Alaska Glacier Adventures

Mountain Goats in the Sunshine!?

Monday, October 15, 2012

Hey GUIDE…There’s a goat!

“Hey, isn’t that a mountain goat right there?” asked John. What was going on here? A goat was walking the ridge above us in the sunshine on the first hunting day. I was pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming as we found the goat in the 60 power Swarovski spotting scope. John, a law enforcement officer from back East had endured the first day of his hunt waiting for Alaska Airlines to deliver ALL his luggage while the second day of his hunt was spent trying to get his rifle to shoot as the TSA and Luggage goons must have conducted crash tests with his rifle case. This was the third day of his hunt, but really just the first so we were very excited to be watching the surefooted goat pick his way along the steep cliffs above us.

We took off with minimal gear and food as we had an unheard of forecast for early October in Southeast AK and we planned to take advantage of it.

“Wildman” Robert & John, ready to climb skyward where the mountain goats live.

Robert “Wildman” Mayville was on his first goat hunt as the packer and we were glad to have his strong back and excellent hunting skills on our team. He was sticking with John as I tried to find a good route up this steep country and when we finally emerged from the devil’s club and berry brush, we all smiled and marveled at the sunshine. A few hours later we again laughed at our good fortune as we checked out another monster billy goat in the scope. This one was bigger and in a very good place to eat lead as he was away from the cliffs and lounging around in the sun.

Okay John, stand right there and don’t look down!

We stayed hidden for the next hour but eventually had to stay put and wait for him to move so we wouldn’t be detected. We found a comfortable place to hang out and then took off our boots and socks and sunbathed.
Did I mention we were on a goat hunt!? In over 100 goat hunts I have never sunbathed with my boots off! Someone pinch me.
Mr. Billy finally got up to feed with his rump to us, so when the sun went down and the shadows covered us we rocketed out of our hideout and closed the 1200 yards in just 45 minutes. John was right on my heels the whole time and as we crawled to 180 yards I noticed the goat was headed for the cliffs.
There was no time to spare when I turned to John and told him to “crawl up to that rock and kill that goat!”
He was slinging lead from his .300WSM in seconds.
“Keep shooting!” I yelled.
“Ka-Boom!” was John’s reply.
Down went the billy and up went our high-fives. We were all elated as we relived the last few moments of the full throttle stalk. John was as giddy as a law officer can get and we were enjoying the adrenaline rush.
The alders that every Alaskan hunter curses did us a big favor by catching John’s goat before he became mince-meat. Two more minutes and the goat would’ve fallen much further than the ten yards he did. It was a good thing we put the pedal down on the final stalk.
Robert gutted the goat while John and I held the rope we had tied to its horns and later we man-handled the 5 1/2 year old, 275 pound brut with 8 1/2 inch horns over to flat ground.
Perched on our rugged real estate we were happy to find two spots to spread out our tarps, bivy sacks and sleeping bags and enjoyed the flickering northern lights and clear skies.
It was another first for me as we intentionally camped under the stars on a goat hunt in Southeast AK. This was shaping up to be a dream hunt!
Robert chatted with ptarmigan at daybreak on the ridge top while I slept in, wanting better light for our photo shoot and John guarded his hairy white beast from the circling ravens.

John proudly poses with his awesome trophy mountain goat.

The photos of John’s goat were unequaled and we later found ourselves stopping often under our heavy loads to snap more and more photos of this dream hunt and trying to soak in the majestic views all around us.

360 degrees of stunningly gorgeous views.

The fairytale hunt came to a screeching halt as darkness descended and we were perched above a 350’ cliff.
Robert volunteered to take the rope and see if we could get down while I belayed him from a stout alder bush. After lots of sweat and shaking limbs he crawled back up to report it was not worth the risk so we scratched and clawed our way back up a few hundred feet before we ditched the heavy meat pack Robert was carrying and he took John’s pack.
The rubber was meeting the road as we discussed our options.
Sleep on the side of the mountain with no water and minimum food or push onto camp about 2 hours? We voted for the later and groceries disappeared in a hurry when we finally got to camp.

