Dave & Karin Benson
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Karin Benson |
Karin Benson |
Karin Benson |
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Once in a great while, we have all returned from a hunt or fishing trip that couldn’t have been better. My wife and I just returned from SE Alaska where we fished King Salmon and Halibut. It couldn’t have been better! We had talked about returning to Alaska to fish but we weren’t excited about returning to previous fish camps/outfitters mostly because we had “been there, done that”. Lady Luck smiled and after attending the Iowa Wild Sheep Foundation banquet/fundraiser we were set. Ted Schutte, former President of the Wild Sheep Foundation and presently President of the Iowa Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, had purchased the trip for four at his February Banquet in Spirit Lake, Iowa. We are Life Members there and following the auction I mused |
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| to Ted that the trip he had purchased sounded like a unique fishing adventure. He and his wife, Eileen, invited us to go with them and we jumped at the chance. | ||||
| Baranof Expeditions/Cape Ommany Lodge is located
on the south end of Baranof Island. The small town of Port Alexander is
the base (pop. 80) and reachable by boat or float plane. We arrived at
Sitka via Alaska Airlines then were transferred to Port Alexander by a
private flying service – Harris Air, located in Sitka. The flight
is about 40 minutes in a Beaver on floats. Jim Boyce was waiting for us on the pier. We left Sitka by 8:00 a.m. in bright sunny weather so we had a weather perfect day for sight seeing on Jim’s boat. There is a salmon hatchery near port Alexander and the scenery, wildlife, etc., are spectacular. Seas were calm and we checked shrimp pots (successful take), explored old mining |
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| sites and fish processing locations and marveled at the rugged beauty of Baranof Island. | ||||
| Is fishing ever easy? This time it was! One 3-hour session
boated 4 Halibut: 200#, 160#, 90# and 30#. We would not fish Halibut again
on this trip. We caught other fish – Silver Salmon, Rock Fish, Quill
Back Fish Skate (yuk) and Pink Salmon. Jim had a place where Kings are
often found during the week we were there and they WERE THERE! The limit
is 1/day and 3 for the season – no problem getting Kings for the
fish boxes. One time all four of us had one on at the same time and Jim
“choreographed” who should go under or over whose pole while
the Kings danced and leaped all around the boat. Average weight about
27 pounds. The trip was a four day fishing trip but, because of our success, we fished 3 days and we all felt the time spent was more than adequate. We flew back to Sitka a day early as weather uncertainty would dictate flying when the weather permits. Jim Boyce is a Master Guide in Alaska and, besides fishing, he hunts Brown Bear (11 permits/year), Goat (fantastic goats and not a draw), Sitka Deer and Black Bear (huge). He runs fairly long Brown Bear hunts (up to 15 days) but does that to ensure his clients have a chance at a 9 foot plus bear. He is rarely unsuccessful. His lodging, equipment, guides and cook are five star. Everything is well organized and his fish processing is the best I’ve seen in Alaska. The Schuttes and Bensons would strongly endorse this Guide/Outfitter and although it’s a long way to go, the experience will convince you it is worth the travel. Please visit Jim’s website if you have some interest in a fishing or hunting trip to SE Alaska/Baranof Island. You can contact Jim by calling: Winter 1-206-855-8080, Summer 1-907-568-2251 Lodge, email: alaskamasterguide@yahoo.com David and Karin Benson |
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