By Ace Luciano
I have been an ad outdoorsman for my entire life.
For the past 30+ years, my passion for the outdoors has taken me all over the world – from Arizona to Africa, from Illinois to Australia, from Montana to Mexico to Canada and Europe…
I’m a pretty lucky guy.
It is rare when I travel that it is not around something outdoors related.
One of my favorite places, though, has always been ALASKA!
The last frontier. The northernmost point of the United States. Some would say, even “the end of civilization.”
All are correct.
The vast majority of Alaska is as wild as it was 100 and even 1000 years ago…
For the avid outdoorsman or woman, it is pure heaven.
I have most recently returned from a trip to Glacier Bay Eagle’s Nest Lodge in Gustavo, Alaska.
All I can say is… WOW!
This well-appointed beacon of civilization in the Alaskan wilderness provided my companions, and I with quite luxurious shelter, sustenance, and adventure for five days.
Being the adventurer that I am, I have actually shot fish before, but it was always with a bow and arrow.
In Alaska, shooting fish is taken to another level.
The waters around Gustavus, Alaska literally teem with halibut – and some of them are quite big. We’re talking fish bigger than people.
100, 200, even in excess of 300 pounds of delicious and flaky white meat will give you the fight of a lifetime on one of Eagles’s Nest’s many chartered boats.
We were all sitting around aimlessly chatting about the views that we were seeing every trip out- humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises and some of the most spectacular mountain scenery you can imagine when one of the rods on the boat bent, practically in half.
“Fish on! Grab that rod!.”
A quick couple of reels and we knew that we had a big one tied on the other end.
The battle lasted almost 20 minutes, and when it came close to the boat, the captain bemoaned the fact that he had left his pistol on the other boat.
“I have a pistol.“ I stated…
“Get it ready!”
With that, I pulled my 10 mm Springfield Armory XDM Elite from its holster at my side and moved to that side of the boat.
When I chose this gun to bring to Alaska, it was mainly for protection from the large bears that were known to roam around and even into town in Gustavus.
I certainly didn’t think I would be shooting fish with it!
As the fish came to the side of the boat, it was clear that this was going to be a handful. Well over 100 pounds, the second the captain touched it with the gaff it went crazy.
“Shoot! Shoot it in the head!“
With that, I leaned over the side, pointed the barrel towards where I assumed the fishes brain would be located and pulled the trigger.
“Nice shot!” The captain shouted
Apparently, 10mm is an adequate caliber for larger halibut.
With that, the captain slipped a gaff hook with a rope attached to it through the fish’s gills and four of us gave it a “heave-ho” to get it into the boat.
This wasn’t the “cast and blast” I had imagined, but was amazingly fun and exciting, nonetheless.
We met Captain Chase Norton at the dock at 4 AM on day three of our stay. While Chase is a charter boat captain for halibut, salmon, rockfish and anything else that plies the waters of the Icy Strait, his true love is duck hunting- so much so that he has over 20,00 acres of prime Kansas waterfowl lands that he outfits on from late September through the beginning of January.
“Good news, fellas. There are ducks everywhere!”
He wasn’t kidding.
After an approximately 40-minute boat ride, the faint glow of sunrise illuminated flocks and rafts of sea ducks, literally pouring in and out of bays all up and down the shore as far as we could see.
I had not hunted sea ducks previously and have to say that this was some of the finest waterfowl shooting I have had in my life.
We had action from the second we threw out the decoys.
“On your left!” Chase whisper – shouted.
Looking to my left, I saw a pair of Harlequin ducks skirt around the point of the island we were on. In three seconds, they were on top of us and, thanks to a good lead and a lucky move of the back duck up next to the lead duck, I dumped both of them with one shot.
When Chase grabbed the skiff and went out to grab the birds, I learned a swift lesson about sea ducks-They’re tough!
One of the “dead” birds suddenly rolled upright and dove under the water. What followed was a game of cat and mouse that lasted almost a quarter mile with Chase patiently waiting for the duck to surface, taking a shot from the bow of the skiff, only to have the duck dive under the water, a half second before his shot arrived!
Fun, nonetheless.
The tides of Alaska are some of the biggest in the world. A 15–20-foot tidal change over the course of 6-8 hours is not uncommon. I learned this the hard way.
When we first arrived, a rocky island poised right in the middle of where the ducks wanted to be, I set my bag down on a rock 20 feet from the water. I walked about 20 yards away and leaned against a 5-foot-tall rock that was big enough to hide me from incoming ducks. After a bit, my feet were wet and there were Scoters flying over the other end of the island. The shooting was good for a while and when I came back, I wasn’t sure that I was in the same place because there was only a small rock sticking out of the water where I thought it would be. It turned out that was the correct rock, and our “2 foot tide” wound up being an EIGHT FOOT tide. The bad news was that not only was the water rapidly rising, but “my rock” and “my bag” were both submerged. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t taken off my pistol and tucked it into the bag before I moved to the other side of the point!
