May 2020 update

What a crazy time for the world, we have been in the business of providing adventures for over 30 years. This is the toughest challenge we have had to face, a deadly virus, travel bans, closed businesses, shortened supplies, basically no customers are traveling to Old Harbor and some have cancelled but are using their deposits to rebook next year.

For every negative there is a positive and we must focus on that. My dad taught me that and I’m lucky to still have him here working with me everyday. We are fortunate to still be receiving bookings for the fall deer/fishing combos. With hunker-down mandates, we worked on the boats Fishy Fishy and Refuge Rock here in Old Harbor. My Dad and I upgraded the electronics, new through-hull chirp transducer,  new fantom radar, new deck speakers and stereo and both chartplotters on the Fishy Fishy. The Refuge Rock has a new raw water cooling system that uses the same impellers as the Fishy  Fishy and it has the Burnewiin rod mounts and holders, all the work we would normally do in the boatyard in Kodiak city.  

We cancelled our Fred Hall show in fear of bring the virus home to the village. The Great Alaska Sportsman Show was cancelled. I was to give a seminar on catching king salmon, I was looking forward to that.

Bookings for fishing this summer just stopped! We immediately cut costs, cut back on our liability insurance to just layup, canceled our satellite phone service on the boat, use the smaller boat to catch fish for eating, and we are making more of our own wine.

Another thing we are doing to maintain our lifestyle here is to buy fish from commercial seiners and sell it directly to you, the permit process was a bear but we got it! We still need some more equipment like a blast freezer and Refrigerated Salt Water – RSW, we hope to be qualified for a SBA loan to accomplish this, so call us and make an order!

This pandemic will pass but with certain changes in the way we live, work and play. One important lesson for the country is to keep manufacturing here in America and buy local! We look forward to seeing you again thanks for booking and stay safe. 907-350-2799 Jeff and Lianna