What an experience! I booked an all day halibut fishing trip through Inlet charters who is primarily a booking company on the Whistler boat with captain Jack, and two amazing female deck hands. It was me my husband, our two teenage kids and toddler. My daughter hooked a halibut within the first couple of minutes of dropping her line at the first spot, which got us all very excited. We all really enjoyed ourselves, especially the kids. We went to multiple spots to maximize the amount of fish which we all caught our limit without any problems and also was able to hook a handful of cods. Being that it was a slightly larger boat none of us got seasick, which I was really concerned for being that we are very prone to motion sickness. It was a beautiful day on the sea and we were blessed with beautiful sunny weather. We even got to witness orcas, puffins and sea otters. Overall thank you for such a great experience one that we will remember forever. read more

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A tremendous Experience!! From the initial call to the office to book my tour to the end result of a day long fishing trip this was a wonderful experience I would highly recommend. The office staff was so helpful and responsive to my questions. Due to the laws pertaining to the halibut fishing I took a Salmon and Rockfish trip on the Whistler with Captain Avery Ault. The boat was clean and well maintained. The young man who was our deckhand was attentive and extremely knowledgeable. The captain worked hard at getting us on fish which he was very successful. All of us on the boat met our daily limits in Rockfish and Salmon. Overall a great day. Highly recommend this company! read more

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Set realistic expectation. You are paying for a boat ride with some fish As add ons. The halibut are small now because they have been fished out. The salmon are very hit and miss. We were lucky and caught 2 each. August must suck? Over all my fish will cost me $60/lb For the little I caught over two days. Enjoy the day but not for the fish. read more

Came to Homer with our godson who had never been in a boat. What a great time and great experience. The office staff was extremely friendly and energetic. The boat was clean and the crew(Capt. Art and his crew) were welcoming, fun, and took us to a great fishing hole. My godson caught his first two fish! He was so excited to hook his fish and reel it up. The crew came to his aid and the fish was lifted in the boat. I really recommend the 1/2 day trip for anyone looking for a great fishing experience! Thank you Captain Art!! These memories will last a lifetime. read more

Quite a disappointment. Paid for full day halibut fishing. Captain took us , a party of 6, out 1 hour and 45 minutes. And dropped anchor, then disappeared. The deck hand was left to assist us in the fishing, it was obvious he is a rookie. We caught few fish and they were all "chickens" and fishing was slow. We sat on this spot for about 4 hours and caught a total of 6 fish when our limit is 12. In my experience, the Captain moves the boat to another prospective area when the fishing action slows. Later found the Captain sleeping in the cabin. He finally told us he would move us to another spot 8 miles to another spot. Bait was almost rationed. They DID NOT put out a chum bag to attract fish. Instead of giving us a good fishing experience we had a bad one. The deck hand disappeared and I saw him on the captain's bridge smoking and playing on his cellphone. Without any consultation with us the clients, th Captain made a decision to return to the dock. When we had Homer in sight the deckhand came to us and told us the Captain was calling the trip due to wind and the chop on the water. Again, personal note, I have fished successfully in much rougher conditions. Do yourself a favor and look for a quality charter, not this business. read more

RUDE AND UNPROFESSIONAL. We went on a fishing charter in Homer for king salmon and halibut. Captain Tom of the VM Nautilus was rude from the minute we got on the boat. After boarding, he wasted our time by waiting in line to get gas instead of filling the evening before. Any questions we asked Tom about fishing, he replied in a condescending and rude tone. Sometimes, he would not answer the question at all or make fun of us. Despite his "40 years experience" no one on the boat caught a king salmon. More importantly we learned very little about the fish or fishing process. When we went to the second location to fish for halibut, we caught some. He was still mean. We were a group of five people. when I asked if we could divvy up the fish into a few bags because we came from different states, he became upset and eventually threw empty garbage bags at me, said "have at it" and walked away. I have been on many trips and tours and have never had such an uncomfortable and unprofessional experience. Everyone in the group agreed that Capt Tom was very unpleasant from start to finish and ruined the trip. I hope Inlet charters has other captains they can use. His customer service is below one-star. read more

We booked our Charter with Richard, who has to be the one of the best Fishing guides in the business, incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and helpful (all attributes of which were needed for the novice fisher people we are). We did a 4-person full day halibut/salmon combo trip - Richard's boat was perfect for us as it was just our party on the boat. We had decent luck as a 60 pound halibut was caught as well as several other halibut and salmon. We didn't all hit our limit, but overall it was a fantastic day and experience. Next time visitors want to go fishing, I'm giving Inlet Charters a call and asking for Richard. read more

