I just returned from a 3-day trip out of Seward aboard the Sound Crazy with Captain Butters, and it was an incredible experience. We were very fortunate with calm seas and great weather, but we still had to work hard to catch high-quality fish--which made the success that much more rewarding. I've lived in Alaska for over 10 years and have been on several fishing charters, but I've never been on one where both the captain and deckhands worked so relentlessly to give their guests the best possible chance at catching fish. On many charters, you'll hear, "This is fishing, and sometimes they just don't cooperate." That's absolutely true, and I understand that patience is part of targeting larger halibut. What set this trip apart was the dedication of Captain Butters and his crew. Seeing the captain himself up at midnight chumming and soaking lines to improve our odds was something I've never experienced. He wasn't satisfied with us catching a couple of small "chickens"--he wanted to help create memories. Thanks to that extra effort, the last two halibut we landed became fish that my family members, who traveled all the way to Alaska for this trip, will never forget. The team at Crazy Rays is first-class, and their commitment to their guests is obvious. They genuinely care about providing the best experience possible, and it shows in everything they do. Going forward, this is the charter company I'll recommend to friends and family and the one I'll choose whenever I book another trip. Thank you, Captain Butters and the entire Crazy Rays crew, for an unforgettable adventure and memories that will last a lifetime. read more

Ray I tried calling you, left you my number so you can call me back all I got was your automated email asking for a review....So here you go! Fishing Experience what it comes down to is a Minimalist as you described in your email by checking the boxes vs Maximumizing the experience which is my goal. I take 10 to 15 Fishing Charters per year all over North America, I am taking 5 this week. I don't book party charters because I want to ensure I control who I fish with, I often fish a 6 pack with only myself or 1 or 2 friends. FV ICrazy 2 was disappointing and did not measure up to expectations. 1. Mechanical Failure at 1:00pm Prop fell off the engine. Then we spent an hour looking for a spare prop and contacting you. 2. One windshield wiper working, other completely missing. All of the compartment doors are held shut with a dish rag folded over 2-1/2 times and jammed in the crack to keep the doors from falling open since none of the latches would hold the doors closed. 3. The water hose did not work, so everything had to be washed down with a bucket on a rope. 4. The bathroom door would not latch and had to be blocked so it wouldn't keep swinging open. 5. Seat back in the cabin across from the driver would not stay in place 6. And in general the boat lacked good maintenance that you would expect from a 1st class charter operation that is charging its customers premium rates for a full day of fishing. 7. Next issue, I booked a Private 6 Pack Fishing Vessel, only to be told by the captain that the boat could only handle 4 rods at a time plus it was only him no deck hand. So in reality we got a 4 pack and our catch was limited by only having 4 people fishing at any given time. 8. Next, we wasted valuable time in 2 ways, 1st we didn't depart the boat dock until 7:30am and 2nd we went on a wild goose chase scouting a waypoint for the Captains "Boss" on the way down that he never intended to fish because it was too deep, this was over an hour of time we could have been fishing. My points are we could have fished more rods earlier and limited on Halibut sooner, moved on to Rockfish sooner and limited and had time to target cod and other species to Maximize our Fishing Charter had it not been for the limitations within the control of Crazy Rays Charters. The way I see it is I got 2/3 of a Charter for 2/3 of the Time, so I should pay 44.4%. Jeff Miller read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - Nice Halibut Catch - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

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My wife and I had a great day fishing with Crazy Ray's out of Seward. would highly recommend them.

Crew was arrogant and overly confident. Captain put the boat on small halibut "chickens". 13 on the boat meant too many packed in the cabin for 2+ hours transit time and multiple crossed lines. Once we got back to our place...the fish processing/filleting finished cuts were awful. And to add salt to a bad day...once we got home, we were shorted 1 halibut in our bag. Overall...a 2 star experience is generous. Would not recommend this charter service. read more