King of the Mountain!

Those packs are STUFFED.

I’m pretty sure at this point, John knows his guide and packer aren’t quite right…

The next day found us splitting up as Robert escorted John down to the head of the bay where Jim Phillips was waiting with his warm boat. I had marked the meat with my GPS and had to climb 1200 feet then get within 27 yards before I could see the heavy pack in the dense fog.

Sun Dog. Cool!

Ironman Robert made two trips up to our base camp that day shuttling loads so when we hit the beach and climbed on Jim’s boat for the ride to Sitka there were smiles all around.

Descending into the rainforest.

Of course, the natural hot springs beckoned and we lounged in the warm waters on our way back to Sitka. They were awesome!
A fairytale ending to a dream hunt. Great job John!

Congrats John! Great job!

Written from Eagle River, AK on Nov. 1, 2012 by Kurt Whitehead

Wind, Rain, Brown Bears, Sweat and Mountain Goats

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Bourke’s hard earned monster billy

“Go away bear, go away bear, get out of here!” I yelled as I shucked iron. Having my .44 Magnum in my hand made me feel slightly better, but I was very glad to have 4 other guys behind me when I saw the Brown Bear sow and her three yearling cubs at close range. I was pretty sure I could outrun at least one of them. The hunters that is! Ha Ha!

So how did I end up running the Gauntlet in this Brown Bear infested neck of Southeast AK anyway? I found myself asking as I repeatedly yelled “Hey Bear!” many hundred times over the next nine days.

The Brown Bear Gauntlet!

Jim Phillips called in July and asked for help with his Mountain Goat season so being an adrenalin-junkie I enthusiastically signed on. Trina says I have memory loss and an extremely high pain tolerance which I’m sure is vital if you ever do more than one goat hunt. Having guided for them since 1999 and being involved in just shy of 100 goat hunts, I whole-heartedly agree.

“Hey bear, get outta here!” Bourke and I both yelled at the wet bear stomping off with a pink salmon in his mouth. “Jeez, they’re everywhere aren’t they,” he volunteered. Later that night we crawled into our tents near the river bank and all of us had our weapons close at hand as there was no place in the river valley we could get away from all the bear sign.

Yuck!

The next morning, Alex spotted a goat near the ridge line, so our game plan was to send guides Luke and Alex with Bourke’s younger brother after the closest goat while Bourke, his Dad, Les, and I continued to run the Bear Gauntlet upstream. We finally got far enough up the river and away from the salmon so the bear sign dried up and I breathed a major sigh of relief. Les promptly spotted a goat while we unloaded our heavy packs and Bourke was chomping at the bit enough to say he was feeling “pent up” when asked how he felt. Up the mountain we roared with virtually empty packs. Four hours and 3200 feet later, we had Mountain Goats in our scopes. Life was good.

Goats in the mist

“Not big enough Bourke,” I said but we can shoot them with our cameras. We got some good pictures just as the rain came and the wind started to crank up. Off the mountain we bailed and made record time back to camp, getting in just past dark.

Les and Bourke listened to the rain pound and the next day we found ourselves at 3000 feet on a different mountain snooping around for a different goat we had spotted the previous day. All we saw were nannies, kids and one unidentified goat living on a vertical cliff that was officially “safe.”

Just one of the many reasons I keep doing these crazy hunts.

Les was one tough nut, but he was still a nut for coming on a goat hunt with as bad a back as I’ve ever seen. Grimacing in pain every step and relating how he’d been shot up with Cortisone three times in the last few months to get ready for the dream hunt with his two sons I felt bad we hadn’t found him a billy and admired his determination, but his back was hammered. We decided the best thing was to get him back to Sitka so he wouldn’t stay in bear country by himself for the next two or three days while Bourke and I got medieval on a goat. There was one problem, the 3+ miles of the Bear Gauntlet, and we were burning daylight. Three hours, lots of pain and hundreds of fresh bear tracks later, we met up with Jim who took Les to a hot shower and a dry room. I’m guessing he was thrilled.

