We had the absolute pleasure of going out with Chum Fun Charters yesterday, and I can't say enough…read moregood things about the experience. From start to finish, the crew was professional, kind, and incredibly knowledgeable--but what made this trip truly unforgettable was how they went above and beyond for my 7-year-old son. Catching a salmon in Alaska has been my boy's dream for nearly two years, ever since his uncle took him fishing in the mountains of California and he discovered the Outdoor Boys on YouTube. Yesterday, that dream came true. He hooked and reeled in his very own salmon--completely unassisted--with just a little support holding the rod. A huge shoutout to Jude, the high school student working with the charter, who showed infinite patience, kindness, and enthusiasm. He spent extra time helping my son, answering questions, encouraging him, and making him feel like a real angler. Watching my kid light up with pride was something I will remember for the rest of my life. If you're looking for a family-friendly, well-run, and genuinely caring charter company in Juneau, Chum Fun Charters is it. Thank you for helping make a little boy's dream come true. We'll both be talking about this day for a long, long time.

We stayed in town for a little over a week and used up our first few days on different excursions…read more We found what we really wanted on our last few days was to relax and take in Juneau. With salmon jumping about, it only made sense to find some fishing gear and relax and go fishing. We drove up to the location to find it empty and were a little disheartened that maybe they were out doing an excursion themselves. We called and left a message and Paul called us back 2 mins later. Which was awesome. My husband came out of your shop looking like a kid ready to go on an adventure. Big smile and all. We drove up and down Juneau all the way up to Eagle creek and down to sheep creek to fish and did not leave disappointed. Thank you for helping make memories I know my family will share for years to come.

I found these guys via an internet search and took a leap of faith. I liked their reviews and their…read morename, and figured they had a sense of humor. Best decision ever. We came in on the Disney Wonder. Booking was a breeze. They arranged for a taxi to meet us when we got off the ship and drove us to the boat. Nick and his dad run this labor of love and was happy to answer all of our questions and tell us his story. What a good dude. For a few hours I felt like a local. The boat is clean and beautiful and my 7 and 8 year old had a blast. Don't book through the cruise ships. Book straight through this company. They are an Alaskan gem. You won't regret it.

These guys are fantastic. We brought in three gorgeous halibut and several lovely salmon. Such nice…read morepeople! The boat is perfect.

Chris is the absolute best. Experienced, fair & honest, and fun to hang out with. He went way above…read more& beyond for us, I couldn't be happier! I booked a 4-hour salmon charter, and it was tough to talk the wife into even that--she gets seasick on boats sometimes. (But Alaska, and Salmon!!) Chris answered all my questions ahead of time, picked us up, and off we went to the boat. He had everything we needed--just wear rubber-soled shoes, and warm clothes/rain gear. Chris had to navigate thru REALLY thick fog in the marina & first part of the channel to get to the fish. He thought it'd break up once we got out further, and it did. He set up the rods for us, and we were off. I know that experience isn't everything when finding fish. Sometimes you're just not lucky. But being good definitely helps...these two novices caught the limit of 6 coho apiece! (That's about 40 pounds of salmon to send home). Since the wife was feeling good (and catching more than I was) she agreed to a little longer on the boat, and Chris was happy to accommodate. Before too long, we'd 'limited out' and were headed home. Chris gutted & took off the heads, took us to the processor (didn't have to do that, but it was TRULY appreciated!--we'll be able to pick up our fish in a couple days before we fly home!) Overall, just a really great experience. Chris has over 25 years of experience on these waters, and it shows. On top of that, he cares about giving you a great time. Appreciate it, Rum Runner...if we ever come back into town, we'll be happy to head out with you again!

Captain Adrienne and her Deck hand Marlin led us on an epic fishing and whale watching adventure…read more Our hope was to catch king salmon and to see Orcas and Humpbacks. Adrienne and Marlin made it all happen! They are very accommodating and knowledgeable about fishing and about the wildlife. We plan to hire them again in the future!

