim with the dolphins?

6. VALUE. If your concern is value… compare the value of the catch our average guest brings home to the average at other lodges! Our guests average 120 pounds of very high quality (no pink or chum salmon!) king and silver salmon, halibut, sablefish, lingcod, and a variety off rockfish! At an average price of $20 a pound the value of this fish is $2,400! Obviously some of our fishing guests are above average!

7. MORE FISHING TIME! Perhaps the most compelling reason of all is that you get to spend a lot more time doing what you came to Alaska to do… which is fishing!

At many lodges the boats leave the dock late and/or come in early… and you can spend more time riding around in the boat than fishing. Some lodges quit fishing after everyone has caught one small halibut around lunchtime… because there is nothing else to catch in those locations! Even at the best of lodges, like the Highliner Lodge, you can only get about 7 hours of actual fishing time each day (this is proven with logbook data) because you have to spend on average 2-4 hours in transit each day primarily going to and from the fishing grounds but also moving from place to place during the day looking for more or a different specie of fish. Eliminating the transit to and from the fishing lodge provides an extra 2-4 hours per day of fishing time!

8. FLEXIBILITY: Because you are fishing from the Emerald Island and it is located on the fishing grounds, our captains can choose to fish a little later, or start a little earlier, depending on when the fish are biting! They do not have to maintain a ridged schedule like they would if they had to return to a lodge at a particular time so that the guests can be on time for their four course diner service. Our meals on the Emerald Island are great but much less formal that at a lodge.

9. QUALITY: No one takes better care of your catch! Quality starts on the charter boat, stunning, properly bleeding, gutting and washing AND icing your catch as it comes aboard! Properly and professionally filleting, vacuum packing, and flash freezing your catch with professional industrial equipment resulting in the highest quality product that will taste as good a year from now as the day you caught it!

If all of these steps aren’t taken, using professional equipment and processes, the fish you bring home may not be worth the effort of catching them.

10. PROVEN BEST FISHING! We not only have explained in depth, and proven with statistics, why we have the best fishing in Alaska… the Emerald Island and Highliner Lodge has proven it in our production of thousands of halibut caught over 100 pounds in these past 15 years as well as hundreds of trophy shots showing scores of king and silver salmon caught with this halibut on the same day! Not only have we produced the biggest halibut and the largest catches in numbers… but also, the widest variety of fish… halibut, king salmon and silver salmon, yelloweye, lingcod, sablefish, shortrakers, rougheyes, pacific cod, salmon sharks, and a huge variety of rockfish! This magnitude and variety is only possible to catch in our location!