Testimonials

Featured Testimonials

Testimonial #1 - E. Ecklund, Bainbridge Island, Washington

It was the last day of the salmon derby and I don’t know what Terry was doing right but we couldn’t keep the fish off our lines! I ended up with a 32-pound king along with a red snapper and a couple of other fish. I was happy with that.

Staying with Terry is like being a family guest instead of a client. I’ll give you an example. We were curious about the taste of the local venison. Terry mentions this to a friend and we come back from fishing, and the friend has cooked us up a roast. Another time, Terry’s mother made us cookies, to take out on the boat. Those are the kinds of things that make you feel like a very welcome guest. The place we stayed -- you can fish out the bedroom window! One of the guys dropped a line and pulled up a little codfish, about twelve, fourteen inches long. Only when the tide is in, of course.

The sightseeing is interesting. One time, we were out on Terry’s boat and we saw some kids on the beach. A bear was walking toward them, it was maybe an eighth of a mile down the beach, and they couldn’t see it from where they were. We tooted the horn and pointed, trying to alert them, and they waved back, not really getting the message. We watched it get halfway to them, then it got up on his hind feet, like it smelled them, and then it took off into the woods. I doubt they ever saw it.

Terry was born to be an outdoorsman; he grew up hunting, fishing, and has all sorts of crazy stories to tell about the life.

Testimonial #2 - J. Erickson, Santa Clarita, California

Our lodgings were great! Spacious, impeccable, with a full kitchen (I was the cook). My fishing buddies, Jim, Rick, and I were more than comfortable. Terry's a wonderful host!

What a cool town! The first thing you notice is no cars. The main street, approximately 1/4 mile long is a wooden boardwalk, pedestrian only. Everyone is friendly and eager to talk about Pelican and the surrounding area.

Terry has spent all of his life in Pelican and a good majority of that time has been spent on the water. He knows where the fish are. He has his "hot spots” to fish, and no worries about crowds because you'll be the only boat there!

The boat was very spacious, and if you wanted to get out of the weather you could comfortably sit in the cabin, just a couple of frantic steps away when your pole arches and the reel starts screaming.

We caught some really nice fish, and Terry had them processed, packaged, and frozen for the trip home.

Leaving the dock at Pelican in the morning full of anticipation of maybe catching the "big one", with hot coffee in one hand, a warm cinnamon roll in the other (heated on the boat), and enjoying the spectacular scenery as it unfolds. Well, it just doesn't get any better than that!

If you're looking for a remote wilderness setting, away from the crowds this Alaskan experience is it!

Testimonial #3 - M. Burkhardt, Bothell, Washington

I’ve been up there to fish a lot of years, and Terry’s a good guy to go fishing with. Every morning he’s on time, he puts in a good long day. If it’s possible to get fish, he’ll get them for you! He’s really good in that respect. If the weather comes up, and we need to fish closer to shore, he knows the likely spots. Or, if you don’t want to fish, Terry will take you around, exploring. It’s interesting what you can see there, eagles and whales and seals, there are plenty of bears on the beach, you can go whale watching, or go soak in the hot springs.

I’ve caught so many king salmon I can’t pick out one to tell about. I do remember once, all three of us had kings on – all at the same time. It turns into a zoo, real quick -- everybody trying to keep from getting tangled. That was fun.

One year we were a bit short on halibut, so we decided to target them. The ocean was rough, but Terry knew a spot over by the glacier we could try, which would keep us off the rough water.  In no time at all, we had three really nice ones, all probably about sixty pounds.

 
Terry knows the area and does a good job. He’ll deliver!

Other Testimonials

Testimonial #4 - D. Spayth, Kirkland, Washington

Some of my fondest memories from childhood were growing up with my best friend Terry.  He (Captain Terry) even as a kid was a natural leader who even in the toughest situations had a cool and competent head.

Terry helped me get my first little speed boat when I was thirteen and even back in those days he could fix nearly anything. So it is no wonder that he grew up to also run the only marine repair shop in Pelican. There are no cars in Pelican so instead of aspiring to have a car like most young men in the lower 48 States, we strove to get our first boat.  Of course at thirteen I was still developing my ability to make good choices and one day while racing my boat through the harbor at full speed (which was a major no-no) I hit a plank which ripped a big hole in the boat.  I barely made it to the airplane float with time to pull the engine off before my boat sank right there and that was the end of that boat.  Of course Terry being the good friend that he was after scolding me and having a good laugh at my misfortune, he helped me get my second speed boat!

Growing up in Pelican was a unique experience which I realized only later in my life how unique.  As young teenagers Terry and I had our first commercial fishing business together where we would go long line fishing for halibut,  cod, and other bottom fish. Long line fishing is a type of commercial fishing using a stationary long weighted line with side branches ending in hooks. Each long line can be up to a mile in length and have thousands of baited hooks. We would get up at 4am jump in our boat and go out and pull by hand and then re-lay our long line. Then repeat that same process twelve hours later in the evening and sell our catch at the local cold storage.  It was very hard work but from it came some of our favorite memories like the time we caught a 1200 pound shark whose tail got tangled in our long line.  At first we thought our line was simply hung up on a rock pile but after a very long time this now dead shark emerged at the surface. Yup!  You might be thinking at this point this is simply another big fish story. We too were worried no one would believe us so we spent many hours towing this shark back to town and had it hosted up on one of the large hydraulic hoists at the cold storage.  This was to see how big it really was and to provide evidence that this was a big one that didn't get away.

Terry is an awesome guy who has a naturally amiable personality and is simply just fun to be with! He is the type of person who because of his integrity and loyalty collects life long friends and I am proud to be one of those. While I have moved away from Alaska and both of us have gotten busy with our own lives, which sometimes has caused years to go by without a chance to speak to each other, whenever we do get together it is like we have never been apart. He remains my life-long friend and someone I can always count on! There is no other person I would rather spend a day, a week, or even more time with fishing, hiking, beach combing, hang out at the hot springs, visiting the town, or simply sharing life stories with while sitting around playing cards and drinking a beer.