Was just in Homer last week, and had a great visit. First contacted them to check into fishing charter, either a combo or 1/2 day halibut trip. Barb, Linda and Kaitlin were extremely helpful and answered all of my questions, as a first-time visitor to Alaska (and first time on a chartered fishing boat). They were great about keeping in touch on whether I could get on a combo charter, but confirmed that I would at least be on a 1/2 day halibut charter. This is a full-service place - I couldn't figure out where to stay, so asked them for assistance, with certain parameters - staying on the spit, private bath, etc. They got us a studio at the Sport Shed, which turned out to be pretty good for the price. It was cool to be able to walk to everything we did, if we wanted to. Had a great fishing trip, learned a lot, was able to walk off the boat with halibut that was already filleted (rough cut), and was ready to go to the Processing to freeze for the trip home. Captain knew where to take us to make sure that we were going to get our limit, so we weren't fishing for the bigger halibut, which was ok with me. Great people and appreciated their help! read more

This is the best place to go for 1/2 day fishing and sightseeing charters on the Homer Spit. Barb is a tremendous help with anything you may have questions about in the area and will go out of her way to make you feel welcome. Great service, reasonable prices, and you will bring home your two fish. Remember, 1/2 day is for quantity..full day for quality read more

The service was amazing and we had a great time!!! I would for sure recommend and I would book with them again! Kim and Barb are both amazing and went well above and beyond!! read more

We booked a half day 6 pack charter expecting a twin engine aluminum boat like the majority of the 6 pack boats in homer. What we got was a 1960s single diesel relic that was very slow. We were told we would be traveling 20 ish miles out where all the other boats were fishing but were unpleasantly surprised when the Capt stopped maybe 7 miles from the dock. We proceeded to fish the same ledge for hours only catching one small halibut for the entire boat. Had to ask the crew several times for bait as they were either inside or sitting on the fly bridge not paying attention... the fishing rods were all very old and in bad shape some malfunctioning the entire time. As a avid fisherman been on 50+ charters this is not the way fishing trips should go. Taking advantage of tourists! Stay away!! read more

Don't waste your hard-earned money on Inlet Charter's full-day halibut boat. I paid $500 for my wife and I to have a chance at catching a big halibut. The half-day boats were all limiting out but they were small--so go for the full-day, right? Captain Steve drove us 1.5 hours out in his small shabby boat to a place he called the 'mountain' where 3 or 4 of the other charter companies (his buddies) were also parked. Small halibut (15-20 lbs) were abundant and deck hand Walter assured us that we would catch nothing bigger. Rats! It was also apparent that he really wanted to get home early so I wasn't sure if he could be trusted. It was now 9:00 AM and he wanted us to keep our second fish so he could "get in bed before mid-night". However, I paid for the full-day and wanted to try for a big-one. This was not in Steve or Walter's plans. Rather than unhooking the fish properly, Walter began sharply jerking the hook out of the fish's mouth tearing their lips off completely while muttering vulgarities. It was embarrassing and offensive, not an enjoyable day of fishing. By 12:30, Captain Steve, realizing his buddies were heading in insisted that we must do so also. He blamed the weather but I had serious doubts as it was a mild-sunny day. Later in our trip we went to Seward where I heard good things about the Halibut charters. The fish also appeared to be bigger. If I had this to do over again I would skip the visit to Homer completely! read more

Big Mistake. That is the only way I can explain this without being crude. Was told we would be back by 5:30 on a half day halibut trip. Left at 1:00, didn't drop a line until 3:15. I have no idea how many miles we went. We had to catch a ride to the east side of the bay before the tide went out. Didn't get back to the dock until 7:30ish. There were 20 people on board to fish, and only one deck hand and the Capt. to help. I was baiting mine and my wife's hooks because we had no help. Birds nests and tangled lines kept the two man crew running. To top this off, my hook was out of the water more than in the water because the Capt. couldn't decide how he wanted to set up the boat for drifting, nor where he wanted to fish. We moved 6 times. 20 people would have been a 40 halibut limit. The whole boat came back with 14, most were caught on the first drop and all but 5 were less than 26". It was a waste of money and "A Cluster F" read more

On our recent Alaskan cruise, we booked a halibut fishing excursion through Inlet Charters. While making my confirmation call I was told that it was illegal to halibut fish on Wednesdays, so they switched it to a salmon fishing excursion. Upon arrival in Icy Straight - NO ONE came to pick us up. We had zero cell service, so took a cab to town to call Inlet Charters. We were informed that our charter had been cancelled - of course it was too late to book anything else. Our trip of a lifetime - and we were left standing. Although they're based in Homer where halibut fishing may not be allowed, it certainly IS is Icy Straight. They could have had a representative meet us, but didn't bother. Inlet Charters was a huge disappointment. K Laton read more

We chartered with Captain Brian, Lindsey and Ijohn. They we were great. They were engaging, answered a bunch of questions and did an amazing job teaching us to fish, untangling lines, bringing all the fish on board and filleting it on the ride back. we all got our limit and tossed a bunch back, so the fishing was fabulous. I would charter with them again. read more

