hunter4life Report post Posted November 4, 2007 I recently got back from a trip to Alask from Oct 11-20. My wife and I spent 4 days hunting and fishing with my parents and then my wife and I stayed for a few extra days visiting some of her relatives outside of Anchorage. We hunted with Larsen Bay Lodge (http://larsenbaylodge.com/) doing an unguided hunt where they would drop us off in the mornings and then pick us back up in the evening. The lodge was very nice and the food was excellent. The weather was not bad in that we did not get rained on until the day we left, however it was fairly windy for most of our stay. Day 1: Got up early from the hotel in Kodiak and flew into Larsen Bay via Island Air. We got settled in our cabins and then checked to make sure the guns had not been bumped off zero. Both my 7mm mag and my dad's 7mm WSM were right where they should be. We had a great lunch at the lodge and then got loaded in one of the boats to hunt a place that was closer to the lodge since we did not have a full day. Working our way through the thick forest we kicked up 2 does, which we could only see at the apex of their bounds through the 5 foot tall dead, brown colored ferns. We worked our way up to the base of a mountain into more open country where we could glass. There was a good amount of deer sign, but we didn't see any more deer. We did glass up a huge bear at the top of the mountain. We made it back to the beach and got picked up. The lodge. Day 2: We had about a 25 minute run in one of the boats to reach an island. It took 2 hours of hiking to get through the forest, and climb to the spine of the mountains at about 1300-1500 ft in elevation. The hiking is very tough going due to the dead ferns, devils club, willows, tall grass and alders. The bear/deer trails help, but many times we just had to muscle through the brush. This is no place for a nice wooden stocked gun. Once on top of the main ridge the going is easier with more open grassy hillsides interspersed with brush. The grass is about 5 feet tall in many places and deer trails can be seen snaking through it. We work our way along the ridge with frequent stops to glass. In the afternoon I finally spot the first deer of the day from about 400 yards. We sneak in to 180 and see that it is a small buck, but from here there is no place to sit for a shot and the wind is really blowing. I sneak in closer and get on a little rise at about 120 yards where I can lay and shoot over my pack. The buck turns broadside and BOOM, drops like a rock. We get the buck skinned, quartered and pack him out to the beach just in time to meet the boat and be picked up. Day 3: We take a short run in the boat and get dropped off at the mouth of a river in a new area. From an opening in the forest I glass on the mountainside and see a deer out in the open. We work our way up the mountain and once we can see better we have glassed up 5 deer spread across the face of the mountain and have seen 5 does up close in the forest. We sneak in on the closest deer on the hillside and get some pictures at about 60 yards. It is a little forkhorn. We keep working up to the ridgetop at about 1500 ft. and glass up numerous deer throughout the morning. We have seen two bucks better than mine, but they were just forkies with eyeguards and we passed them up. We also glass up a very dark, almost black brown bear way below us near a lake. After lunch we finally see a promising buck and plan a stalk that will put us about 50 yards away when we finally can see him again. When we are about 50 yards from where we will be able to see the buck again, I look on the opposite hillside and see a nice buck along with a smaller one. My dad sits down, I call out the range (230yards) and BOOM, the buck drops straight down. I thought this was the one we were stalking, but then the original buck comes out 120 yards away. I take a few pictures because while he is nicer than my buck he is a big fork plus eyeguards and I am looking for something bigger. We are also several miles from the ocean at this point and have a long pack ahead of us with dad's buck. On the way out with packs loaded with meat, we pop through a saddle and are greeted with this bear about 300 yards away in the bottom of the canyon. We give him a very wide berth and luckily the wind is in our favor. We have to really hustle and get back to the beach right as the last light is fading. Day 4: We get dropped off in a new area as the wind is wrong for landing the boat where we hunted yesterday. Same story of fighting through thick brush to get to the ridgetop. It is quite windy and cold. While hiking, I spot a fox up the ridge from us on a knob. A look in the binos shows it to be black and silver and I immediately lie down to get set for a shot. My dad ranges it at 289 and the first shot is a miss. A quick second shot results in the fox acting hit, but disappearing downhill into long grass. We sneak over and looking down into the long grass I spot the fox and finish him off. I had not accounted enough for the wind and my second shot had hit the fox too far back. I skin out the fox and we stop for lunch. That afternoon we spot another forkhorn with eyeguards, but we pass on this buck as well. Day 5: We are scheduled to leave in the afternoon, but the weather is starting to look bad so we get out on the earlier mail flight. Once in Kodiak it starts to rain and then snow. We make it back to Anchorage and my parents head back home, while my wife and I spend a few days with some of her relatives. Overall we had a great trip, but it was tough to find good bucks. We could have each shot our limit of 3 deer, but after getting one for meat we were looking for good bucks. From what I was able to gather talking to the guides the hunting is fairly tough in early October and one really has to work to get a good buck. In November the rut is going and it would probably be the best time to hunt bucks where you still have to get up in the hills and get after them. In December it sounded more like a deer shoot when the snows have pushed the deer down low and they can be found out foraging on the beaches when the tide is out. The late hunts on the beach don't sound like they would be my preference, because I prefer to get out, hike, and work hard when I am hunting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter4life Report post Posted November 4, 2007 On the 3 full days that we were hunting, my wife and mom went fishing. Some of the days they were accompanied by the wife of one of the other hunters in camp as well. They caught mainly halibut and some types of cod. At this time of year the really big halibut are in deeper water, so they were catching smaller ones that are supposed to be better eating anyways. They had a great time and fished for parts of the day and then went around sightseeing. They saw whales (minke and fin), porpoises, seals, otters, eagles, foxes, deer, and a bear all from the boat. Day number one. Day number two. They also checked the crab pots and found them loaded with king crabs. The bad part is that the law reads that you have to be an Alaskan resident to take king crabs and even then one is only allowed three crabs per household per year. They were trying to get tanner and dungeness crabs, which they could have kept. Day number three. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lance Report post Posted November 4, 2007 That is sooo awesome! WOW, WOW and WOW! I am sooo jealous! Awesome pictures! Great story! Great bucks! Lance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thunderbolt Report post Posted November 5, 2007 Thats one heck of a good story and pics!!!!! Congratulations on you and your dads deer. Looks like you guys got out of there in the nick of time with that bear in the area. Looks like everone had a fun time up there from hunting, fishing, and seeing all the wildlife. Congrats!!!!!!!!!! If you got more pics please post some more, they were great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamaro Report post Posted November 5, 2007 Dude... that is soooo awesome... Man I miss alaska.. j- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted November 5, 2007 very nice trip!! That Sitka hunt is on my to -do list here in the next couple of years.. it just looks like too much fun! thanks for sharin! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
easymoney Report post Posted November 5, 2007 Very nice pics, that looked like a trip of a life time. WOW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
awoltoday Report post Posted November 15, 2007 Great story & pictures. Thanks for posting them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter4life Report post Posted November 15, 2007 Thanks for all the nice comments. It was definitely an awesome trip and I just wish we had spent more time so I could have tried the fishing and duck hunting. We cooked up some of the deer a few nights ago and it was excellent. I haven't tried the fish yet, but my parents have and they said it was the bast halibut they have ever tasted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted November 15, 2007 Sitka Blacktail meat is the best venison I have ever eaten, by far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted November 15, 2007 Sitka Blacktail meat is the best venison I have ever eaten, by far. It is very fine table fare. I have not had any elk that even comes close. Yellow eye rockfish ist sehr gut. DOug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
