We asked Dave to organize a helicopter fishing trip for a group of us last summer stuck at a lodge that had poor fishing conditions. He was happy to do it short notice. When he billed us, we understood why. Other than booking the chopper and coming on the trip himself and perhaps baiting a couple of hooks, he provided zero services. No food, no drinks, nothing. The guides from our camp came along with us at our cost and provided most of the services. The trip started around 8 am and was over by 2 or 3. We expected to pay him a guide fee and cover the cost of the chopper's hourly rate. Total flight time was 7.3 hours, which I verified with the pilot. In the end, when Dave sent the bill, he charged a guide fee of $1,100 and then padded the chopper bill by almost two flight hours to 9.2 hours. Chopper rate was $725/hour. Challenged about this billing, Dave flew into a rage and said that his guide rate was, in fact, $295/person/day ($3,245 for our group, most of whom had literally not even seen him that day or gotten an iota of service from him) plus the flight time, and he would be happy to change the bill to reflect that rate instead of padding the hours, which he said had only done to "save on taxes." I'm not making this up - all of this was in writing, so it's no exaggeration. Bottom line: if you do anything with Dave Fish Alaska, hold your wallet. You're dealing with a dishonest guy who will fleece you if he can. read more
