The Bites On Charters is the owner run pick in Ketchikan for a group that wants a veteran captain on a private boat. Captain Clay Slanaker has 30 years of local experience and runs one well kept boat, the 31 foot Killin’ Time, out of Ward Cove, fishing salmon, halibut, and crab in the protected Inside Passage. The rates are posted by the boat and read as reasonable for the port, snacks and drinks are aboard, and the operation holds a five star TripAdvisor record. For a personal day with the same owner captain every trip, it is a strong Ketchikan call.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.6 The Bites On is a strong choice and sixth in the port, the veteran owner run pick. Its case is a 30 year captain who runs the boat himself, clear per group pricing that reviewers call reasonable, and a clean five star record. It suits a group of four to six who want a private trip and the consistency of the same captain every time. What holds it below the leaders is structure and depth. As a single boat it can run only one trip a day, so the good dates go early and there is no fallback if your trip is full or weathered out, its review base is smaller than the port’s deepest names, and it leaves from Ward Cove rather than the downtown docks. For a single owner boat with a deeper record, Alaska King Charter is the call; for a downtown walk on, Baranof is the pick. Compare the field on the Ketchikan ranking.
The boat
The Killin’ Time is a 31 foot Silverton with twin Chevy 350 engines, a fully enclosed heated cabin, a restroom, and an open fishing deck, with GPS, fish finders, and depth sounders for the salmon and the bottom fishing. It fishes four to six anglers comfortably, which makes for a private, personal trip rather than a shared rail. The enclosed heated cabin is the right setup for the wet Southeast weather. The flip side of a single boat is capacity and redundancy: one boat means one trip a day and no second hull to move you to if the trip fills or the weather turns, which is the structural trade against the multi boat operations. For a small group that wants a private day, it does the job well.
The fishing and what you target
The Bites On fishes the full Ketchikan season. King salmon run from spring into July, silver salmon are the high summer mainstay into September, and pink and chum salmon fill in through midsummer. Pacific halibut is the bottom fishing draw, rockfish round out the box, and Dungeness crab is a popular add on a full day, with a winter king salmon trip in the off season. The full day pairs salmon, halibut, and crab on one trip. 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.
Trips and prices
The Bites On prices by the boat, with the rate stepping up by group size, which is straightforward for a group to read. A 4 hour salmon charter is $1,200 for up to four anglers, $1,500 for five, and $1,800 for six. A 6 hour salmon, halibut, or crab charter is $1,400 to $2,100, and a full day salmon, halibut, and crab charter is $1,700 to $2,550. Snacks and drinks are included, which is a nice touch. Reviewers consistently note the rates are reasonable, often cheaper than booking the same trip through a cruise line. The extras are a $20 per person halibut fee on halibut trips, the 2.5 percent city sales tax, and a 30 percent deposit to book. Our cost guide sets a Ketchikan day against other ports, and the party boat versus private charter guide explains the private boat you are buying.
The crew
Captain Clay Slanaker is the operation, and 30 years on these waters is the core of the score. The reviews that exist are consistently strong and specific: a captain waiting at the dock who has the group fishing within 15 minutes, who is good with both kids and adults, and who puts people on fish, with one trip landing 25 salmon. The honest limit is volume. The review base is smaller than the deep records the larger operations carry, so the evidence, while clearly positive, is a thinner sample, and a thin record is scored as a thin record rather than inflated into a deep one. For an angler who wants a veteran owner operator on a private boat, the captain is the reason to book.
Booking and what to know
Book direct through The Bites On site or by phone with a 30 percent deposit, and reserve early, since a single boat fills fast on the good summer dates. The Ward Cove departure is north of downtown, so confirm transport if you are on a ship and on a tight schedule. Bring warm, waterproof layers, since Southeast Alaska fishes wet, plus a hat, sunscreen, and any motion sickness precautions. Snacks and drinks are aboard, the gear is provided, and an Alaska sport fishing license is your responsibility to hold before you board, with under 16s exempt.
How we scored it
The Bites On earns its 7.6 on a 30 year owner captain, clear and reasonable per group pricing, snacks aboard, and a clean five star record, held below the leaders by a single boat with no fallback, a thinner review base than the port’s deepest names, and a Ward Cove departure rather than downtown. Captain and crew and value are its strongest factors, with track record and service the ones the single boat and smaller record hold back. See how we scored this boat and the Ketchikan ranking for the rest of the field, including Alaska Strike Zone Sportfishing and Ketchikan’s Finest.