I head to Chichagof Sept. 26th for brown bear, any reports on weather (a might rainy I'll bet) and previous bears?

Who will you be hunting with , , Will you be getting picked up in Tennekee

My wife and I are heading out of Sitka via boat with Adams Alaskan Safaris.

..........Dale is a good hand and he,s been guideing for brown bear out of Sitka for around 20 years that I know of ... I hope you have a great hunt .. Are you taking abunch of stuff with you or will you be topping off your gear in Sitka ,???

What are you shooting ...???

Dale certainly seems like a decent fella. He and I have chatted face-to-face a fair bit and on the phone some too, I believe we'll get along well.

I'm not taking too much gear, chest waders, Impertech, one set of wool pants and hoodie, two sets of fleece drawers and tops, good gloves, wool socks, two head lamps (LED combo), light boots, camera and some boat deck clothes and shoes. I figure to buy some Xtra Tuffs in Sitka and maybe some little trinkets. I don't believe the weather will vary much from the 45-50 degrees predicted so no heavy winter coat, etc.

I have a Marlin 1895 with an illuminated 1.5x5 Leupold with hot loads of 350 FP Hornady. I'm also taking along my 22" barrel Rem 700 in 458 Win with 2025fps 500gr Hornady loads and another Leupold 1.5x5 (non-illuminated), this is a light(er) gun at 8.5lbs and depending on the overcast (sunlight) I may use it as my primary.

Do you think a good thick jacket or Impertech and layered fleece if necessary is sufficient or would a heavy coat be in order? I'm thinking I don't want to have too much junk and the weather prediction at Pelican, Tenakee Springs and Sitka all point to 45 to 50 for a while.

As long as your warmth clothing are Polyester they will do great .. Synthetic [ polyester ] long johns with the imperteck as the wind/ water proof .. if you don,t wear cotton , your body heat will drive the persperation out to the shell layer where it will bead up . . I,m a big fan of Grunden,s fleece gear , but as long as it is polyester you will be able to wring your jacket out during the day and it will keep the moisture away from your skin and the next 2 layers ...

I,m glad you are bringing a 458 ,, Us Sitka boys are very fond of the 458 Win mag .. I believe Dale uses an Interarms 458 win mag .. Ben Forbes got him lined out on that quite some years ago ... The Guide Gun is nice but for fall bear I like the Hammer ... With that 500 gr load of yours just remember the thoracic cavity is a doable shot from any angle on a bear ,, ... it is good for bustin the hips also ...

Thanks

Dale has told me he carries a 458 Win Mag and he also states 'no cotton hunting clothes' for the trip. The weather looks like maybe some bright sun for the first day or two of my trip (25-26 Sep.).

The weather changes quite regularly . ., But even on a perfect day the breeze will come up in the afternoon and a skiff ride is as wet as if it were raining ... On the coast of Alaska , clothing was all about wool and waxed canvas until polyester was invented .. wool is still great but it takes too long to dry .. . Your body heat will dry poly if you are wearing Gor tex or some other water proof breathable shell .. Cabela,s Dry Plus works good also ...

Being dry = being alive and comfortable ....

D King.
I just got back from Baranof Island. More than a little slow on the Salmon runs, however Kuiu (SP) sounds crazy.
As for my list of gear.

Gloves and lots of them. The ones that say WATERPROOF made my hands clamy and cold. Leather got wet, but I just put on another pair.
Knee High rubber boots with light poly socks and chest high wader with the bootys.
A good rubber rain coat with hood
a Fleece jacket
Sitka gear base layer
A oiled ball cap
A pair of shoes for the boat
one pair of sweat pants
one pair of wool socks for the boat
Jim used a light SWAZI gear pant over his wader as it cuts down the noise
Bug dope.
Perhaps one jacket in case it doesnt rain and you can pack the rubber one in the boat

It rained every day...

Thats it. I took more, but thats all I needed.
Make sure you wera your Chest waders at all times. It was nice to stay warm.

Now I dont know if you will be doing the same exact type of hunting we did, but it worked for me.
Good luck
ITS A RUSH!!!

Calgary Guy

Our plane is scheduled for wheels-up this morning.

I have most of the stuff on your list except the oiled ball cap but I'm going to stop into a store in Sitka tonight or tomorrow morning for some extra tuffs, bug dope and I'll see about a extra ball cap.

Good to hear you did well.

DKIng, make sure you drop in the P (Pioneer) Bar and ring the bell for me. No I am not buying for the crowd.

Sitka is a beautiful place enjoy the trip and I look forward to pics of that BBB.

Lots of big ;;

Thats very magnana mous of you

I'm back.

The P (Pioneer) Bar was about empty, 4 folks (about 2:00 PM ish) so we just hoised a beer and looked at the pictures.

Had a wonderful and truly great time, saw 43 bears including one monster beast that eluded me, I'll need to go back for him I believe. We (mutual agreement) opted to hunt the big fella exclusively and he was nice enough to give me about a 2 second shot opportunity on the ninth day just at dusk... not quite enough time. We hunted long and hard for him again on the 10th day but he stayed out of sight again. Lots of 7.5ft range bears, an 8ft class or two.

We got real close to some of the bears, 15 yards and less. The big sows with cubs were given a little more room.

Again a great hunt that I will probably do again.

Great boat and nice outfitter and we'll hunt together again I'm sure, weather was good and clear on most days, sunshine about half the time, two nights of heavier rain.

The fleece, H-H Impertech and chest waders were the ticket for me, stayed dry and warm, I didn't use any gloves as the weather was pretty good,

The little light 458 Win mag was good for carry, the test shot was good on it and my backup gun.

