Afternoon all. I am leaving for a deer hunt on Kodiak in a couple of weeks. This will be my first time up there. I had a quick question for anyone who's done this hunt before... What are your thoughts about hiking before daylight? My main concern is obviously bears. Normally when I hunt the lower 48 I like to get to my glassing spot before daylight. I'm just not sure if this would be a good idea up there or not. Feel free to chime in with thoughts and any other advice you might give a newbie to AK (tactics, terrain to look for, gen advice) is all welcome! Thanks!
Kodiak sitka blacktail
- Thread starter Mote270
- Start date
elkrchr
Well-known member
I've hunted Kodiak three times (1996, 1999, 2015) and all were DIY hunts. If you're flying in to a lake and camping, I would wait until you get there before making that decision. A lot of times you can glass right from camp prior to heading out if the country is open. If you happen to be camped/hunting where the alders are thick, I would suggest waiting until daylight prior to heading out. I like to hunt the last week of October/first week of November. If you are lucky and get sunny days, the minute the sun starts hitting the hillsides the deer will be out in force on the open hillsides. On the cloudy, rainy days my observations have been that deer stay more in the alders. My two cents is that I do not think it is necessary to hike in the dark.
I've done one boat based blacktail hunt on Kodiak. Not sure if it was just our transporters way, but we were never dropped off before daylight. We hunted in September. The bears were congregated to the salmon streams then and we weren't hunting near any of those. Never did see a bear. That said, walking their trails in grass over head high or in alders makes for an interesting walk...
Deltaboy
Member
That's a bucket list hunt for me. Looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.
Beendare
New member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2015
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Ive hunted kodiak multiple times. Did it last year mid october which was bad timing for a bowhunt. We killed a couple deer and caribou but i much prefer hunting later in nov or early. You should be hitting it when the bucks are chasing- good timing.
Problems with bears are over exaggerated- sure you have to pay attention in the thick stuff but they want nothing to do with you. I did see one crusher bear on a river and we had tracks past camp but we hiked in and out in the dark daily- with a pistol of course.
Problems with bears are over exaggerated- sure you have to pay attention in the thick stuff but they want nothing to do with you. I did see one crusher bear on a river and we had tracks past camp but we hiked in and out in the dark daily- with a pistol of course.
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Always like hearing that about bears! Yeah I'm pretty excited about the timing of this hunt since I will be bowhunting as well. Hopefully things are happening as far as the rut goes. Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'll definitely post up a story when I return.
elkrchr
Well-known member
Mote,
Had a great hunt in 2015. Look for my Thread titled "Back from Kodiak" for a plethora of photos (posted somewhere between Nov. 10th and the 18th). If you're hunting from the beach or near the beach, you most likely will have to climb through the alders a fair bit to get to the big bucks. If you're lucky and there's an early significant snow, then the big boys will start dropping in elevation. Otherwise, the majority of the big bucks will be up high. If you would like to talk about the hunt, send me a PM and I'll send you my cell number. I've got two friends hunting on the island as I type this and two more leaving late next week.
Had a great hunt in 2015. Look for my Thread titled "Back from Kodiak" for a plethora of photos (posted somewhere between Nov. 10th and the 18th). If you're hunting from the beach or near the beach, you most likely will have to climb through the alders a fair bit to get to the big bucks. If you're lucky and there's an early significant snow, then the big boys will start dropping in elevation. Otherwise, the majority of the big bucks will be up high. If you would like to talk about the hunt, send me a PM and I'll send you my cell number. I've got two friends hunting on the island as I type this and two more leaving late next week.
Yeah, you don't want to camp too close to the shore line - tidal changes can drown your tent, if you're not careful. Have GOOD rain gear - it will rain. Be prepared to deal with the wind (tie the tent down) as it will blow. Will the boat be close by or do they have a schedule to check back on you? Schedules got to hell quickly on Kodiak, usually because of the afore mentioned wind. A good back up plan should include a sat phone.
