Feedback with Big Jack

Well lets see it is deer season and Jack Keslar of Team Keslar was set to arrive in Sascatchewan, Canada on November 20th 2010 for a trophy deer hunt in the great north land. I decided I was finished with the Airlines and the way they rip off the hunter, and I decided I would drive the 2400 miles to hunting camp this year just to see how it felt and how I could handle it. To also see what kind of hassles I would encounter on my journey. Low and behold It was a great trip!! I did not drive strait through, I stopped along the way and stayed at several pre determined spots. I had no one leaning on me in the seat next to me, I had no one running their mouth at me, I had no security up my butt. It was refreshing! I had all my tools if something went wrong, I had all my rescue equipment, I had a back up firearm, I had my truck packed with everthing I needed from my tooth brush to my spare tire. The total cost was $1395.00 as opposed to the $2000.00 to fly with all the rip offs and hassels that go with it. It took me exactly 4 minutes to get through customs entering into Canada, and exactly 5 minutes to get through customs back into the United States, enough about how easy that was, I got there with no hassels,and returned with the same result no “hassels”. I arrrived there, and had 7 days to get onto a big deer. I was in my glory to say the least. Northway Outfitters, Buddy Gram, all wonderful people. My guide Craig was there to meet me upon my arrival.They make you feel like family. On the way up north, I noticed that the temp was getting colder the further north I pushed. By the time I reached camp it was a balmy -20 and on the way down. Yeah that is right getting colder! I looked and thank goodness I had enough sense to throw my heavy wool hunting sweater into the truck before I left home just in case it got real cold, and it did. Buddy likes to torture me I think, his blinds are 4.5feet x 4.5 feet x 4.5 feet tall. Thats right, too short to stand up in, and not wide enough to lay back in. Just like solitary confinement in old prison days. I sat in solitary confinement for 5 days straight, with temps outside reaching -40c(for your info -40 celcius is the same as -40 farenheit) at that temp it does not matter. It is gosh darn cold, Ive been above the artic circle in the winter at -70c you get the same feeling you if you let any skin exposed you will get frost bite so fast you will think that Jesus forgot you were alive! After 51/2 days at temps that rival the ice pack up north, and being in solitary confinement, I was playing hide and seek with a sweet big old 4×4, I tried everything not to take that deer, but he kept temping me for an hour, and finally I could not take it any longer and I reached out with my 7mm at 40 yards and made him mine. He was a beauty, the largest 4×4 I have ever taken. Big thick chocolate horns.
Upon returning to camp my buddy Mikey A went to my stand were I was the day before and bang he anchored a beauty 6×6.
Needless to say there were more big bucks taken in that camp than any other camp I was ever part of. I want to thank Brenda, Buddy,Raymond, JR, and of course my man Craig.
Good Hunting. Oh yea I almost forgot good bye Airlines forever you have lost my buisness, and anyone that I can talk into riding with me!!!!!What a great trip with out you..
Jack

Date June 18th to July 2 2010:This year was at least my tenth year on the famed Nushagak River in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. I have been a licensed guide for years, until this past year. I gave up my fishing guide license for one simple reason, the King Salmon are disappearing. I have watched the decline of the salmon population in person for over the last ten years while Alaska Fish & Game come up the river and make sure that the sport fisherman do not catch and keep any fish at all, while the subsistance and commercial netters keep their nets in the water at the mouth of the river. The most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in the history of man. First the subsistance and commercial nets kill fish by the 100s of thousands, and the sport fisherman kill the fish by the 10s and 20s per camp per day. We actualy counted how many camps were on the river and a average number of people in each camp, and then mutiplied that everyone fill out their 4 fish limit and the total did not add up to 12,000 fish all year long. Alaska has a big problem, and all they get done doing is talking it to death. Tick Toc goes the clock for the future of the largest King salmon run in the world. Lets talk about it for 3, 4, 5 more years as the fish disappear. We will still contact Fish & Game and try to resolve this problem before its to late. We will keep fishing for the love of the fish. I just hope our wishes are heard.