This year marks the 4th year in a row our group of 8 anglers chartered a trip with Ray and Brenda. My daughter, brother and 2 Navy buddies have over 84 years on the Salt, and another friend and his father have hunted and fished all over the country including Alaska. This year we included another great angler who played ice hockey at the collegiate level and what a tough dude he is. When you charter with Ray you have a very skilled Captain who knows not only the fishing grounds but so much more of Whittier and Alaska overall. Butters, a fellow Captain holds various licenses on merchant ships and is a very skilled mariner with endless knowledge of the many targeted species of fish in the local waters. This year we had the pleasure of meeting Ray's sons Noah, and Stevie who have learned from their father Ray and are such energetic, customer oriented, tireless deck hands. These guys will put you on fish, show you the best techniques for success, and watch your rod tip from every position on the boat. They are all very passionate, want their clients to have the best experience possible, ensure your safety, and clean your catch at the end of the day. It wouldn't be fair to say something about Brenda who is clearly the glue that holds this team together and who will make your reservations as smooth as possible. In fact every year we spend time in their coffee house supporting that part of the business. Before you launch visit the coffee house, shop the little store, and sit down and enjoy your beverages. Thank you Ray, Brenda, Butters, Noah, and Stevie what a great trip of a lifetime of memories. read more

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Absolutely an amazing experience with Ray and Riechen! Made my first trip to Alaska something I'll never forget. Thank you so much!! read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

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Booked a last minute charter after missing out on another boat With fewer fisherman. The other boat highly recommended crazy rays. I was reluctant at first, as I had been on party boats on the east coast that were crowded and full of novice fishermen with a mess of tangled lines. We were greeted at the dock and head count was made making sure we all had the required fishing licenses. The boat was large and comfortable, clean and well laid out. Captain gave us the talk and set expectation for our trip. We had a wide variety between experienced and beginner anglers. The day was sunny and beautiful, a rarity in these waters. We were going for large halibut, but hit on rockfish and king cod. We were very successful, but huge halibut weren't there so we moved on and hit a nice spot of smaller halibut. Just about everyone limited out. The mate and captain both worked extremely hard and were friendly and patient. Couple of lines got tangled but no big deal Everyone caught fish. You could take them home or pay for processing and shipping on the dock. Summary this is a top notch boat with great people running it. These guys work hard to make this a fun experience for everyone and were highly skilled and kind. Met some nice people on the boat, nobody got sick. Beautiful views and caught a bunch of fish. Had a beautiful rockfish fillet last night cooked with white wine and lemon. so glad I chose to go. read more

First off the boat is a mess, in that it needed a lot of attention. The cabin door would not stay shut, so there was a makeshift string attached. The day was rainy and all the windows where totally logged up because only one fan out of three worked, and it fell off the ceiling just out of the harbor. One of the bench seat backs kept falling off. The sonar was unreliable The heater hose in the v-birth was disconnected so no heat blew in the cabin or to the windshield vents; this would have helped with the fooged up windows. Wires strung willy-nilly Cabin was over the top stinky. We ran for over 2 hours to reach the fishing area, moved several times, only caught 1 tiny Halibut with 6 people, captain didn't obtain any intell from sister boats that seemed to find better fishing; not sure why. We did however limit out on rockfish. The captain was a great guy, just didn't get us on the Halibuts, not even a chicken patch. Only reason I didn't give 1 star is because the customer service was great and the captain was a great guy. read more

Had an awesome time fishing on Strait Crazy with Capitan Ray, Capitan Butters and deckhand Kiken. Fishing was excellent. We did the overnighter. It was tough being up all night but well worth it. I highly recommend Strait Crazy Adventures. Peter Polce read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - A very large butt. - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