Now if you ever go in Brown Bear infested country by yourself, you need your head examined and if you run the Bear Gauntlet in the evening…..well, I definitely need psychiatric help!

At one point, I got bluff-charged by a pissed-off boar and, trying to give him some room, I ran across the creek pointing the pistol over my shoulder only to bump into another mature bear hot-footing it away from me, then I went 5 more yards and bumped into yet another mature bear. There I stood my ground, near dark with more salmon carcasses on the ground than leaves and YES, a different bear roared his displeasure about 20 yards from the opposite direction. I know how Custer felt! I was surrounded.

Six bears and many butt-puckering moments later I finally arrived in camp. And yes, I was carrying my Smith & Wesson .44 Mag Airlite the whole time and yelling “Hey Bear” every minute of the two and a half hours it took to pass the Bear Gauntlet.

In all my years hunting bears I have never encountered such a bear-infested spot like the one I just stumbled on and we were on a goat hunt!

Ready to go?

Nowhere to go but UP!

The next morning we got a late start after such a rough evening and Bourke and I were in kill mode. We packed up our tent and provisions and weren’t coming back without a stud billy. The hike up to alpine was stunning with the mountains surrounding us and the clear weather. We found a perfect camping spot and Bourke went to fetch water while I pitched the tent, but he was right back in camp within minutes and reported seeing a goat just 200+ yards from the tent. We grabbed the scope, rifle and gear and had a stud billy in our scope just minutes from our tent. We discussed our options and decided to leave him until tomorrow.

Excitement ran high that night. Bourke was chomping at the bit to put a bullet in the goat, but the next morning brought more of Southeast’s famous liquid sunshine and fog. When the weather finally broke mid-morning, we didn’t waste time to get in a perfect shooting position 154 yards from the snoozing billy. Bourke took him out with surgical precision and it was some of the finest shooting I’ve witnessed. He put the first round exactly were we talked about and the next 4 all within inches of each other so the goat didn’t even stand up. Just what we wanted to keep him from flying off the steep mountain.

One happy hunter.

To say that the mountain was steep would be an understatement. It took us three hours to get the 154 yards to the goat and ten hours total before we arrived back in camp. It was an adventure that included many alders, cliffs, butt-sliding, ice-axes, crampons and nerves of steel. Bourke was a natural and I’m certain he could be an Alaskan hunting guide if he wanted. The photo shoot was stunning and the billy was HEAVY! My best guess was 275-300 pounds as the goats from Southeast AK are massive.

One word…WOW!

I was wishing he would have shot a smaller goat since we had to pack all that weight straight up 1200 feet and back down 1200 feet just to get back to our spike camp two hours after dark. I eventually ditched my pack of meat just after dark and took Bourke’s pack of hide, horns, etc. down to spike camp where we demolished some food before passing out.

The big loads.

The following morning found us licking our wounds and it took all day to get our heavy packs back down to the river camp. We left our spike camp set up with some of our gear as there was no way we could take it all in one load. The hike down was spectacular with fresh snow on the peaks and clear weather again.

Let’s get outta here!

We paid for this goat dearly as we stumbled back down the Bear Gauntlet leaving two camps behind us for a later day. Did I mention Bourke’s goat was HEAVY? We met up with Alex who took my load of meat while he and Jim escorted Bourke to a hot shower and a dry room. I got to run the Bear Gauntlet again as I brandished my .44 Mag and made sure to detour around the Bear Convention from the previous day.

The last day involved a 2400 foot climb to retrieve the spike camp and gear and then roar past the Bear Gauntlet for the last time while grabbing our river camp and meet up with Jim for a treasured boat ride into Sitka. Whew!!!

Nine days, 11,400 feet of elevation, 20 plus miles, 16 brown bears, 1 bluff-charge, 5 million raindrops, lots of pain and 1 TROPHY MOUNTAIN GOAT!
Way to go Bourke and Les!

