I love leaving positive reports. Sadly this will not be one. The actions of owner Terry and his wife made our experience awful. My husband and I highly value our time together. I have always wanted to King Salmon fish in Alaska. Due to my bad back and knees comfort is important to us so we carefully plan our trips. Although it doesn't currently seem to show it online, at least not where we could find it: locals informed us during our stay, Terry and his wife consistently overbook and have a tendency to blame others for problems their business decisions cause. Due to their overbooking, Terry and his wife put us in a cheap and tiny airport hotel room and told us we could use their poles, waders, laundry facilities, hot tub, fire pit and restaurant. He did book us with an excellent halibut trip (completely separate business) - and Captain Chris of the Discover Alaska gave us an incredible day we will never forget. We do thank Terry for the phone call he made. In the future we will book with Captain Chris directly as he is an honorable man who runs an excellent guide service and RV park. The second day we fished for salmon. We were surprised when Terry's wife gave us plastic bags to put in each wader. Her explanation was "everyone tells us our waders leak". We asked about fishing afterwards on their bank after being on the boat as was implied when we booked. She gave us a paper giving direction to a public boat ramp. She told us We could not catch "Kings". (If this disclosure has been during Terrry's sales speak we would have been able to book on the Nush River and not booked with Terry and his wife. We were still up happily at 4:00 am to experience the "Super Bowl" of salmon fishing as per Terry's comments via his sales talk at booking. We put on Salmon Catcher Lodges trash bags and their waders at looked forward to a great day of being with Captain Eric. Terry and his wife told us he booked a private Salmon fishing trip for us through Captain Eric. We arrived to find another couple on the trip. That wasn't a problem except that Terry and his wife had told us otherwise. My waders immediately filled with water before I stepped into Captain Eric's boat. The waders given to us had holes in the feet. My husband's waders filled a bit more slowly as the know leaks in the feet of his boots were evidently smaller. After two hours of fishing for salmon I had snagged a king (temporarily) and my husband caught a salmon we could keep. I began shivering uncontrollably due to the known holes in the feet of the waders Terry's wife gave me. Their plastic bags only kept the water in my boots when I returned to Captain Eric's boat. We had to ask Captain Eric to take us back before reaching our limit because of the hole ridden waders given to us by the Owners of the Salmon Catcher Lodge - Terry and his wife. We had to leave the one Salmon my husband caught to get me to a warm shower quickly. All negatives were a direct result of Terry and his wife's business decisions. Intentional overbooking and known defective equipment is a terrible business model. This experience was made much worse due to Terry's constant bullying and yelling at us because we didn't appreciate his business model and resolutions he wanted to push upon us. As expressed, our comfort and positive time between us was OUR priority. He did make a call to get each of our excellent captains (for a return referral or commission) and he did flash freeze our halibut for free. This cost us our precious time that can not be replaced, we were comfortable and didn't get a good salmon fishing trip or salmon to take back because of their known problems of holes in the feet of their waders. They also made us unwelcome to use their equipment for fishing from their bank (which we learned wasn't desirable anyway), or use of the jet tub, washer dryer (which later took our precious elsewhere to clean), the fire pit and we never saw their "huge restaurant" or the " crab and steaks they ordered from Costco". I hope this helps others from ending up at the mercy of Terry and his wife's poor business decisions and deceptive trade practices. If you don't care about comfort or care about how you are treated (Terry's anger at his self inflicted problems) and are willing to roll the dice for the reward of possible "free" flash freezing of some fish or ending up at an airport hotel ....this is your place. read more

I really enjoyed my stay here. It was nice just to sit back and have everything taken care of for you...the schedule, the directions, the guides, the fishing, the gutting and cleaning, the packing, shipping, etc... Moreover, there doesn't seem to be a bad room in the place. Even the fishing guides (not ones hired by Terry) said that the Salmon Catcher is one of the nicer lodges in the area. Of course it was the only place I stayed so I can't speak on behalf of any other lodge. There is even an on-site laundry room and (I believe) each room has its own fridge and TV which is nice. The guides Terry hired were great. They literally did everything for us. But my favorite part - definitely Terry. He's just classic. My buddy and I got a kick out of him. We really did. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Terry. One thing I can say is he definitely wants his guests to be satisfied. It not only shows, but he even went out of his way to make sure we were happy. He really did! We might come back next year and if we do, we will likely stay here again. read more

