FAQ

A : We will clean (fillets or whole) and bag your fish at the dock. Then you have options;

1) You may freeze your cleaned and filleted fish at your VRBO, Air B&B or hotel and carry on or check the double bagged frozen fish with you on your domestic flight.

2) Various Fish Markets such as Wild Salmon Market at Fisherman’s Terminal or one of the fish markets at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle may be able to pack and ship your fish at the current shipping rates and overnight ship to your door at the requested date OR prepare for flight or shipping. B&E Meats can smoke your salmon, vacuum pack and ship to you. (Tip; Take a picture of your catch card or fishing license issued on the boat to show the fish market or TSA if they need it). FISH MARKETS CHANGE POLICY ON SHIPPING OUTSIDE FISH FREQUENTLY, so check with your captain or call a fish market for current details.

3)  Your hotel can often cold store or freeze your professionally packed fish after you stop at the fish market and then you may carry or check the cold ship box on your return flight to save overnight shipping costs.

4) Fred Meyer store in Ballard sells dry ice and soft coolers you can pack yourself for carry on or checked bag.

A: Ages 16 and up need a WA. Saltwater fishing license. We sell the one day fishing license on board the boat, currently $13 for 1 day in 2026. The Salmon Catch card is required for Salmon fishing all ages which is free and also provided on board the boat. All equipment, fish cleaning and fish bags are included at no added cost.

A: Technically no age limit, but our experience is that kids aged at least 5 and up get the most out of the experience. Under 3 years old is not recommended for safety reasons, and we cant allow infants not old enough to wear a life jacket for their own safety. If you have a group of at least 3 people with small children, the shorter afternoon charter might be a good fit.

A: Most folks book online through our PRICES page and on our HOME page by clicking the BOOK NOW button to view availability. You may book online using the secure partner portal. A deposit of around 20% will secure your reservation. You may also call us and book over the phone.

A: At least 7 days notice is required to cancel for a full refund. If the captain cancels the trip due to high winds or rough seas then your deposit will be refunded 100%. Cancellations within 48 hours may be billed a cancellation fee as described at checkout to the card on file.

A: YES! While the winter Salmon seasons have been cut dramatically, we still operate 12 months of the year and have some active winter fishing for Salmon, Crab, Flounder and Squid.

A : No. While Puget Sound is connected to the ocean by the strait of Juan de Fuca , the Pacific Ocean is 90 miles from the entrance to the Sound and 140 miles by water from our home port in Seattle. The Puget Sound waters where we fish are surrounded by land on both sides and rarely get very rough in the summer months.

A : Yes . Tidal currents can be strong, with up to 15 vertical feet of tide change in about 7 hours. There are many rivers flowing into this fertile fjord which averages 600 ft. in depth. The fresh water is dispersed quickly. Seattle Tide Charts are available here.

A : Perhaps 5 miles from port on average. Salmon fishing can be quite productive 10 minutes out of port and rarely do we need to go more than 7 or 8 miles to find fish. This yields about 5 hours of actual fishing on a 6 hour trip. Remember our trip times and duration are flexible, and we offer 4 hour trips.

A : Usually the summertime morning trips are flat calm, at least to start out. Late morning, afternoon or winter can be a little rough at times . Choppy is a better word for it . We rarely see more than 1 to 3 foot wind waves . There are no swells and consequently little or no seasickness . In fact many days on the Sound are as calm as a small lake. Your captain will use reliable and current NOAA weather data to stay up to date on Puget Sound marine forecast and current conditions.

A : Winter months almost always have room available on shorter notice. For Summer months try to book 2 to 4 weeks but you can just click on our calendar page and see what’s available. Some lucky folks get a booking a day or two before they go out and the afternoons are often available on short notice. To secure an exact date please try to book as far in advance as you can, and feel free to reach out by text or phone if you have additional questions.

A : Yes! We provide everything you need to catch fish including quality rods, reels, bait & tackle, fish cleaning and bagging. All at no additional charge.

A : Warm clothes, Snacks and beverages can be nice. We will always have water. Even in August it can get chilly on the water, especially early morning hours. If you wear shorts you should also bring pants or sweats. A camera, sunglasses and sunscreen can also be handy. Our water temps are 45-55 F so it keeps the air cool as well, especially if there’s a breeze.

A : We can take 6 persons but book below capacity on shared charters keeping them at 3 to 5 people unless your private group size is larger. We can also arrange for larger groups (to 18 persons) to split 2 or 3 boats. Some of the drifting Salmon and Lingcod boats take 5 persons max. This will be reflected in the capacity on the online availability for each activity and boat. (The 5 person capacity boats are a bit smaller and don’t have a cabin below.)

A : Honestly, the best deals, especially in the city of Seattle are through vacation rental sites like Air B&B and VRBO. For an easy Plug & Play Hotel of medium quality not far from the marina, The Hotel Nexus has been a partner that will give a discount for mentioning “Fish Finders Charters”. Hotel Ballard is a very nice 4 star hotel that is very close. Of course you can use many travel sites like Expedia to look for additional options.

A : The bottom line is that June through September is best with August and September being the peak for Kings then Coho and King Salmon peaking late July/early August (but Kings sometimes only open Thursday through Saturday). May bottom fishing is growing in popularity every year as the large Ling Cod are just plain impressive. Juvenile Kings (young Chinook salmon locals call “Blackmouth”) feed all year around in Puget Sound but have seen allot of areas close in recent years. Because of this we offer Tacoma winter departures for Salmon until our April Blackmouth Salmon fishery opens in Seattle. Adult Kings (mature Chinook) which are the largest of all salmon , start showing in June and peak in July and August . Silvers (Coho salmon) provide some of the hottest action of the year and run strongest in August, September and October. Also see SEASONS

A : The 6 person boat “The Fishwitch” has an enclosed “head” below in the cabin (enclosed marine bathroom, electric toilet and sink). But our smaller boats with 5 person capacity only have a port-a-potti.

A : We use Fenwick and Berkley fishing rods with Penn and Shimano reels. The reels are loaded with 15 and 20 lb. Trilene mainline. Lines are held deep while trolling with a line release on the Penn electric downrigger. This releases so you fight fish on the fishing pole after the fish strikes. You just hang out and jump on a rod when it goes. For terminal tackle we use a variety of rigs from spoons and plugs to dodger and fly or dodger and plastic combinations. Natural baits such as fresh herring are used on the lighter rods. Live bait is not conducive to salmon trolling as the sensitive baits don’t survive well trolling down as deep as 160 feet.

A : Downrigger Trolling get’s us down to the fish; Without temporarily using the 10 lb downrigger weight we would need to use pretty heavy weights on our fishing poles to get down deep where the fish are while trolling (motoring) . Click here for image of downrigger trolling

We do also offer “Drift Mooching” trips where Downriggers are not used. On these trips the guide rigs only about 3 to 4 oz. of lead on the fishing pole. The guide then sets the boat on a drift, stopping the engine, allowing the anglers to drop the bait to the desired depth with line counters on the reels “go to 220 feet and immediately start reeling back”

The downrigger weight releases the line when a fish is hooked and then we can fight the fish without weight on our line except the fish and the lure. Click for downrigger concept.