Alaskan guide returns home for Expo seminar

[Go Big Red!]

Check out the photos that accompany the article.  A HUGE bear and GIANT moose.

http://www.wisconsinoutdoorfun.com/article/20110224/WOF07/110223095/Alaskan-guide-returns-home-for-Expo-seminar

Alaskan guide returns home for Expo seminar

For Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com • February 24, 2011

Billy Molls was born and raised on a dairy farm in Northwest Wisconsin and will return this weekend for the Wisconsin Deer Classic and Hunting Expo in Green Bay.

For the past 14 years, Molls has been guiding hunters in Alaska for Dall sheep, grizzly bear, brown bear, black bear, caribou, wolf, and moose. He has spent as many 250 days of the year living in a tent in some of the most remote regions in North America. Bring the entire family to enjoy one of Billy's seminars at this weekend's event in Green Bay.

He describes his experiences in the wilds of Alaska: grizzly bear charges, airplane incidents, and other exciting adventures. Learn how he got started guiding, hunting techniques and tips, and for those who were fortunate enough to catch Billy's seminar last year, come see the amazing trophies his hunters were able to take this season.

Billy Molls was born and raised on a dairy farm near Turtle Lake, WI. Molls grew up hunting, fishing, and trapping with his grandfathers and father near the family farm. By the time he was 14 he knew he the only way to quench his thirst for adventure was to go to Alaska. At the age of 19 he struck out to "The Last Frontier," where he started as a packer or guide's apprentice.

After 2 years he passed his guide exam and has been guiding hunters there for the past 13 years.

Along the way Billy has been toting a video camera to capture every detail of each adventure.

The 2010 Alaska hunting season was one of Billy's best ever. His clients were successful in taking 11 animals. They took Dall sheep, moose, caribou, brown bear, and a huge grizzly bear that was the largest bear to come from that particular area in over 10 years.

This spring, while guiding brown bear hunters, Molls and his hunter watched a boar fight a sow and later eat her 2 cubs. His hunter was able to harvest the 9 1/2' boar the following day. "I was able to catch most of it on film." Molls said.

"I finally bought a High Definition camera for this season, and I was glad I did. This hunt sequence is probably the best I have ever filmed: From the sow and boar fighting on a nearly vertical cliff, to the 80 shot as the boar was feeding on the little cub. It was a harsh dose of reality in this unforgiving country, " said Molls. Billy successfully guided 2 more brown bear hunters that spring, before returning home to Turtle Lake. The first of August he went back to Alaska's arctic to guide for Dall sheep, caribou, and grizzly.

Despite the wet, foggy weather all three of Molls' clients were able to harvest sheep and caribou, and one hunter took the aforementioned grizzly bear. On September 3, Billy then headed to central Alaska for moose season. The hunting in this area was very slow, just 1 of his 2 hunters were able to take a moose with the minimum legal spread of 50".

His second hunter, who was from Denmark, took a 59" bull at 50 yards. "We were 17 days into the season and I had yet to have a big bull with in shooting distance of my hunter. "We had just moved camp during the middle of the day and that evening I was doing some calling and we heard a bull grunt a couple times from a spruce thicket in the valley below our glassing knob, but like all the big moose this season he wouldn't show himself. " Molls said.

"The next morning, just before we left the tent to climb to the knob to glass, we heard brush crashing and an unmistakable grunt. Because all the bulls up to that point had been very call shy, I kept quiet and we slipped in front of the bull and we got him just 200 yards from our tent! When that bull came into view grunting, raking, the willows and waving his huge antlers I couldn't help getting the shakes. I don't think I have had that in years, at least until after the shot."

"I guess I was "feeling the pressure" a bit, as we only had a couple days of the season left." Once the season ended, all that was left was to get out of camp and fly home, but that got a little tricky this year. "It was so cold this fall, and we had been having ice flow in the rivers for a week. The hunters made it out ok, but me and another guide were the last to leave. It took us several hours to break up the ice jams so the float plane could land to pick us up." Molls added.

"When the pilot landed he was extremely nervous and only allowed us to take a little of our gear or we wouldn't make it because he had to take off with a tail wind.
The pucker factor was high on that one, but the pilot assured us that it wasn't a close call, as the landing gear didn't even touch any trees!" Mol

Billy's newest DVD, Season 4 The Modern Day Mountain Man is now available at www.billymollsadventures.com. "This video is a 2-disc set and is nearly 5 hours long. I was able to capture 10 of the hunts on film. The great hunts and clarity of HD makes this video my best yet. It'll be a tough one to top, but I will be back up there next year to guide my 14th season and film Season 5 The Modern Day Mountain Man."