Fall Prince of Wales
- Thread starter bgreen89
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Gut Shot
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It's a lot of fun. I've never hunted the roads. In the fall the bears will be on the streams eating salmon. Start at the ocean, put on your waders, sneak up salmon streams until you find a bear you like. you'll see some on shore too and can put a stalk on them. You can tell if there are bear on some streams if you stay near the mouth of the stream and watch for salmon to float by with chunks of meat bitten out of them. If you still hunt up the streams be ready for very close encounters, as in 10-15 feet. You can also set up in a tree (if they have been logged in an area you are hunting)in the bend of a stream. The Sitka and Hemlock are usually cut off 7-10' high and make a nice platform to hunt from if you can get into them. Climb up onto a stump and you will be able to see up and down the stream for a ways.
Thanks so much for the insight. So, one of my problems is that the Island is so big the real issue is where to start. So there are only 29 hunters who draw every year in the fall so obviously pressure and crowding is not a problem. Are there any rivers that you recommend starting my search on.
AvidIndoorsman
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Have you already applied this year for 2021 or were you already drawn for 2020?
AvidIndoorsman
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I've hunted the spring, so you have the tag for this fall? Are you using a transporter/renting a boat or are you trying to do it via a rental car?
The Alaska fisher resource mapper is helpful in identifying streams that will have active runs. In the fall these are probably your best bet for getting on bears.
FYI residents don't have to draw for the hunt and can kill 2 bears... so don't be surprised if there are more than 29 other mugs out there chasing bears.
Story Map Series
This story map was created with the Story Map Series application in ArcGIS Online.
I do not yet know if I have a tag for this fall. The results are posted about a month from now. However, with such limited time to prepare, I figure it is best to be fully prepared now. Plus, information is never a bad thing. I can always apply that info to a future year. Yes, I know that residents dont need to apply. However, black bear hunting is actually not very popular among South East Alaska residents, especially when the start of the Blacktail rut is coming up. I have multiple friends who have done this hunt and everyone tells me it is pretty quiet on the island that time of year. Thanks for the fish website. That may be a huge piece of the puzzle.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
Pretty much any good sized sound on POW will have multiple streams flowing to the ocean. At least some of those streams will have salmon in them. Or as Wllm1313 stated there are resources out there that will show which streams should have salmon on them and approximately when the run will occur for various species.
AvidIndoorsman
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I flew in when I hunted it this spring, I think if I was going in the fall I would consider doing so again or renting a boat... really just making a hunt plan that is going to allow me to get off of the more heavily used areas.
AvidIndoorsman
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So aside from big fin's hunts which are on youtube as you probably know these threads come to mind.
Seems like HTer's constitute 25% of the tag holders every year... at the very least
Don't forget your camera and make sure you report back!
My trip
POW fly-in hunt (pictures and everything)
When I was in high school my family took the ferry from WA through SE AK and ever since I've always wanted to go back. I've done a couple of spring bear hunts at this point. I've hiked logging roads and climbed mts with a spotting scope, both of which are a blast, but with this trip I wanted to...
www.hunttalk.com
@npaden
Another SE AK bear hunt.
My buddy and I got a couple on the ground last week as well. I passed on this guy early on the first day and then thought about it and decided I may have made a mistake and less than an hour later had another opportunity at him (almost positive it was the same bear) and decided to go ahead...
www.hunttalk.com
@LCH
First Black Bear
I truly enjoy bear hunting, despite previous failures to punch a tag. I've done two spring hunts in Montana now and was in good ground with lots of sign both times, but only had one fleeting opportunity during that period which I was forced to pass on. I also added a CA bear tag to a Columbia...
www.hunttalk.com
@cmoore83
My POW black bear hunt
Almost two years ago I got the notion to hunt in Alaska, I put in for the draw for Prince of Wales island and was surprised to find out later that I had drawn the tag. By carefully looking at old post here on HT, I new that while not a gimme, it could be done without the use of a guide, so I did...
www.hunttalk.com
@MinnesotaHunter (page 4)
Hunt Talk Bear Hunt Episode 5
Well, the satellite hunt is just getting underway. Ewludwig and I are sitting in SeaTac, waiting for Randy11 and his Dad to show up, so we can get on the last leg up to Ketchikan. Hoping we can up the batting average for the group in the next week. Weather is looking decent, we got a skiff and...
www.hunttalk.com
@glasseye
There are a ton of other members that have gone or lived in the area, couldn't find their specific threads easily but Randy11, Coveyleader, mthuntr,cfree, rawmeat, calvin, muskeg, gary, pointingdogsrule, lee bear, brownbear932008
Last years gear thread... https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/pow-gear-list.287932/
npaden
Well-known member
The Fall tags are a bit harder to draw than the Spring tags is why I've always applied in the Spring. Also there are a lot of other hunting options in the Fall and not many other options in the Spring.
I've always pretty much heard to pick a river/stream and walk it in waders and you shouldn't have any problems finding a bear in the Fall.
As far as finding a spot or area to start with, I wouldn't worry about finding a place with bears on POW. I think it would difficult to find a spot that didn't have bears. They are pretty thick.
With that said, the vegetation is also very thick. The tricky part is finding a bear that you can see long enough to get a shot on it.
Last year on POW I heard some rumors that they might be going back to OTC tags for bears for non residents, but I haven't seen anything remotely official on that anywhere since.
