Prince William Sound Deer Hunting Tips 12.27.12

Every year I get to see the latest and greatest in high tech camping gear and I also hear the feedback on how well this gear worked in the Alaskan environment. The first item I saw this year was an Inreach satellite text messaging unit by Delorme. http://www.inreachdelorme.com  We picked up a couple of hunters who got stranded for several days when their fly in service could not pick them up during the big storms in September.  After they were several days overdue and stuck in the Shrode Lake Cabin with no fuel or food, we were contacted by the fly in service. The hunters were in communication with the fly in service using their Inreach unit. After passing word to the stranded hunters through other hunters in the Long Bay area, we were able to coordinate a pick up at high tide near the lagoon at the end of Long Bay. From there we returned to the Cathy G as the weather was too bad to go to Whittier. The hunters were from Oklahoma and they could update their family back home using their Inreach unit from the Cathy G, even though we were without cell coverage. They were impressed with their unit and so were we! It is even water proof. This is a great alternative to buying to satellite phone.

As the days get shorter during the fall deer season, out come the headlamps and lanterns. Nowadays most of the camp gear manufacturers are making LED lanterns. They are much more durable and safer than the old gas lanterns with no mantels to fuss with or gas to lug. With the old gas lanterns, you had to hang the lantern in a central place and work around it. Now with the new LED lanterns, there is no problem moving it around and they are affordable and light enough to have more than one. My favorite is the Coleman  4AA pack away lantern. This lantern collapses to fit in a cargo pocket in your backpack and puts out quite a bit of light for its size. It is also very durable, affordable and easy on the batteries.

http://www.coleman.com/product/4aa-pack-awayreg-lantern/2000009291?contextCategory=10454

Gone are the days of lugging around a hand held flashlight! Most hunters nowadays carry a headlamp so they can keep their hands free. Whether you are trying to dig through your gear in the dark, eating dinner or trying to find the last beer at the bottom of the cooler, a headlamp is essential on your hunting trip. Now headlamp technology has gone a step further: the Pelican 2720 motion activated LED headlamp just takes a swipe of the hand to turn it on or off. This is very handy if you have your hands full or you don’t want to take your gloves off to fiddle with a switch - it also has the option to use the manual switch for when you’re hiking through the brush. They are made by the folks that make Pelican cases. http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2720

Plastic buckets are not very high tech but they are great to pack gear in and haul to the bush. They are waterproof, have a handle and make a good seat. Every year I have hunters that save their soap buckets for packing camp gear in and to use for storing their gear in at home. They also make loading and off loading the boat very quick and handy.

Old water proof bags that have a couple small holes in, which you don’t want to put your sleeping bag in anymore, make great bags for hauling fire wood and kindling. This is much better than showing up at the dock with loose bundles of firewood stacked up in your truck! The loose firewood makes loading and unloading the boat tedious and during transport the wood gets rained on or splashed on if the seas are rough. Then once you get to the drop off spot you must cover the wood to keep from getting it even wetter. It is really great to show up in the field with enough wood to get a fire going the first night. Then you can gather wood for the next and dry it ahead of time. Often the wood in Prince William Sound is damp and hard to get burning. You will need to plan ahead if you enjoy a nice fire to dry off with and to cook on.

For camping on a late season deer hunt, I recommend bringing a canvas tent with a portable wood stove. You can expect a dump of snow in the middle of the night when you’re out there and every year I hear of a tent threatening to collapse on its occupants or onto the wood stove. A good way to prevent this is to tightly stretch a plastic trap above your tent at a steep angle to catch the snow and dump the snow off to the side. But careful of the stove pipe: you might not be able to deflect all of the snow because of the stove pipe position but you will be able to deflect enough to prevent your tent collapsing in the middle of the night! I have also used tarps to deflect gusts of wind to prevent breaking poles and to help stop the wind from zapping the heat from the tent.

DURAFLAME DISASTERS:

Every year I have hunters who try these fire place logs out in the wood stoves in the US Forest Service rental cabins and in their wood stoves in the tents. This is bad news - these logs are made for fire places not wood stoves. Several hunters this year had their new portable wood stoves clogged up while using duraflame logs. They will clog the spark arrester and will put out fumes in the tent. In 2011 I had duck hunter who tried duraflame logs in the Harris Lagoon cabin and he got sick on the fumes and had to put out the fire and air out the cabin. The fumes lingered around the cabin for a few days and made the guys nauseas when they were in the cabin. Read the warning on the wrapper - fire places have lots of draft so air, heat and fumes are drawn up the chimney. Wood stoves restrict the draft keeping the heat in the stove and the chemical fumes from the duraflame logs will leak out the stove once the draft is closed. We have even seen people recommending these on the Outdoorsdirectory forum this fall but this is definitely not advisable!

