Steve's Alaskan Bear Adventure I

West chronicles epic Alaskan bear hunt via journal, photos

August 28, 2013 By Steve West

This is Part I of a five-part series of Steve's Alaskan Bear Adventure

Steve West of “Steve’s Outdoor Adventures” took his show on the road for bear hunts in the Alaskan wilderness. Through April into early May, West and his team awaited the warm-up that would bring bears out of their dens.

West, a professional hunting consultant who books clients for trips, teamed with DeLorme inReach to update followers of the bear hunts, which will be featured on his Outdoor Channel show starting in October.

Following is West’s daily account and photographs of this Alaskan Bear Adventure.

April 8, 2013
This day started off right with a little office work, packed the truck and took my wife to lunch before I hit the road for the airport located two hours away. Unfortunately, I hit some construction and missed my flight! Fortunately I have a great travel agent who got me on the next flight out, and I was on my way to Seattle to catch the plane to Anchorage, Alaska!

April 9, 2013
Completely exhausted, I made it to the Millennium Hotel at 3 a.m. and checked into my room. The Millennium is the best, located close to the airport, loaded with Alaskan big game taxidermy, and the people are always friendly!

I hit the bed and was snoring in minutes, but my 7 a.m. wake-up call came and I was off to breakfast with cameramen, guides, and pilots! This was going to be a busy day … first off to see Bob at Barney’s Sport Chalet to pick up a Brooks Range Jacket, a Bomb Shelter tent, and some other gear we needed while celebrating his 50th year in business. This is a must-stop for everyone coming to Alaska!

Next we ran to the Anchorage Satellite Phone store to pick up my Iridium Phone to compliment my DeLorme inReach units for complete communications from the back country.

Scott Carr (SOA client) arrives and joins our group! He is to be featured this week on film.

We were going to try and fly to the cabin and base of operations, but the low clouds and snow prevented that flight, so we decided to drive up to Flat Top and get a view of the valley and Anchorage you can only see from up there!

Back to the Millennium, double-checked my gear, a team dinner and finally a full night’s sleep!

April 10, 2013
Sleep in! 8 a.m. with 10 hours of sleep, I am ready for the day … now hurry up and wait. And wait, and wait … finally at 2:30 p.m. we get the call and load up the plane. Regal Air is flying Dan Lee, my cameraman, guide Jeremy Ruesink and me with a “load” of camera gear into camp in a 206 on wheel skis, and second cameraman Ian Majszak and Scott Carr each jump into a super cub … all three planes are off the ground by 3:30 p.m. and on their way to base camp.

When most anglers think of a crankbait, they picture a hard lure with a plastic lip at the front that enables the bait to dive to a certain depth in the water. But some crankbaits don't need a lip to get down into the water column and draw strikes from bass. These lipless crankbaits offer key advantages in some situations, making them more versatile than their conventional counterparts.

Fishing

Sling a Blade

Fishing

Sling a Blade

When bass move offshore after the spawn and as the water temperature rises, they go deep or suspend along humps or other bottom contours. They often target schools of baitfish such as shad. In this situation, one lure that excels at both matching the forage and reaching the bass is the blade bait.

Fishing

The No-Fail Neko Rig

Fishing

The No-Fail Neko Rig

They may not imitate any type of forage closely, but stick-style worm baits are proven bass catchers. There is just something about their profile and wiggly, lifelike action in the water that the fish can't resist. Several rigging techniques have been developed to play up this action, and the Neko rig is one that's especially effective at finessing bass from both shallow and deep water.

Gear

Protein Powered Ultimate Season Preparation

Gear

Protein Powered Ultimate Season Preparation

For Game and Fish Magazine editor John Taranto, there really is no off-season when it comes to chasing big whitetails. In the big buck rich Midwest, that can mean plenty of sweat equity spent moving deer stands, clearing shooting lanes, hanging trail cams, improving deer habitat and more. As the heat of the day builds, Taranto is definitely making sure he's got a good pair of work gloves and brush pants, stays hydrated with plenty of water, and has plenty of protein to fuel an energetic and focused day getting ready for fall hunting season. That means putting the convenience of Old Trapper Beef Jerky into his pack, anything from the tried and true Old Fashioned blend to Teriyaki, Peppered and even Hot & Spicy flavors for a sizzling day in the Sunflower State woods.