This review is for the quick and honest response from fishtail river guides. There were no fish…read morerunning when I called last summer and Eric was very honest and describing the situation. I'm sure he's a great guy. Same flight as an over the phone.

Our office went out with Andy on the Deshka River fishing for Kings!!! Had a blast. Andy kept us on…read morethe fish, was very helpful with his instruction. A couple of us needed a little extra help and he was very patient, changing out bait when needed, and watching our lines. We ended up with some very nice fish!!! Highly recommend Fishtales River Guides!! A++++++ Tonya K

We just went out with Todd this morning and had the best time, despite the rain, wet and cold! My…read moreboyfriend and I had Todd and his sweet dog, Bandit, all to ourselves and we were one of the first ones on the river this morning! While the spot is a popular spot, it was teaming with salmon and plenty for all! Todd literally caught a fish on his first cast (he was giving a quick tutorial). My boyfriend and I caught and released about 20 chum and pink "humpy" salmons and still caught our quota of silver (coho) salmon. (In AK you can only keep 3). We only reserved him for a half day, which was plenty for us given the unlucky weather. Todd was super helpful and had all of the gear we would need, including waders, printed our fishing licenses for us, had multiple rods ready to use, had fly fishing rods (which we didn't try, but he was using them) and took care of all our netting, and filleting our fish. You could tell he really knows his stuff and that the other outfitters were a little jealous of all the fish we were catching. Apparently it all has to do with the "rig" we were using (aka the hook, tackle, set-up of the rod). He then gave us the number of a really nice lady, Crystal, who doesn't normally work on Sundays, but met us anyways to help process and ship our fish home. (I will review once we get home and reunited with our fish.) Overall, our experience was great and exactly what we came to AK for. When you're out with a guide for several hours, personality is important. I was worried that our guide might be a grouchy local snob (since we are from SD and clearly tourists) or overly cheesy (which we were a little sick of after being on a cruise ship). Todd is the guy that lives here, owns and operates his own business, and clearly takes pride and care in guiding others in what he does very well. We caught a ton of fish and had a great time :) Thanks again, Todd.

We (me + 28 yr old son) hired owner/guide Todd Kingery to take us "up river" to chase some trout…read moreand brush up on our fly fishing skills. Absolutely perfect day on the river. Todd patiently worked with us to get our casting down then we spent the day sight casting to trout -- catching several really nice ones! What an experience and what a fantastic time with a great guide and really nice guy. Highly Recommend.

I'm with Joy G, this place is like a liquor store for Baptists: a place everyone goes, but no one…read moretalks about going to! I had only heard about it when my brother was visiting. He's a avid fisherman and did extensive research, and stumbled upon this area. Now that I've finally visited, I recognize it as the place where a lot of drone videos posted on social media are shot. There's a well-maintained parking lot with no fee. From here, you can go right to the water and fish. There's also a very short, but very well-maintained hiking trail. (maybe ¼ of a mile) The highlight here for me is the small bridge. It's right at the start of the hiking trail, over a milky-turquoise canal, and Pioneer Peak almost perfectly frames the scene in the background. It's an easy-to-take show that will blow away all your non-Alaska friends. If you're a tourist: this place is a must-visit. If you're a fisherperson: this place is a must-visit. If you're an avid hiker: this place is a must-visit...once. It's probably a good place to look for the Northern lights though! Decent sky views and you can stay close to your (warm) car!

Wanted to visit this area after reading great reviews from Elite Yelpers. I call the road you need…read moreto take to get there the "Palmer back road." Growing up religious we had these yearly summer camp meetings and that road is the only road I know to use to get there. Funny, I never noticed the sign for this place before, which is pretty large and obvious. Any way, it was my birthday and I wanted to get some fresh air with my family. We get there about 10am on a Monday morning. I was surprised to see a lot of fishermen in spots all around. I think they were just as surprised to see us. We started off strolling my youngest then found it easier to put her in a carrier. This place is breathtaking. The water is so calming and so tranquil. Love the bridge and as other yelpers mentioned, it is super close to the parking lot. Luckily it was sunny and we enjoyed the short hike through the wooded area. We were definitely the only people there not fishing. Greatful to have found this place.

Ice Fishing was my favorite part of our trip…read more We did a lot of fun things on our trip to Alaska and ice fishing was by far my favorite. My husband may disagree but that's only because I caught more fish than him... Dustin is the shop owner and an all-around cool guy. He had a great set up for us before we even got to the location - a heated shelter, cameras so we could see below the ice, and rods all ready to go. We enjoyed chatting with him about his experiences fishing all over the world (he won't brag...but he's kind of famous). We're always looking to support Veteran-owned businesses and we're glad to have found The Bait Shack! Don't worry, all of the big char went back into the water to swim another day. But man was it fun! It was so exhilarating to watch these fish come up from the ice. Dustin also made sure they were handled gently and watched for any signs of distress from the fish as we were sending them home. We're fully committed to a summer trip so we can fish out a few Kings with Dustin and his crew. If you're looking for a fishing adventure near Anchorage, call The Bait Shack!

