How a Ketchikan Cook Your Catch Day Works
A Ketchikan cook your catch experience combines two things that define Southeast Alaska: serious fishing and a meal prepared right where you caught it. This is not a restaurant with a fish theme. It is a working fishing trip that ends at a remote campsite where your catch becomes the centerpiece of a wilderness meal. Here is exactly how the day unfolds, what to expect on the water, and how to choose the right trip for your group.
The Core Idea: Fish First, Eat What You Catch
Every cook your catch trip follows the same essential sequence. You spend the first portion of the day fishing, then move to a remote location where the catch is prepared and served. The fishing is real — depths of 100 to 300 feet targeting Rockfish and Cod — and the meal depends on what comes up. There is no backup menu from a commercial kitchen. The wilderness setting is the kitchen.
This structure rewards groups who want the full arc of the experience, not just a boat ride or just a meal.
Cook Your Catch Wilderness Dining: The Six-Hour Trip
The Cook Your Catch Wilderness Dining trip runs 5 to 6 hours and is priced at $379 per person. The boat is a 23-foot open-air skiff with a maximum of 6 passengers.
After 3 to 4 hours of bottom fishing at depths between 100 and 300 feet, the group moves to a remote campsite. The meal features the catch of the day, prepared on-site. Dessert is a blueberry-rhubarb bread pudding, also made at camp. Tea, coffee, water, and sodas are provided, along with a covered area to eat under.
The open-air skiff format means you are close to the water and close to the fishing. This is the most direct version of the cook your catch format — a focused fishing trip followed by a camp meal, with no extra programming layered in.
30-Foot Cabin Cruiser: Private Charter with Full Customization
The 30-foot cabin cruiser runs as an six-hour private charter, priced at $2,200 per boat, with a maximum of 6 passengers. Six-hour private charter.
This trip is built around customization. The goal is to combine multi-species fishing with a culinary finish, and add-on trip choices allow groups to shape the experience. During the peak summer season from June 15 through August, the full range of species and conditions is available.
The cabin cruiser format offers more shelter and space than the open-air skiff, which matters for groups who want a longer day or who are fishing with younger guests or anyone who prefers an enclosed environment. At $2,200 per boat, the per-person cost for a full group of six works out differently than the per-person pricing on the wilderness dining trip — these are two distinct products with different structures, not a simple step-up.
Wildlife Viewing, Whale Watching, and Wilderness Dining
Not every group wants to spend the full day fishing. The Ketchikan Ultimate Wildlife Viewing, Whale Watching Expedition and Wilderness Dining trip runs 2.5 hours and is priced at $1,400 per boat.
This trip is a private wildlife and whale watching excursion that ventures into fjords, secret coves, and marine feeding grounds, with Humpback whale sightings among the wildlife opportunities. It concludes with wilderness dining, bringing the cook your catch format to a group that prioritizes wildlife over fishing time.
This is a different product from the fishing-focused trips. The pricing is per boat, not per person, and the duration is shorter. Groups who want the wilderness dining experience but are traveling with non-anglers or guests focused on wildlife will find this trip fits that need directly.
Choosing the Right Trip for Your Group
The three trips serve different priorities:
Trip: Cook Your Catch Wilderness Dining; Price: $379 per person; Duration: 5–6 hours; Boat: 23 ft open-air skiff; Max Passengers: 6
Trip: 30 ft Cabin Cruiser Private Charter; Price: $2,200 per boat; Duration: Six-hour option observed; Boat: 30 ft cabin cruiser; Max Passengers: 6
Trip: Wildlife, Whale Watching & Wilderness Dining; Price: $1,400 per boat; Duration: 2.5 hours; Boat: Private; Max Passengers: 6
Groups of anglers who want a straightforward fishing-and-meal day at a per-person rate will find the Wilderness Dining trip the most direct fit. Groups who want a private charter with customization and more time on the water should look at the cabin cruiser. Groups mixing anglers and non-anglers, or those prioritizing wildlife, have a dedicated option at 2.5 hours.