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I would not recomment this place. You can find better. The owner, Terry, that runs the lodge has poor customer service and communication skills. We felt very unwelcome when we checked in, like we were an inconvenience. Also, he quoted us a price for a fishing trip and then suddenly said it was more money when it was time to pay. It may have been a miscommunication, but his attitude came off very poorly. Poor customer service. The lodge and rooms itself are nice. His mother in law was very nice to us. Again, do not recommend staying here! read more

Salmon Catcher Lodge is a GREAT place to stay while you're in Kenai! We weren't here to go fishing, just on a business trip, but weren't thrilled with the local hotel accommodations we saw online and luckily discovered the lodge online. We're definitely happy we did, since we were four weeks into an extended trip and needed a place more like home than a hotel at that point. :) The lodge is away from the hustle and bustle of town and in a quiet wooded area. We stayed in the upper floor of a big cabin and had a nice view of the woods. Every room had nice high ceilings and all the amenities of home. Laundry, dishwasher, and gas appliances were all available to let you do your own thing in comfort. (Totally appreciated!! Our trip is more than five weeks and restaurant food was getting OLD!) The Lodge is nearby to tons of beautiful nature areas to explore. I'm a pro photographer and enjoyed my daily adventures in the area. If you're a sportsman, you're totally in the middle of everything here. Fishing, hunting, hiking...it's all right there. Joanne was our host and sweet as can be. The owner was kind and really makes the happiness of the guests his priority. There's not one bad thing to say about the Salmon Catcher Lodge, it's wonderful! If we're ever in Kenai again, we would definitely come back to stay at the Lodge, wouldn't hesitate! Thank you so much, everyone! read more

Nice clean lodge to stay in, unfortunately we had to check out in a short times notice, I don't think the older gentleman liked that. Needless to say, my checkout experience was unprofessional. Oh well. read more

Drunk owner talking bad about previous clients. Dirty cabin, tried overcharging me by $2k! Had to threaten lawsuit for them to admit their accounting error. Not impressed and do not recommend staying there. Lots of other places to stay. read more

Pros: All around excellent service and beautiful property. Would highly recommend, probably the best place to stay in Kenai Peninsula. No cons. read more

My Aunt and I took a very spur of the moment trip to Alaska to complete her bucket list. We had no reservations, just plane tickets and a taste for adventure. I stumbled upon Salmon Catcher Lodge in a travel magazine, and to my surprise, they could accommodate us. I called the owner, Terry, before heading down from ANC, and he assured me we needed nothing, and they would take care of everything. We originally booked for 3 days, fell in love and stayed for 4. On the 5th night, they were sold out, so we moved to a horrible spot in town, but we went on charter through Salmon Catcher that day. We met wonderful friends amid the quiet peaceful environment. There were moose and a friendly camp dog that kept us entertained. The brand new covered fire pit was a hit with my Aunt. One amenity that I really enjoyed is the sauna. It was refreshing. Large enough for many people. The owner and his wife, Angie, were truly accommodating and were gracious hosts. Angie prepares meals daily for those on charter, and her evening meals are wonderful. Highly recommend for families, couples and groups. I'm glad that the universe landed us there. read more

Had a good time with my brother at the Salmon Catcher Lodge. Terry and his staff do a good job at putting you with guides who can get you on fish. Fishing isn't automatic and sometimes the fish just aren't biting. We maxed out on Halibut and even got into a couple early Salmon. At the lodge the Chef is amazing, she can really cook and the entire staff is personable. read more

We stayed at the Salmon Catcher lodge for 5 nights in August, our only regret was that we didn't stay longer. Terry, his wife Angie and the entire crew were incredibly hospitable. Terry even brought us dinner at 11:00 pm when we arrived- he said he knew we would be hungry after a long day of traveling . The Lodge itself is beautiful and has all of the comforts of home. The rooms are spacious, have kitchens, laundry available and wi-fi. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, and I credit that to Terry. He plans every trip with attention to detail for each guest. I wanted to see nature, my son wanted to fish- we both got exactly what we hoped for. Great beauty, great fishing, first class all the way! read more