What a great first ice fishing experience! Dustin put us on plenty of fish and we caught fish all…read moreday. Dustin made everything super easy and made sure we had everything we needed for our first experience. We did the DIY package, and we were catching fish within a few minutes of fishing. Would definitely come back again- highly recommended and a great genuine guy.

If you have limited time in the area, do not hesitate to book this tour. Fred will go out of his…read moreway to make sure you have a wonderful, authentic Alaskan experience. During our visit to the Talkeetna area there were wildfires burning, we were unable to make it to the meeting area but Fred and his helper Rich came to the hotel and picked us up so we wouldn't miss out on the fun. He first took us to a secluded spot by a river where the salmon were literally swimming between our feet. We could have reached down and scooped them up, but we were there to learn how to fly fish, so learn we did! Fred was extremely patient with me and my husband....and our limited fishing abilities! He came supplied with everything you could need or want during the tour. The waders fit perfectly, and kept us warm in the glacier water. While driving to our second fishing spot he supplied yummy croissant sandwiches to snack on during the ride. The second fishing spot had just as many salmon and we were able to catch quite a few fish. I had a beautiful trout on my line but unfortunately I didn't snag him and he got off the hook. I was bummed, but Fred is so encouraging before I knew it I had a huge salmon on the line and brought it in successfully. While we enjoyed fishing Rich cooked up some salmon by the shore along with vodka tonic and rum and cokes. We took a break to enjoy a perfect meal of deliciously cooked salmon and a nice cocktail. It was seriously a perfect day, despite the wildfires in area. I just hope that Rich and Fred's property were not impacted. If I am ever back in the area, this would be the first tour I book. It was a great experience and a super fun day!! Thank you Fred and Rich for making this the highlight of our trip!

This was the highlight of our Alaska trip. We did the fishing trip with Fred and He was amazing. We…read moremet up with Fred around 2pm. Had a delicious lunch and drinks and caught fish all afternoon. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The spot Fred took us the fish were jumping out of the water right before our eyes. As the sun started to go down it was impossible not to catch a fish. We even ate our fresh fish on the beach. We were celebrating my Mom's 60th Birthday and Fred made it an extra special day. My brother is already wanting to make another Alaska trip next year just to fish with Fred!

Jared is a skillful pilot and is always looking out to ensure his passengers have a safe and…read morewonderful time! Seeing Alaska from a Supercub is an unmatched experience and I couldn't recommend Hudson Cubventures more!

Jared is a phenomenal pilot! Takes a lot of pride in safety and knows an incredible amount about…read moreAlaskas geography, making flight sees an absolute blast. 10/10 recommend

Perfect 1/2 day fishing trip w Shane. The waders were key and we stayed warm and dry. Love the…read morejet boat ride to the fishing spot.

One of the best experiences of my life. I found them on a YouTube channel I watch and have been…read morewaiting over a year to get here for this. I took my son and my six year old grandson. We needed nothing but to show up. Everything we needed was supplied. They treated us like gold. This was truly a five star experience. Captain Sam is truly a good man. He made my grandson feel like he was a king. Sam made sure we were taken care of the whole time while helping my grandson catch lots of fish. I will be coming back again next year. Will be making my reservations soon !!

Repeat customer and I can't say enough good things about these guys! We had the best time on our…read moreJuly 4th fishing trip with Clay! Everything was well-organized and welcoming. We've had a Clay as our guide a few times before, and he's always fantastic--knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely fun to be around. He made sure we were in the right spots, gave great tips, and kept the energy up all day long, even at 4am. The owners, Lori and Travis, clearly care about their business and their guests. You can tell they've put a lot of heart into making sure every trip is a great experience. The boat was clean, well-equipped, and comfortable, and we came back with not only a great haul of fish but also memories we'll talk about for a long time. If you're thinking about booking a fishing trip, we absolutely recommend Fish Em. Clay, Lori, and Travis make a great team, and we can't wait to go out with them again!

We were visiting Alaska and wanted to get some ice fishing exposure. We went out for the 2 hour…read morefamily experience and I couldn't believe my 6 year old kept focused and enjoyed it. Jake did. Fantastic job putting us on the fish. We all caught fish totaling a couple dozen. If you're looking for a friendly knowledgeable Alaskan book a trip with them.

We booked a float trip for our anniversary. The guide showed up 40 min late without a boat and took…read moreus to a construction site where we waded in a creek. Not the Alaska fishing experience we wanted for our anniversary. They have refused to answer any emails or return phone calls. We have asked for a partial refund. Do not use this company!

We asked Dave to organize a helicopter fishing trip for a group of us last summer stuck at a lodge…read morethat 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.