Bourke’s brother Dietrich also got a great mountain goat with his hard working guides Luke Bastian and Alex Carter but that is a story for another day. Here are a few photos. Great job Dietrich, Luke and Alex!

Meanwhile on the other side of the mountain…

…almost the TOP of the mountain…

…Dietrich manages to SMILE, and that goat is something to smile about!

Written by Kurt Whitehead in Eagle River, AK on Oct. 29, 2012

Monster Bruins of Southeast Alaska

Monday, September 24, 2012

“Cathy has been on four other black bear hunts and has yet to pull the trigger, so before we book this I want to verify that this hunt will be different,” asked John, the head of Oncology at a renowned hospital Back East.
“Well, I’d be very surprised if she didn’t at least have an opportunity at a good representative bear.” I said.

All aboard the Glacier for another adventure!

On day five, I was eating those words as all we had seen was sows, cubs and small to medium sized bears. Sure, we had seen an AMAZING Humpback whale show of a cow and calf that were very interested in our boat. We had plenty of Bald Eagles launching themselves out of the trees as we snuck upstream. We had the MOST incredible Wolf show at less than 100 yards howling, yipping and snickering at us after we snuck up on them and caught the three of them with their pants down. We saw Sea Otters, River Otters, Mink, Seagulls, Ravens, Dippers, Pink Salmon, Chum Salmon and the list goes on, but what we really wanted was a Magnum Black Bear that Prince of Wales is famous for.

Let’s go hunting!

Typical evening setup on a salmon stream in the Fall.

So, after scouting yet another stream John pulled me aside and once again stated “Kurt, if we see anything that is even close to a representative trophy, Please let Cathy pull the trigger.” Hmmmm, no pressure here?!

Sometimes, hunts are seven days for a reason, but I was definitely feeling the heat as we snuck into a prime location to sit for the rest of the evening. We had yet to see anything other than a track of a Trophy Bruin and I was nervous. Our perch was less than perfect and Cathy was watching downstream, John was watching upstream and I was watching both sides when we all saw movement at the same time 40 yards away. Cathy pivoted, I took one look at the Mongo Bear and told her to shoot. She had been told “Don’t Shoot” so many times over the previous week that she looked shocked, so I told her again to whack him. Ka-Boom bellowed her hand cannon and off ran the bear like a scalded cat.

A less than ideal shot in the thick rain forest is why she was shooting her brand new custom .375 H&H. Was I ever glad, because these bruins are BIG and the forest is thick.
Her bullet traveled from way behind its stomach all the way through its 475 pound body and barely exited in front of its shoulder.
Cathy made an excellent off hand shot for such a quick and difficult opportunity. Time and again I have said to my clients that “The Window Of Opportunity Opens and Closes Amazingly Fast!” Cathy made the shot and compensated for the hard angle by putting the bullet EXACTLY where it needed to be.

The Monster barely made it 12 yards and once again I said “Overkill is great!” Had she been shooting a .30-06, the bear would’ve died, but that night would have been sleepless instead of the fun celebration that followed on the “GLACIER.”

Cathy’s Monster Giant Wow Huge Something to be Proud of Black Bear! Skull 20 12/16″ Hide 7’6″.

The photo shoot the following day was memorable and I’m not sure how often I said the words Monster, Slob, Magnum, Huge, Giant and WOW, but it was a bunch.

Things couldn’t have gotten much better when John yelled out “ Cathy, I just arrowed a bear and it’s headed your way!” The Three Stooges would’ve gotten a kick out of us change gears from skinning a bear to hunting one in .5 seconds, but we didn’t see or hear much in the thick jungle.

Beauty and the beasts.

