Fishability Alaska

Why “The Four Fins”?

I grew up as the oldest of four siblings (though we happily added a step-sister after I’d left home) and “The Four Fins” was shorthand for the group of us. “Fins” lends itself nicely to a fishing charter vessel name—and now I get to bring my siblings out with me every time I hit the water!

Snowy Sunday boat check!

Went down to check the boat during a recent snowstorm and spotted this gull making a rather ambitious meal out of an ochre sea star. Bald eagles get a lot of the limelight around here, but, dang: this is pretty wild.

131 days between our boat's inaugural splash and its first blanket of snow...and 131 days between its first blanket of snow and the first ship of the 2026 season! It'll be here before we know it. Can't wait to see you on the boat!

Not every "big one" that we land is a fish! Here I am with my dear friend Captain Jeff (of , on the left) after recovering a lost propeller out of 99 feet of water. Jeff did all of the hard work with the lift bag, and Captain Thomas (who took the picture) helped put us on the approximate location of this 35-pound piece of machinery. The owner of the boat who'd lost the prop was just as amazed as I was that we'd found the thing, let alone successfully retrieved it!

Not a bad view from a parking garage!

Ketchikan -> Seattle -> Anchorage!

I’m attending the Alaska Travel Industry Association’s annual convention for the fourth straight year. The first year, Fishability was just a concept—and won a Peoples’ Choice award! The second year, I had secured financing for the custom-built boat. Year three, that boat was under construction. This year, we’re fully operational!

Not a bad day for a little boat maintenance!