I really miss Alaska at times. I was going through an old photo album today and decided to take a few pics of pics and share them here. These are all from the 96-99 time frame.

This was the largest halibut I caught. It was right at 87 pounds IIRC. The Coast Guard maintained a rental fleet of Boston Whaler Montauks that we could check out to fish the nearby waters.

Saltery creek was about a 20 mile truck ride followed by a 20 mile ATV ride from where I lived. At times it held some spectacularly colorful Dolly Varden.

Paul that looks like the Woody Island Channel (Long Island background)
When I left in 2011 they still had 2 or 3 Whalers. Maybe a dozen 23 ft cabin boats for rent.

You could often stop by the fish cleaning shack and get a double handful of freshly steamed crab legs from the Airsta guys.

I miss it, too.

Saltery creek fed out into a bay. Near its mouth there was a small herd of wild horses. I Thought this pic was cool. A sea fog is hanging over the bay. The wild horses are hanging out across the creek. The fish slipped out of my hand and was splashing down right when the photo was taken.

Great memories!!

Yep! That's where it was. I gave most of the halibut away. People were thrilled to get it.

Me, too. I liked to eat cod, salmon, and lingcod more than halibut.

This photo was taken from Barometer Mountain overlooking Buskin Lake. Along the shores of that lake I had the most hair raising bear encounter I had ever had. The rifle is an old boat paddle Ruger 30-06.

'tis a special place we call home.

The bear in the window at the Best Western was killed by one of my neighbors up there, it is a lunker. From Buskin Lake

I bagged this nice blacktail on top of Barometer Mountain. It had been sparring with a smaller buck. Getting up there and back down with a load was a WORKOUT. I enjoyed it though. I'd much rather hunt the mountains than the southern woods. You can't see it, but I have a nice gash over my right eyebrow. Compliments of leaning out over a spindly alder for a rest. Being the big dummy that I am I forgot to take a pic until after I had peeled it.

Someone killed what I believe was the bear that I had the encounter with. It was a hog!

While on a trip to anchorage I found a Smith and Wesson shotgun at a pawn shop for a good price. I am a horrible shotgunner, but there was something about that gun that just worked with me. I could kick myself for selling it.

Heaven on earth.thanx for sharing

My best 4 wheeler was a Suzuki 160 2wd. I bought it for $500 and it never missed a lick. If I got stuck, it was easy enough to throw out of the mud hole.

Thanks for sharing. Looks like some good times were had.

I had a Yamaha 350 and a Big Bear 450 for a while. I liked the smaller one, same reason. You could wool it around a lot easier. Rode to Saltery a few times; quite a bit on Barometer and Pillar.

Lake Catherine is in the background. 100 feet in front of me was my CG housing complex. You can see a peninsula jutting out into the lake. I jump shot these ducks by sneaking out onto that peninsula. I didn't know it at the time, but they had been feeding on dead salmon along the bank. It was some rank game meat, and I stank up my house but good. The first 3 shots with that S&W shotgun resulted in these 3 ducks. I hunted there regularly. I didn't have a retriever, so I had to wait for the right wind so that they would drift back to the bank. I had eagles deprive me of several while I was waiting!.

Along the edge of the peninsula, there were HUGE bear tracks. I hunted bear sitting on top of that peninsula, waiting for one to come along the bank feeding on salmon. I never saw one. A guy I know (David Simmerman) got him. He scored just outside B&C top 10 all time. If anyone knows how to look that up, you'll see his name. I think it was #13. And it was living within 500 yards of a housing complex! David got him back on a feeder creek beyond the peninsula. I hadn't thought to hunt there. It was a dark tangled alder hell.

There was a good trail that led between Old Woman and Barometer. It went all the way back to Bell's Flats. Cool place to go 4 wheeling.

I knew there was a flock of 150 or so Emperor geese in Women's Bay; had big plans to hunt them until I found out they were off limits!

This is one of my favorite photos. This man is a real hero. He is USN Retired Captain Hank Smith. I met him at the Auto Hobby Shop one day. He was warm, friendly, always smiling and had a vitality for life unlike anyone else I had ever met. I befriended him. He visited the island a couple times a year. I invited him to take one of my 4 wheelers out to Saltery Creek with me to catch Silver Salmon. I gave him the trip of a lifetime.