We decided to finish the present skinning job before we took on another and presently we got the report from John that another bear had walked out exactly where Cathy’s massive bear exited the bushes and he slung an arrow at 24 yards. He also thought it might be a bit low.
Prior to the hunt we sighted in Cathy’s Cannon and I got to watch John shoot his bow with pinpoint accuracy, so now I thought to myself “Dead Bear.”
A long and fruitless tracking session produced spotty blood and all of us agreed the bear was hit low on the sternum and/or the front left leg. We followed the blood trail 450+ yards, uphill with just one small drop of blood every few feet until it finally ended in incredibly thick cover. We couldn’t locate the trail again even though Cathy earned the nickname “Birddog” as she was great at spotting blood.

Ferns in the Southeast Alaskan rainforest jungle.

The time finally came to dash back to town so they could make the plane early the next morning but prior to that we hauled the Alaska Spot Shrimp pots we had set earlier. We were rewarded with some of the best eating seafood on the planet and gorged on them later that night in Klawock.

What an adventure! Alaska always produces amazing adventures and John and Cathy got a great one.

Yum!

Dungeness Crab too!

Written 9-24-12 aboard the “GLACIER” in Klawock, Alaska by Kurt Whitehead

Filed in Coastal Black Bear Hunts | Tagged coastal black bear hunts | Comments (0)

Mountain Goats in the Mist

Friday, September 7, 2012

“Bob, the fog is finally lifting enough for me to get a photo of the sunset on the lake so I’ll be right back.” I said heading out with my camera and grabbing my binoculars at the last second. Decked out in my Croc sandals, I was just going 30 yards to the edge of the ridge to take some stunning photos of the high-alpine lake and the setting sun when I looked below me and spotted something white just as the fog rolled in again. Waiting a few more minutes for a break in the mist, I could see it was a mountain goat grazing away just 150 yards from me! It took no time to scamper back to the tent, grab my spotting scope and boots and roust Bob out of our tent.

High alpine lake campsite.

“He’s a good billy and only 154 yards, plus you have a perfect shot Bob. What do think?” I asked as I scoped out a shooting rest. “Sounds good. Where do I shoot from?”

We got all set up, but the light was fading fast so Bob had to hang part way over a cliff that was 600 feet to the bottom and I reassured him I would be laying on his legs and the only thing that was going to fall was his stomach as he looked down the cliff. “Take your time and make the first shot count and then keep slinging lead so he doesn’t kick himself off into never-never land.” I said.

Another killer view.

Ka-Boom, Ka-Boom, Ka-Boom, Ka-Boom, four rapid shots exited Bob’s rifle. “Great shooting Bob! Way to go!” The goat was down for good right above the cliff so I ran down and pulled him back while propping him up for photos the following day.

Bob’s Trophy Mountain Goat Billy

The previous day of fog, rain and wind evaporated from our minds that evening as we dined on freeze-dried dinner, lots of tea and discussed the dramatic change of events on our snowy perch up in God’s country.

The following morning was stunning, but the storm was coming so we hustled off the ridge with our excellent photos and met up with fellow outfitter Jim Phillips who came to take some weight off our backs.

The calm before the storm.

After a hurried descent down to the lake, we called the air taxi, struck camp and then found out the storm had arrived down in Sitka, so we had to set up our tents again as the airplane did launch but had to turn back due to 40+ mph gusts. So close!

Good food, lots of hot drinks and plenty of rain pounding on the tents helped pass the time for the next 36 hours during an early September storm outside Sitka, Alaska. Congratulations Bob!

Great hunt! Thanks Bob!

Written 9-10-12 aboard the “GLACIER” in Sitka, AK by Kurt Whitehead

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Mainland Alaska Photo Journey 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Welcome to Haines, now start driving!

Stretch break at the Border of B.C. and Yukon

More stretching at Burwash Landing, Giant Gold Pan!

Turning the corner at Chitna, McCarthy here we come!

Bush plane sign.

Big silly wading boots are much better than the alternative!

My new yoga pose, I called it “Cliffed Out”.

Treasure huntress trophy!

Happiness is a roaring bonfire!

Stunning aerial view.

Kicking around Kennicott Mine.

Meanwhile, back at the Yak Ranch…

Circle F Ranch near Copper Center.

