First, Tim Berg's accomodations are NOT lodges. They are bed and breakfasts. They own homes where you have private bedrooms/baths but share the rest of the living/dining areas with the other guests. There are no TV's in the bedrooms.\r
\r
The fishing: On day one we had to leave at 4:30am in the morning and drive TWO HOURS to get to their Seward location. (What was convenient about their location?) We boarded the 12 person, overcrowded, TIA MARIE. The captain and deckhands were terribly grouchy and domineering doing what they could to remove all the fun of your vacation. The captain couldn't control the boat adequately in mere 3 foot swells and lines kept getting tangled. Even though we were fishing straight down with 3 lb. weights the deckhands and captain would put the blame on the guests rather then their inability to control the boat. At one point they had all 12 guests fish shoulder to should on one side of the boat for salmon. What a mess. Every fish took out others lines on the way in. What was their solution? Once someone hooked a fish, all other eleven guests had to reel up their lines. Needless to say, getting to catch everyones fish wasted alot of quality fishing time.\r
\r
MOST IMPORTANTLY, the halibut we caught were ONLY 6-8 pounds. They tell you they are 15 - 20 lbs when you catch them (still terribly small compared to other outfitters) but they can't explain why we only ended up with 3 pounds of fillets per fish - 6 halibut = 21.6 pounds in fillets (weighed at their processing plant). Done fishing - drive two hours back to their ""conveniently located lodge"", I mean B&B. \r
\r
The following days of fishing and guide service at Tim Berg's never improved. Unkept promises, poor quality fishing gear, an extreme lack of communication, and grumpy guides.\r
\r
We are from Minnesota and fish routinely in our 10,000 lakes. We have also had the privilege of fishing on other expensive, first class charters from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico. We have never had such a poor experience.\r
\r
We tried hard to look at the bright side of our trip, but it's sad to say Tim Berg's just doesn't have one. Luckily ,Alaska still has wonderful scenery and wildlife to make your trip enjoyable. We tried to nicely talk with his wife Carol and work out some of the issues we were having during our stay but our comments fell on deaf ears. She refused to listent, denied statements she previously made and when asked if she could at least apologize and say ""I'm Sorry"" - she REFUSED. We then approached Tim himself thinking he may be able to help and he took no interest. First class? \r
\r
On the positive side, the chef/food was excellent and the SeaBreeze house staff were very friendly and proactive to take care of you. Unfortunately, none of them will be returning for a second season so you may not have that to look forward to either.\r
\r
You win some and you lose some. We talked to alot of friendly people and received some good information about other outfittters. We are excited to return next year and have the trip we had dreamed of!
more