Highliner Lodge and Charters - Fishing charter in Pelican - 1014 Salmon Way, USA

Our stay at Highliner was amazing, great experience fishing, eating, lodging, Captain Louie got us on the fish quickly every day and did everything possible to get our limits or close to it. The fish made it home perfectly, an amazing job cleaning, packaging and freezing and packing for our return trip. The fish is excellent eating. The entire staff is amazing, I loved how everyone knew our names and addressed us by name after about only one hour. Everyone did everything possible to give us a great experience. Very well run business, clean, well organized, great equipment. Fantastic experience.

This was one of the best fishing experiences EVER! We went out to the Highliner with 4 generations of our family and an 80 year age gap between my son (7 yrs) and grandfather in law (87 yrs) and had a blast. The Highliner staff is second none, from the Chef cooking gourmet meals, the Captain taking care of us and putting us on the fish day after day, and not to mention the service crew. They remebered all of our names, drinks, etc. and really took care of and catered to the little guy. The lodge was clean and comfortable, the food was great, the staff was better then fancy/5 star hotels, and not to mention the fishing was great! We are already talking about our next trip.

The good stuff:||I assume you are interested in going to a fishing lodge in Alaska to catch fish. If that’s the case, you won’t do better than the Hiliner, depending on which skipper you get. Steve and Jill own 8 boats as of August 2023, plus a big ferry. That’s in addition to most of Pelican. They recently purchased and are gradually refurbishing The Pelican Inn, and while they are processing the fish right now in a small room adjacent to the dining hall, they will have a processing facility ready for 2024. I caught and brought home 120 lbs of coho salmon, king salmon, halibut and rockfish in 4 days of fishing. However, my skipper Adam was very good at finding the fish, even if his demeanor is a little brusque (and he can’t remember names, or doesn’t try to). Other people had different experiences, based on which boat they were on. There seems to be a fair amount of turnover with the boat captains. One guy had been there for one day, and his people, 4 of them, caught 3 halibut and 3 coho in one whole day of fishing. They were underwhelmed. We caught our limits on halibut (one per person per day) and coho (6 per person per day) and king salmon (one annually after about mid-July, and we were there Aug 7-11, 2023. ||||The staff at the Hiliner are all great. Abbie and Dylan, the managers, work their tails off, as does everyone else. This is not an inexpensive trip, so know before you go the staff expects generous tips. The suggested amount is $150-350 per fishing guest PER DAY. This is of course on top of the already steep prices.||||My wife went with me as a non-fishing guest, which I gather now is pretty unusual. There is virtually nothing to do in the very small hamlet of Pelican, so I would not suggest bringing anyone not interested in fishing. Also, the fishing is all open water and seas can be rough, so bring motion sickness pills if you are susceptible. I am very susceptible, but didn’t take mine in time so I was seasick the first day. I recommend promethazine, which is prescription and should be taken 2 days before you get on the water. Scopolamine didn’t work for me the first day. ||||I had taken a previous trip to Pelican in 2021, but the Lisianski Lodge, located on Sunnyside, about a 5 minute boat ride from Pelican, only fishes the inlet, plus they waste time fishing for pink salmon in the streams. Pinks are only bait-worthy, and you catch plenty of them by accident anyway. I brought home about 20 lbs of fish from a 4 day trip, quite a difference. ||||The accommodations at Hiliner vary greatly. Some of the rooms have shared bathrooms. We had the Carriage House, which is about a 7 minute walk from the dining hall, it’s a 2 bedroom 1 bath cottage, very comfortable. One bedroom has a king bed, the other two twins. There is a kitchen (stove did not work) and a nice living room and a deck. The Manor House, right in front of the Carriage House, is also a very nice space. ||||Here’s the only bad thing I can say besides the steep costs: Communication was very poor. Abbie and Dylan were trying to think of things for my wife to do, and everything was $700-800 (boat tour, hot springs, whatever). I told them several times, and have it in writing with Abbie in a text, that we did not want to spend any more money. So, we get there, and they tell us my wife can go out on the boat with me the first day. Great! However, when we checked out at the end of the trip, we found out they had charged us $700 for her to be on the boat. Despite asking for that to be waived, they refused. I assume if you can afford this trip maybe $700 isn’t that much to you, but it matters to me, plus the annoyance factor of them not telling us it would be $700. So, we would not go back to Hiliner just for that reason. ||||To recap, fish was abundant depending on who your captain is||Food was excellent!||Staff was great overall!||Very poor communication and unwillingness to bend

Gosh, where do I start? Every part of our experience was amazing. From the lodging, crew, scenery and fishing, everything was top notch! 5 stars are not enough to rate our experience!! It was a trip of a lifetime! I highly recommend The Highliner Lodge, Abbie and the rest of the amazing people that made our trip one for the books! Thank you Highliner staff for the best trip my sister and I have done together! I miss you all and wish I was back there seeing your smiling faces every day!!

The Highliner Lodge is a great Alaskan fishing experience. The hospitality was first class. The accommodations were very clean and comfortable. The fishing was way beyond expectations. If fishing in Alaska and the beauty is something you want, this is the place to go. Thank you Abbie, Captain Dan and the entire staff for an amazing experience.

An amazing place! The fishing was unreal and the service was amazing. The food was excellent. Chef Justin might have me coming back just for the food! But captain Louie was the star of the show. Amazing captain with detailed knowledge of the water and fish. The hospitality staff: Abbie and Kelli were wonderful and more than accommodating. I can’t give enough praise to the whole operation. It was just wonderful!

The Highliner Lodge runs like a well oiled machine. Everything is first class. We absolutely loved our trip and plan to make this a regular vacation spot. I hate to give them too good a review and they will book up too fast! Just kidding. We will be back even if I have to book out 3 years.

Epic! Once in a lifetime type of opportunity. First class experience with Highliner Lodge in Pelican, Alaska. The fishing was outstanding. Exceptional food, lodging, service, friendliness and professionalism. Would highly recommend!