I don't walk anywhere in the dark, if it can be helped. As said earlier, the bear thing is usually overstated (and over worried about) but why go out of the way to look for trouble. If you do walk in the dark, stay together and make noise. Bears may still be looking for some late run silvers, but they'll also be looking for almost anything else to eat, this close to hibernation time. When cleaning up a kill, its a good idea for one of you to be standing with his rifle in hand, on guard, so to speak.
From what I've heard, the deer population is doing great (as its been 4 years since the last killer winter) and you should have a great time. You might want to check with the F&G bios (in Kodiak) to see if there have been any bear problems where you'll be dropped off ( if you know, beforehand). I've always found the bios on the island to be extremely helpful, with questions. They are also very protective of "their" bears.
I don't walk anywhere in the dark, if it can be helped. As said earlier, the bear thing is usually overstated (and over worried about) but why go out of the way to look for trouble. If you do walk in the dark, stay together and make noise. Bears may still be looking for some late run silvers, but they'll also be looking for almost anything else to eat, this close to hibernation time. When cleaning up a kill, its a good idea for one of you to be standing with his rifle in hand, on guard, so to speak.
From what I've heard, the deer population is doing great (as its been 4 years since the last killer winter) and you should have a great time. You might want to check with the F&G bios (in Kodiak) to see if there have been any bear problems where you'll be dropped off ( if you know, beforehand). I've always found the bios on the island to be extremely helpful, with questions. They are also very protective of "their" bears.
Wish I would have had one running. He was about to go all Kill Bill on that "bear" with his Buck knife.Thanks for all the tips guys! All good things to think about!
Pointer
Will have to have the go pro on for that!
TheWanderer
Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
- Messages
- 56
I am ballparking logistics and cost for an August blacktail hunt with 2 friends and wanted to hear from anyone who's been there if there is a transporter you recommend or have any other useful details to share. How many days to you recommend to take for this trip?
I know this is a Kodiak thread, but we are open to any island. Am working to settle on a location and make this happen for us.
Thanks.
I know this is a Kodiak thread, but we are open to any island. Am working to settle on a location and make this happen for us.
Thanks.
Jon Boy
Active member
It seems overwhelming at first but once you do it you realize that its just like any other hunt. I took way to much stuff and bought too much gear I didnt use. I went with two buddies this august and spent probably close to 6 grand, but it can be done much cheaper. We tagged out in two days and flew back to kodiak and stayed in hotels and fished for 6 days, which took up most of the expense. Also the luggage fees ended up being a bit more than I had thought. Island air or andrews are both good outfits to fly with. We ended up taking a beaver and it was around 1200 bucks a piece. Good luck, its a ton of fun
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
You might call some biologists and find out about deer numbers before you decide. We hunted Raspberry and SW Afognak this fall and numbers were way down after last winter. Sounded like north part of Kodiak wasn’t stellar either, but farther south they did ok.
As mentioned, the folks at Andrews were great.
As mentioned, the folks at Andrews were great.
traper986
New member
I’ve lived on Kodiak for three years now and like a few have said the bear situation isn’t as crazy as people make it seem. Yes they’re are a ton and yes they’re huge but they could care less about you with all the fish in the rivers! Just make some noise going around corners and don’t get between a sow and cubs, standard stuff, and you’ll be fine. I’ve hiked into just about all my hunts while it’s still dark with the hopes of being up high before sunrise. I do normally do some good glassing before because you can see a lot more from the bottom sometimes. Like Hunting Wife said last winter was brutal on the deer numbers and there was a huge die off. Good news is this winter has been very mild and they should have bounced back a bit. Good luck!
traper986
New member
Forgot to mention so far the fish run has actually been really bad so they may not be centered around the rivers this year
ChrisC
Active member
I went in Sept. 2014 to visit a friend in the USCG and hunted locally, rather than fly to another part of the island. we hiked in about 7 miles as the crow flies and had a great time. certainly a way to save some money on outfits flying you into a spot.
One other tip that may be worth sharing is to build in a couple extra days for travel. we had two days worth of cancelled flights trying to get from Anchorage to Kodiak due to weather.
One other tip that may be worth sharing is to build in a couple extra days for travel. we had two days worth of cancelled flights trying to get from Anchorage to Kodiak due to weather.