Workin’ in the Gold Mine!

Do you think mallards are jealous of these green heads?

Stinky Minky.

Pokey Porcupine!

A hungry baby moose!

Rare captive wolverine!

The sign of a good road trip!

Filed in Alaskan Adventures | Tagged alaskan adventures | Comments (3)

2012 Sheep Hunt, Wrangell St. Elias Preserve

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

“Peanut, I think you can shoot him from right here!” I whispered to Trina as the stunning ram gave us the stink-eye from 300-400 yards out. “He’s not going anywhere, but you have to shoot from this pile of rocks. He’s legal. I think he’s about 34”, definitely 7 but likely 8 years old and broomed on both sides. Not a stud by any stretch, but any legal ram is a good ram.” Silence and an unconvinced look from Trina confirmed that the set- up was far from perfect. “How far is he?” she asked grudgingly, as both our Leica Geovid Binocular/Rangefinders were 50 miles away in McCarthy, AK underneath the back seat of the Cessna 185 we flew out in 3 days earlier.
We were doing the hunt with one tiny pair of Leica 8x binos that we traded back and forth, but did have the Swarovski spotting scope. The good news was our packs were lighter, the bad news was we had to guesstimate the range which didn’t seem like a big deal, until all the cards were all on the table and our ram had us pinned down and was one step from disappearing around the rocky ridge. “Just put the crosshairs right on it and let the .300 RUM do the rest.” A long silence filled the air and after about 10 more minutes of studying the ram in the scope and Trina trying to wriggle into a good shooting spot we both agreed to shoot the ram. “Are you ready?” “Yup.”
Click, click, click, click! “Good one. Here check this one out. It came out great.”

Good shot!

We opted to shoot the ram with our cameras instead and have a lighter pack out, but the deciding factor was the awesome set of winter-kill sheep horns that Trina found on the way up the mountain. They are heavy with 14” bases, heavily-broomed on both sides and he was old at 10 1/2 years. What a find! We were ecstatic and thrilled to be walking off the mountain with a massive set of horns without firing a shot. We would’ve liked to eat sheep meat though! The incredible views of the rugged Wrangell Mountains and all its glaciers, lynx, black bear and sheep we saw will forever be etched in our memory banks!

Treasure Discovery!

Oh, how I LOVE treasure hunting!

Treasure FINDING is even better!

Trina’s “unleaded” ram!

Packing out the treasure!

Other highlights include touring the restored Kennicott Copper Mine, two other gold mines in the area and a great visit with our friends Barb, Bobby and all their Yaks at the Circle F Ranch. We puttered our way back to Sitka and enjoyed all the interesting stops on the way between McCarthy and Haines…and there were a lot! Alaska is a such a cool place! We are all excited to chase some sheep again next year!
Kurt and Trina aboard the “Glacier” in Sitka, AK.

Sheep on the ROAD? That would be too easy!

I love tundra tires & off-airport landings! Alaskan transportation at it’s finest.

It’s nice to have a big strong packer to carry stuff across the creek.

Lots of ewes and lambs!

Another awesome view…looking into Wrangell St. Elias National Park!

Alaska Cotton Grass!

Tibetian Yaks at Circle F Ranch

Stunning sunset

Filed in Dall Sheep Hunts | Tagged dall sheep hunt | Comments (6)

Father Daughter Fishing Adventure

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Rob Day & His Daughter Stephanie fished with us from Aug. 7-11, 2012 and we can’t thank Rob enough for allowing us the opportunity to show Stephanie our awesome backyard.
Day 1 found us with our limits of delicious rockfish, lingcod and yelloweye all before 2pm. The fishing was hot as we jigged up fish after fish and enjoyed the great weather and flat calm seas. After soaking in the fantastic Natural Hot Springs(again-yay!) and eating a big pile of Rockfish Olympia we were officially hot spring noodles and ready for bed!

Limited out, let’s go to the Hot Springs!

Father & Daughter, Rob & Stephanie, with their Yelloweye Rockfish & Lingcod!