Needless to say, after filling a sink with hot water and soaking the gun for a minute or two to rinse the salt water out of it, I spent 2 hours that evening taking apart my pistol piece by piece, oiling everything and then carefully putting it back together.
We finished out the day with a limit of Harlequin’s and Scoters (another sea duck), then headed over to pick up some bear hunters that we had dropped off on the way out.
“The salmon fishing here is pretty good… You guys want to troll our way over there?”
Chase asked.
“Are you kidding?? Absolutely!”
The short ride over to where we were picking up the bear hunters yielded three large and tasty silver salmon.
Another short round of trolling put several more in the boat, plus a couple of halibut we picked up off of a point between the pickup place and the dock.
Then, 20 minutes later we were back at the dock with a big load of fish, ducks, and plenty of time to make it back to the lodge for lunch.
I was raised by parents whose attitude towards food was “why eat, when you can dine?” Add to that my Italian heritage and personal culinary skills, and you have someone that is fairly particular about what they consider to be “good” food.
I had no complaints and nothing but praise for the meals I was served at Eagle’s Nest Lodge.
Breakfast was always ready before we went out for the day and usually something hearty like an egg casserole, eggs benedict, scrambled eggs and The accompanying bacon, sausage, ham, toast, bagels, and potatoes… But there is also home baked bread, oatmeal, pancakes, and cereal available should you want.
Lunch was typically packed for us to take with us on the boat. Premium cold cuts on hearty white or whole-grain bread with an accoutrement of toppings available and accompanied by bags of chips, various candies, and, perhaps my favorite, homemade baked sweet treats. While we were in camp, we had home baked cookies, several types, brownies, cobbler, pie, tarts, and several other made from scratch, delicious dessert delights serve both lunch and dinner.
Don’t plan on losing weight on your trip to Alaska.
The accommodation at Eagle’s Nest Lodge are more than adequate.
We stayed in several of their “double” rooms, each with a double and single bed and its own attached the bathroom. There were also several “triple” rooms and a large loft bunk area with two bathrooms that can sleep eight people. (Perfect for families or large groups.)
The beds were comfortable, the showers were hot, and zero complaints were made from anyone in camp about accommodation.
One of the featured accommodations at Eagle’s Nest was what is referred to as the “game room.” In this room is a bar area, stools, couches, tables, a pool table, ping-pong, and not one but two big-screen TVs both hooked up to satellite television service. I’m not big on spending time watching TV when I’m hunting or fishing, but for some people, that can be a real plus.
I can’t remember the last time I was able to take part in such a variety of activities In such a short timeline and bring so much food home with me. It’s not uncommon for people that come to Eagle’s Nest to go home with several hundred pounds of fresh halibut, salmon, yellow eye, rockfish, and cod. Since we were sharing the fish among our group, I took home a 50-pound box which should last my family and I quite some time.
That brings me to perhaps the best part of the accommodation at Eagle’s Nest. All of the fish that you catch and game that you take is processed, vacuum sealed, then flash-frozen and packaged into 50-pound airline – approved waxed boxes for you to enjoy and remember your Alaskan trip for what might be an entire year.
If you’ve ever been thinking about taking a trip to “The last frontier,” You would be hard pressed to have a better experience than the one that Eagle’s Nest Lodge in Gustavus, Alaska provides.
I’d book early, though… As they are already booked well into 2026-and make sure you tell them that Ace sent you!
Gear for Alaska needs to be tough and absolutely dependable. Almost everywhere in Alaska outside of town is far away from help, warmth, and spare parts!
Here is the list of products and gear that I depended on for this trip.
Apparel: King’s Camo base layers, pants and mid-layer insulation
Rain Gear: 2 sets (Because there’s no such thing as too dry!)
Kings Camo Stormtrek Rain Jacket and Pants- some of the best packable rain gear I’ve ever used!
Stone Glacier M7 Jacket and M5 pants
Socks: Darn Tough midweight hunting socks
Boots: Lacrosse Men’s Ursa ES GTX (A great value in comfortable mountain hunting boots!)
Muck Mossy Oak Pathfinder neoprene
Binoculars: Leupold BX-5 Santiam 12x50
Firearms: Springfield Armory XDM Elite 10mm with Hex Firefly Red dot.
Holsters: GALCO Corvus Belt holster, GALCO High Ready Chest Holster
Knives/Multitools: Kershaw 7.5” Filet knife, Demco Arminger 4, Benchmade Tagged Out Carbon Fiber, Leatherman Wave
Watch: Amazfit T-Rex 3. Great watch and technology for under $200!
The last item I carry on every trip is something that I consider to be extremely important to all hunters and adventurers-
Garmin Inreach with search and rescue insurance coverage- because you never know!
If you want to visit Alaska, shoot ducks, catch salmon and have access to the absolute best halibut fishing in the world, you can check them out at:
www.eaglesnestlodgealaska.com