I really hate writing these types of reviews but sometimes you just have to. I recently went out on a charter with Crazy Rays in Whittier and this is what happened. to begin with, putting six people and ONE Captain on a boat is just WRONG. Then riding for 3 hours one-way, fishing for 2, then riding back another 3 for $500.00 is just not right. I'm seeing this more and more these days due to staffing shortages and whatever, but back in the day, you never seen a captain without a deck-hand. Now it seems to be the norm which is REALLY BAD if you're the client. You just don't get the quality or level of service you're paying GOOD money for. Once we got to the fishing spot and after losing 2 lures -(we were jigging off the bottom...it happens), I then somehow managed to break one of their "high-end" poles...lol, which I guess was the breaking point for the captain who then hands me another POS pole with a broken reel. When I began explaining this to him, he became even angrier and hands me a rusty pole and reel from what looked like the 18th Century-lucky me! When I asked him if I could get a different/newer pole from the 6 he had in the rack, he said no and put me on DISREGARD for the rest of the day. when I asked if I could try a different lure, he shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah, whatever" and turned to help another client. I had to find and change the lure out myself. Moments later that client caught a nice halibut which the captain said was illegal and quickly threw him back in. Back at the dock we learned this wasn't true from another Crazy Rays employee. Needless to say, that man wasn't real happy with the charter either. Along with this and unfortunately during the ENTIRE trip, the captain made a point of letting everyone know that this was not the boat he normally operates which was more than apparent which made the trip even more special. Long story short, I've been in Alaska for over 30 years and cant even tell you how many charters I've been on but this was hands-down, without a doubt, the ABSOLUTE WORST! Never Again Crazy Ray. Never ever again! read more

I booked a sea duck hunt with Crazy Ray's and it was an amazing time. Professional and knowledgeable about the birds and the area. I highly recommend booking this hunt read more

I go every year. No complaints. This is my daughter's first halibut. All of my kids caught a halibut. read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - Big fish - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

too bad no stars is not an option!! This is a glorified boat ride - a very expensive boat ride - NOT a fishing trip! Six hours of boat travel at top speed to fish for 3.5 hours?! SERIOUSLY?! don't waste your time or money!! read more

A phenomenal experience today! Great personable crew, sweet rig and clean, caught loads of halibut- just a fun amazing time with family and friends. Anyone coming to Alaska... you must use Crazy Rays!- they are simply the best! There is no better feeling than to reel in a 70lb Halibut except to see your family members pull in from 50 lbs to 150 lbs- yep! You read right. 150 lbs! 30 May 2022. read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - Awesomeness! - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

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Great crew and get you on the fish quickly and efficiently. Super nice to the kids too. The boat caught limit of halibut then we went for Rockfish. We caught our limit of Rockfish I think in about 15 mins. Then we trolled for some Kings. Amazing day, thank you Crazy Ray's read more

Our trip was on 5/28/2023. CrazyRays was having a special...for halibut, and was not explained properly for the halibut/salmon combo, even though when I spoke to the co-owner, she said that it was a BOGO - buy one get one half off. We specifically chose this for the special. However, after booking, I said that there was no discount. She explained, it wasn't for this trip, but never stated that when discussing all the options on the phone for 30 minutes. Additionally, the captain even specifically stated that it was IMPOSSIBLE to catch salmon at that time. So, very misleading in stating what you were paying for to fish - with no possiblity. That included the purchase of a KING stamp as well. I was disappointed in the lack of honesty. I even tried calling and sent an email to address this very issue. I was ignored. My advise - buyer beware of what you "think" you are purchasing. No reason to spend extra money on salmon stamp or something else - when the possibility doesn't exist. Positively - CPT John Black was awesome!! Great Attitude and a great captain! CrazyRays is very lucky to have recruited this awesome team member. read more

Had a blast on Crazy Ray's fishing day trip! Captain Keith was awesome! He made the trip so relaxing fun and great experience catching a LOT of fish .. Great boat would do it again in heartbeat .. just make sure you are ready for long day on the boat but get the chance to catch many types of fish ! read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - On the boat big Silver Salmon! - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

Went with Captain Keith again on Sunday, August 15th 2021 and we limited out on everything. 2 halibut at 100 lbs and 4 halibut at 50 lbs. This is the best fishing you will ever experience. We all got out salmon and rockfish limits as well. We brought home 175 lbs of filets (2 people) on the plane. This is a must do if your going to Whittier. read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

Hubby looked over many charters and picked this one. He had a wonderful time and was very happy he did. Captain Manning was excellent and knew exactly where to find the fish. All six anglers caught their limit and we left with them still biting. After the charter, they cleaned all of the fish for us to take home. This charter service is highly recommended! read more

Crazy Ray's Adventures - This was an excellent experience! Nothing like fresh haddock and fresh cod! - Fishing Near Me - Whittier, Alaska

