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...

Go to
http://davelacourse.shutterfly.com/action/

Click on "view pictures" and then use the slide show feature.

The last 8 pictures where taken on the Big River upstream about a 1/4
- 1/2 mile from Cooks Inlet. The bear saw the pilot (in pix) and me
catching lots of silvers and decided to swim over and see what was
happening. I was a little concerned when he started to waddle towards
us, but the pilot was not. We simply backed off yelling "Hey, bear"
and waving our arms.

The many silvers we took that day were from from the sea and had green
backs. There was not a fish caught that didn't take us into our
backings. Most were in the 12 - 14 pound range, and a couple of hogs
went better than 16.

Dave

Sorry for reading the threads "backwards". But I have been absent a few
days. I just read your posts in the Pepper Spray thread. Dave, I have no
doubt that you had a great fishing experience and saw a few nice bears.
(BTW....15 ft.??? that equates to approx. 2 seconds of reaction time for
you. If that's true I would find another guide next time. I've had hunting
friends tell me that a "dead" bear can move further than that before
dropping.) But from your own description of the trip you might as well have
been on a Princess Cruise Lines side adventure.

The fly outs I've had, (and it seems others here as well), are a bit more
primitive than you describe. Usually the pilot of the floatplane would put
us down in a decent area and take off for 6-8 hours. On some trips we
wouldn't see him again until the next day.

This is a very interesting discussion but in Alaska? I will always carry my
shotgun. And pepper spray? I believe the bears consider it seasoning
although Gary Kings and Mt. View Sports sells enough of it.

Honestly, in my group of fishing friends it seemed to break down to
politics. Those who didn't even want to consider the possibility of killing
wildlife found some other method of making themselves "feel" safe. The rest
of us carried a gun. A big gun. And a bell and a police whistle. (The
whistle fits in your pocket and even works on bull moose, which I am far
more afraid of than the bears.)


--
Ric Hamel
A misplaced Alaskan lost in ConUS