I've always pretty much heard to pick a river/stream and walk it in waders and you shouldn't have any problems finding a bear in the Fall.
As far as finding a spot or area to start with, I wouldn't worry about finding a place with bears on POW. I think it would difficult to find a spot that didn't have bears. They are pretty thick.
With that said, the vegetation is also very thick. The tricky part is finding a bear that you can see long enough to get a shot on it.
Last year on POW I heard some rumors that they might be going back to OTC tags for bears for non residents, but I haven't seen anything remotely official on that anywhere since.
LCH
Well-known member
The thing I remember thinking the most is that I absolutely did not want to try and track a bear in that rainforest. If you lost blood you could walk past a bear 3' away and not see it.
Of course a bear is liable to get into the thick stuff even when shot with a rifle, but I think it would be an inevitability with a bow.
Of course a bear is liable to get into the thick stuff even when shot with a rifle, but I think it would be an inevitability with a bow.
AvidIndoorsman
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I agree with LCH... it's like dagobah, tracking would be a huge chore, no exaggeration we tried to hike up to a lake above our camp and it took as a full 2hrs to go 1/4 a mile.
I think you could easily get close enough for a bow, but I wouldn't even attempt it unless the bear was way out on a grass flat on low tide and had a couple hundred yards to run before the tree line.
To this end, the bear I killed was on a very tight rocky beach I sat at under 100 yards for maybe 15min waiting for him to get to a point where he was A. was facing out to the water and B. had to run around a long to get into the forest so that if my first shot didn't drop him I would hopefully get a second one.
If you go on this hunt you will see bears, take your time and make a good shot. On POW if you draw blood on a bear that bear counts against your license regardless of whether or not you recover it.
I think you could easily get close enough for a bow, but I wouldn't even attempt it unless the bear was way out on a grass flat on low tide and had a couple hundred yards to run before the tree line.
To this end, the bear I killed was on a very tight rocky beach I sat at under 100 yards for maybe 15min waiting for him to get to a point where he was A. was facing out to the water and B. had to run around a long to get into the forest so that if my first shot didn't drop him I would hopefully get a second one.
If you go on this hunt you will see bears, take your time and make a good shot. On POW if you draw blood on a bear that bear counts against your license regardless of whether or not you recover it.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
I'll see if I can find my pics. A couple of things to consider. Bring fishing gear and a crab or shrimp trap. If you are into waterfowling you can get into ducks and geese pretty easily and seasons can be had during bear season.
I wouldn't use a bow. It could surely be done but I wouldn't try it in the jungle. The reason you put on waders and sneak up the streams is because the vegetation around the streams is so thick you can't piss through it. Now, that isn't to say it is completely impenetrable, there are plenty of trails through it. They are all bear trails.
Imagine the thickest, thorniest, nastiest brush possible. Then picture a tunnel about 3' in diameter twisting and turning through all of that brush. The trails are dark and stuffy, and the bears know where they lead and you don't. I always thought it would be fun to sneak the tunnels and kill a bear, but it certainly wouldn't be a high odds way to do it.
I wouldn't use a bow. It could surely be done but I wouldn't try it in the jungle. The reason you put on waders and sneak up the streams is because the vegetation around the streams is so thick you can't piss through it. Now, that isn't to say it is completely impenetrable, there are plenty of trails through it. They are all bear trails.
Imagine the thickest, thorniest, nastiest brush possible. Then picture a tunnel about 3' in diameter twisting and turning through all of that brush. The trails are dark and stuffy, and the bears know where they lead and you don't. I always thought it would be fun to sneak the tunnels and kill a bear, but it certainly wouldn't be a high odds way to do it.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
Oh, and the meat will reek of rotten fish in the fall. If you want to try to salvage it you will need to remove the outer layer of fat completely. That is where the bad smell/flavor lies. We cut it off of our bears and some tasted OK and some didn't.
Update -
I ended up drawing the Fall 2020 Tag for POW. So, my excitement level just went from a solid 5 to a hard 10. I ordered a Topo Map of the middle of the island, and a friend of mine has been mutliple times and is giving me some areas to focus on. Now, I am getting my gear list in order. So far the only items I can think of that I do not already own are
Solid Rain Gear (Kuiu Yukon?)
Chest Waders (should I get fishing waders or neoprene?) If fishing waders, I will have to buy the boots also.
Gps? Do i need a standalone GPS or can I use my phone with ONX? It rains so much, even though I have the Iphone 11, I think it might be wise to bring a standalone.
Inreach?- My wife will probably freak if I am gone for 10 days (solo hunting and do not text her)
Any thoughts or other items you can think of are more than welcome.
I ended up drawing the Fall 2020 Tag for POW. So, my excitement level just went from a solid 5 to a hard 10. I ordered a Topo Map of the middle of the island, and a friend of mine has been mutliple times and is giving me some areas to focus on. Now, I am getting my gear list in order. So far the only items I can think of that I do not already own are
Solid Rain Gear (Kuiu Yukon?)
Chest Waders (should I get fishing waders or neoprene?) If fishing waders, I will have to buy the boots also.
Gps? Do i need a standalone GPS or can I use my phone with ONX? It rains so much, even though I have the Iphone 11, I think it might be wise to bring a standalone.
Inreach?- My wife will probably freak if I am gone for 10 days (solo hunting and do not text her)
Any thoughts or other items you can think of are more than welcome.
