Misleading 5 day/4night guided fishing tour with daily fishing excursions 8-10 hours fishing daily! That was the print on our groupon. Even the bus that picks you up advertises 5 day guided fishing adventure from $1795. We added the $1000 private room/private bath surcharge making our 3 day fishing excursion the costliest per diem compared to 6 prior Alaska trips, 2 Patagonia lodges, 1 Belize Lodge and three Mexico trips! THIS IS A THREE DAY TRIP! PROS: Lovely accommodations - the vessel reconstruction is first class. Nice people though while not an executive chef Sue prepared wonderful meals and the new guide Steve goes out of his way to secure you a catch! Kudos to both - they are both keepers! Fishing rods and reels are in great shape. CONS: Late pickup. Groupon indicated check in time of 2 p.m. so I assumed a half day of fishing (wrong on my part). I emailed Pete two days prior to pick up to tell him we were at the Gilmore Hotel and what time was pickup. He indicated 4 p.m. but he forgot us, leaving us sitting in the hotel. I called him and he was at the airport picking up the other four clients, and was delayed until 5:30 p.m. We were the first clients of the season so only six customers were booked as they weren't fully ready - last minute hires, boat repairs, etc. Everyone had private quarters and the other four parties did not have to incur the additional charge. Upon arrival they informed us that all six parties would be trolling on one boat for salmon. We originally read there would be four per boat, but their website has been updated recently to indicate 4-6 anglers per boat. This was a very recent change as both my husband and myself confirmed the four anglers per boat just last week! We refused to troll as six but there was only one boat rigged with down riggers. We opted to bottom fish with the Modocs Captain (a new hire) as they only had one guide for Salmon (also a new hire just a few days prior). The Captain had time constraints regarding how long he could be off the Modoc so our fishing days were between 6 and 7 hours, not the 8-10 hours advertised in our Groupon offer. The Guide Steve suggested an early departure on day three at 4 a.m. and we agreed so everyone would leave at the same time. What we did not know until we left with the Captain at 4 a.m. was he had to be back at 10 a.m. - thus our 6 hour fishing day! We should have been advised of this fact before agreeing to a 4 a.m. departure to accommodate the group. We were back on the boat by 10 a.m. Kayaks and paddle boats were not easily accessible so we sat and read our books. The hot tub was tepid and not hot tub temps, so it was a very expensive day to sit and read our books. We verbalized our dissatisfaction to the owner Pete upon his return from errands as to how unfairly we had been treated. The boat we went out on only had one engine properly working so we fished the same non productive waters each day never going outside for halibut or ling cod. This boat only ran at half speed and the Captain had to consult charts in order to find likely fishing areas. We caught rock fish but nothing of any size, a few sole (1 keeper), a short ling cod. So much for the quote "we go where the fish are." The Modoc is permanenty moored for the season. The self guided boats were not in the water, nor were they offered. Crabbing is no longer an option as someone retained a short last season and they were heavily fined. Our last morning the guide Steve offered to take us out at 3 a.m. This was his own initiative and we landed two kings as he found a hot spot the day before and each of the other four clients landed one king. We were limited to one king each as they didn't realize the limit was now two. Not that it would have made a difference as the total catch was 6 salmon. Thank you to Steve for volunteering to take us out at 3 and getting us back by 7 a.m. in time for breakfast and the noted departure time for day five! My argument is that Pete should have offered us a day of fishing on day "five" as he was aware we had accomodations in Ketchikan and not flying home immediately. While he drove the four other clients to the airport we could have fished with Steve, gone to the dock and driven to our hotel with minimal disruption to the days plan. This outfit as expressed by the owner suffers significant staff turnover. Pete expressed that he has trouble retained staff. We have fished Alaska on six prior trips. My husband is booked for steelhead fishing in October, 2015 and we have a lodge booking for August 2016. This is our worst Alaska experience - look elsewhere and do more research! I jumped at the Groupon thinking it was a value, but it's not!!! It ended up costing me so much more. read more

