Alaskan 4 Star Charters is the owner operator pick in Whittier and third in the port ranking. Capt. Jody Mason has been in Alaska since 1972 and fishing out of Whittier since 1977, started the charter in 1998, and still runs the boat himself, so you fish with five decades of local knowledge rather than a rotating crew. The boat is a fast 35 foot aluminum six pack built in 2020, and the trip unusually includes the Alaska sport fishing license, which most Whittier boats leave to the angler. It fishes Prince William Sound for Pacific halibut, salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and Pacific cod on long full days.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 8.2 Alaskan 4 Star is a strong choice and the standout single owner boat in Whittier. Its case is consistency and knowledge: the same captain on every trip, five decades on this water, a modern fast boat, and a review record across FishingBooker and Facebook that praises how he teaches first timers and children and how often the boat finds fish. It suits a group that wants a private day with one experienced captain rather than a seat on a bigger boat, and the included license is a genuine convenience. The honest caveats are scale and format. It is a single six pack, so the good dates book out and there is no backup boat if one is full, and it sells the whole boat rather than a cheap per person seat, so a solo angler pays more than on the inspected boats. For a larger fleet with more open dates, see Whittier Marine Charters; for a per person seat, Crazy Ray’s Adventures or Alaska Good Time Charters. Compare the field on the Whittier ranking.
The boat
The boat is a 35 foot aluminum sportfishing hull built in 2020, with twin 300 horsepower Mercury engines and a fast cruise that shortens the long run out of Whittier. Speed matters here more than in most ports, because the halibut grounds are a couple of hours out, and a quick boat trades run time for fishing time. It fishes six anglers, with a toilet aboard and quality gear, and it is a modern, well kept aluminum boat rather than an older glass hull. The honest limit is simply that it is one boat: there is no second hull to move you to if your date is taken or the boat needs a day, so booking ahead is the price of fishing with a single owner operator.
The fishing and what you target
Jody fishes the standard Whittier season, with Pacific halibut the mainstay from May into September on an 11 hour day that runs about two hours each way to the grounds. Under the 2026 Area 3A charter rules the limit is two halibut a day, one of any size and one no more than 27 inches, with keeping closed every Wednesday and on Tuesdays from June 2 to August 25. Along with halibut the boat targets king salmon early, silver salmon from August, and lingcod, rockfish, and Pacific cod on the bottom, and reviewers report mixed boxes of halibut, cod, rockfish, and greenling. A two day liveaboard is offered for anglers who want to keep a possession limit rather than a single daily one, and Jody also runs hunting transport in the shoulder seasons.
Trips and prices
Alaskan 4 Star books a private six pack rather than per person seats, and the standout is that it includes the Alaska fishing license in the trip, which saves each angler a separate purchase. Its FishingBooker listing starts a full day from about $800 for two anglers and a full day halibut trip from about $970 for two anglers, with the rate climbing as you add anglers toward six, so the per head cost falls with a fuller boat. The $20 federal halibut stamp is paid directly to the captain, and the crew cleans and fillets your catch. The pricing is clear on the FishingBooker listing, though the per two angler basis takes a moment to read against the per person and whole boat quotes other Whittier boats use. Our cost guide sets the rate against other ports, and the party boat versus private charter guide is worth a read if you are weighing a private boat against a shared seat.
The crew
The crew is the heart of the score. Across FishingBooker and Facebook, reviewers describe Jody and his second captain as patient teachers who put real effort into first timers and kids, and the recurring line is that the group was treated like family and still caught fish, with a high success rate reported on the listing. Five decades fishing one stretch of water is the kind of local knowledge that does not transfer, and it shows in how consistently the boat gets onto halibut and bottom fish on a long day. The honest note is that the body of reviews, while strongly positive, is smaller than the largest operators in Whittier, so the record is consistent rather than vast, which is the natural ceiling for a single boat.
Booking and what to know
Book direct or through FishingBooker, and reserve early, because a single boat fills fast for the short summer. Trips leave early from the Whittier Small Boat Harbor, so time the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel from Anchorage and plan to clear the early eastbound opening. Bring warm waterproof layers, food and drink, and motion sickness medicine taken before you sail. The license is included, but bring cash for the $20 halibut stamp, and ask about the two day liveaboard if you want to keep more than a single day’s limit. Confirm the day before in case the weather forces a call.
How we scored it
Alaskan 4 Star earns its 8.2 on a five decade owner captain, a fast modern boat, a strongly positive review record, and the convenience of an included license. Captain and crew and boat and equipment are its strongest factors. What holds it a step below the top two is trips and access: a single private boat with no per person seat and no backup hull is narrower than a multi boat fleet, and the review base, while clean, is smaller. See how we scored this boat and the rest of the Whittier charters we rank, including Saltwater Excursions and Crazy Ray’s Adventures.