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My son and I had a fantastic time. We caught plenty of Halibut and Salmon. We are planning on coming back next year. The lodge accommodations were top notch. I feel we were spoiled, can't imagine any other place in Soldotna being any better. read more

Salmon Catcher Lodge - Moose visiting - Fishing Near Me - Kenai, Alaska

Kentucky Wounded Heroes is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to serving veterans and first responders who have been injured in the line of duty. Some members have experienced severe physical injuries during combat, while others have returned home with unseen wounds such as traumatic brain injury, PTSD, or separation anxiety disorder. The primary goal of our service is to provide these men and women a healing opportunity that comes through fellowshipping with others like them who understand the difficulties encountered during and after serving their country. Our efforts have proven that the most effective way of accomplishing that goal is through sponsored activities that occur in the outdoors. The testimony of many is that these events have led to recovery from hidden wounds such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse. Since we are a non-profit organization, our success is dependent on private and corporate donations of both money and in-kind services. A trip to Alaska for sightseeing and fishing is a bucket list trip and would not be possible for many from a financial perspective. But through the generosity of Salmon Catcher Lodge, Kentucky Wounded Heroes and support staff have been able to realize this dream since 2008. This event has provided the means for an average of 15 Wounded Heroes annually to enjoy 13 days of socialization, fishing, sightseeing, and civic events in which they otherwise would not have had the opportunity to participate. These Wounded Heroes develop personal recognition, encouragement, and bonding that lasts long after the event is over. These relationships are instrumental in the healing process of those who have sacrificed so much for this country. And Salmon Catcher Lodge, through their generosity, has been instrumental in providing the means through which these relationships have developed. read more

Planned a trip for months in advance to Salmon Catcher, and spoke with Terry the owner from day one. He gave us a reduced rate as we only wanted two days of fishing, plus he expressed how slow business was from Covid. From the beginning communication was difficult, I understand he had major surgery and was recovering. We were originally going to rent a car from him, but changed our minds, thankfully. When we arrived at our reserved days, the first thing we saw was someone working on a truck right outside our cabin, not just working, but oil cans, tools, etc, very unsightly. We went to the office to find it locked and closed. Ok, so there's a sign on the door to call a number, we do and after almost 20 minutes a woman drives up, looking extremely annoyed. Second "bad feeling" we're getting. She hardly greets us, then tells us to follow her to the office and ask for our fishing licenses. I asked to see the cabin we would be staying in, as the place really looked unkempt. That's when the real attitude started, she marches to the cabin, doesn't say a word to us, runs in first, then walks out without saying anything. My husband and I looked at each other and knew we were not going to stay here, by the way, duck tape on the blinds of the front door. Shortly after we get a phone call from Terry ( I guess she called him) and before we could even try to explain our concerns, he started rambling and yelling, really you cannot get a word in with this man. Being small business owners ourselves, we were willing to work out arrangements, but we didn't even get a chance with Terry's screaming. The pictures on the website look nothing like the actual place, his wife is apparently stressed out, and Terry is trying to run a business from another State. I can take all this, but what I cannot take is someone screaming, shouting uncontrollably, and becoming so defensive that communication is impossible. I am sure he will respond to this review with his typical rambling and blaming us, I expect that. Be forewarned all is well until something goes wrong, then you'll know what I am talking about. read more

Excellent cabin rentals. The owners are fantastic! They planned a fishing trip for those of us that wanted to fish, and planned a flight seeing trip for those of us that didn't. We were lucky to go towards the end of the season and had the whole cabin to ourselves. They went out of their way to make our Alaska trip amazing. The accommodations were fantastic, everything you have at home is here. They even have a playground and badminton court. read more

Wonderful accommodations for families and large groups! The friendly property manager stayed up late to greet us after our drive in from the Mat-Su Valley. He gave detailed directions over the phone to make sure we would not get lost. The location is very convenient, close to Soldotna and close to the main drag in Kenai, and is easy to find. It is only about 8 minutes from the Kenai river access. Our stand-alone cabin had a full kitchen, large family room, full-sized bathroom, and a large bedroom with four single beds and one double bed - enough room for parents + four children! The cabin appeared to be newly remodeled; appliances and HDTV were very new, as were paint, cabinets, etc. The cabin was very spacious and comfortable. The beds were great! Parking was also very easy - even pulling a 16-foot boat trailer. I was able to easily back my SUV + trailer into the driveway/parking space for my cabin, right out the front door. Besides the stand-alone cabins, there is a log house for rent and also a lodge with separate units attached to a "great room" kitchen/living room with large fireplace. We plan to come again, especially with out-of-town guests. This is a great place to stay when exploring the Kenai Peninsula. read more

