[Review 1999] [Review 2000] [Review 2001] [Review 2002] [Review 2003] [Review 2004] [Review 2005] [Review 2006] [Review 2007] [Review 2008] [Review 2009] [Review 2010] [Review 2011] [Review 2012] [Review 2013] [Review 2014] [Review 2015] [HOME] 2000 Season Review 2000 was a special season for AlpenView as it was the first year of operations for the new lodge and corporation. The lodge building was dried up in 1999 but the finish of construction still needed to be done. On March 1st 2000 co-owners Shawn Finn and Dave Jones, along with guide Tommy Scherl and friends David Horn and Jerry Christiansen, ventured to Ugak Bay aboard AlpenView's FINLANDER and David Horn's ALICIA ANN. Both vessels were heavily laden with materials and equipment for the completion of the new lodge.  Tommy works on the outside and Ole works on the inside. Over the next three months, Dave Jones and Tommy Scherl lived at the site while working. On several occasions during this period, Dave and Tommy were joined by the helpers mentioned above and friends Craig "Ole" Olsen, Tom Finn and Rick Martin. Special thanks to all who helped.  Molly Jones Shows the Finished Product June/July The 2000 season at the lodge opened with hosts captain/guide Dave Jones, guide Shawn Finn, head cook Mickey Jones, pearl diver Tom Finn, helpers Kathryn and Molly Jones. The king/sockeye season at the camp was hosted by Guide Tommy Scherl and cook Veronica Sims.  AlpenView's first ever guests and crew. Top row - guide Shawn Finn, guests Sam Johnson, Archie Degnan, Tom Safford and Bill Wacek. Bottom row - helper Kathryn Jones, captian/guide Dave Jones and guest Charlie Safford. Second photo - our opening day catch of halibut.   Bill, Bret, Henning, Shawn and Dave  The grand opening at the lodge was on June 10th. The first clients to visit AlpenView were Archie Degnan, Bill Wacek, Tom and Charlie Safford. All four had fished with Dave Jones in past operations. A new client, Sam Johnson, was also a guest for the grand opening. Starting the season on June 10th at the camp were Bill Cyr, Henning Melvig and Bret Mattinson.   Out Camp, June 2000  The two groups switched places on Wednesday, June 14th so all spent time at the lodge and the camp. The groups combined to land 16 halibut, 60 sea bass, 123 king salmon, 93 red salmon, 4 rainbow, 2 steelhead and 1 dolly varden. Not a bad start! Brown bear, bald eagle and many other animals were sighted but the most remarkable animal action was the grey whale watching. Many days in Ugak Bay provided over 50 grey whale sightings, several up close and personal.  Archie and Tom With Out Camp Kings In week two, June 17th to 24th, Nat Sylvester, Nat's father, Kerry and Nat Beebe fished at the camp. All four of these clients were on their first trip with our organization. Fishing continued to be strong with the group landing 200 king salmon, 131 sockeye salmon and 1 dolly varden.   Ed Bews and Friends  The week of June 24th to July 1st the Ed Bews, party of eight, split the week with stays at the camp and the lodge. Ed, along with Bob Price, Frank Varriale and Steve Rambo were on their second trip with our organization. Other members of the party were visiting us for the first time. One neat thing that happened during this week was a great killer whale show. We were in the banya when someone yelled orca! We stepped out to the beach and watched a pod of four orcas trap and kill a seal within 100 yards of the beach. The top of the food chain, very exciting! The group landed 376 king salmon, 46 sockeye salmon, 224 sea bass, 8 halibut, 9 dolly varden and 1 lingcod. We are looking forward to seeing Ed and the gang during the two weeks they have booked for 2001.  Orcas hunt the beach in front of the lodge and Sea Lion Rock in Ugak Bay.   John and Tom with a lingcod.  The week of July 1st to 8th found first time visitors Barnie Barnard and son Barnie Jr. at the lodge for the week. Starting the week at the camp and finishing at the lodge were third time visitors John Kim and son John and first time visitors Tom Gelb and friend. Finishing the week at the camp were first time visitors the Harry Dodson group.   The Dodson Party  All together in the week there were 147 king salmon, 282 sockeye salmon, 32 sea bass, 30 halibut, 1 dolly varden and 1 lingcod. We are looking forward to seeing the Kim party and the Dodson party during the trips they have booked for 2001.  