stanley Report post Posted May 16, 2006 Been a little slow around here so I thought I'd post a couple of pics from a trip to Alaska that I took in 1996. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I've been there, and I certainly hope it will not be another 10 before I get back! Here's the brief run-down. In the spring of 1996, my dad & I were invited to spend some time with a family friend in Alaska. He is a commercial fisherman who lived in Alaska from May to October, and then would spend November to April in Tucson. Anyway, he invited us to spend the last week of May with him. His salmon fishing season was to start on June first, so we spent time with him while he finished getting his boat ready for the season, and then joined him on some 'scouting trips' for his upcoming season. He was based out of a fishing town called Sand Point, which is in SW Alaska out on the peninsula towards the Aleutian Islands. He fishes in the Bearing Sea and North Pacific (Anyone been watching Deadliest Catch on Discovery???) He loaded-up a couple of ATVs & a skiff, and we spent several days exploring & doing some sport fishing in & around the Shumagan Islands. Saw some cool sights & had some fun adventures. This first picture is of a ghost town he took us to. The town is named Unga, and is on Unga Island. Apparently it was a Russian hearing fishing village back in the late 1800s & early 1900s. When the hearing got fished-out in 1920something, the island was abandoned. It was amazing to see the condition of this place. Cemetery, schoolhouse, homes, store, etc, all in pristine condition. Mainly because this place is soooo remote, that no vandals/scavengers have ever had their way with it. The picture was taken from the boat as we were anchored off the coast from the town. This picture is from the beach below the town, looking back towards the skiff & boat. (Notice the size of the fishing boat. It is a two man operation on a 35' boat, not the HUGE things you see on Deadliest Catch...) This is an old anchor we found 1/2 buried in the end of the bay about a mile from the town. Pretty cool.... So after we spent a week or so with our fishing buddy, we went to spend a few days at a lodge that a friend of his owns. The lodge was about an hour flight from Sand Point, and was on the north side of the peninsula about 7 miles from the Bearing Sea. It is called Bear Lake Lodge, and is located on the shores of (you guessed it...) Bear Lake. The land was home-steaded before Alaska became a state, and passed down to the current owner. It was an amazing place for sure..... We got there a couple of days after they finished with the spring bear season. All of the hunters were gone, but some of the guides & skinners were still around. We had a great time over a few days fishing, exploring, and learning about the place. This picture is of a bear that had been shot a couple of days prior to us getting there. At the time, they told us that it would likely end-up in the top 10 brown bears ever killed. It was a big sucker!!! One of the MANY Dolly Varden (sp) I caught from the lake while there. We were too early for any of the salmon runs, but stayed plenty busy on the dollys! Notice that flat calm water?????? Well here is what that exact spot looked like about 12 hours before the above pic was taken. A storm blew-up while we were there, and we had over 36 hours of sustained 35 knot winds with gusts up to 60! Didn't keep me from trying to get at some more of those Dollys though!!! During this storm, there were many times when the Super Cubs were straining 2 feet of the ground against their tie-downs. I didn't get a pic of it, but is was a site to see.... At the time, the lodge focused on bears/moose/caribou only, but I think they now do fishing trips as well. I hope to get there someday with my kids. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. I've got some more pics that I may post when I take time to scan them. I've got a couple that would blow some of you shed hunters away! Good luck in the draws everyone! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted May 16, 2006 Thanks for the pics and trip story. Wishin it was u behind the trigger for that Brownie. HUGE. I'm putting together a trip this fall to Kodiak to hunt blacktails, so your pics perk an interest. Will be hunting from a charter boat, so those calm seas in the first Dolly pic will be requested. RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DEERSLAM Report post Posted May 16, 2006 Great story and pics stanley. That's a huge bear. Doug, you'll have to let me know how that Sitka hunt goes. I need a Sitka to complete my "DEERSLAM" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHD Report post Posted May 17, 2006 Great post Stanley! Nothing like a change of scenery from right here in my living room. Yeah, I watch the heck out of "The Deadliest Catch". Would you believe I'm considering giving up my cushy, safe desk job to become a Bering Sea crab fisherman? No bossy secretaries to fight with on a crab boat! Doug, that will be one heckuva trip. I envy you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wetmule Report post Posted May 17, 2006 Stan, Very cool story and pics sounds like you had a great trip. The Deadliest Catch is awesome, those guys are completely insane. Right out of college I fished a couple seasons in Bristol Bay on a gillnetter, back when there used to be an amazing commercial salmon fishery, before all the salmon farms came into play. It was a wild, crazy, over the top, and an amazing experience that was fairly dangerous in its own right, but nothing compared to what those crabbers put themselves through. That show brings back alot of memories both good and bad. Alaska is a WILD place, especially in that part of the world. Thanks for posting, I'd like to see more of your pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted May 17, 2006 Thanks for the reply's guys. It was an awesome experience, and our buddy helped make it unique with the trip to the ghost town, etc. That bear was so big that it looked like it could have eaten both my dad & I, and still had room for more! I asked the owner of the lodge if he ever had anyone try for bears with archery equipment. His quote was something like "No &%#%@ way would that happen on my watch! Guns, BIG GUNS, only!!". These guys really took care of their place up there. Their lodge & land are right smack dab in the middle of hundreds of thousands of acres of preserve, which basically gives them exclusive access! They would rotate their hunting seasons so they would only hunt every other spring or every other fall, and boy did they have a bunch of bears in that area! Kevin, Bristol Bay salmon fishing would have to be an experience not too different from Deadliest Catch! Anyone who has spent even a little time on that water knows what those guys (all of them... crabbers or not..) go through. When we were anchored off the ghost town, we were in a really nice bay. As you can see from the pics, it was beautiful weather with flat calm water. We spent two nights there, and on the second morning we woke to a falling barometer and 5 foot seas in our bay. We had to get back to Sand Point, we took-off out of the bay. Imagine this land-lover on a 35' boat in 15' seas, and you don't get a pretty picture! At one point I asked my buddy if maybe we should go back to the bay and wait out the storm. He laughed and said "Are you kidding??? We fish in this kind of weather all of the time! If you can't fish in weather like this, you'll go broke!". Unbelievable! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted May 17, 2006 Very cool story Stan.. Thanks for postin' the pics.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted May 18, 2006 Stan - STOP please , I can't take it anymore It's over 100 today.. what I wouldn't give to be back up in the last frontier. To step off the aircraft and wear a pair of jeans and heavy sweatshirt. Super nice pics, they did the trick. I've been up there 11 different times and always DIE to return~! America West flys non-stop from Phoenix to Anchorage, every day now making it even easier for the average ZONIE to get up there. Have you seen the latest slogan on billboards in the western United States they say " B4UDIE" on an Alaskan License plate. Pretty clever. If the Sept Archery Tag doesn't come through, guess where I'll be? You got it chasin silvers in Kodiak! RR - You're on the for hunt of a lifetime, although I've been to Kodiak , I've never hunter the cousin Suitcase bucks, but they are there in numbers.. Here's a trip from 2003 - Floatplane- Flyfishing and Deep Sea charter out of Homer! We caught lots of HALIBUT and even a 5foot Salmon Shark ( a kin to the great white) , which is pretty rare for those parts. Take care and again Thanks for Sharin! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