The letter I sent out to the Alaskan Modoc Adventure. By the way, I should of done more research, but there is not much written about this, they keep deleting unfavorable comments on their face book page. Beware here, they are nice people but the operation is horrible. I just returned from this trip. Sorry for this unfavorable review, but it is what it is. If that was fishing Alaska, then I would of never returned. When at the airport I did some research and talked to local outfitters and their customers. It was then I fully realized that Alaskan Modoc Adventure was a poor choice. Doing some more research when I got home, that really confirmed it. I will return to Alaska, but never to your operation, Although Jim may delivered his message in brunt way, he was completely correct and it would be wise to listen what what was said. Your customer return rate is low, and that misses a good business opportunity and probably the only way your operation will survive. More importantly, it indicates how you are truly doing, its not up to par. Way too many important details are overlooked. I purchased this trip because I recently retired and was looking for a dream fishing trip. I am an experienced fisherman and was I was highly disappointed. There was no executive chef, the vacuum sealers did not work, the fishing guides had did not know the local waters. The customers had to clean and process their own fish. This is a third rate business at best. The equipment on the boats did not work properly. The customers onboard felt this was not as advertised and were highly disappointed. The food was not professionally prepared. The freezers were not working properly and had to be taped closed. The fish was not professionally or properly boxed and they used box tape instead of the bands that are used as a standard. My box broke open even though I was told that the box tape would help. That caused me to lose what little (25lbs box) of fish that I caught, again, very bad advice and big disappointment. I even asked for duct tape and was told there was none. (really?) Especially since there were other boxes taped up using duct tape? These boxes need to be banded, like every other box I saw at the airport. So many details are neglected and it did add up to a bad experience. The quote taken from the web page "No one likes to hear, "Oh! The fish are not really here right now." That is why we have Alaska?s only mobile floating lodge. It is no secret that fish move, but so do we! We have put together the ultimate combination of luxurious accommodations, state of the art charter boats, experienced guides, and unmatched fishing locations. " This claim is totally false, the quality of fish compared to other outfitters in the Ketchican area was extremely poor. I had time while waiting for my flight and talked to other customers of local outfitters to compare experiences and I was disturbed to learn the fish bite was on. They were bringing home 150 lbs of fish compared to the measly 25 pounds I brought home. The quality of their catch much outweighed and only included the top quality of salmon. They were throwing away the pinks and chums compared to the majority of the catch was that. When I called in April I was told the King Salmon Run was prime during July, It wasn't, and only two were caught during the 4 days. Out of the two vacuum sealers aboard, one did not work at all, and the other did not work properly, and the customers had to seal thier own. We did not catch bigger fish and we did not catch lots of them as advertised. "Dining aboard the Modoc is second to none. Our professional chef provides three amazing three meals a day and dinner always features some of the days catch. " There were no professional chefs aboard and the none of the meals included some of the days catch. I have laid crab pots out before, you learn where the good spots are and where they are not real fast, this was another disappointment but by then it was status quo and expected. Only one boat had a trolling motor on it, this was critical for trolling for fish. The showers were cold or luke warm, the decks were dirty, the fishing boat toilets barely worked, there were no self guided boats allowed out. Most of the equipment was run down and beat up. The deck of the boat was dirty and disorganized. I would give this a one star only because the people were friendly. IF you want a true Alaskan Experience this is not the place you want to go. I would rather stay home than go back to this outfitter. It was not a pleasant nor a value for your customers It sounds like a good idea, good concept, but if I had to do it all over again, I would do more research. Buyer beware, you will not get the trip that you think you are buying. Go with a outfitter that has been around for a while.The Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce has had many complaints concerning them. read more

Well what to say? The 5 day 4 night guided fishing trip is really 4 nights and 3 days. Your checked in day 1 at 5pm. No fishing, just getting settled on the boat the first night. This is actually considered your day 1. Day 2, 3 and 4 you are fishing. However, my group landed no fish. We basically drove in circles for three days just fishing the same spot. Which I might add is only minutes from where the modoc is anchored at. We did not hunt down fish or even try areas that would obviously require more gas. Our boat captain was not a fisherman. A part time hire just to fill the shoes of skipper for legal reasons. You clearly could feel and tell he had no idea where fish were or any of the local spots outside there small radius they fish. The boat we fished on did not run properly and at the time, the equipment we fished with had not been attended to for some seasons. The vessel itself is very nice but still needs lots of love. The jacuzzi does not run after 8, which is pointless cause who wants to sit in there right after dinner. You want to relax, unwind and enjoy the evening. Not here. The executive chef should be changed to cook. Each day for lunch we were served a chunk of ham and chunk of cheese. But we had multigrain bread. Lol no lettuce tomato. Three days of nasty ham. Dinners were okay but nothing more than home cooked food. If your looking for a serene relaxing trip where you do a lot of nothing, this would be perfect. If you'd like a fishing adventure where your brought on the fish? This might not be for you. Even with the groupon @1499 claiming 4500 value. I've been on the $4500 trip. Not even close by a long shot. They should take one of those trips to know what their selling. Your not getting the adventure or experience you get on a higher priced trip. The potential is there but they've got their work ahead of them. read more

I very much enjoyed my time with Alaskan Modoc Adventures. The ship itself was lovely and quite beautiful, but the scenic views of Alaska were absolutely breathtaking! I am not an expert fisherman, but the owner, Pete Bennison, was very kind and offered useful advice and many encouraging words that got me even more excited. While I did not catch a ton of fish (I did catch some, but as I said before, I am no expert!) my boyfriend caught enough for the both of us, so I am happy with the outcome, as is he! I had never been to Alaska prior to my trip, so it was great to be able to participate in Alaskan fishing, which is something I have heard is pretty memorable and enjoyable. My experience was nothing less than this, and I would highly recommend other visitors to the area to give this place a shot- you will not regret it! read more

We did enjoy our trip with AMA, they need some work though. The crew are nice people, and the food they serve is good home cooking. It's been my experience (especially when the bite was cold all day) that when the bite gets hot, you don't just pull up lines and head in because it's nearly 4pm. This happened with our boat all 3 fishing days. We asked to stay out a little longer every day or alter the timing, but were denied every time. We would have expected to come home with more than 4 salmon (and that was more than anyone else on the boat) for 3 full days fishing. The fishing guides need work. read more

I just came back from 4 days of fishing from Ketchikan, AK. The Modoc boat is an interesting and cool boat. There probably is nothing like the boat around. Pete (the owner) has done a nice job restoring the boat and treats his guest well. If you want to go up to Alaska and stay on a boat(hotel) for a few days and relax this is a good way to go and worth the rate or fee from groupon. If you want to go up to Ketchikan, AK and do fishing this is not where you want to be. Pete has not learned yet how to take care of fishermen. He does not have good working equipment. He does not have local great guides who know where to go. Our first day was right in front of Ketchikan houses next to a highway. I caught one F--k--G salmon the four days I was up there. I should have done my homework. It is my fault. Great fishing trips are always had by word of mouth and or doing good homework. I would not recommend using the Alaskan Modoc Adventures as a fishing trip. read more