Two girl friends and I did the 1/2 day halibut charter during Labor Day weekend. It was definitely a highlight of our time in Homer and Alaska. The day of our scheduled charter, there were gale force winds. Barb called me the day before and was super helpful over the phone explaining our options. We moved to the following day and it ended up being a great day on the water! There were about 20 people on the same boat and everyone was able to catch fish and we even saw some whales! FISH ON! read more

Just got back from Ak yesterday. Chartered boats out of Seward and Homer. The boat out of Seward not so good. The boat out of Homer was Awsummm!!!!! Went our with Brian and his deck hand Will. They were both great. We all caught our limit on Halibut and I caught a King with a round hook, which Brain had never seen. When we go back definitely will book with Brian and the Beau Soleil. Large roomy boat and very clean compared to our trip in Seward. read more

I never write reviews but these guys deserve to be acknowledged for their fantastic service. I did a 1/2 day halibut charter with my two boys age 10 & 12. We had Captain Dave and deck hands Jenna and Mike. All 3 were amazing! The captain was very knowledgeable about where the halibut were and how to approach them. He also helped out on deck once we were drifting and fishing. The deckhands were very cheerful and helpful. There were about 18 people on the charter and I expected it to be kind of hectic and chaotic but it was surprisingly smooth. The captain and deck hands were great about getting lines untangled when needed. Almost everyone got their limit. Towards the end, there was an older guy (in his 80s) who still hadn't caught a fish and the whole crew helped him until he caught his limit! Everyone went home happy. I highly recommend this outfit. read more

Okay - so we went out on a day when most non-sea faring people should've stayed on land. Seriously-6 foot swells. It was rough! The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the Skipper brave and sure, fifteen passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, The weather started getting rough, the fifty foot ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Whistler would be lost. Well they hung in there, many passengers lost their lunch, we all got our two halibuts; did I mention we all puked a bunch? The halibut were mostly small, well most were downright tiny, you could probably get a better deal at Safeway, but I'm not one who's whiney. We had the Coast Guard on speed dial, as we were all tossed around. Good thing we didn't need to call, but we kissed the shore when we reached solid ground. Can't blame the crew for the conditions, but I should've known better, don't go halibut fishing when conditions are better for surfing. Thanks for a mostly awesome day. read more

What a great experience! My husband and I booked this charter to be one of the highlights of our Alaskan adventure and it didn't disappoint! Captain Heath and Deckhand Mick were fantastic! They were knowledgeable and helpful and answered all our questions. We both caught our limit, I had the biggest Halibut of the day #45! This trip was so much fun, we'll defiantly be back again. read more

We contacted Inlet Charters to go fishing on our week trip to AK. We scheduled a 3/4 day trip but it got rescheduled twice by IC as they didn't have enough people to make the trip. Then they down graded us to a half day for the same reason. They told us how good the fishing was but we got 4 fish for 13 people fishing. The worst part was that the boat was not big enough for the 13 fishing and we spent most of the time untangling the lines. I am sure they told the people going fishing the next day that the fishing was still "great". Would not use them again. Tom read more

My best friend and I just returned from Homer and we had a fantastic time with Inlet Charters. We went out on the Big Easy with Captain Max for 2 very enjoyable days. The first day was a full day of halibut and the second was a combo with halibut and salmon. Max was great and we caught our limits both days. The whole trip was a great experience and I would highly recommend Inlet Charters to anyone read more

Inlet Charters: We booked a 3/4 day charter both days, and since it was early in the season, they brought people from another charter to the big boat to fill it. The 2nd day, we were the ones that were sent on another boat with another charter, just to fill the big boat. This one was for a half day only rather than 3/4 day. We did receive some refund back for this. BUT, we were very disappointed in the fishing, as they took us both days to the "chicken hole" just so everyone on board could get their limit of 2 fish. We brought home 35 lbs of fish (out of 8 halibut, and 3 ling cod)!!! And they used small bait, so we never fished for any bigger fish! Their purpose was the fill the boat, and that was it! We were very disappointed, and will never fish with them again! read more

The one star in this review is because of Barb,who was the only positive part if this experience. Melanie on the other hand was the rudest most unhelpful person I have ever had to deal with. After a series of mishaps and a screw up with the final booking that caused me and my out of state guests to almost miss the boat and go without breakfast or food for the trip Melanie was unapologetic, rude, unhelpful and had the gall to give us attitude. The first time I called and booked the trip for my family I talked to Barb and she was so polite and helpful I figured the $200 per person price tag wouldbe worth it. Had I talked to Melanie in the first place I would have avoided this junk show. People were literally running down the dock (apparently also "mis booked" ) and jumping on to the boat with the engine running. The pat wasn't even operated by the company they just book for them apparently. Our deck hands were about 14 yrs old and when I was given my line it was immediately apparent that it was set up wrong. This was the most unprofessional tour I have ever been on. Judging from previous reviews it seems like Barb is the best employee. Melanie on the other hand should be fired. Very disappointing. read more