HARD CORE "WILD" FOWLING

Valdez, Alaska "Whistler" Goldeneye hunt

Headed out of Valdez harbor at 8:00 South-central Alaska time.  90 horsepower motor moves 22 ft. duck boat at rapid clip of 30 knots.  Decoy bags are shown along with side curtains.  Prince William Sounds water stays unfrozen thru the winter.  Balmy temperature is 29 degrees.  Running 10 miles to the gunning area gets a little cool with a open boat when the wind chill is considered.  Valdez Alaska oil pipeline terminal on the right.

Series of small bays and lagoons are around the point on right.  Some hunting will take place here and at other locations.  There are any number of sea otters, river otters, sea lions and seals that make sure you pick up your birds as they will get a free meal and you lose you bird if you don't.

Geese on the wing.  Very calm water when the boat is off of Prince William Sound back in a small bay surrounded by high mountains.  There were chances at Geese and another boat got seven the day before.  Many of the birds in this local don't see many hunters are are not nearly as spooked as birds further south.

Setting out the decoy rig.  Decoy stools are Magnum sized Goldeneyes.  Guide Bill does a good job setting the blocks out as I wait inshore hoping for some fast action.

Decoy stools at entrance to small bay.  Gunning was done from shore and from the boat at times.  Nice day, very beautiful country that equals any scenery in North America.

View of decoys from the small bay side.  Gang line decoys work best as at times there are currents and/or deep water.

Dragging decoys under power to new location after some shooting.  Goldeneyes are attracted to these moving decoys at times.

Running out of Glacier river as it empties the Glacier lake after high tide.  With the worlds second highest tide we ran into the lake up this river without power such is the strength of the tide.  Where gravel bank meets the snow is the high tide line.  Whistlers pass up and down the river between the freshwater lake above and the saltwater lagoon below.  This is a class 1 whitewater current.

Here you can see the outflow of the Glacier river and the decoys in a slack water eddy.  The Whistlers fly up the river spot the decoys and swing sharply to the hunters right (me in top left of photo)  to a larger set of decoys directly in front of me on the lake.  This made for quick rapid shooting as the birds swing to the right equal to any clay bird shooting and more exciting than many duck shoots.

One man, 8 bird limit of Goldeneyes.  More sea ducks can be included in the limit, up to 10 sea ducks above the Goldeneye  limit which are considered in  the regular bag of diver and puddle ducks.  There were many Hen Goldeneyes but I decided to target only Drakes.

Back at Valdez harbor around 6:00 Alaska time (dusk)

Contact us for guide information at akimage@gci.net

The Duck Blind

Freight canoe with lumber to refurbish the blind.  Other lumber has been transported six miles down a slough then portaged over to this lake.  Small mud motor gets the canoe thru the shallows.

Blind in the distance.  Mountains are reminiscent of the Grand Tetons, but before Yuppies, expensive homes and Hummers invaded the country.

Blind from a different angle with expansive marsh in background.  Waterfowl funnel thru this area from far west Alaska.

Close up of blind.  Mountain pass directly to the right of blind is a major flyway out of Alaska.

Decoy rig at Sunrise.  This lake is located on an intersection of two flyways out of Alaska.  Birds come from the North-east and West.

Sights and sounds of the edge of the Northern Wilderness.

Swans on the lake.

The Hard core boys break ice.

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