Rrrrraaauuughhh! is apparently Sea Lion for “Hello” as the Sea Lions bellowed this greeting to Rob and Stephanie time and again as we caught yet more rockfish by their rocky perch and enjoyed their funny antics. Has anyone mentioned Sea Lions are wiffy?
After cleaning the stench of Sea Lions out of our noses, we got our fill of shrimp bait with all the rockfish/lingcod carcasses we put in our shrimp pots as Rob and Steph heaved them overboard. What fun tasty creatures will they haul up tomorrow?

Steph pulls a pot while Kurt takes photos and Rob stands by to assist.

Shrimp, Shrimp and more Shrimp!

Shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp were the words of the day as we had lots of fun checking out all the bycatch and flippy-dippy shrimpy. We reset the shrimp and crab pots in a different bay and admired all the raging waterfalls and brown bears pacing back and forth. Rob and Steph’s first look at an Alaskan Brown Bear was a memorable one! Oh yeah, we caught fish until their arms hurt and Steph said she’ll have to work on her upper body strength before she comes back due to all the fish-catching and pot-hauling that was going on. Reindeer chili for dinner was delicious and the sunset was great!

Sockeye!

Rob and Steph whacked salmon after salmon while the bears were taking notes and the sun was shining! What a memorable day we had fishing, shrimping and crabbing and topped it off with Rockfish Spaghetti-yum! Twist my rubber arm, we had to have another soak in the awesome hot springs and got a bonus-fireworks!

Sockeye limit for the day! Great job Stephanie & Rob!

Steph shows off the best legs in the house!

Rob displays this beautiful crimson-colored Lingcod before sending him back to the deep.

Rob’s big Halibut & a yelloweye!

Steph’s Beachcombed Treasures

Whap,Whap,Whap goes my gaff across the nose of the Rob’s hard-fighting halibut as we invited it on a one way trip to Rob’s freezer in Wisconsin and slapped high fives. The girls were finding all sorts of treasures on the nearby beach while we boated fish after fish on the wet decks of the Glacier. Life is good in Alaska! The Humpback whales even waved goodbye as we sailed into Sitka. Thank you Rob and Stephanie!
Kurt and Trina aboard the Glacier.

Filed in Alaska Fishing Reports 2012 | Tagged alaska fishing | Comments (0)

The Texas Crew, Guns Up!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

August 1-4, 2012, Warm Springs Bay, AK

Awesome weather, jigging for rockfish, motor-mooching for salmon and enjoying all the sights of Sitka Sound were the highlight of the day. Soaking in the idyllic Hot Springs with a belly full of Rockfish Olympia was the crowning touch.

A nice rain-free moment, looking over the harbor & out to Mt. Edgecumbe.

Right out of the gate, it’s Mr. Yelloweye!

A full boat and a boat full!

Kurt, do we have to soak in those warm, wonderful Hot Springs again? OK!! when can we go? Was the question posed after bonking fish all day. Leonard earned 3 nicknames on this trip, among them was “Shortliner” as he couldn’t keep fish off his line and really was trying to take a break in the frenzied action when a salmon grabbed his hook dangling just under the surface and ruined his momentary break time. Good stuff.

Hey Leonard, is it raining?

The iPhone lineup. Photo ready!

Beer, check. Snacks, check. Hot springs here we come!

Danny and Leonard smile despite the “liquid sunshine”.

Guns up! Let’s go soak!

Lance, Leonard, Yelloweye Rockfish, and Lingcod!

That’s a PILE of fish!

Slowwww fishing in the morning was replaced with firecracker-hot, gaff-whacking, slime-slinging, blood-spattering fishing to end the day and the Texans agreed they will remember that day for the rest of their lives!!! “Kurt, I asked you for the fishing trip of a lifetime and you delivered it today! That was awesome! Thank you!” said Danny and all four fish-spattered faces nodded agreement as they drained icy beers and we motored to the Hot Springs to wash off the grime. It was only day 3!

