The double-white throat patches combined with the black “toupee” and orange antlers of the Alaska Sitka blacktail deer make him a striking animal, and the geographically- associated Harlequin duck is no less a striking animal. The fact that you can hunt both on the same venture made doing so a fervent goal. I put out a few feelers, and my efforts led me to Luke Bastian, owner and outfitter of Archipelago Adventures based in Sitka, Alaska.
Luke met our group comprised of friends John Carter, Jeff Evans, and me at the airport, and that night, we stayed aboard the 60-foot long, 12-person, 3-bath pleasure craft, The Huntress, that could cruise along at 8-8 1/2 kph. The Huntress was built for open water but was not suited to patrolling the confines of the smaller coves we were to hunt. Therefore, she towed along behind two smaller excursion vessels.
The following morning, we were joined by guide Ben Johnson and cook Joe Zimmerman, and together, we left Sitka and headed south toward Sitka Sound. Just before dark and after coming through the six-foot swells of Sitka Sound, we dropped anchor in some 60 feet of water.
On the first morning’s hunt, Jeff and I were taken to a massive granite boulder situated in a narrow strait between two larger openings of water, while Joe and John were set on a rock prominence about a mile away. Luke set out a string of decoys, and the action started shortly thereafter with Joe and John making the first five or six shots. By 9:30 or 10:00, they had a limit of Barrow’s Goldeneyes and a Surf Scoter while Jeff and I had two Red-breasted Mergansers and a limit of Barrow’s Goldeneye as well. Afterward, we breasted out the ducks, saving their carcasses for bait in later crabbing and shrimp pot ventures.
The following morning, Jeff and I went with Ben who piloted us back toward Sitka Sound with its four to six-foot waves. Upon entering the Sound, we veered between rocky prominences toward calmer waters. There, we glassed a blackish, half-mile long shoreline. No deer were seen, but closer to the shoreline, we saw several Harlequin ducks. Of the five Harlequins, we collected two males and a female. Motoring along the shoreline of the bay, Ben suddenly picked up his field glasses and directed our attention to a moderately sloping stretch of shore that had a few scattered logs that had washed ashore. Between two of the logs was the first Sitka blacktail deer I had ever seen. Further glassing revealed the deer to be a yearling buck. I snapped a couple of photos and Ben blew his deer caller, but no other deer appeared.
We continued our foray back toward The Huntress, but shortly thereafter, I noticed three Harlequin ducks near the shore behind some protruding limbs of several fallen trees. Ben stopped the boat, and as the ducks took flight, I managed to collect one of the two drakes. Back at the boat, we found John had connected on the first Sitka blacktail deer. He and Luke had ventured inland and had called in the buck.
The third morning’s hunt would be a most eventful and memorable day for me. Once again, I was with Ben, but this time, John was the second hunter in the boat and I was the designated rifle shooter. Due to the forecast, which had not one but two storms brewing that were to culminate by week’s end with 20 to 25-foot waves, Luke decided we would hunt the morning. That afternoon, we would pull the anchor and head back across Sitka Sound toward Sitka where we would find a quiet cove for the night. Ben piloted his boat back toward Sitka Sound and upon entering the Sound, the prior day’s four to six-foot waves seemed now like chop. The six to eight-foot waves resulted in Ben’s boat occasionally slamming down between the waves. Ben maneuvered the boat between the large rocks, and with the salt spray hitting our faces, we passed towards the calmer waters beyond the rocks.
Inside the cove, Ben glassed the shoreline. The only sign of game was two 3-5 bird groups of Barrow’s Goldeneye. Turning his boat toward the cove entrance, Ben saw a buck and a doe on the south shore. The buck was on one side of a large boulder, which was both onshore as well as jutting into the cove, while the doe was on the opposite side of the same boulder. Both deer were feeding on seaweed that had washed ashore. Ben steered the boat toward a large, craggy rock some 75-80 yards from the buck. I carefully climbed out of the boat and onto the rock. All the while, surf spray was hitting me and the ocean itself came up to mid-thigh. Ben and John backed off into the cove some 30-35 yards from me and perhaps 120 yards from the shoreline. By the time I was situated for a shot, the buck had walked behind the boulder and stayed there for a full 10 minutes. Finally, he stepped out, and with ocean spray hitting my face, my gun, and my scope, I managed to settle the crosshairs and squeeze the trigger. My buck went down. Ben motored his boat back to the rock where I was, and carefully, I climbed aboard and we headed for shore. With the winds building, we loaded my deer and Ben began navigating into the rougher waters of the Sound. I turned my attention to my deer and noted the pungent smell of his blackened hock glands, his very long, thick hair, and his orange antlers stained such as a result of having rubbed his antlers on the abundant tag alders.
Back at The Huntress, we checked the marine weather forecast and learned that 13-foot swells were predicted. Thus, we began our follow-through on the earlier decision to move The Huntress to calmer waters and closer to Sitka.
The following morning’s hunt efforts were directed at ducks, primarily Surf Scoters. Before dark, we put out crab traps and several shrimp pots, all baited with the breasted-out duck carcasses. The marine forecast included the same two storms in the brew as announced the day before, but with the second storm even more intense and both starting to have major impact on Friday. The decision was made to move The Huntress even closer to Sitka. We pulled the crab traps and shrimp pots and found sufficient Dungeness crabs, Rock shrimp, coontail, and Pink shrimp to feed us all.
The fourth morning’s hunt found us cruising the shoreline for Harlequin and Surf Scoters. We found no Harlequins but did find Surf Scoters, and by day’s end, we had collected several of them. The evening weather report indicated winds the following day of 30 kph, increasing to 50 kph with waves of 24-25 feet. The decision was made to return to harbor the following morning.
What a trip! Outstanding scenery, the clearest of water, seaweed- eating deer, fast-flying sea ducks together with a talented outfitter, guide, and cook and good friends to hunt with, does it really get any better on this earth? I think not!
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