Baranof Fishing Excursions is the most reviewed fishing operation in Ketchikan and the easiest to book, especially off a cruise ship. It runs a fleet of custom Raider boats out of 3 Salmon Landing downtown, a 5 minute walk from the cruise docks, fishes salmon and halibut in the protected waters of the Inside Passage, and carries the deepest customer record in the Salmon Capital by a wide margin, ranked first of 187 Ketchikan tours on TripAdvisor with more than 2,000 reviews. The price card is posted per person, the gear is aboard, and the operation handles fish processing and shipping. For a reliable, convenient day on the water in Ketchikan, it is the safest call on the dock.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.6 Baranof tops the Ketchikan ranking, the only operator in the port in our top band, and our Editor’s Pick. It earns the spot on the most proven record in town: a clean, well run fleet, a downtown departure that solves the cruise schedule problem, clear pricing, and full processing and shipping, backed by a customer record no other Ketchikan boat comes close to in volume. It suits almost anyone, a cruise passenger with a few hours, a family after a box of salmon, or a group that wants halibut and a combo. The one real trade is the flip side of its size: Baranof runs several boats on a set schedule with a rotating roster of captains, so the trips are larger and a little less personal than an owner run six pack, and the exact boat and captain change from trip to trip. For an intimate, owner run boat, Alaska King Charter and The Bites On Charters are the picks. Compare the field on the Ketchikan ranking.
The boats
Baranof fishes a fleet of custom Raider boats built for Ketchikan water. The headline boats are a 30 foot cabin cruiser, with a heated cabin, a private head, and a mini galley, and a 24 foot cabin cruiser that seats six in an enclosed cabin, with a 23 foot open skiff for the trips that call for a beach landing. These are not the biggest boats in Alaska, but they are clean, stable, and well kept, which is what the reviews consistently say, and the fleet size is the point: it lets Baranof put a lot of anglers on the water on a cruise day and keep dates open. The honest read is that a fleet booked on a schedule means you do not pick your boat or captain, so the day is a touch less personal than a single owner boat, and the boat you draw shapes the trip, so it is worth asking when you book.
The fishing and what you target
Baranof fishes the standard Ketchikan season in the protected Inside Passage. King salmon run from spring into July, silver salmon take over as the high summer mainstay from July into September, and pink and chum salmon flood the inside waters in big numbers in midsummer. Pacific halibut is the bottom fishing draw, with rockfish and lingcod filling out a combo day. The combo trip is the smart default here, since it lets the captain chase whatever is biting best on the day. The 2026 Area 2C halibut rule is one fish a day under a reverse slot, 34 inches or under or 80 inches or over, with no charter halibut retention on Thursdays from June 18 to September 10, so confirm the current halibut measures with NOAA Fisheries and the Southeast king salmon limits with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game before you book a season specific trip.
Trips and prices
Baranof posts a clear per person price card. A 5 hour salmon trip is $379, a combo is $389, and a halibut trip is $429, with a wilderness dining and fishing option at $379. To book the whole boat, a private charter is $1,700 to $2,500 for 5 to 8 hours, and there is an overnight package at $2,900 for two guests. The gear is included, trips over 5 hours come with a light lunch, and the operation processes, packages, and ships your catch, which is a real convenience for a cruise traveler. The extras are the Ketchikan standard, a 2.5 percent borough sales tax and the $20 per person federal halibut stamp on halibut trips. The pricing sits in the middle of the Ketchikan field, fair for a clean downtown boat with processing included. Our cost guide sets a Ketchikan day against other ports, and the party boat versus private charter guide weighs a shared seat against booking the whole boat.
The crew
The crew is a roster rather than a single owner, and the record says it holds up well across the fleet. Across more than 2,000 reviews the recurring themes are captains who put first time anglers and kids on fish, a clean and professional operation, and a smooth experience from the downtown dock to the processed box of fish. Reviewers name individual captains, with Lindsey, Andy, Steve, and Pat among those drawing repeated praise. The honest caveat is the one that comes with any large operation: the person who meets you at the slip is not always the same, and the strongest reviews follow specific captains rather than the company as a whole, so the standard is high but not perfectly uniform. The depth of the record, more than 2,000 reviews at the top of the Ketchikan rankings, is the strongest evidence in the port that the standard holds.
Booking and what to know
Book through the Baranof site or by phone, and reserve early for the summer and the cruise season, since the downtown boats fill on a busy ship day. The 3 Salmon Landing departure is a short walk from the cruise docks, so it is the low stress choice if you are on a ship schedule. Trips leave on a set schedule, so confirm your time and arrive ahead. Bring warm, waterproof layers even in summer, since Southeast Alaska is wet, plus a hat, sunscreen, and any motion sickness precautions. The gear is aboard, an Alaska sport fishing license is your responsibility to hold before you board, and the crew handles cleaning, processing, and shipping your catch home.
How we scored it
Baranof earns its 8.6 on the deepest review record in Ketchikan, a clean downtown fleet, clear pricing, and the processing and shipping that make it the easy cruise pick, held just short of a higher grade only by the variability that comes with running several boats on a schedule with a rotating roster. Track record, service, and trips and access are its strongest factors. See how we scored this boat and the Ketchikan ranking for the rest of the field, including Ketchikan’s Finest Fishing Charters and Oasis Alaska Charters.