I had the privilege of being invited to a colleagues cabin on the southern area of Kodiak for about 9 days. I was accompanied by another Texags member that may or may not contribute to this thread...
After a long flight into Kodiak, we arrived on the main island for the night to unpack and prepare for our saltwater charter the following day. The beauty and diversity of the island was amazing!
The airport: Pictures from our bed and breakfast: Charter fishing trip around the island was wild! We could have used a few more halibut but caught a lot of fish! Harbor where we left Fish: Halibut Tiger Rockfish - apparently they're very rare Lingcod Silver Salmon
Next day we were supposed to head out to the Harbor but weather had other plans... we got delayed a day and left the following morning. My first time to fly on a float plane was pretty dang cool! Weight was limited to 1200lbs per plane so I had to leave the hard case behind...
After a very brief flight we landed in the bay/harbor just outside the cabin. Upon stepping foot on the beach, I stumbled upon this lovely track and was quickly reminded that I was no longer in Texas
To be continued tomorrow.... to come, Bears, more bears, salmon, and a deer hunt on a mountain that almost killed me, but was successful.
Alright, part two. Added a couple of videos from the trip. A few are retroactive to the above story.
Leaving the harbor for fishing on the boat:
Otters munching on something in the harbor when we got back:
Landing in the float plane:
We had a lot of gear to unload and pack from the beach to the cabin... it's amazing how much gear, food, and alcohol you can accumulate for 7 days in the Bush. It took a while to get it all into the cabin but it didn't take long to spot our first bear. During the first walk out to our fishing spot, we ran into a bear less than 100 yards away
All armed with bear spray and me with a shotgun, we continued to push on to the honey hole. Once we got there (approximately 15-20min hike from cabin) there were salmon everywhere! It was really cool to watch them in the rivers! They tail and push a wake of water as they push up river. Closest thing it reminds me of is Redfish back in the shallows busting bait.
We got our lines in the water and immediately started catching fish. Unfortunately, the timing of our trip was a little early for the full blown silver salmon run but there was no shortage of Pinks and Dog salmon. We had a blast catching these as many were 10-15lbs (mostly the dogs) with a few bigger than that.
It didn't take long for our presence and the scent of salmon to carry downwind to a curious bear. This guy was a younger male and by our guess, didn't get the right to hunt the river during prime time. We saw him everyday... 80-100 yards
I am not a bear person. I was very concerned going into this trip that I wouldn't be able to enjoy a lot of it because my time would be spent constantly perusing the horizon for bears and in an anxious and fearful state. Luckily, our strength in numbers helped calm a lot of that and after a few interactions and seeing how extremely cautious and calculated they were when it came to our presence, my attitude towards them completely changed. It was flat out exciting to watch them!
He eventually got to about 20 yards on the low side of the river, which was as close as I needed to be
He didn't like being that close either and decided to try and go around us, through the creek
Luckily for him, a few salmon were left in the bank due to our immediate evacuation and unfamiliarity with the bears. He got to enjoy a nice little snack because of it. Watch his body language as he gets clear of us and realizes he has a meal. Personally, I find it really funny and cool. He's excited!
More later this afternoon... have to work now. Part three will consist of the Sitka Deer hunt and the hike that almost killed me.
I just got back from Alask a couple of weeks ago and want to post some pics. How do you mark out the faces? Not worried about me but not sure about others in pics.
Click on photo and make a duplicate Click edit on the copy Select the circle with three dots Select markup Select the blue circle with crosshairs Draw a circle around and move around the face (you can change the size) Select the Square/Circle icon when in place and select the far left solid circle and it will fill it in.
Most of the people on the trip had no interest in hunting the Sitka Deer on the islands. They're small and a good, mature buck is only like 110"-120". I was in it for the hunt and to knock a species off my list... the OTC tag was worth every penny.
Leading up to this hunt, I was told by the owner of the cabin that I had to climb up the mountains if I wanted a buck this time of year. Admittedly, I thought this was just a right of passage thing more than reality, especially after seeing several fresh tracks in the river beds and beach. Nevertheless, I agreed to go in the hike...
Luckily for me, I had 3 people that were experienced hikers (all from MT) to help lead the way. I never thought I would need them to go on a simple 2300' climb after a deer, and boy was I wrong.
So here is the mountain we climbed:
2300' from the beach to the summit... doesn't sound bad, right? Wrong! I knew something was up when we had to wait for consecutive days of sunshine and Zero rain to go climb it. Sealing the deal was all of the stories of how going the wrong way or slipping at certain points and "you would die". That phrase was used a lot leading up to the hike by the owner of the cabin who didn't join In on the hike.
We started early and approached the beach by boat, only to be greeted by one of the bigger Brown bears we saw on the trip at our landing spot. We had to wait until he passed to beach the body and offload with our gear. The initial 200' was absolutely brutal! We were in waist high brush that was thick and extremely difficult to walk through. Every step was lifting your leg 1.5-2ft up to clear the brush. I was shocked...
