Kupreanof Island Cast and Blast May 2022

[Young Buck]

First I would like to thank the man who who showed me it was possible to go on a self guided black bear hunt in Alaska and in his words, "lowered the hurdles" for me to turn a dream into reality. @Big Fin, thanks a ton big guy. I thank you for the inspiration and knowledge you have given me.

I would also like to thank @BrentD, @wllm, @coolhandluke, @knute78, @Mallardsx2, @shanny28757, @rmyoung1 for the pictures, stories and input leading up to this long awaited hunt that certainly helped make it successful.

Like many before me, my brother and I stayed at Calder Mountain Lodge in Point Baker, AK and if you are on the fence about booking with them, do it, do it now or as soon as you draw your tag be it Kupreanof, Kuiu, POW or if you just want to go fishing. The staff works extremely hard to make you feel right at home. Staying there takes a lot of logistical challenges out of play. The boat that comes with your stay will be the same boat that @Big Fin will be using on his upcoming black bear hunt although it will be an open bow per the lodge owner Bill Miller.






Front View of Lodge


View from our room.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Following along

 

[Salmonchaser]

Yep, watching this one

 

[rmyoung1]

Awesome, @Young Buck !!!! Looking forward to hearing about it.

 

[Young Buck]

On to the hunt
I thought the Tongass National Forest was a rainforest? 4.5 days of sunshine and very little rain over 6 days of hunting did not live up to the billing but please don't think I am complaining! The weather was better than we deserved.

Day 1: My brother and I were too excited to bear hunt and skipped that morning's fishing opportunities which I don't plan to do next time. The fishing is too good and you have such long days to hunt that its important to try for rockfish and then fish the slack tide for Halibut or Lingcod. We did not see a bear all day but saw an abundance of wildlife that makes Alaska so special.

Day 2: We woke up wiser and decided to to try to catch a halibut. Success! These fish yield a surprising amount of meat compared to total weight. 12lb halibut= 4 fillets totaling 5 lbs.




The Lodge has a vending machine that is stocked with beer that people leave behind and for just one dollar you can get the cheapest bear in Alaska dubbed the "Mystery Beer". Can be anything from PBR to MGD to Gennessee. My brother and I decided that who ever spotted the first bear would get a Mystery Beer as his prize. Spoiler alert... I won!

At 7 pm, cruising slow through a bay on an outgoing tide, I turned and said "Hey Lou, you better check out that black spot right there." He turned to me and said "I think you are a winner!" We used the wind and wave noise to cover our approach as I killed the engine and slowly drifted on to the ever growing tide flat. The wind was blowing R to L so it kept my brother's scent out of the bear's nose as my bro went right at him. My brother closed the distance from 320 to 220, got comfy and found the middle of the middle.

Mind you, neither of us has shot a bear in our lives and have not observed bears for longer than it would take them to run across a road. When I pulled up my binos they were filled with a fluffy jet black gorilla that was thick from stem to stern, potbellied with a perfect long coat. My brother was not going to be picky going in to this hunt but there was an unspoken agreement that this bear was a shooter.

My brother let the .308 eat on a broadside side shot taking out heart and lungs and got another in the back leg that exited the spine as the bear ran toward the trees. He did not take long to find.



We soon realized what it means to shoot a bear on an outgoing tide with two guys. The lodge beat it into us that if we left the boat for more than 5 minutes on an outgoing tide, we would be there a while so I stayed with the boat. With light fading, my brother gutted his bear and just happened to look up as a Wolf is trotting down the beach. The wolf stopped at 40 yds as my brother chambered a round. A tense stare down with the curious wolf lasted only 20 seconds and it was on the move. We thought you had to have a tag for wolves so my brother didn't shoot but turns out you don't need a wolf tag on Kupreanof! Doh!!!

Not wanting to leave the bear for the wolf to find, my brother attached paracord to the back legs and then to a large tree limb and began the drag across the tide flat. I figured out how much the tide was moving and would set a timer on my phone, push the boat out and run to my brother 200 yds, drag the bear 50 yds and then run back to the boat. We did this over the course of 45 minutes and finally skidded the bear to the boat. It took both of us to get his front legs and head into the boat and then we flipped him up and in. YEE HAW!!!

Sunset was 9:08 and it was now 9:30 and we still had an hour boat ride atleast. Thank goodness for a clear night and relatively calm seas as my brother and I were finally able to soak in our success and the amazing place were in while watching very closely for logs all the way home. We arrived safe and sound at 11 with just barely enough light to see. What a day and what an adventure with lots of hunting days left.

 

[dk88]

Im glad someone had a kupreanof or kuiu tag this year, I hunted kuiu last year and cannot wait to go back.

 

[BrentD]

Perfect! Halibut, bear, and we are only on day 2! Keep 'em coming!

I'll be interested to hear the propeller and front door count at the end.

 

[David Gough]

Perfect! Halibut, bear, and we are only on day 2! Keep 'em coming!

I'll be interested to hear the propeller and front door count at the end.

As long as all of the motors are in one piece it should be par for the course.

 

[David Gough]

On to the hunt
I thought the Tongass National Forest was a rainforest? 4.5 days of sunshine and very little rain over 6 days of hunting did not live up to the billing but please don't think I am complaining! The weather was better than we deserved.

Day 1: My brother and I were too excited to bear hunt and skipped that morning's fishing opportunities which I don't plan to do next time. The fishing is too good and you have such long days to hunt that its important to try for rockfish and then fish the slack tide for Halibut or Lingcod. We did not see a bear all day but saw an abundance of wildlife that makes Alaska so special.

Day 2: We woke up wiser and decided to to try to catch a halibut. Success! These fish yield a surprising amount of meat compared to total weight. 12lb halibut= 4 fillets totaling 5 lbs.