Halibut, shrimp and crabs aplenty, I'm still full after two days back home.

My wife had a great time on the hunt too.

I'll right a full article and include some pictures over the next few days.

How about some pics DK????

I'm still working on the story of the hunt.

I didn't take many pictures of bears as I intended to shoot rather than photograph.


A couple of shrimp for supper.



A sow with cubs at Waterfall Cove. A midsize boar came down the stream just after this picture and the sow exited to the left only to return and approach us just before full dark.




This small sow was wandering up the beach for a long while, we followed her in the skiff for a bit. Dale talked to her for a while but when he began to explain to her about her boyfriend in the spring she huffed and left.




My wife waiting for the rest of breakfast to appear (toasted muffins and bacon still to come), we ate very well on the boat.




A couple of halibut waiting fillet operations.



Morning coming on in Fick Cove.




Cobol and Martha Martin's place (needs a little TLC in some spots).



The Sitka flamingo tree.



Some seals at Cobol.



A bull from a pod of four, we were careful to not bump into him on the skiff rides.



Some timber taking a well deserved rest (there's a river otter hiding somewhere in that stuff).




Edited to change placename Cobalt to Cobol. Thanks BW

Nice pictures. I've never been able to get a really good picture of the flamingos, and I've tried several times.

Who were the Cobalts?

BW

My error, I was using what I heard spoken as Cobalt for the correct Cobol near Island Cove in Slocum Arm.

I was using an old HP715 digital camera in 2 star mode so the pictures are mid-quality from an old camera.

Just north of the flamingos we stopped to watch a Humpback bubble-net some herring on the east side of the passage, I didn't get a picture.

Great photos. I see you suffered horribly. That's one I'd like to do one day. It's way more comfortable than sitting in a tent for 3 days while the gales howl.
I'd almost go just for the seafood.

Can't believe you had bananas on the boat! Bad juju...

Dagga Boy

Yeah, the trip was awful, fresh seafood, heat, nice cabin, laundry, shower, ice cream, etc.

DPhillips

I hadn't ever heard of bananas as bad luck, but it appears to be a concern to folks now that I've searched on it.

quote:

Originally posted by DPhillips:
Can't believe you had bananas on the boat! Bad juju...

Having any kind of banana product with you is a great way to get yourself asked to exit/leave the vessel around here, IMMEDIATELY. Refusals will get you forcibly removed. True story. I know of several charter captains who have cancelled trips when they found a passenger boarded with bananas. Considered BAD luck, and and a BAD OMEN! Old superstitions die hard with the old salts around here.

Now, where are the est of the pics and story, please?

KG

Dale certainly has a beautiful boat and sounds like you enjoyed yourself. I did fall hunts with Brad Dennison on the Bear so we were close most of the time till you moved to West chic. The fall was better than most and I would suggest a spring hunt next time bigger bears and better weather at least late spring.Cobol was a mine in Slocum arm there is also a old gold mine in Klag bay up the beach several miles . Never heard of the banana thing in Alaska

I had never heard of the bannana thing either , and I have been on both Oceans , every Sea , almost every Sound and at least 2/3rds of the Bays in Alaska ...........

Mayby it,s an east coast thing ,.,.,There nuts anyway ..

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
I had never heard of the bannana thing either , and I have been on both Oceans , every Sea , almost every Sound and at least 2/3rds of the Bays in Alaska ...........

Mayby it,s an east coast thing ,.,.,There nuts anyway ..

I have never talked to anyone who has not known about the Banana = Bad JU JU

No F-----G Bananas on MY BOATS!!

Not sure where it came from, it's not a Naval/Coastie thing must be a Commercial fisherman thing.

I have been on every ocean, and around the world 15 times.

quote:

Originally posted by D99:
Not sure where it came from, it's not a Naval/Coastie thing must be a Commercial fisherman thing.

I have been on every ocean, and around the world 15 times.

I believe it is a Commercial / Sport fishing thing

I commercial fished in Alaska (halibut and blackcod mostly) on and off for twenty years and heard about leaving on a Friday ,whistling on deck and upside down hatch covers but not bananas

I have heard about Banana Bad luck my whole life .... here is an interesting take on it ...

Back in the days of the transatlantic crossings by wooden sailing ships many hazards would befall the captains, crew and passengers. Disease, pirates, shipwrecks, storms, etc., claimed the lives of a good percentage of the captains, crew and passengers attempting the dangerous voyage.

Needless to say, a transatlantic crossing in the 17th and 18th centuries was a very risky endeavor. Often the vessels would stop along the way in tropical islands to gather provisions such as food and water. There the passengers and crew would often purchase wooden crates of bananas from the locals and bring them aboard the ship. These crates would have all manner of critters in them such as bugs, spiders, vermin and snakes.

These critters would make their way into the bilges of the ships, multiply, and then find their way into the captain's quarters. The captains circulated the rumor that bananas were bad luck in an attempt to keep the critters off the ship and out of their cabin. The crew and
passengers were more than eager to follow suit because of the inherent risk of the crossing. So, if the captain announced prior to the voyage that bananas were bad luck and not allowed aboard the vessel, everyone complied.

You must remember that these were the days of burning witches and the like, so superstitions were taken very seriously.

Great story and I believe it .

Funny story, I actually fished in alaska a few years ago and the guy that took us had a bright yellow catamaran for a boat, and it was named, "THE BANANA BOB" in making fun of the banana superstition, We all got a laugh out of it and we had a great trip.

Patricio