flash freezes your catch daily to insure very fresh fish when you get home.
They even have an Alaska Air representative right at the resort and you can get your boarding passes the day you leave. You check your luggage and fish boxes right there and don’t have to deal with them until you arrive home.
Yes, if you are looking to be treated royally in a pristine wilderness, then this is the place to go. Contact your Outdoor Connection agent for more information on this incredible experience.
Catalog Code - AF4
Spring Black Bear Hunt (Report by John Morrow (OC - NE))
Spring bear hunts may be one of North America’s most exciting hunts. This spring, I had my first chance to hunt black bear in Alberta, Canada, with one of Outdoor Connection’s premier outfitters. It was a trip I will not soon forget.
I was joined in camp by Bill Kellner, a retired U. S. Marine Corps colonel, and his two sons, Andy and John, who had followed their father into the Marine Corps. Also in camp was Michael Seemen, a physician from Florida with an impressive hunting resume that included big game in Africa, New Zealand and South America, but no bear. In fact, the five of us combined had as much bear hunting experience as your local PETA chapter.
The first night in camp was surprisingly cold. Sitting around the fire our guides gave us pointers on bear hunting like how to accurately judge the size of a bear and the best shot placement under every circumstance imaginable. Soon we were all beginning to feel confident that we were ready to hunt bear. Then the conversation turned to things like snapping jaws, false and not so false charges, and related bear behavior. This was followed up with advice on what to do in the event a bear tries to join you in your tree stand. Finally, we were told that under no circumstances should you leave your tree stand until a guide returned for you. We all went to bed a bit less confident.
The following day we were each taken to a bait site and deposited in a tree stand. It was about this time that I began to question the wisdom of what I was doing. I was alone in the woods sitting on an 18” platform 15 feet above the ground. Less than 50 yards away was a barrel full of food sure to attract numerous bears fresh out of hibernation and hungry. My wife’s parting admonition, “Don’t get eaten by a bear,” suddenly didn’t seem so cute. I checked again to make sure my magazine was full and I had one in the chamber.
It was not long before a bear came crashing down the hill behind me. He slowed down and disappeared from sight as he passed through a stand of fir trees. Moments later he reemerged several yards from where I had last seen him and silently ambled into the bait site. After a few minutes of cramming meat, donuts, oats and miscellaneous other goodies into his mouth he became agitated and started looking around the bait site. Slowly but surely his gaze fell upon me. This was a bit unsettling, but not nearly as so as when he decided to climb up the tree to get a closer look. Fortunately, I had been paying attention the night before and knew what to do in this situation. Shaking a few branches convinced the critter to get down but he did not feel compelled to vacate the area. Rather, he took cover behind some tall grass a few yards away, laid down like a dog and stared at me. I swear he was daring me to come down out of that tree. Once it became obvious I had no intention of joining him for donuts, the bear stood up and walked slowly into the woods disappearing without a sound.
Col. Bill Kellner, who was hunting with his bow, also had a close encounter with a bear on day one. During his 28 years in the Marine Corps, Colonel Kellner held several billets that involved doing the types of things most of us only read about in action novels and see in movies. During one training exercise that involved a nighttime HALO jump from 18,000 feet, Col. Kellner broke his back and one of his legs. After a few hours in the stand, Col. Kellner decided to climb down and stretch his back and legs despite advice to the contrary. Within minutes, he spotted a large bear. Armed only with his bow he stalked to within 25 yards. The bear began walking toward him unaware of his presence. Col Keller stepped from behind the tree that was providing him cover to draw his bow. As he did so, the bear spooked and disappeared into the woods without offering a clear shot. Incensed at the bear’s lack of courage and willingness to engage, Col. Kellner vowed he would not stop until he had killed that bear.
Obviously shocked by Col Kellner’s unconventional hunting tactics and sensing a real danger, the bear stayed away from that bait site during daylight hours for several days.
Col. Kellner’s son, John, saw a half-a-dozen bears on day one as well. He waited until Tuesday however to bring the first trophy back to camp. It was a good sized black bear weighing 300 to 350 lbs. with a thick coat. He had set the bar pretty high for the rest of us.
Just before dark on Wednesday night I shot my bear. It wheeled around and crashed into the woods. It was too dark to find the bear by the time the guide returned to my stand but I didn’t mind. After a huge surge of adrenaline ran its course through my body I started to get the feeling that the bear I shot was not going to land me in the B&C record book. Truth be told, I was actually concerned that there might be a farmer missing his black lab and my “trophy” would have a collar on it. I was relieved the next morning when we found my bear only a few yards into the woods and the guide pronounced it to be, “a hell of a bear!” It weighed close to 400 lbs. and had a pumpkin for a head. I had raised the bar.
Michael, the most experienced hunter among us, was the first to bring in a beautiful chocolate color phase bear with hair so thick and soft it would make the Breck Girl envious. Colonel Keller’s other son, Andy, brought in a bear with an equally beautiful black coat.
Meanwhile, John Kellner kept seeing bears in large numbers everyday. They would come to his bait sites and hang out for hours on end. His father on the other hand had not been so lucky. Toward the end of the week the colonel had switched to hunting with his rifle and was ready to hang his son over a bait barrel to benefit from John’s strange ability to attract bears. Fortunately, this was not necessary. On Friday, the colonel saw a bear running toward his bait site. In an amazing display of Marine Corps marksmanship, Col. Kellner made a head shot on the bear as it came by his stand in a full run. Not your typical shot, but Marine Corp snipers are not your typical shooters even after they retire.
By the end of the week, everyone in camp had taken at least one beautiful bear, we had numerous wolf sightings and John Kellner had logged more time observing bears than many wildlife biologists will in their lifetime. I think he was considering writing a book. Not bad for a bunch of guys who had never hunted bear before.
Contact your local Outdoor Connection agent for more information on this great spring bear hunt!
Catalog Code - ABH2
Wilderness Fishing in Alaska (Report by Rod Regel (OC - WI))
This lodge is located 35 minutes by bush flight from Dillingham, Alaska. The 350 mile flight from Anchorage shows the state in all her splendor. This is very mountainous country! This operation is the only permanent structure on the Nushagak River. There are indoor toilets and showers and they will vacuum seal your catch for shipping at no extra charge. We found their 18 foot Lund boats and 4 stroke motors to be in excellent shape. All meals were more than adequate during our stay. The camp consists of a dining tent and lodge that can hold 30 people. Each room has at least 4 bunk beds. There is electric heat in each room, but we did not try this out as while we were there the weather was balmy.
All equipment is supplied by the lodge, with Garcia 5500 reels and Loomis rods that really are great for this type of fishing. Fishing is either trolling with Lazy Ike lures or bouncing eggs along the bottom with sufficient weight. We found all the guides to be on top of the fishing and quite entertaining.
There is a small deck attached to the dining tent that I spent hours on in the early morning glassing moose on the shoreline. My record was 11 in sight at once. No bears sighted, but sign was apparent. The fishing is driven by the number of fish the commercial netters let through at the river mouth. We did catch plenty of king salmon, but the bulk of the fish has arrived prior to our stay. The day before leaving there were 13 kings caught within a quarter mile of camp. This lodge is a very good place to send fishermen for the Alaska wilderness experience. The place is not four star and the prices reflect that.
Contact your local Outdoor Connection agent for more information about this lodge.
Catalog Code - AF20