Dolphin, Sam and Dale were amazing as Captain, and crew! Nicest and most comfortable! We saw 10…read morewhales over the few hours we were out on the water. Dale the Naturalist was so knowledgable and funny! So many pics and videos and such wonderful clear skies! We stopped by one of the bouys that had seals and a quick stop to capture Mendenhall glacier as... well worth it!

We had an incredible time whale watching this morning with Salar!…read more Our group of six had our own boat and I was really really hoping to see Orcas. Salar was up front that only about 10% of tours see Orcas and typically they're just passing through if you do. I know we got lucky but he was able to make happen for us! The boat was clean, as well as the restrooms in the marina beforehand. There were even snacks and drinks on board, as well as some educational resources about the whales living in this area. Overall I cannot recommend enough!

Disappointing and Overpriced Halibut Charter Experience Our…read moreexperience was poor to average. We are a family of four with two girls, ages 11 and 14, and this charter was not a good fit for us this past August, 2025. We were surprised to learn that guides were not allowed to help reel in the fish until they could actually see it at the water line. When fishing for halibut, the line is dropped over 300 feet with a two-pound weight to reach the bottom. Between the weight, the depth, and the rocky waves, it was nearly impossible for our daughters--and admittedly myself--to reel in a fish without assistance. For the price we paid, and after several conversations with the owner before booking, we were disappointed this was never explained upfront. It would have been helpful to know this charter was not ideal for families with kids or teens. We were also frustrated by the lack of basic amenities. The toilet on board was broken, leaving only a bucket with no toilet paper as the option. For almost $2,000, this felt unacceptable. No bottled water or beverages were provided, and the only snack was a single granola bar for a five-hour trip. For a premium charter, this fell far short of expectations. Another disappointment was with the fish processing. We paid the owner in advance for our three fish to be filleted and shipped home, only to be asked again for our credit card later to cover separate shipping charges. This was never made clear and felt misleading. Lastly, we did not catch our limit, and both the guide and captain repeatedly mentioned that a large fishing competition had just taken place in the area over the previous three days. Their exact words were: "It's not good fishing today, it's been way overfished the last few days and it will take about two weeks to get the halibut back to this area." It left us questioning why guests were still being booked at full price when conditions were known to be poor. In the end, we spent a lot of money for what turned out to be an average experience, with limited access to fish and very little in the way of customer service.

Great customer service - Adam and Andrew are true professionals that will guide you in the best…read morepossible direction for fishing and whale watching. Adam is responsive, trustworthy and despite it not being the best time for fishing we came away with a great experience and memories to last a lifetime.

These folks appear to be general outfitters for outdoor activities in the area. Their office had a…read morelot of fly-fishing gear, for example. But we were here to see bears. We booked them through the cruise line to take us to see bears in the wild. First, the positives. The people were nice. It was a small outfit, but they had a mini-bus to get us at the dock and then had the plane waiting behind their office. Now the negatives. On the island (Chichagof Island) they were less organized. The van wasn't waiting for us, and when it did come they had to drop other folks off at a dock before our tour began. The people were still nice, but there seemed to be confusion about what time they were supposed to have met us. And while I understand that they can't guarantee bears, they should wait until bears are active. The guides told us that the salmon weren't running yet so the bears were more elusive. (So what were we doing out there?!) The salmon (and bears) become plentiful in late June, and into July. This had the potential to be totally awesome, but they were so eager to fill seats on their tour that they didn't consider that the bears weren't really out in force yet. If this had been in the middle of salmon season I could excuse the lack of bears since it's not really fair to hold them responsible for what nature does or doesn't do. But when they KNOW we're early, they shouldn't even offer the trip. It was really disappointing. I can't comment on their other outfitting activities. They may be outstanding. I think it's up to the buyer to verify if their activity of choice is really in-season or not. Don't assume they'll tell you before you sign-up. (Though, to be fair, since I signed up through the cruise line I have to put some of the blame on them for offering an excursion "out of season", so to speak.) If you are "in-season" with your activity, these folks did seem to be very nice and had a reasonable amount of equipment for fly fishing and cold weather in their office.