View attachment 224101

The Lodge has a vending machine that is stocked with beer that people leave behind and for just one dollar you can get the cheapest bear in Alaska dubbed the "Mystery Beer". Can be anything from PBR to MGD to Gennessee. My brother and I decided that who ever spotted the first bear would get a Mystery Beer as his prize. Spoiler alert... I won!

At 7 pm, cruising slow through a bay on an outgoing tide, I turned and said "Hey Lou, you better check out that black spot right there." He turned to me and said "I think you are a winner!" We used the wind and wave noise to cover our approach as I killed the engine and slowly drifted on to the ever growing tide flat. The wind was blowing R to L so it kept my brother's scent out of the bear's nose as my bro went right at him. My brother closed the distance from 320 to 220, got comfy and found the middle of the middle.

Mind you, neither of us has shot a bear in our lives and have not observed bears for longer than it would take them to run across a road. When I pulled up my binos they were filled with a fluffy jet black gorilla that was thick from stem to stern, potbellied with a perfect long coat. My brother was not going to be picky going in to this hunt but there was an unspoken agreement that this bear was a shooter.

My brother let the .308 eat on a broadside side shot taking out heart and lungs and got another in the back leg that exited the spine as the bear ran toward the trees. He did not take long to find.

View attachment 224200View attachment 224201View attachment 224202

We soon realized what it means to shoot a bear on an outgoing tide with two guys. The lodge beat it into us that if we left the boat for more than 5 minutes on an outgoing tide, we would be there a while so I stayed with the boat. With light fading, my brother gutted his bear and just happened to look up as a Wolf is trotting down the beach. The wolf stopped at 40 yds as my brother chambered a round. A tense stare down with the curious wolf lasted only 20 seconds and it was on the move. We thought you had to have a tag for wolves so my brother didn't shoot but turns out you don't need a wolf tag on Kupreanof! Doh!!!

Not wanting to leave the bear for the wolf to find, my brother attached paracord to the back legs and then to a large tree limb and began the drag across the tide flat. I figured out how much the tide was moving and would set a timer on my phone, push the boat out and run to my brother 200 yds, drag the bear 50 yds and then run back to the boat. We did this over the course of 45 minutes and finally skidded the bear to the boat. It took both of us to get his front legs and head into the boat and then we flipped him up and in. YEE HAW!!!

Sunset was 9:08 and it was now 9:30 and we still had an hour boat ride atleast. Thank goodness for a clear night and relatively calm seas as my brother and I were finally able to soak in our success and the amazing place were in while watching very closely for logs all the way home. We arrived safe and sound at 11 with just barely enough light to see. What a day and what an adventure with lots of hunting days left.

I miss that place already. Can't wait to go back and excited for the rest of the story!

 

[brownbear932008]

Loving it! SE AK is a special place. I to learned really quickly to watch the tides we were stuck dry docked for hours, luckily we had two bears down a half mile into the bay that took a while to work up and skin.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Out standing

 

[Young Buck]

Day 3: After letting the bear cool in the boat all night, we were greeted with beautiful sunshine yet again and the hard work we had worked so hard for. After taking some more pics of my brother with his bear since I was unable to the night before. We worked together to break it down. The melon on this bear impressed me! The skull ended up scoring 18 11/16 which, to the best of my knowledge, was the 2nd largest bear taken that week.






After dressing down Yogi, we had missed the halibut bite but found some rockfish! Fun little buggers to catch! I am told they should make excellent fish tacos!




As for the bears it was an awesome evening but only one bear sighting not far from where my brother got his bear. The bear was headed back into the trees by the time we saw it.

Not every day you get to race a cruise ship home! Another awesome day in God's country!

 

[TheGreek]

One of these years I am gonna draw that tag. I’ve struck out the last few. It looks awesome up there.

 

[Sytes]

WOW! Epic!! Keep the story rolling! Grats to your brother on a nice blackie. Fishing - hard to beat!

Too bad on the wolf. Life is to live and learn. Or to learn from those who lived. So thanks for the piece of information.

 

[BrentD]

Love those black rockfish. I'd trade them straight up for halibut any day. But halibut are mighty fun to catch too.

Love those blue skies and flat water.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Great story. Don't fret the wolf. They often stink something fierce and you two had your hands full with that big bear. Be interested to learn how it eats after it's been dining on marine food all the time.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Love those black rockfish. I'd trade them straight up for halibut any day. But halibut are mighty fun to catch too.

Love those blue skies and flat water.

Those bass are good eating and they seem to run in big herds. One rod goes off and then they all do. Just stay in the same spot and keep reeling em in. The meat stays together better than rock cod. Nothing compared to halibut but the bass fight better. Halibut just use their weight.

 

[SCliving Outdoors]

This is good stuff!

 

[David Gough]

Day 3: After letting the bear cool in the boat all night, we were greeted with beautiful sunshine yet again and the hard work we had worked so hard for. After taking some more pics of my brother with his bear since I was unable to the night before. We worked together to break it down. The melon on this bear impressed me! The skull ended up scoring 18 11/16 which, to the best of my knowledge, was the 2nd largest bear taken that week.

View attachment 224352
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After dressing down Yogi, we had missed the halibut bite but found some rockfish! Fun little buggers to catch! I am told they should make excellent fish tacos!
View attachment 224351

View attachment 224358

As for the bears it was an awesome evening but only one bear sighting not far from where my brother got his bear. The bear was headed back into the trees by the time we saw it.

Not every day you get to race a cruise ship home! Another awesome day in God's country!

View attachment 224363

Rockfish tacos ALL DAY

 

[MThuntr]

Looks like a fantastic hunt! Congrats