The Barnies with a king salmon and a halibut taken in Ugak Bay. The week of July 8th to 15th found Chris Gill in camp with his son Richard, friends Roger and Peyton Wallace. Chris is a veteran of many trips with our organization. He returned in late September of 2000 for a second trip and is booked in 2001 as well. The party fished the fly to land 45 king salmon, 131 sockeye salmon, 4 rainbow and 104 dolly varden. The king/sockeye season at the camp ended on July 15th and guide Tommy returned to his other job guiding saltwater fishing out of San Diego. The lodge entertained family and friends between July 15thand August 5th. The Finn family, Jones Family and friends enjoyed some great saltwater fishing for halibut, sea bass, king salmon, silver salmon and lingcod. Freshwater fly fishing during this time was best for big dolly varden, pink and chum salmon so the group enjoyed this as well. The most notable Fish landed was a 60 pound king salmon caught by Jim Jones, Dave's dad. August/September at the Lodge Hosts at the lodge during this period were captain/guide Dave Jones and cook Veronica Sims with help at times from guide Shawn Finn and friend Mike Ellis.  Tom and Del with some of their Ugak Bay silver salmon and a fly-out dolly varden.   Guide Dave with a fly-out rainbow.  During the week of August 5th to 12th, Tom Libert returned for his third trip with our organization. Tom was joined by his friend Del. Tom and Del did a lot of saltwater fishing and freshwater fly fishing including two fly-outs to target trout and see bears. One of the high points was 100+ pound halibut landed by Tom on salmon tackle, that was one tough fight. The two landed 2 king salmon, 14 sockeye salmon, 13 silver salmon, 11 pink salmon, 3 chum salmon, 96 sea bass, 30 halibut, 110 dolly varden, 18 rainbow and 1 lingcod. This is quite a variety including a grand slam with all five species of pacific salmon. Mr. & Mrs. Herb Newman were first time visitors at the lodge during the first half of the August 12thto 19th week. Paul Ewing and Bill Hackney replaced the Newmans during the second half of the week. Paul and Bill are veterans of many trips with our organization. We fished the freshwater streams of Ugak Bay and the saltwater during the week. The groups combined for 27 silver salmon, 19 pink salmon, 3 chum salmon, 81 sea bass, 4 halibut, and 3 lingcod. While watching sea bass and silver salmon strike jigs at the stern of the boat, Paul was surprised by a 30 pound halibut. We watched the fish chase away three silvers and grab the jig. It was fun. During the final three weeks of the lodge season for 2000, things got interesting. There had been no rain for the month of August and the weather continued to be fair. The silver salmon did not enter the streams because of the low water. Instead the silvers stayed out in the salt and on the feed. They grew quite large and bit aggressively.  On the 19th of August, first time visitors Bouger Aldridge and his friend Roy arrived for a weeks stay. They were joined, for the first half of the week, by the Gable party who had visited our out camp two years earlier. The Gable party did a lot of activities on their own including some un-guided freshwater fishing for pink and chum salmon. They also spent time kayaking and hiking. Bouger and Ray fished the salt for the week.   Dave, Roy and Roy's Halibut The freshwater fishery was successful for a lot of pink salmon and possibly some chums, we don't have the numbers for un-guided fishing. The saltwater fishery landed 76 silver salmon, 1 pink salmon, 83 sea bass, 1 halibut, and 1 lingcod.  Harold With His Halibut  Second time Austrian visitor Harold Gogl arrived at the lodge on August 26th with his friend Hans Schenner for an eleven night stay. Alice and Ray Hallberg also arrived on the 26th for their third trip with our organization. The theme for the week was saltwater silvers on the fly. Alice was the jig master/fish finder. As soon as she located the fish, the others would cast their flys. Quite often we would watch the fly sinking and see the fish take it. The fights were very exciting and required the anglers to be quick on their feet as the fish ran in all sorts of directions. This group also enjoyed a fly- out for big dolly varden and lots of them. All in all, they landed 78 silver salmon, 1 king salmon, 22 pink salmon, 29 chum salmon, 3 sockeye salmon, 16 sea bass, 6 halibut (4 on the fly), and 86 dolly varden. Here again, the combination of saltwater and freshwater fishing resulted in catching all five species of pacific salmon.  The week of September 2nd to 9th was the final in the lodge for the 2000 season. Harold and Hans held over for the first half. They were joined by third time visitors Bob and Mac Hollopeter. The silver salmon saltwater fly fishing continued to be of great interest. The group also fished freshwater streams in Ugak Bay and made a fly-out for dolly varden.  