I recently signed up for a fly fishing experience with the above named outfit during an…read more Alaskan cruise. I was excited about my first float plane ride and looked forward to fishing for trout or salmon. What I didn't realize was that we would be fishing for near-dead pink (sockeye) salmon who had just finished spawning. They were densely lined up in the stream making it difficult to miss hooking something, offering virtually no resistance to being dragged into shore, then released to proceed with the dying process. Surely if I had been informed of how and what we were fishing for, I would have saved the over $400.00 it cost for approximately 3 hours of fishing. The best part of the trip was definitely the 15-20 minute ride in the float plane each way.

Look up Shelter on the web. Shelter Lodge at Auke Bay ( there are two Shelters run by different…read moregroups. Everythinhg first class Actually you need only show up with acchsnge of underwear and sundries as everything else is provided. They do just about everything except cstch your fish. Clean , fillet , package in boxes and freeze your catch. You don't touch your 2 boxes until you pick them up at your home airport. 5 stars !

We have been going to Shelter Lodge every other year for 20 years. This is an update of a review…read morethat I wrote in 2010. I cannot believe it but since writing my review, it has gotten even mo betta. They have totally rebuilt their lodge and nearly all of their cabins. They have a beautiful dining area and decking all around. They have a new utility/changing room where they check you in and outfit you with your rain gear. The dining experience continues to be truly outstanding with Chef Kenny designing, preparing and presenting incredible meals that rival dining experiences of five-star restaurants. Fishing continues to be outstanding with expert guides who put you on the fish. The best and most noteworthy attribute continues to be their wonderful hospitality.

Great trip with Captain Jon on the Petrel July 21 and 23. Jon and deck hand Dillion were very…read morepolite and professional. Jon put us on halibut limit and several salmon both days. Great trip. Thanks

Captain David and Jack were amazing!! We booked an 8 hour salmon and halibut fishing excursion and…read moreasked if they could find 1 or 2 more people to go out with us on the date of our tour so that the price would go down a bit since originally we only had 3 people. Captain Mike found us one other person to go which dropped our prices by around $20/PERSON. They were a little late starting the day because they had to pick up the other passenger from his cruise ship. Captain Mike said not to worry because they would keep us out longer to compensate for the lost time, which he did. Once we arrived at the first fishing spot, Captain David gave us a brief but thorough tutorial on how to reel in the big fish without hurting ourselves (backs) and tiring yourself out since we would be reeling from depths of 250-300 feet. This info was more valuable than I can tell you!! We went to 6 or 7 halibut fishing spots in the AM, then fished for salmon in the afternoon. We had a good catch overall for the day. Captain David event called out to his whale watching friends to find out if there were any whales to see that day. He took us over to where we might find them, but they were not around. He then took us to see some local sea lions up close and bald eagles in their natural habitat along the water. I appreciate the extra effort! When we got back to the dock, Jack gave us a masterclass on cleaning and filleting the halibut, rock fish, and cod we wanted to take with us to eat for dinner. He then gutted and beheaded the rest of the fish so they would be lighter for processing by the pound. Big Jim's suggested a fairly priced processing plant that froze our freshly caught fish and shipped it directly to our homes. --We had a great experience with Big Jim's Charters and will definitely book them when we return to Juneau and tell all of our friends to do the same! Thank you :-)

Julia and Kendall were amazing! Our boat driver did an amazing job finding the whales and giving…read moreus a close, but safe experience! We love kayaking and this experience was out of this world! Just incredible. We saw humpbacks and orcas! Highly recommend this company!

Great place definitely a must do when your in the area . Or just make a point yo go to Alaska and…read moreexperience it first gand

Just what a die hard fly fisherman is looking for. Rocky knew all the patterns that are hitting…read morefor each species and even gave me some ideas for local spots near Juneau before I head off into the bush. Great shop and I'd trust them with your fly fishing recommendations while (or before) you visit the region.

These guys are legit. They have a nice website/online store. Great service and selection. I highly…read morerecommend these guys!