Season Updates
May 27th, 2008
Spring Bear Hunting
The Steelhead fishing is still good but the majority of the fish are dark. In many of the streams the fish have transitioned into the spawning areas and are on beds. We stopped by a stream the other day and hooked a nice big Steelhead on the first cast. We have been focusing on the bear hunting instead.
Saltwater fishing is picking up. We have been out a few times and we picked up a few halibut but no big numbers. We did manage one nice fish around 140 pounds. Salmon fishing is starting as well. The local salmon derby just started last weekend and a few kings have been submitted. It's still early though.
We had one group of bear hunters at the lodge last week. They were into bears almost everyday spotting them on the shorelines and in the grass meadows. They had several bears in range and one as close as 35 yards but they didn't end up getting a shot at that one. Later in the week they missed a bear because their rifle got bumped by the airlines and they didn't shoot it to make sure they were sited in. Make sure that you shoot your rifle or bow once you arrive. It only takes a few minutes and it can make or break your hunt. So after a good week of hunting that group went home with no bears.
The weather has been very hot the last few days. Clear skies and 75 degrees is extremely hot for this time of year. With the weather that warm you need to focus your time hunting in the morning and evening when it's cooler. This time of year sunrise around 4:15 am and sunset it 9:15 pm. That makes for a long day so you need to plan on taking a nap during the middle of the day or you will wear yourself out. Despite the warm weather the group that is here now got a bear last night and almost got another later in the day. The shooter put the gun up but had his scope covers down so that gave the bear just enough time to get away. Clouds have moved in and it is much cooler today and should stay that way for the rest of the week. The hunting should be better through the weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Kenji King
Prince of Wales Island, Alaska