Hank was a fighter pilot on active duty and was assigned to a carrier. In the early days, carrier launches weren't as safe as they are now. He has the distinction of being the first pilot to survive a failed launch and being run over by the carrier. I guess that goes a long way toward explaining his passion for life. I loved this old guy.

Waterfowl ID was a completely new game for me up there.

nice Saltery silvers

Great pictures!

My daughters have always loved fishing. Here they are doing some teamwork on some halibut. I may have gotten a little teary eyed when I dug these up.

Buoy 4?

I can't recall on this one. Is the shot to the south looking toward Cliffs Point?

might be. I always loved having great fishing only 5 or 10 minutes run. I could see buoy 4 from our house we built at Spruce Cape in 2007

Thank you, living in Alaska has always been my dream. It's a shame my wife doesn't share the same dream.

Very cool photos, PaulBarnard. What great memories you have. Thanks for sharing them.

Thanks for sharing Paul,

That’s a world away from Mississippi

I really do have to get back up there sometime soon. It's a calling to be sure. It's truly a special place.

Thanks Paul. I did 3 tours on Kodiak with the CG. I’ve been all the places you talked about and really do miss that place. A buddy caught a 270 lb. halibut out of one of those Whalers. We had to tow it back to the boat launch. It’s hard to leave the Rock without great stories to share. Thanks for sharing yours.

Mike

270 pounds is INSANE! When were you there? Aviation?

Paul,
Those are some great pictures, and I can tell are also great memories.

I was there from 80-82, 84-86, and 2006-2008. Retired out of there as an AMTC. Bob Yaw was the guy who caught the fish, right after I hooked one that broke my 120 lb. Dacron line. I shot that fish 8 times with a .22 to tame it down. On of my buddies was loading his .44 to shoot it but he was pretty hammered so I wouldn’t let him finish the job....

Nice. Scan them great memories.

Thanks Paul for sharing. Another place I'd like see someday.

They're not off limits now on the AKPEN. Starting last year you can take one per season.





Mine didn't either. She now wakes up miserable everyday with a drunk in L48, and I wake up generally happy except for bitching about the Aleutian weather pissing and blowing. But I only have 19 months of this nonsense left out here and I'm moving back up north.

or did he use negatives, or 'slides'

I took a part time job at the exchange sporting goods store when I first got there. The first time someone asked what I thought a good halibut gun was, I thought they were messing with me. I ended up using a 22 with Stingers.

I have no desire to live there, but will visit one day. Thanks for the photos

Nice photo essay. Thanks for sharing.

I need to. I have a bunch that I want to make into an album.

Nice pics, Paul.

Keep’em coming.

I had a junker Jennings .22 the only worked reliably with Stingers. That was my halibut gun. I worked at Macks my last tour there. It was probably the cultural epicenter of Kodiak. Got to meet a lot of great folks from town. Made a lot of friends. And working in a gun shop almost satisfied my desire to buy too many guns.....

I had forgotten about Macks. Was a great store!

That's really it. I lost a whole bunch of stuff to Katrina. I evacuated with some of my photos. I am so thankful I did.

Yes, it's a nice place for sure. I think I recall shooting 1 halibut ever. I'm more of a harpoon, beat, drag over the rail with a shark hook type of fisherman. I usually don't harpoon unless they are 100+ unless I want to give a show.

Post some pics when time allows if you can.

I like the place as motor homes and cruise ships don't usually go there.

Thanks for sharing those Paul,was very enjoyable.

Not my part of Alaska, Paul, but....just...Damn! Thank you.

I don't know why, but I was waxing nostalgic yesterday. I am pretty sure when I check out, my time in Kodiak will rank as the best hunting I have ever done. There was a certain almost romantic quality about hunting in the presence of Kodiak's big brown bears. On top of that it's the only place I have ever hunted where I had an opportunity to glass for animals. I loved spot and stalk. For a busy body like me, it beats the hell out of stand hunting.

Great pics and wonderful memories, I'm sure. Great looking gals. Your blessed.Thanks for showing the photos.