Dave, Harold & Hans One of the high spots during the week was when Bob and Mac combined their efforts to land a 120 pound halibut. Captain Dave had to make three attempts at gaffing the fish so the fight went on for quite some time. All in all, they landed 114 silver salmon, 2 king salmon, 9 halibut (some on the fly), 93 dolly varden and some pink and chum salmon that we didn't keep track of. Shawn Finn and Mike Ellis arrived on September 6th to help Dave and Veronica make the operational switch from the lodge to the camp. September/October at the Camp. Hosts at the camp during this time were cook Veronica Sims and guide Dave Jones with help at times from pilots Willie and Dan, Shawn Finn and Ole Olsen.  In the week of September 9th to 16th, veteran visitors Pat Steed and Terry Thompson were joined by first time visitors Dick Nielson and Pat's uncle Bob. The dolly varden fishery was on fire and the silver salmon fishery picked up nicely as the week progressed. A popular activity in the fall season at the camp is the weekly One Fly Competition. Each angler is allowed to choose one fly with which to compete in a 90 minute race to land the most fish. Lose your fly and you're done. Pat Steed got off to a commanding early lead but lost his fly. Despite Pat's best efforts to run interference, Dick Nielson eventually surpassed Pat for the win. During the week the group landed 3 sockeye salmon, 3 pink salmon, 149 silver salmon, 2 steelhead and 552 dolly varden.   Top - Pat, Dick & Bob Bottom - Dave & Terry Walter Maslowski, a long time friend and client, arrived for the week of September 16th to 23rd and beyond. Walter was joined by second time visitor Joe Toth and first time visitors Jim Jackobsen and Pinky Gray. The river was low so the fishery was a bit slow. During the week the group landed 1 sockeye salmon, 67 silver salmon, 4 steelhead, 1 rainbow and 223 dolly varden. Jim Jackobsen was the winner of the one fly, edging out Walter who lost his fly landing a fish. The weather in Kodiak was not flyable over the weekend so the group got stuck in camp until Tuesday the 26th. The group were all seasoned Alaska visitors so they took the delay in stride, a little fishing and a little poker playing saw them through. We are looking forward to seeing Walter, Joe, Pinky and Jim in the week they have booked for 2001.   Alfred, Michael, Christian and Norbert After waiting for the weather in Kodiak to improve, second time visitors Michael and Christian Baldinger arrived on Tuesday the 26th. Michael and Christian were joined by friends Alfred Kolhammer and Norbert Perchtold who were visiting for the first time. The group made good use of their short stay by landing 6 sockeye salmon, 68 silver salmon, 29 steelhead, and 176 dolly varden. Norbert was the winner of the one fly competition.  Long time friends and clients Fritz Jorg and Chris Gill arrived with second time visitor Tony Paulion on September 30th. During the week the group fished the Ayakulik and made two fly-outs to another favorite river with pilot Dan. This group fished the long, two handed rods for most of the week. Fritz edged out Tony to win the one fly by waking a modified parachute fly with his 12 foot 7 weight rod. During the week the group landed 46 silver salmon, 39 steelhead, 16 rainbow and 127 dolly varden. We are looking forward to seeing Fritz, Chris and Tony in the week they have booked for 2001.  Ray, Kevin & Brad With Steelhead The final week of the 2000 season was October 7th to 14th. In camp were first time visitors Brad Marcella, Don Andrews, Ray Estes and Kevin Becker. During the week the group fished the Ayakulik and made one fly-out to another favorite river with pilot Dan. One of the high points was when Brad had a section of river named after him. We often refer to sections of river by names given to them over the years. Brad caught the seasons largest steelhead, a 35&3/4 inch buck, in a section of river that will hereafter be referred to as Brad's Beat. The group landed 7 sockeye salmon, 81 silver salmon, 57 steelhead, 10 rainbow and 309 dolly varden during the week. In the one fly competition, Veronica Sims edged out all the visitors for her first ever win. We are looking forward to seeing Don, Brad and Ray in the week they have booked for 2001.  Whitie the bear watches from across the river as the camp is broken down at the seasons end. Special thanks to all of you who visited us during the 2000 season. We sure appreciate your business and enjoyed your company. If you have some pictures or comments you would like me to add to this review, please let me know.