Salmon Catcher Lodge - Interior of cabin showing full kitchen and dining area. - Fishing Near Me - Kenai, Alaska

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Hi Terry and Mark, First off I would like to extend a hearty thank you for your hospitality and hard work at making our first visit to Alaska and your lodge a fun and memorable experience. All of my group had a great time. We feel that you both went above and beyond what is to be expected on a stay such as this. One item I thought was very nice and unexpected was the Saturday bbq. Not only receiving free drinks and great food, we were able to meet our fellow lodgers and talk about our fishing, families, jobs and the one that got away. Very nice event. If needed you may use me as a reference at any time. Thank you. Thanks so much and I look forward to coming up again in a few years. Jeff Schmid read more

We had a group of 9 for the week of July 24 thru 31. Since you usually only get 4 to a boat Mark had to get extra guides for us. No problem. Everyone got to fish. Terry and Mark did everything they could to make our trip enjoyable. They even moved a TV for us. We WILL be going back ! Dave S. read more

Great Lodge located in Kenai, AK. We wanted to Salmon and Halibut fish so we stayed in a central location. The lodge is really nice. We had a great cabin with complete kitchen, utensils and grill. They provided everything you needed to fish or book a guide. The hospitality was awesome, Terry and his family go out of there way! read more

Salmon Catcher Lodge is as good as it gets. Terry, the owner, has created the perfect Alaskan experience with a mix of adventure by day and resort comfort by night. Terry arranged everything for our company trip which included amazingly knowledgeable guides that provided a unique adventure and learning experience (even for people who are avid fishers and had been to Alaska previously). It genuinely couldn't have worked out better. On our first day we checked into the resort several hours prior to the check-in time, which was a huge relief, went down to the river and started to practice casting (specific to sockeye) and then everyone proceeded to enjoy the amenities which included a world class sauna, a sun room (land of the midnight sun is accurate) with a giant Jacuzzi, a solid gym for a quick workout, massage chairs you wont want to share and fire pits we enjoyed as we cheered well into the night. Day two was sockeye fishing; we caught are limit thanks to our amazing guide(s) and then proceeded to grill them back at the resort. It was exactly what I imagined a perfect Alaskan fishing day would be. Day three included a second sockeye fishing trip for some and halibut fishing for those who don't get sea sick. Another great day which was exactly what we imagined. Day four included a fly out with a float plane ('67 Beaver) that landed at the foot of a glacier next to a waterfall. We caught our limit of Silver Salmon, saw a bear and flew over the glacier on our way back. Once in a lifetime experience. Better day than anything I imagined. Day four we took a rafting trip down river catching dolly varden trout, more reds and saw Bald Eagles. Again magical experience with an incredibly knowledgeable and experienced guide with a great attitude/philosophy to life. Terry's son cleaned, filleted, vacuumed sealed and packaged all of the salmon we didn't grill for us to enjoy back home (and we have been). The kindness of the staff, the cleanliness of the resort and every need/want/desire being thought of made this trip a 10/10. From everyone on the One-Timers Bar Review Course team, a sincere thank you to Terry and everyone at Salmon Catcher Lodge! We will be back. read more

The home is just beautiful but it should have been just a bed. The kitchen had an empty beer bottle on the counter and dirty dishes in the sink. The breakfast was frozen biscuits and sausage to cook in the microwave. They had 1/2 used cereal which I wanted to have but the gallon of 1/2 drank milk was sour and the half and half for the coffee was 4 days past expiration. The orange was past its prime as well. Very sad I have been to many b and b's acrossed AK and alway the breakfast was at the very least local bakery muffins or danish. For such a beautiful building which screamed 5 stars it really was a 2 or 3 star place to stay. Would not recommend to anyone for over $100 I expect much better. Too bad. read more

