Carl’s Alaskan Bear Gallery
I was excited for our friends Carl and Lisa Vicars to experience Alaskan fishing, but perhaps more than any other place we fish, in Alaska the wildlife and scenery matches the thrill of the catch. Fortunately, Carl is not only a great traveling partner, but also an exceptionally creative chronicler of our experiences. We’ve seen his video work from Panama and Alaska but on this most recent trip to Homer, Seward and Bristol Bay he consistently wowed us with his DSLR skills.
Because Hanna and I had previously been to Brooks Falls (twice for me), we stayed back and fished while our other four companions took the flight over there. Of course Carl got some great shots at the falls.
They certainly saw plenty of bears at Brooks, but we also saw at least a few every day on our fishing excursions, both on the Naknek and when we ventured further afield. On our last flyout, I’m sure we saw at least 30, and to his credit Carl put down the rod and picked up the long lens.
What particularly stood out to me on this trip is that we saw more cubs than on my past two visits. Particularly on that last day, we saw several sows with two or three young ones apiece. That made me a little bit nervous at first, since I’ve always been told that’s when they’re most likely to have their guard up and get protective, but it turned out that by keeping a respectful distance we got in some fishing and some bear viewing, and now it’s not just memories – they’re saved forever.
Carl took a remarkable 1,800 shots that last day. This blog includes are 10 of the best culled from his various bear encounters throughout our stay.
If you’d like to take your own bear pictures in Alaska (it doesn’t have to be 1,800 a day — could be more, could be less — shoot us an email and we’d love to help you set up your bucket list trip. We can’t guarantee that you’ll see some, but we’d be really surprised if you didn’t.
