Oasis Alaska Charters — Local services in Ketchikan

Oasis Fishing Charters Review – July 18, 2024 Reviews like this are not easy to write, it is not my intent to damage the reputation of a company or captain, but it is also necessary to let other potential customers know of our experience. Chartering a salmon fishing boat is often a once in a lifetime opportunity so choosing an outfitter is an important decision. We scheduled a 4 hour, private salmon fishing charter for 4 people in mid July. The communication with the company during the reservation process and leading up to the day of the charter was outstanding. They replied to emails quickly and always answered our questions. We also scheduled our transportation from the cruise ship dock to the charter boat through Oasis and that was a good experience. Mel was our shuttle driver, and he was pleasant and knowledgeable about the area. This was the best part of our day. He arrived at the cruise ship on time, delivered us to the boat, was waiting for us after the charter, and returned us to the cruise ship on time. When we arrived at the dock our charter captain took us to the boat. Our captain was pleasant and knowledgeable about fishing, but he wasn’t a good host or instructor. The captain did not have a deck hand and was responsible for all aspects of the charter. We were given no introduction or any type of instruction to make our day enjoyable. The boat was small for 4 people, both in the cabin and on the deck and we had to figure out where to stand and what to do on our own. We only had two rods in the water most of the time for four people but there wasn’t enough room on the boat for more than two active rods. I would like to think that there were life jackets on the boat for all of us, but we were never made aware of where they might have been stored. We were told that drinking water would be available on the charter and the captain helped himself to a bottle of water, but we were never offered any water. There was a box of snacks on the cabin table, but we were never offered any. The web site states that there is a bathroom on the boat, and we did see a toilet but we had no idea if we could use it or how to use it if needed. Our captain smoked on the boat and chewed tobacco as well. He was spitting off the side of the boat and he had a spit bottle he used in the cabin of the boat. He only smoked one cigarette but chewed tobacco throughout the trip. Our captain answered question when asked, but he didn’t really seem interested in providing a good experience for us. I think he just wanted to get the 4 hours over with. We did catch a few fish but had to quiz our captain on what kind of fish we were catching and how to identify the different species of salmon. He was quick at the end of the cruise to make sure he received payment! In my opinion, I would consider a different...

This was the worst chance of a lifetime fishing charter ever! The boat was booked for 5 people but only had 4 total customers. The captain was not friendly, snacks and drinks were not offered as advertised and our success rate was terrible. Active jumps visible all around our boat in the distance and captain never changed his pattern, weights depths, baits etc… Obviously we all were wanted to catch Kings but after 2 hours of no success it seems a change in bait or technique would be warranted. Finally snagged a small king salmon (again catch of a lifetime for me) only to have it knocked off the hook before a picture could be snapped at all. Like NO CHANCE of a period! However, the men on the charter caught two small chum salmon which are typically not even fed to dogs per all my research and conversations with multiple salmon charters and experience local experts, but multiple pictures big to do’s etc. for all the guys! Definitely would not recommend for women ever!!! He was borderline rude and very dismissive the entire trip. It was simply put HUGE WASTE OF MONEY! Never recommend for anyone but especially women! The guys even paid to have their chum salmon processed and shipped back to TN. The only king salmon of the day about 25” was never even discussed or explained why the captain popped it off the line!! I knew the legal limitations of the possible catches but he offered no conversation or discussion at all. We were all excited as I grabbed the pole “fish on”! No pictures during the catch! No instructions no nothing!! But when the teenagers got a fish on the line every thing was different!! The captained aided in the catch, instructed them how to maneuver the poles as they cranked it in, etc.. Very, very, very, very disappointing and sad!! Chance of a lifetime wasted!! I will never never recommend this charter! I would have rated 0 in a scale 1-10! No photos to add...

I want to thank Mark and JoAnne for being the most gracious with their time and thorough with their information!

We are traveling to Ketchikan on a cruise next week and had booked the salmon fishing excursion through the cruise line. After reading the recent reviews on the cruise website for this excursion, I saw someone posted that May is "catch and release" for king salmon. The cruise line wasn't able to confirm this so randomly called Oasis and spoke to Mark.

I failed to look at the clock before calling and Mark answered the phone at 6 am and was so polite. He did confirm that king salmon fishing is catch and release until June 15th but you can catch and keep halibut. Sadly for us he was already fully booked for the day our cruise arrives in Ketchikan.

I called back again the same day and spoke to JoAnne about the fishing for halibut in May. She was a wealth of information and I thanked them both for spending so much time with me explaining fishing trends for May in Ketchikan.

I'm so happy with the assistance they provided me. I 100% recommend booking directly with Oasis Alaska Charters and skipping booking excursions through your cruise line for Ketchikan. They are knowledgeable and I'm sure their fishing trips are legendary. Don't make the mistake I made and book your excursions early, not 1 week before arrival, for your chance to...