I generally only go with charter boat companies who are recommended to me by someone I know. I took a gamble by reading the reviews here on TA - and booked with Crackerjack Charters. We had a GREAT time! Quality rods, reels and gear on board. Caught so many fish my arms were like jello. I caught a 70 lb. halbut almost as tall as me and another lady caught a 90 pounder. Caught several Ling Cod - but could not keep them - they come in season July 1 (we were out 6-18). Some were 50 lbs each. Also caught yellow eye rock fish and black sea bass. Captain Jeff was very attentive and worked hard to keep us baited up while taking others fish off. There were 6 total people on our boat.

The boat ride out was definately not for the faint of heart. Going 55 miles off shore - I was happy it was a pretty calm day. Take Bonine if you think there is even the slightest chance you could get sick! Brought our catch back where Jeff fileted the fish and took them across the deck to the processors for boxing to fly back home. The processors got the boxes to 49.4 lbs - perfect for staying in the check-in luggage 50 lb. rule. After almost 24 hours of traveling the fish did not thaw one bit.

Of another note - this is the boat that caught the 370 lb. halibut that was most recently winning the Halibut Derby! They KNOW where to find the fish.

Spent a week in Seward fishing with friends for Halibut, Salmon and Rockfish.
No other sportfishing operation was even running for the whole week we were there yet Crackerjack Charters was booked solid for the whole week.
We were glad that we had booked a head of time so our spot was saved.
The weather was up but the Crackerjack Voyager rode through the wind and swell like a Cadillac. The boat is very clean, roomy and very easy to fish on. Wide decks with plenty of space to walk around other anglers. The crew kept it very clean and we could tell that the boat was the pride of the whole sportfishing fleet in Seward.
The fishing was very good at times with huge Halibut up to 100lbs being caught. The Rockfishing was also very good with non stop action and easy limits.
The crew was very professional in releasing the bigger Rockfish as they explained they were the broad stock that keeps the fishery alive. It was great to see a conservative side in a sportfishing crew.
Overall it was a great week of fishing. The Salmon didn't show but there was plenty of other fish to catch.
We fished with Nik for a couple of days on the smaller boat. Don't let the smaller boat fool you. The boat is very comfortable and rode well through the swells. It was very fast allowing more fishing time. The captain Nik Ranta is a very good captain with tons of experiance and stories about living in Alaska during the winter. I would fish with Nik in a heart beat again.
Talking to others in the town the Crackerjack Charters boats and crew are the best in town.
Thanks to them my friends and I had a wonderful time in Alaska and will be returning soon to fish with Crackerjack Andy, Jeff and Nik again.

I had the pleasure of fishing with Nick, Andy, Jeff and Ryan for three days last week and was amazed at how professional, friendly and fun these guys are. We caught tons of fish, save a bunch of halibut for food and released many rockfish and lingcod. The boats are great, the equipment is top of the line and the crew is great. If you want to fish anywhere in Alaska, I would honestly recommend that you try to book a trip with Crackerjack Sportfishing. Book early, the word has gotten out and other know how good they are!!

Like others that posted here, I am an experienced sport fisherman including Marlin in Cabo, Tuna out of San Diego, Salmon and Halibut in Alaska and almost everything in between. I have my own salt water boat in Southern California but I do enjoy letting someone else do the driving once in a while. This is more a fish report than a review. The review title says how I feel about the Crackerjack and Capt Andy.

In August 2008 after a business trip to Anchorage, I drove down to Seward and fished with Capt Andy on the Crackerjack Voyager on two consecutive open party day trips. One was a Salmon / Halibut combo and the other a Lingcod / Halibut combo. I caught limits of big Silvers, Halibut (mostly chickens) and a 60 lb Ling Cod filling up two boxes that I shipped home. During that trip Capt Andy just flat out impressed me with his charter operation, his boat that is custom designed for the fishing he does, his hard fishing attitude, knowledge and respect for the ocean and the way he made sure everyone caught fish and had a great time. I learned that Andy also does long range trips where the boat can reach less fished waters. I vowed then to get a group of guys together and do the long range trip.

Yesterday (6/6/2010) I returned from two amazing days of fishing with five great friends. We were forewarned a few days in advance that the seas were going to be rough but Andy would do his best to make it the best trip he could. Andy offered for us to sleep on the boat the night before at the marina which saved us a hotel room in Seward. We leave at 5 AM the first day and make it to the Halibut grounds where we catch and mostly release on several spots holding patient for a hog Halibut. We don’t get the hog but we do well for the box and easily release a double limit that day. We are fishing shallow water and relatively light tackle. Andy decides to head to a remote lodge to fuel up and barbeque steaks and fresh fish for dinner. Late that night Andy calls for the weather on the sat phone and it is forecasted to get worse the next day potentially limiting where we can fish. The group has a great attitude and takes the mindset to make lemonade out of the lemon of a forecast. The morning arrives and it is better than forecasted so we make the short run to get back out the Halibut grounds.

The second day turns out to be even better. As we’re getting close to our two day limits we start getting really picky and manage a surprise King Salmon and a few Silvers. At 7:30 PM we pick up the anchor and head in to anchor for the night. Just short of the cove we stop to make dinner. Andy says we’re not done fishing yet – in years past I’ve caught some hogs here. Out the rods go again. As we’re having dinner we proceed to boat a 50 lb and a 78 lb Halibut (first and third biggest for the trip). We don’t finish fishing until 10 PM. That’s hard core!

The evening weather update says we could be blown out with high wind and big seas. We hope for the best but as we left the cove it was clear that the safe thing to do was head back to Seward. The original plan was to fish Kings on the third day. Andy refunded us for the third day.

All throughout the trip Andy engaged us in conversation and had us rolling in laughter with his one line zingers which seemed to come every five minutes. The whole group had a fantastic time despite the weather.