Totally authorized graffiti at Goddard Hot Springs. Guns Up!

Lance’s shiny Silver salmon. Nice!

Front side halibut x 4!

And, flip!

Jaw-dropping sights, great weather & great fishing culminated with Cade’s monster lingcod even though he earned the nickname “Mr. Yelloweye!”

Danny caught a skate!

Rockfish assortment and Baranof Island Brewing Company’s Medvejie Stout. Life is good!

Cade’s monster Lingcod and Cade’s proud papa, Danny!

Trip of a Lifetime. Thanks guys!

Just one question…who wore the mismatched boots!?

Guns Up you Texas Tech Alums & thank you for the amazing trip!
Kurt and Trina aboard the Glacier from Sitka, AK!

Filed in Alaska Fishing Reports 2012 | Tagged alaska fishing | Comments (2)

Put On Your Mean Face!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Captain Kurt helps “Di-Animal” show off another beautiful fish!

Breathtaking scenery, just minutes from the dock.

“Put your Mean Face on Diana. Reel, Reel, Reel!” coached Kurt from the back deck as Diana was tied into yet another rockfish from below.

“Double, Triple, Quadruple Fish On!”

Rockfish variety pack!

Multitasking? Terri catches a fish AND takes in the pretty scene.

“We need help out here TrinaBug!” shouted Kurt.

Bob and Bill and a whole lotta rockfish!

The Pennsylvania crew was tired of reeling up who knows what variety of Rockfish after Rockfish aboard the GLACIER so we finished off Day One with a soak in the newly renovated clean natural Goddard Hot Springs. The Bald Eagles put on a show of aerial aerobatics picking up the carcasses near the boat as we watched the sun go down while eating delicious rockfish. What an end to a fantastic first day of fishing. Sleeping like hamsters in the flat calm anchorage was the added bonus.

Ahhhh! Goddard!

Day Two found the crew exercising their new found fishing muscles on Silver Salmon, Lingcod, Monster Yelloweye, Silvergray, Quillback, Widow, Black, Dusky, China, Tiger, Copper, Vermillion, Greenstriped, Yellowtail, Rosethorn and Canary Rockfish! Whew! Can you believe we caught ALL those varieties in just a few days?! The gang was fished out so off to flat calm waters we went to set the shrimp pots and see what lies “under the neath.”

Steller Sea Lions, lazing around on the rocks.

Lings and Shiny things!

Bob’s Tiger Rockfish

Day Three found us hauling pots from down below and marveling at the catch. Four varieties of shrimp, all kinds of funny sharp-nosed crabs, snails & fish. The by-catch from the pots is fun to see, but the Giant Shrimp taste much better! Boy did we have shrimp and crab extravaganzas for dinner on the Glacier! Trina’s cooking was excellent!

Yummy Alaska Spot Prawns!

What do you say Bob, Diana, Terri and Bill? WE LOVE SHRIMP!

The final day found the gang catching fish as fast as we could rebait the hooks. With the cooler full of fish, a dime-bright King salmon decided to grace us with a show of strength on our run back to Sitka. Thank you Bob, Bill, Terri and Diana [Di-animal, Grrrr!] for all the memories!

We caught SALMON!

Nice fish, Bill!

July 30, 2012 from Sitka, AK,Kurt and Trina aboard the Glacier.

Filed in Alaska Fishing Reports 2012 | Tagged alaska fishing | Comments (3)

Bill & Leigh’s Awesome Alaskan Adventures

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Welcome to Sitka by the Sea!

Warm sunny weather and calm seas found Wyomingites Bill and Leigh catching MONSTER Lingcod and Yelloweye off remote pinnacles until their arms were jelly and they had enough of the toothy critters from under the “Neath!”

The Monsters from Under the ‘Neath!

Too big to keep!

Don’t try this at home!

Can you believe how HUGE those Lingcod are? Awesome! Other highlights were touring and anchoring near “Bird Island” and enjoying all the Puffins, Murres, Guillemots and Bald Eagles…