Team Keslar member Bruce Matthews drew the coveted Kodiak Brown Bear tag on Kodiak Island AK.
Needless to say Bruce was very excited about his good fortune. I was very excited about his good fortune especially when I did not draw a tag for the 5th year in a row. This meant I could be his assistant guide on the big bear mission. We were set up with Jim Hodge of Hodges Outfitting of Anckorage AK. A long time freind of mine, and my Alaskan guide for over 13 years, on more than 20 Alaskan adventures. So you can safely say we know each other pretty well. It was a 10 day hunt we had to get ready for, and it did not take us long to get ready for that mission. I can get ready for a 15 day mission in about 2 hours, but I am a professional guide and hunter any way, so for me getting ready is easy. May 3rd we arrived in Kodiak to meet up with Jim, and off to camp we went. We had great weather for being on Kodiak at this time of year. So we met up with Steve Harvey of Harvey Flying service, and headed to camp.
Bruce was excited when Steve fired up the old widgeon for our flight to camp. I dont care how many times you go to Kodiak Island its beauty will take your breath away every time you step foot upon her.
Before you knew it we were sitting on the beach in front of our camp with supplies enough for 20 days, and we had a camp cache of supplies for another 10 days so we were set. Why so much?? Well on Kodiak Island the weather can turn ugly and stay ugly for long periods of time. I remember one trip we were ther for 20 days waiting for a plane, so you need to be prepared for the worst mother nature can throw at you. 100 mph winds are not uncommon here at camp ooozinkie, and fog so thick it takes a week for the sun to burn through.
When people ask me about Alaskan weather I tell them as always it is the only place on earth you can get sun burn on your face while you get hypothermia on your back, and this trip would prove my observation on more than one occasion. Good weather bad weather it does not matter to the giant bears they roll no matter what.
We were very lucky we had some great weather the best I have seen in a long time.
We were seeing lots of bears. We were after the 10 foot plus monster. Bruce said it was 10 foot or nothing. See, Bruce has taken 9foot bears already so he did not want anything less which I agreed with him 100%.
We are extreme trophy hunters, we have been hunting so long now we have taken so much game that the monster males are what we are after. In other words we do not kill just to fill our tags.
After several oppertunities at close range for smaller bears, time was running out on our 2010 adventure.
Then on the last day, KAABOOOOM he appeared. A 10 foot plus giant. We had only one problem he was on top of the mountain next to us, and way out of our range. It was disappointing, but not really. I had seen a bear that ranks up there with the largest I have ever seen. Spring was alittle late, the bears were slow moving.
It did not matter to us we had a great trip of a lifetime, Bruce got to see Kodiak Archepelico for the first time, everything could not have been better. As I always say, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you…

Team Keslar was off to the great state of Wyoming to see our good freinds the Mankins.
Bill & Cindy were very hospitable while we stayed at the old bunkhouse on the ranch.
The place takes me back way before my time. I have known Bill Mankin for 20 years now,
and he has become a good friend. He lets us on his ranch to take mature muledeer & antelope.
Myself, Bruce Matthews, and of course the Mangler(Dennis Marcelli) enjoyed the bountiful amounts of game on the ranch. We had a very successful hunt, we all took big muledeer, and antelope. If you got a copy of the news letter you can see some of the animals we took.
We saw the new lakes that bill had the gas drillers put in for him while they drilled for gas on the ranch, I gave him some knowledge on how to manage the fish that he has put in the lakes. His lakes are many acres, and he has put alot of rainbow trout in them. I told him to get some minnows by the pound, and stock them every year for the next 5 years as to get the fish grown to good eating size, and to level off the population. His lakes are deep and cold just perfect for trout. The ph is fine since the lakes are in the middle of the big limestone beds, and the lakes are cold water spring fed. I think It will be soon time, to go to the lakes and fish. Wow, will that be great to hook a few of those babies. They will be good eating. Remember one thing fish are what they eat. As all animals, keep that in mind when sitting down to eat wild game or fish.
That you again Bill.
jack

Hello out there hope everyone is doing well. Here is my 2009 report on fishing the famed Nushagak
River in the Bristol Bay area of the great state of Alaska. The fishing was great for the first two weeks of the season, but the second two weeks of the season was a different story. The same old story year after year. We start catching a few good fish then bam!! the commercial fisherman take over and decimate the King Salmon run. It seems that they need to take the salmon by the million while we try to take them by the foursomes. In my opinion Alaska Fish & Game needs to set some rules. They need to get 100,000 breedable King Salmon in the river to ensure there continued existance. We did the numbers, if you add up all the fish taken by anglers in all the camps on the river we come up with 10,000 fish total maybe. That is a great year. The state seems to think people are going to pay $3,000.00 to $6000.00 a week to come up there to catch fish that are net burned and deformed, all the while they are killing them by the million out in the bay, and lets not even mention what pressure they are getting out in the open ocean. The Chinese, Russians, Japanese, and native corps giant trollers that literaly sweep the ocean of fish. Someone is dreaming, I have been on the river since 1996 and have watched its decline ever since.
Someone needs to do something before it is too late. My advice is go while there are fish there, because it is not going to last. My time on the Nushagak river is coming to a sad end soon.
serious regards
jack Keslar