Sportfishing in Alaska [Yacht Broker Trip]

Family Vacation Highlight | Ketchikan, Alaska

They say, “A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work”, but for father-son duo Mike and Eric Burke, mixing business with fishing is the best way to spend a weekend. Denison brokers Mike and Eric traveled to Alaska for three full days of fishing, and managed to do some business along the way. Denison Yachting originated from years of yachting experience passed down through the Denison family, and we’re proud to have another family work together in the business.

The Burke men traveled thousands of miles just to fish, from Palm Beach, Florida to Ketchikan, Alaska – a city known for it’s gorgeous mountainous scenery and the wild salmon that swim there. “It was always on the bucket list to go fishing in Alaska,” Mike says.

Although Alaska may bring to mind arctic cold winds and frostbite, an Alaskan summer provides excellent conditions for fishing. In fact, it’s 75 degrees and sunny on the coast of Alaska, where the Burkes spent three full days fishing. At home, in Palm Beach, these two sell mainly superyachts, center consoles, and sportfishing yachts. In Alaska, however, they spent their days on a 17’ Silver Streak boat, reeling in fish and catching up with locals. Mike met up with old friends, captains from Florida who moved to Alaska later in life, and Eric drummed up some business in his downtime.

Mike and both his sons, Eric and Reed, and have been taking fishing trips to Alaska for the past eight years, but their fishing history goes back further. Mike has been fishing with his sons for as long as he can remember, and their experience is obvious. The father-son team caught salmon, rockfish, and halibut, and plenty of it. On this particular fishing trip, they caught 130 pounds of fish in three days. Eric says fishing in Alaska is “So unique, way different than fishing in Florida or the Bahamas because it’s such a remote place…as soon as you fish off the dock you fish down a couple hundred feet, it’s nothing like fishing in open water.”

Eric, Reed and Mike ate their share of wild fish fresh while in Alaska, but were sure to pack the rest in ice. For the next six months, they’ll enjoy the fruits of their labor while they plan their next trip. They can’t wait to get back to Alaska next year, and maybe they’ll make a few other fishing trips in between.

As for who is the best fisherman of the Burkes, Eric awards himself the title. To be fair, he did catch the biggest halibut on this trip. His father, Mike, doesn’t care to compete anymore, saying, “Both of my sons are good. I enjoy just watching them. I do catch…but my sons do about 80% of the work.”

Mike and Eric both work out of Denison’s Palm Beach office and are ready to find their clients the perfect boat, whether they’re fishing enthusiasts, or just along for the ride.

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Editor’s Note: Eric Burke claimed not to be falsely flexing in every photo, but nobody in the Marketing Department believes him. It should also be noted that Eric has been ingesting 35g of Creatine every other day since April 21, 2012.