My final tip for this blog: if you are tired of lugging and maintaining all that camp gear, loading it into your truck, loading it onto the boat, off loading it in the bush then reloading back to the boat, back to the truck then back home to clean (my back hurts just writing about it!) If you haven’t got a good night’s sleep on the best of cots. If cooking up dinner on the camp stove in typical fall weather after a day of hiking through the woods takes a little bit of fun out of the trip. If you’re having reoccurring nightmares of being stuck in a cramp tent during bad weather with your hunting buddies who haven’t showered for days and you’re out of beer. Then when the hunt is over you drive home to get the third degree for smelling like a camp fire while you clean and pack away that camp gear. After that, you need to get busy processing your game before you have to go back to work tomorrow. If it was fun 20 years ago but now having a nice warm bed and a hot shower would make that hunt more enjoyable, check out our web site www.princewilliamsoundlodging.com  For the 2013 season we have 4, 5, 6 and 7 day hunting and lodging packages which will include round trip transport from Whittier to the hunting base camp, comfortable warm dry lodging, meals, hot showers and daily transport to and from shore. This year we will start with Spring black bear & shrimping in North West Prince William Sound. There are still a couple of packages left but guys are snatching up their preferred dates already. We still have some openings for water taxi drop offs. Call Heidi for hunting base camp deals (907) 362 1290 or Matt on (907) 362 1291

2013 Prince William Sound Spring Bear Hunting 1.26.13

It’s time to start planning your 2013 Spring bear hunt! We already have over two weeks fully booked on the base camp boat Cathy G and several hunter drop offs on the water taxi too. So far it doesn’t look like a record snow year like last year which we hope will make for an early break up. Last spring in bear season we were dealing with snow as deep as 30 feet in some places. It was the first year I had hunters that found bears which had starved to death, unable to dig through the deep snow for food once they had emerged from their dens. I would still recommend bringing snow shoes, sleds and snow shovels this year, especially for those who are planning to hunt the early part of the season. There is still space on the hunting base camp boat up to May 25^th and we also have some openings left for water taxi drop offs. We have several groups of hunters coming out on their own boats and staying on the Cathy G too. We offer all the luxuries of home, located in the wilderness of Prince William Sound at the best price and with no hidden charges. If you are planning a water taxi drop off bring a raft or rent one from Alaska Adventure Tours. A raft will increase your chances of a successful hunt as often deep streams or cliffs can impede your ability to traverse the terrain. You will also find spotting from the water more productive and the raft will be handy to recover your bear, if harvested far from camp. Expect to get wet if you are camping. Soft gun cases are like sponges; pack your gear in water proof bags or totes - I prefer the locking lid Rubbermaid totes. Bring some fire wood in an old water proof bag or tote as the wood that you find around camp will be wet and needs to be dried before it’ll burn well. Most of the camp sites are located on Forest Service Land and over the years I’ve had hunters complain that the people before them have trashed the camp sites. In recent years the Forest Service has been cleaning up old camp sites and if people continue to trash the area, I am sure some new rule will be adopted restricting where you can camp. I would like to encourage hunters to clean up any trash they see, even if it was left by another group and also scatter the remnants of your camp fire such as the rocks around it. If you tie tent line to trees or lines to hang game, remove then when you leave the area. Often when picking up a group of hunters I do a walk through the camp area to ensure nobody forgot anything. Unfortunately there are those few who ruin it for the rest of us. Last fall somebody cut down the large hemlocks at the main campsite in Jackpot Bay and left behind several bags of trash. The Jackpot Bay area has also been targeted by bear poachers recently using snares. If you come across a snare site, take photos and record the GPS coordinates for the Alaska Wildlife Troopers so they can go and find it. Several years ago a bear poaching ring was busted in Prince William Sound and they mostly used snares. The only part of the bears they harvested was the gall bladders and paws. There are far more hunters roaming around Prince William Sound than Troopers but if we work together we can get rid of these poachers and protect the resources for future generations.