I went on a May charter with Crazy Ray's and it was the perfect fishing experience. Ray's knowledge and expertise in fishing is apparent at every step on the trip. We hauled out to one of his spots, and he and his deckhand prepped the rods and baited the hooks for our entire party. One of the guys in the group hooked a halibut in less than three minutes, it was a good one, but Ray said he could definitely do better, so back in the water. About 10 minutes after that, the guy had a 50 pounder in the well. All six of us got good-sized halibuts in the next hour, one of the guys even pulled in a monster Lingcod, but, it was out of season, so he didn't get to keep it. Then we went in search of Black Rockfish, after 10 minutes or so, Ray gave us a quick briefing on how to catch Rockfish, and 15 minutes later, we had 24 in the well. The bottom line here is Ray is at the top of his profession in terms of knowledge and ability, which is usually enough for a charter boat captain to be successful. However, he also has an uncanny ability when it comes to customer service. If you're doing something wrong, he instinctively figures out what type of learner you are and boom, you know how to do it correctly. I can imagine it might be annoying to have a bunch of novices around and in the way when you need to do boat captain stuff, but Ray never showed a trace of annoyance. Excellent experience, I will be back. read more

I just got off the water, still swaying, LOL. I had the BEST time on Crazy Ray's charter, captained by Keith. All 6 of us caught our limit of halibut, salmon and rockfish deep in the Prince William Sound. I'm coming home with 40 lbs of fish! I'm a total novice (this is my third time fishing) and Keith was very patient and accommodating for newbies such as myself. I will DEFINITELY come back to Whittier to do this and I will 100% go through Crazy Ray's!! Thank you also to Brenda who was so friendly throughout the process of asking questions and making reservations. This charter is TOP NOTCH A+. read more

Having fished many charters all over alaska there is one who stands above the rest. You guessed it crazy rays. From the start of booking your trip you will be impressed by Ray and Brenda ' enthusiasm and it only grows from there. When you get to whittier you will find the beautiful and comfortable fishing vessel the crazy ray. Great seating, comfortable cabin space with lots of windows to enjoy the scenery and various wildlife on your way to the fishing grounds. Ray is a great captain an has fun from start to finish. When you reach the grounds you will find that you are using some of the best fishing equipment ever, comfortable, and clean. Ray knows where the fish are, it doesn't matter what your targeting you are going to catch a lot of fish, from halibut n Ling cod to bass and salmon ray will put you on the fish. On the way back relax in the clean cabin of the crazy ray and reminisce about the days events. When you get back to the dock ray brenda and joey create an amazing team arranging the fish for photos and then look out ray brenda and joey will fillet, clean and help you bag all of the days bounty, clean filets and fast, it really is quite a sight to watch. These guys are by far the best fishing operation I've ever had the pleasure of fishing with and I can't wait to go again. Travis read more

I can't speak on if these guys can put you on fish or not. I can speak upon their poor communication and customer service skills.After an hour of standing around in the rain on the doc we were told that we would not be fishing that day. It appears that changing the bilge pump was to much of a mechanical challenge as the few wires and a piece of plastic got the better of them. Once the decision to not fish was made the boat and her crew were gone in minutes. They didn't even give men a chance to get my lunch that I put onboard to keep dry from the rain. No apologies from the crew, no phone calls or emails they just up and left. It took many phone calls on my end to find out about a refund. As for the refund we did not get back the fee to process our credit cards. I understand that a lot of places pass this fee on to the customer, but have never seen a case where the business is the cause for the refund and they still charge the processing fee. To their credit this spelled out on their website the only problem is I booked over the phone not their website.Basically we were charged to stand in the rain and watch grown men get defeated by a bilge pump which is sad because we're literally talking a about a few wires. Having been on many trips in many states I get that trips get cancelled. It's how things are handled when trips are cancelled that sort the pros from the rest of the field. Can say with full confidence that this place is far from pro and I would recommend not booking with them. read more

This is the best fishing outfit I'm Alaska. I went out with them last week and am already recommending them to friends and co workers. Why so good? Several reasons, Ray and Keith are both knowledgeable, friendly, and not willing to forsake big fish just to make sure you get something in the boat. Everyone on the boat limited out with ease and they were good sized halibut. I have to thank these two guys for not only a great day on the water but also for helping fill my freezer. I can't wait to go back with them. read more