Terry and LaRell have sat in the snow goose blind beside me, telling stories for many years. It is always a pleasure to have them around.
The weather forecast was typical for November... wind, wind, and more wind. "Gale warnings. Northwest winds 35 knots building to 50 or higher. (50 knot winds is about 58 miles an hour)
I was wanting to get out on the ocean to try for some of the more exotic sea ducks but that might have to wait.
Our first day found us trying to get to a spot I has scouted and found some Harlequin Ducks. We crossed a channel and started bucking our way in some fairly choppy water. Spray drenched the front window of my charter boat and then started spilling a bit of green water over the sides into the back of the boat. Nothing too bad, stuff I have to go through much of the summer guiding clients to fish.
"This could get pretty ugly by this afternoon if the wind builds to what the forecast is calling," I commented to the boys as I concentrated on my twin throttles to keep the boat as dry as possible.
"I thought it IS bad now," LaRell shot back. I noticed he was hanging onto the crash bars fairly tightly.
"This is totally do-able," I informed them. I went on to explain how we go through water like this much of the summer.
"Let's go around the islands and take a look. I will pull the plug on the day the moment the wind starts building", I said.
We arrived at a rock that I have shot birds at in years past and unloaded the skiff and decoys.
"You guys go set up at that rock. I'm going to just drift around out here and keep an eye on the weather," I said as I spun the boat away from the departing skiff.
I had no more gotten out of sight when I hear some shooting. "Good," I thought, "I just need them to find a few birds."
It wasn't long before the wind start puffing like it was going to blow for real. I raced around the islands to the boys and informed them we had to move.
They had shot a few birds, but not a great hunt.
We raced back through the ugly water, which had now built to where the waves seemed to have teeth, very slow going. I did my best to distract attention from the pounding waves with stories.
"Right over there is where a boat went down in a storm..." I started telling the first of many boat sinking stories.
I think my stories worked as grips on the hang on bars increased. White knuckles glared in the storm darkness.
We beat our way to town and then headed out a different direction. We found the sea ducks!
A calm spot was black with resting Surf Scoters.
We set up and I anchored the big boat and joined the boys for a great sea duck shoot.
We shot enough that we maxed Terry and LaRell out on the Scoter species for their annual limits.
It took a couple of days for the weather to settle down enough to get back to the rock of our first morning hunt.
It did not take long to harvest some beautiful harlequin ducks and I shot a couple Surf Scoters as my limit allowed.
We picked up and headed back to town. Crossing Eastern Channel we came upon a huge pod of bubble feeding whales.
Birds were hovering over the whales by the thousands, telling the story of the bubble feeders.
We pulled over to watch the show. We could not tell how many humpback whales there were in this group but there were a bunch... to say the least.
The huge whales would surface for mighty breaths of air, dive deep and begin blowing bubbles into schools of herring. The bubbles confuse the herring and allow the family of whales to open their enormous mouths and come straight up through the little bait fish.
It was an amazing show. I see it several times a summer while guiding, but never with this many whales.
Our phone cameras were click and rolling video as much as we could. We just wished we had some better cameras with us.
Once again Alaska has blessed us with one of its many surprises. The rough water delay forced us to wait until we timed a magnificent whale show perfectly.
Why not turn a duck hunt into a whale show?
Bubble feeding Whales
LaRell and Terry hunting sea ducks
Surf Scoters and Harlequins
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