On a lighter note, I’d like to thank everyone who came to enjoy the deer roast on the Cathy G in the Seward Boat Harbor during the Polar Bear Jump weekend. If anybody is coming down to Seward this winter, give us a call and we’d be happy to give you a tour of the Cathy G. We’ll be heading out in April for the shrimpers – give us a call for exact locations. From October 1st the Cathy G will be anchored off around the north east end of Montague Island for deer season. We have several lodging packages on the web site available with a couple weeks still open and remember with Aquetec LLC, there are no hidden fees or added taxes - our prices are exact.

Matt

Alaska kayak hunting in Prince William Sound 2.22.13

Kayak fishing is very popular all around the world. The use of kayaks for harvesting fish and game has been a native tradition for thousands of years. That tradition has mostly fallen to the way side in most Alaskan native communities. Power boats have taken the place of kayaks and badarkas. But in Prince William Sound I have transported several Alaskan hunters who prefer using kayaks. Hunting in Prince William Sound with a boat, raft or kayak definitely improves your chance of success. You can spot for game better from the water and you can cover more area. Kayaks are the stealthiest of watercraft for hunting and you can traverse in to shallow sloughs or portage into nearby lakes. Most hunters that use kayaks prefer kayaks between 12 and 17 feet long so which makes them easy to pick up single handedly and easy to conceal on the shore. Plastic kayaks are the best as they are durable since there are very few sandy beaches in Prince William Sound. I like the Wilderness Systems Pungo 140: http://www.wildernesssystems.com/product/index/products/recreational/recreational_pungo/pungo_140_recreational/
 It is a sit inside fishing kayak weighing only 58 pounds and tracks very well with no rudder needed. These kayaks are extra wide which gives you greater stability plus a large cockpit opening making it easier to get in and out of. The Pungo has an extra large hatch opening on the back deck and is one of the few kayaks that comes in camouflage. Kayak hunting requires the skills of old hunting traditions where you must be more self sufficient and bush savvy. To transport your game back to camp you’ll have to skin and butcher your game on the spot, then pack it back in the kayak. I carry a set of Knives of Alaska, the set called the triple combo: http://www.knivesofalaska.com/item.asp?id=120
They all have sure grip handles and include a skinner with gut hook, a cleaver and small knife they call the bear cub. With this knife set I have made short work of field processing black bear and Sitka black-tailed deer. These knives are made of D2 tool steel. I’ve found they hold an edge better than stainless steel. You do have to keep them oiled to prevent rusting and snow seal the leather sheath regularly to prevent water absorption. A water proof gun boot with a dummy cord attached to the kayak will ensure you don’t lose your rifle in the event of a mishap on the water. You don’t have to rough it like the old days of kayaking. With all the new light weight gear like Jet Boil, LED head lamps, and the new high tech clothing that is lighter, warmer and water proof, you’ll be pretty comfortable out there. Heidi has a fleet of camouflage Pungo 140 fishing/hunting kayaks available for the spring black bear season in the North West Prince William Sound area or late fall deer hunting in the Montague Island and Green Island area. The kayak rental is $45 a day and comes with paddle, spray skirt, life vest, pump, sponge, and each group gets a paddle float. For kayak rental call Heidi (907) 362 1290 or email ak_explorer@hotmail.com For info on all the services that Aquetec LLC offers, check out or web sites www.princewilliamsoundhunting.com , www.whittierwatertaxi.com  and www.princewilliamsoundlodging.com