"Be Vigilant!" 2 of 5 starsReviewed 3 days ago NEW I stayed at the Salmon Catcher back in July with my father. I've waited a couple of months to write a review so that I could be fair and balanced without emotion. I titled this "Vigilant" because you need to pay attention if you're going to stay here. The owner means well, talks a blue streak, but doesn't necessarily remember what he says. Case in point. He offered my father and I accommodations in his conference center...where it is "roomy and has really nice beds". When we arrived, he had us in a small, one bedroom place that had single beds next to each other. Upon request, he did oblige and move us to another place that had separate bedrooms. They were OK but certainly not the nice accommodations that the conference center offers. Secondly, and what prompted me to write this review, is that the owner switched out my fish for other fish that wasn't mine. How do I know? We caught four nice halibut that produced some really nice and big fillets. What did we end up with? Nine tail sections (not four) and small fillets that had some guts left with them. Certainly not the fillets that we saw cleaned and had dropped off for vacuum packing and storage in the Salmon Catcher facility. I blame myself for this "bait and switch" because I did not examine the fish myself prior to packing. I took the owners word for it because he made a point to indicate and show me that the fish had all be labeled Grizzly Den - the room we stayed in. I should have suspected something right there. The one King Salmon we caught was also missing. I did notice this "omission"!! and the owner gave me about a quarter of what was missing from his own fish supply. The fishing schedule that I planned and discussed with the owner had us fishing with guides the first two days, taking the third day off, and then fishing the fourth and last day. What ended up being booked and written into the contract, was three consecutive days of fishing. We ended up missing the third fishing excursion in the mix up. Again, I blame myself here because I didn't pay close enough attention the the initial contract and the notice that was left in our place to indicate the third trip. When I was setting up the trip, the owner and I agreed to book all three fishing trip with the Riverbend Resort. I had used them in the prior year and knew that their boats, equipment and guides were top notch. Well, do to an apparent riff that developed between the owner and Riverbend prior to our arrival, we were booked into other charters which turned out to be nothing like the Riverbend experience. So overall, just keep your eyes open and stay vigilant if you decide to give your money to the Salmon Catcher. Stayed July 2015, traveled with family 3 of 5 stars Location 3 of 5 stars Rooms 3 of 5 stars Service Less Was this review helpful? Yes Report Ask Mitch M about Salmon Catcher Lodge This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC. j102607, Owner at Salmon Catcher Lodge, responded to this review, 2 days ago First and foremost i would like to apologize to this guest. We never like to hear that we have made mistakes. We did in fact receive a signed copy of our contract which I instructed the guest to fill in the blanks on fishing and days to fish. I had put on the contract conference center 2 when the guest arrived discussed the great room was a common area where other guests could use in the afternoon and evening to get to know each other. We discussed a more private setting and came up with the Grizzly Den. Guest was upgraded complimentary to a 2 bedroom 4 person self contained 1000 Sq Ft unit. We have a history at Salmon Catcher Lodge of upgrading if availability exists and in this case my perception that this was okay or the right choice was evidently totally wrong! We will still attempt to place guests in a unit best suiting their needs. As far as the fishing Schedule I explained to the guest that we had to move a day of fishing for Halibut as that Thursdays had been taken off the table by Fish and Game of Alaska after we had discussed him going with Riverbend which was his first choice and also my main subcontractor. We put notices every day on the next day fishing in each clients unit in clear site and the guest missed a charter as he thought he was fishing the following day and slept in. As far as claiming I sent him out on another charter operator due to a rift is totally incorrect. I placed him on another boat due to the above Fish and Game closure causing all subcontractors to reduce their availability and unfortunately the guest was impacted by this chain of events. The returned contract to me was never filled out by the guest with any specific dates he desired to fish. It was left blank so I assigned the fishing dates as the Charters were available to me. We may of talked about wouldn't it be nice to fish this day or that by phone during the sale of my package however read more

The 5 stars and the below reviews says it all about the Salmon Catcher Lodge. Everyone went out of the way to make us feel warm and comfortable. I have stayed many places in Alaska and found my new home away from home. Thank you to Angie,Terry and family. Can't wait to see you next year. read more