Does anyone have any experience with these folks? I am discussing a bear hunt with them for this September for myself and a few others. We would be on their 50' boat for 5 days cruising through Prince William Sound searching for the bears and then zodiak to the shore.

All help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Doug

Seacliff,

Thanks and that is what I wanted to hear. I have some good binocs on the way and I think we are all geared up and ready to go. I am really looking forward to the trip as it sounds like a lot of fun.

I will post a report when I return

Thanks,

Doug

I went with Captain Dave from May 30 - June 4 of this year. There were six of us. Three fisherman and three hunters. Captain Dave is very competent captain and extremely knowledgeable about hunting and fishing in Alaska. Of course he is not a guide and acts only as the transporter.

We found it to be a great experience. The fisherman did better than the hunters - we brought back 300 lbs of halibut. We only shot one small bear, but this should reflect on the casualness of the hunters and not the Alaskagoodtimes charter. We saw lots of bears - more than thirty. Of course some of these were sows with young. However, we all were in range of shootable bears at one time or another.

I managed to be within 20 feet of a large bear but didn't have a gun with me at the time. Long story, but basically I was acting as a spotter for the hunter and we got separated. There's a lesson here.

Bring good binoculars - you will spend a lot of time glassing the rocky shoreline and hillsides. You need to be organized so you quickly grab your gear and take the Zodiac promptly to the beach after you spot a bear. We repeatedly landed too far from the bear and had too long of a stalk. The distances are greater than we thought. The bears don't stay in the open very long, hence the urgency. According to Dave, about 20% of the stalks are sucessful.

We saw lots of Humpback whales, a Killer whale, sea otters, seals, porpoises and black tail deer. The country is spectacular. Food was good and the boat is comfortable. We had a wonderful time.

I'm ready to go back

Seacliff,

Were you able to run the zodiacs yourself, of did a crewmember run you guys to shore? How about if you wanted to take the raft into small bays etc, could you go alone?

Thanks!

We operated the 2 Zodiacs ourselves. Yes, we did take them into small bays or to shore for hunting or exploring. The Captain stayed with the big boat the whole time. If you need help, there is a mate that will assist or operate the Zodiacs for you. You are pretty much free to do what you want.