"Terrible Island" Alaska 3.12.13

Another supposedly “reality” show misleads everyone about Alaska, once again. These shows repeatedly embarrass Alaskans with their lack of reality. I am very disappointed with the Discovery Channel not having taken the time to look for and feature Alaskans who truly live in the bush and live a subsistence life style. Alaska has some amazing people who truly possess the skills needed to live off the land and that is more likely what the viewers want to see. But instead these shows are often based on misleading film shots and their version of what life in Alaska should be, not reality. This time Discovery Channel  episode “Alaska The Last Frontier” dished Montague Island, renaming it: “Terrible Island”. That alone shows Alaskans what little the Discovery Channel knows about Montague Island (or maybe they do know better and feel the viewers are gullible enough to fall for it…?) The show is based on a local Homer family that lives off East End Road in Homer - not exactly what Alaskans consider the bush since it is on the road system and has as much businesses and services as a town of its size in the lower 48. The legend of “Terrible Island” episode follows Atz Lee Kilcher and Eivin Kilcher on a deer hunt to Montague Island during the early bucks-only season. Several times during this hunt the Kilchers complain that there are no deer to be found. Of course they made a common ‘first time in Prince William Sound’ deer hunting mistake. When hunting in the Sound during the bucks only season, you must go to the top of the mountains, not mill around the foot of the mountains and along the beach. The deer like the grasses on the upper slopes and the fresh growth along the edges of the melting snow. Also, on the open upper slopes, the deer can easily detect predators in the open terrain. They also complained incessantly about bugs. Clearly the Kilchers didn’t do any home work, or they would know that August is the height of black fly season. Have you ever wondered why there are so many honey dew plants on these islands? The honey dews eat black flies. The only way to protect yourself at that time of year is with bug nets and gloves. I got a good laugh when the Kilchers claimed they saw black bear tracks on Montague Island. I hope they informed the Department of Fish and Game about this sighting as they would be very interested to know that black bears have recently moved onto Montague Island! Once again, some basic research would have informed them that there are only brown bears on Montague Island. It is a good idea to do your homework before hunting an area you are not familiar with. If they had just ‘googled’ black bears on Montague Island or checked out the ADF&G web site, they would have known there are no black bears on Montague Island. The Alaska Department of Fish& Game has a lot of information on their web site on everything related to hunting and fishing. If they had looked at the web page on spotting scopes and binoculars they would have realized how dangerous it is to use your rifle scope for spotting game, as they did throughout the episode. I am glad I wasn’t hunting the same area as these guys at that same time! Oh, one tip for the Discovery Channel crew, if you don’t want boats driving by your camp, don’t hang a red jacket along the shore. Most boaters and aircraft will interpret that as a distress signal. I wasted my time and gas thinking you were in trouble but since you didn’t monitor the VHF radio, you didn’t hear the entertaining ‘cheechako’ jokes from the local hunters who also thought you needed some kind of help.

Throughout the hunt, the Kilchers kept commenting on how they must harvest some deer so their family can make it through the winter. Let’s get a little closer to reality here. Sitka black-tailed deer are not going to fill the freezer like a moose or caribou, even if you harvest your 5 deer limit. Boned out, these deer produce 35 to 45 pounds of meat each on average. 10 deer (2 people’s limit) totals 450 pounds of meat. This would give you 3.75 pounds of meat a day for 120 days. In over 25 years of hunting Prince William Sound, I have never seen a first time deer hunter in Prince William Sound max out their limit in the bucks-only season. Most Alaskans realize that if you are trying to feed a family on what wild game you harvest, you must consider the costs of acquiring the game. In the Kilcher’s case, they took a water taxi from Whittier to Montague Island. They would have had to spend at least $2200 in water taxi fees if they had chartered the least expensive water taxi out of Whittier to get to Montague Island (which they did not do.) Then add to that the cost of driving to Whittier from Homer, fuel for their raft, ammo and all the supplies needed to maintain a camp out there. Taking just the water taxi fee into account, their harvested meat would be at least $5 a pound if they had limited out (but more than likely closer to $7/lb taking all expenses into account.) You can get meat packs from  Mikes Quality Meats at around $3/lb. That would give you over 730 lbs of meat at the cost of the water taxi alone. That would end up at 6 pounds of meat a day for 120 days. Going to their local butchery, the Kilchers would not have had to shoot their prize cow to make it through the winter. But let’s talk reality: most Alaskan hunters don’t rely on deer as their only source of meat. Most deer hunting in Alaska is for the sport and the meat is a bonus. Many enjoy being in the wilderness and the camaraderie of their friends. If you are looking to live off wild game only, you should look at moose or caribou to fill the freezer. As for the Discovery Channel, shame on you for not doing your home work. You should have taken the time to find Alaskans that are experienced in the bush and also shame on you for giving Montague Island a bad name. This is not the first time, nor do I expect it will be the last time these so called reality shows of Discovery Channel mislead the viewers about life in Alaska. They are nothing like National Geographic, but more like the tabloid news papers at the grocery store checkout stands with lots of entertainment and very few facts. I can’t believe there are tax break incentives for these companies to film in Alaska when all they do is mislead viewers in their portrayal of life in the last frontier.

