Valdez, AK (Montague Island)

Short form report until I get home and can upload pics.

So-so pick of halibut.  Your truly caught the biggest right at 50 pounds.  Probably only got 10-12 between the 6 of us.  All the rockies you wanted.  One one underling caught otherwise the lingcod were a no show.  No salmon out at the island.  Unlimited pink salmon action on the fly rod in town.  Highlight!!! Encountering a swimming grizzly.  OK weather although we did get blown out one day which resulted in a bushwacking hike through the lush Alaskan forest.  Had a nice show of breaching whales.  Hooked a seal.  Got chased by a sea lion.  Had a black bear within 30 feet of us at the shore while we were fly fasting for pinks.  Could have hooked him on the backcast.

Gawd I love Alaska!!!  The fishing could have been a bit better, but the trip was fabulous nonetheless.

-Allen

Wow! sounds like an awesome trip!! can't wait to see the pics. Did you catch the Halibut on your Kayak ?. If so,  Did you rope gaff and drag it beside the Yak?

Longer form report.  I didn't take a ton of pictures as there were 5 other snap happy people shooting.  But I got a few pics and lots of stories.

I arrived in Valdez on Saturday July 19.  I flew to Anchorage then on a little Dash-8 into Valdez airport.  The rest of the guys were going to drive from Anchorage to Valdez.  Sonny's fight got delayed and they ended up leaving anchorage way late and driving all night.  I got a call waking me up at 6AM on Sunday and I met the guys in town for dinner.

After a bit of nap time, everybody was itching to go fishing.  Sonny, Danny, and I were itching even more so we headed out early even though the top of the tide wasn't for another 4 hours.  We were going to go beach fishing for pinks at Allisoin Point.  Bad decision as the bite didn't pick up until 2 hours before the high.  We got there and this guys was beach prowling on salmon remains.



He was a small black that looked to be on his own and away from momma for the first time this year.  It's a bit sad as this guy was used to human company and he'll probably end up being a problem bear at some point.

Here's Danny with a typical pink we were catching.  There weren't as many around this year as there were last, but once the bite picked up we were getting hits every cast or every other cast.  If you went 2 casts without a hit, you started thinking something was wrong.  The fish also seemed on the small side.



We got a good fly rod bite going and even the fly fishing newbie, Sonny, got in on the action catching 19 in that sessions.

The next day we were off to Montague Island.  We had a bit of weather which made the crossing bumpy, but we eventually got there.  Funny thing, none of us, including the captain, brought GPS marks for the cabin, so we ended up doing a little searching.  We had a rough idea of where it was and finally found it.  Home for the next 5 days.



And here's the view we had from it.



We quickly put things away and ... well, we went fishing of course.  We were mainly catching a bunch of smaller rockfish, but Danny got a good hookup on a big halibut (guessing 50 pounds plus), but lost it at the boat.  Fished until late into the evening with no more butt hookups, and finally went in, having dinner at close to 11 AM.

Got up the next morning to beautiful conditions.  Too bad I forgot my camera as I missed many good photo ops.  Jon and I paired off.  Joey and Danny paired off.  And Sonny and Troy paired off.  Jon and I went out wide almost to 3 miles out to Dickhead Island (that's what we named it at least).  Jon stuck a butt about 18.  It was the first one to come in so we kept it for dinner.  I release one about 16# and one about 25#.  Troy and Sonny fished out front.  Troy got one at 22# on a live black cod he jigged up.  Joey and Danny fished in the deep hole out at the end and they released a couple small chickens as well.

Jon and I were also treated to a nice whale show off in the distance with whales full on breaching.

By now we were getting tired of catching those f#%^ing copper rockfish.

Day 3 we decided to find the shrimp pots that the mothership had dropped off for us.  As we were approaching it, I noticed something swimming in the water.  Now mind you, there were dozens and dozens of sea otters in the water, so it didn't strike me as odd.  Until ... well, until it struck me as odd.



As we were approaching him, he started swimming towards us.  I started beating my paddle on the water when it entered my comfort zone.  Of course, he just sped up, so I had to do a short paddle sprint to get away from him.  He finally turned and continued on to the island he was swimming for.  Here he is with Joey and the white shrimp pot buoy.



Everyone fished the deep hole at the end.  I decided to push on and head for some rocks another mile out.  I ran into the motherload of sea otters.  There were literally over 100 sea otters in this area.  No good pics thought.   