Once we had made it up less than a 1/10 of the way, we stumbled upon a group of does at 150 yards or so. I attempted to put a stalk on to look for a buck but only saw does and decided to pass. It would have been too easy.
We kept pushing higher and higher, seeing more and more does. It was tempting but I ended up catching a glimpse of about 6-8 deer 1000 yards away and near the top of the mountain. With them, a much bigger bodied deer. I held off in hopes of the big buck.
As we reached what I swore was the top of the mountain, I began to get clear enough cell service to text the guys in the cabin. I also had great line of sight with cabin and figured it would be fun if they could see us. They could and responded with this text:
1, I was certain we only had like 30 more feet to climb and 2, you're joking right? Bears aren't supposed to be up there... but they were and he wasn't joking. We sat tight for about 20 minutes and ate lunch until we got the all clear from central command. Which was really cool because we had an awesome view of the bay and watched humpbacks swimming around and occasionally breaching.
Just above and before the "knife ridge" was the cliffs... our pre hike conversation included very specific instructions on what to do. Go left and climb using the alders. Do not go up the middle (you'll die) and don't go to the right (you'll die). Going to the left was really more like less likely to die because it was no easy trek. Loose shale and actually climbing at some points shook my nerves a little bit but the older guys in the group scaled it at ease and motivated me to keep hammering.
We finally made it to the top and it was time to kill a buck. We set foot on the beach about 8:00am and it was now 12:30pm.
I was told, "once you get to the top, go to the ridge and look down into the bowl, they'll be there". So I approached the bowl and as I peaked around the corner, there was a herd of 8-10 deer and two bucks. Hell yeah!
Spotted my buck, ranged him at 426, and got prone. Opened my Ballistic AE app and plugged into the yardage and saw I need to go up 19 on my scope. Adjustment made and I got steady for the shot... Boom!
Then nothing.... just a stare back at me. Boom! ... another stare and nothing. I couldn't see the shot, the other guys around me were behind or below me and couldn't see the shot. I took two more shots and completely whiffed... very embarrassing and confusing.
As I was reloading my rifle, the guy below me spotted a bigger buck. I snuck down the 15-20' and caught a glimpse of the buck and he was absolutely bigger and closer. 265 yards away he was bedded down facing us.
I plug in the yardage and go to make my adjustment which was 9 only to learn that it was already on 9... my previous turn on the turret was way short. Guess there is a first for everything. Never done that before.
Since the adjustment was already in place, I put the crosshairs on the white throat patch and pulled the trigger. Boom! Flip, crash, fall, falling, oh *****
He was tumbling down the mountain head over heels. Well there goes the antlers as he stumbled 600' down the hill or so I thought.
As we made the trek over to retrieve him, we were able to utilize the deer trails making things much easier. It took about ten minutes to get there and to my surprise his antlers were in tact. He was also a pretty decent buck with good mass, for a Sitka. Knowing that bears were close, I only took a few brief crappy pictures, which I still regret. I also happened to shoot him as he put his nose down and the bullet went through the lower jaw and all the way into his back hindquarter. I was holding his jaw in place in the pictures.
Skinned and quartered him up in about 40 minutes or so. He was the fattest deer I have ever shot. Maybe 175-180lbs but loaded with fat. 1.5" or more.
Shortly after finishing we had to climb back up to the peak, about 600' or so, and then back down the mountain. Adrenaline must have gotten me to that point because as soon as I loaded up and began hiking up, my legs started locking up. Fortunately, I had pedialyte and propel packets with me. I opened the oedialyte and chased it with my camelback (FYI - don't do this... it scratches the hell out of your throat and doesn't feel good). After a few minutes, the cramps subsided and I was off to hiking again. Took a quick break back on the top of the hill:
Went back to hiking down with gravity on our side, which is supposed to be easier, right? Nope... calves, feet, hamstrings, and lower back were on fire. About halfway down cramps started up again and I ran out of water... joy! We finally made it down to the home stretch, as I am covered in blood and carrying a hind quarter and back straps, and my legs are locking up. Only the fear of being eaten by a bear kept me moving.
We finally made it down to the beach and got back in the boat at 6:00pm. It was gruesome hike and very long, yet exciting, day! Back at the harbor I was only able to walk using trek poles (which I had laid down on the way up, thinking the guy behind me was going to grab them as I went to stalk the does, and didn't have with me for the hike up and only about 200' down)
I made it back only to be greeted by the side effects of dehydration. Full body cramps and quivering, as I rehydrated with about 2 gallons before having to pee. It was horrific but I didn't die and got the buck! Fun times but something I am not looking to relive anytime soon. I am definitely not in "mountain shape" ... But the other guys that went said it was one of if not the hardest hikes they have ever done and they climb some serious stuff.
That pretty much it... great time, great place, and great memories!
Bonus pics Whale bones Heavy ass rifle Crabs
Please excuse any typos, using new iPad and not used to keyboard
I've been to Alaska once. We fished three of our days and caught everything I pretty much wanted to catch. I should post some pics. Can't wait to go back. Need to work in a hunt there too. Thanks for the post and pics OP!