2013 Palmer Lions Gun Show 4.4.13

Wow what a crowd! Thanks to the Obama Administration, the Palmer Lions Club Gun Show was a fantastic success! Thousands of Alaskans came to the show. We met lots of locals that where very interested in coming out to Prince William Sound and staying on the Cathy G. I’m glad we didn’t set up our booth at the Anchors Aweigh Boat Show which sounded like a total flop this year. Unlike the boat show, the Palmer Lions Club treated their vendors well. We had members of the 4H club delivering coffee and sandwiches to our table - coffee refills were just 25 cents! Parking was right next to the show hall - no parking garage hassle or hiking through traffic! Tables for vendors were only $50 a piece. This is very affordable for small businesses, unlike the $ 700 per booth at the boat show. The more affordable a show is for the vendors, the more vendors there are, the better it is for everyone who comes to the show. We also enjoyed talking with the other vendors - everyone was very friendly as you would expect in small town Alaska. Trade shows are very important for small businesses. It is a great way to connect with customers. But the wrong show not only wastes your time, it will also break your bank account. Many show promoters will claim their show will bring you lots of business but that’s not always true. It’s just like the travel magazine sales people who make big claims on how an expensive advert would bring in lots of customers. But when you look at their magazine, it’s mostly full of adverts with very little content which isn’t very attractive to magazine buyers. They make so much on the ads the magazine should be free! I have found that the low cost marketing actually brings in more customers unless you are trying to attract the tourist crowd. Here at Aquetec LLC we are all about catering to Alaskans, their friends and relatives as well as the Military. We are not involved in industrial tourism! We look forward to the 2014 Palmer Lions Gun show at the Alaska State Fair grounds - they know how to put on a show!

Matt

Alaska Deer Hunting Fall 3.23.2014

Prince William Sound deer hunting 2014 - we are now taking reservations for our 6 day/5 night hunting packages at Montague Island. Lodging is on the research vessel Cathy G where you sleep in real beds with linen, enjoy hot showers, cook your meals in the full size 12 person galley and use the 7x2 foot butcher table to process your deer. Everything that a land-based lodge can offer except we anchor off near the best hunting spots and are much more affordable. Water taxi to and from Whittier as well as daily drop offs to locations within 15 miles of the Cathy G is included. We even supply parking passes for your vehicle in Whittier. Once again we are offering packages where you bring your own food and cook it up in our fully equipped galley. You don’t need to bring any pots or pans, we supply all the cook and dishware. If you don’t want to cook we can provide delicious home cook meals and box lunches for when you are on shore. A 6 person group that wants to cook their own food is $1367 per person. If you want meals provided it is $ 1700 per person. Our package prices include all taxes and fees – there are no hidden charges or add-ons. You don’t want to wait till the last minute to book as we already have repeat customers reserving their trips. Check out our web sites www.princewilliamsoundhunting.com or www.princewilliamsoundlodging.com where you can see all the services Aquetec LLC offers. To book or inquire about our Montague island deer hunting packages email ak_explorer@hotmail.com or call Heidi on 907 253 8775.

Great Alaskan Sportsman show not this year 3.22.2014

Every year we put on a display at our booth in the Sullivan Arena but not this year. Every year we turn away business to attend the sportsman show. This year we will be at Naked Island doing a month long research cruise. Not only are we earning income but we are saving at least $2000 by not having a booth at the show. The $2000 not used at the show can be used for better marketing that would target the customers we want. Every year the sportsman show jacks up the costs to the venders and the public. A lot of our friends and customers don’t even waste their money going to the show anymore. Gone are the days when you can get great deals at the show. We used to by new halibut poles at the show every year but the last 7 or so years you couldn’t even find a decent halibut pole there! Between the cost of booths and the fortune made in the parking and entrance fees, one would expect a better show. Every year the quality of the show goes down a bit with less and less outdoors related booths and the show staff become less amicable to work with. We won’t miss the late evenings when everyone is at home and all the venders are hanging around till 8 pm in an empty arena. I will miss meeting up with our customers that would come to the show to visit us and talk about their upcoming trips though. Now they don’t have to go to the show - just give us call or email us to catch up. OUR NEW PHONE NUMBERS ARE:

 907 253 8775 for Heidi and 907 253 8775 for Matt or email  ak_explorer@hotmail.com