After having no action out there I headed back to the other guys.  Jon and Joey were coming off a break on and were heading to another spot that happened to intersect where Troy, Sonny, and I were paddling.  We hit 93 feet and I dropped in a rootbeer rubber worm on a 4 ounce jighead.  Bounce, bounce, then my rod loaded up.  It didn't have the head shakes of a halibut so I thought I got a skate (Troy got on the day before).  So I was yelling out that it felt heavy, but it didn't feel halibut.  Boy was I wrong.  Up comes a halibut that weighed 50 pounds on the money after being bled.  I ended up stabbing it in the head with my safety knife (got a good shot it too) and Joey gaffed it before I applied the wood shampoo.  She kind of looks small in this deck shot.



Jon had a good morning catching a couple chickens within 1/2 hour of dropping in.  Here's our fish showing the size of the big one better.




The next day we got blown out and it was a wet day too.  We were getting a bit of cabin fever so at the first break in the storm, we all donned our drysuits and went for a hike.  Or rather we beat our way through the over grown Alaska bush.

Behind the cabin aways, there was a nice glade with some good reflection pools.  But I didn't get any good shots of the think forest.




At the head of the bay there was a huge anchor stuck at the high tide line.  There were also some very old tires and some logs cabled up.  One can only image what was here as some point in the past.



We did get a chance to fish a bit the next day.  I got a very small halibut that I kept for lunch.  Actually halibut sashimi was OH SO GOOD.  We ate quite a bit that way.

Then the boat came to pick us up and it was all over.  We did get one more morning of fishing for pinks in with us keeping full limits (6 fish each) as easily releasing many times that in just a couple hours of fishing.

More pics when I get them from the other guys.  Some are still up in AK for another week so they may dribble in.

-Allen

Well done!

Congrats on the fattie Hali man. Alaska Kayakfishing Adventures w/ you host PolePole!

Z

Strapping that butt on the front hatch shows why NOT to trim those straps...

What a trip!!!

Strapping that butt on the front hatch shows why NOT to trim those straps...

What a trip!!!

And let me tell you, paddling a P13 with 50 pounds on the bow sure makes it handle differently.   

-Allen

Maybe that's the secret to keep me dry in the Big Game.   

Time for some salt I think

I just want to add a few more pictures from the trip and I want to say what a pleasure it was meeting Allen and getting a chance to fish with him.  Most of us on the trip never even saw a halibut before, no less catch one and Allen showed us all what had to be done.

Thanks again Allen!!

Danny V

I just want to add a few more pictures from the trip and I want to say what a pleasure it was meeting Allen and getting a chance to fish with him.  Most of us on the trip never even saw a halibut before, no less catch one and Allen showed us all what had to be done.

Thanks again Allen!!

Danny V

It was definitely my pleasure meeting the rest of you.  It's really nice to hang out with a group of hard core fishermen.  And hearing all your stories of fishing the east coast has my drooling about taking a trip out there.  It's a fishery I know nothing about and I'm sure you'll return the favor and impart some local knowledge on me.

Dan was the resident funny man on the trip.  Man that guy can tell stories and jokes.  I'm finding myself chuckling even thinking about it.

-Allen

Wow, great story and great pix!!!  Wish I'd been there.
Have a grizzly headed for your yak gives a whole new meaning to water hazards!!

JonS and YakontheFly just headed back today after adding a week on the Kenai Penninsula to the Valdez trip.
That YakontheFly is one dedicated kayak fisherman. The day we went to the Little Susitna river, he didn't let a little thing like not having a boat keep him from trying to kayak fish. Now that's dedication!

Sorry about the gigantic picture. I can't figure out how to make it smaller, and the better pic I have, I can't get to upload. But you get the idea. 



[admin_edit] Fixed the width for you.  BTW, you can do this youself by simply adding a width to your img tag. For example..

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[img width=800]http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/gallery/0/302_02_08_08_11_23_30.JPG[/img]-Brian
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Haha...What are you doing? trying to cross the river to get to what you think is the perfect spot? You know you are hard core when...

Did your shrimp/prawn traps produce anything for you? What about crabbing?

ArmyJim,

   Great picture.....   Too bad the Coho weren't cooperating that day...

   I want to thank you and your wife for your hospitality and assistance on this trip.  You have loaded the karmic balance to your favor, and you will be reap the benefits of that karma in times to come.

   When are you going to Corpus again?  I need to arrange an outfitter/guide for you....


WaterWolf,
 
   The Shrimping and Crabbing were dead ends...  Not deep enough water for the shrimp pots close enough to the Port Chalmers Cabin to get any shrimp, and the openings in the shrimp pots were too small for crabs.

YotF