Could anybody recommend some good reading, books,web pages, or any info. in general for someone planning their first DIY hunt in Alaska? I guess Alaska hunting regulations should be first on my list?

Check out Rusts' flying service on the internet. I've used then for drop off fishing trips and they used to have a lot of information on drop hunting trips also.

Mark, I am doing a starter DIY AK trip this summer. We are going fishing and backpacking, and mostly learning as much as we can so that we can go back and do a big moose/caribou hunt, with bears mixed in. We may do the bears this year, the proclimation hasn't come out yet so we aren't sure if we can.

I figured by spending my vacation up there this year I could learn what about it, and get a little close. We will be spending about $1000/person, for 2 weeks of fishing and backpacking. More if we do bears, but only about $300.

You do know that you can only do Black Bear DIY?

A suggestion on Moose DIY--float a river, and hunt close to the river. It's great! Done it 4 times, and can see that is THE way to do it.

Actually, Arts, my Dad is an almost-non-hunter and lives in Achorage. The family ties gets me a brown bear for $500, but not this year.

We are looking closely at the float hunts. Which river did you float? What did it cost you to get to the river?

Thanks.

Mark: There are several excellent books on do-it-yourself hunts in Alaska. Three of them are:

"Hunt Alaska Now--Self-Guiding for Trophy Moose and Caribou," by Dennis W. Confer.

"Hunting in Alaksa--A Comprehensive Guide," by Christopher Batin.

"A Complete Guide to Float Hunting Alaska,' by Larry Bartlett.

There are others. You might focus in on caribou and get hooked up with a reputable air transporter, and there are a lot of those. If you have good equipment and the right equipment (cloths, footwear, sleeping bag, tent, food, rifle) and you have plenty of common sense so that you don't do anything stupid to hurt yourself or loose your equipment, you should be able to put together an excellent and exciting and successful hunt. But I would focus on caribou if this is your first self-guided hunt up here. You should try and figure out where in the state you want to hunt...probably in the southwestern part..within the Mulchatna Caribou herd, and that will help you focus on air transporters that work in that area. You might buy a black bear tag just in case you see one..but if you shoot a cariobu or two, along with your hunting buddy, you will be exhausted and plenty happy after a week on the tundra!

Check out these: www.outdoorsdirectory.com and www.sportingalaska.com - lots of info on the internet - good luck and have fun - KMule

Mark,

I don't know if this would qualify as do-it-yourself, but I had a very positive experience with a Cabelas drop camp hunt in 2000. They used Lake Clark Air, and I believe LCA does it with or without Cabela's.

I floated Beaver Creek, which is north of Fairbanks, 3 times and can't think of the name of the river, but it is east out of Kotzebue, once. I rented rafts and most gear up there, as it is much more logical than taking your own. The Kotzebue trip was best, but the others great. I rented the equipment in Anchorage, had it waiting in Kotzebue when we arrived. You have to get flown up the river, then picked up later. I usually go for about 12 days. Total cost from doorstep to doorstep (I'm in Nevada) was under $2500. That includes air fare, air taxi, equipment (mostly the boat), license, tags, everything. If you are hunting Caribou only, the price will drop a good bit, as you cut out a $400 tag and an extra air taxi flight for pick-up (the moose almost makes for a pick-up flight itself).

Arts, that is exactly what we are after, can you give me any contact info for renting gear and air taxis? thanks! We will mostly be fishing and possibly some caribou hunting. Also plenty of hiking and ptarmigan hunting, and more fishing. So far we are at the $1000 mark from SLC, and I'd like to stay under 2K, but i hve the liscenes and airfare, hip boots and bug suit alread done. Guns too.

I'll get you contact info, but it is at home (this is work) so it will be Monday. You definitly need hip boots, in fact I learned to not even take anything else. You will wear them all the time except when sleeping. You almost surely won't need bug protection at that time. I only take enough food for one day. The rest is fish till I kill something. You can get a grayling about every cast. Even with 2 guys (that's the ideal number), 1 rod is enough. You'll get tired of catching them. Have eaten grouse, too. Lots of blueberries. I take salt and coffee, not much else. Don't hike very far from the river, and not much upstream. When you get a moose, you want it CLOSE to the river. Are there 2 of you going? It takes 1 boat per 2 people and then you have to get real creative to haul 2 moose, but it can be done. You mostly drift, steer. You can cover 125 miles real fast, so actually, you need to hold yourself back or you'll be at the pick-up point before you know it. Get up and be floating at daybreak, real slow and quite. That is one of the best ways to find a moose. About 10:00, catch some fish and cook, then rest/sleep. Hit the river again maybe about 4:00, real slow. Go till dark, make camp. Eat your fish you just caught. Morning will be here real soon. When you leave, you have to have your whole kit packed. Don't ever plan on going back upstream. You can also hunt on foot from your camp, but don't get far from the river. Obviously, regarding Caribou, you can walk further because there isn't so much to pack, but be forwarned, any walking in that tundra is hard, real hard, regardless of load. Always remember to be extra careful. If you hurt yourself, you are in big trouble. A cut or broken leg can be fatal. There is no help available and on the way. You are on your own, totally. Accidents that normally wouldn't be a big deal can make you dead. It is fun as hell! Take your bed and cloths. Rent everything else, even though you have a garage full. Sleep with your shooter, loaded. (But I've never needed it). Be especially aware, not afraid, aware, of bears after you have meat. Keep all blood off of your boat. If a bear chews a big hole in your boat (actually a rubber raft), you are in a world of hurt!

Thanks, Arts. There are actually 6 of us going in cluding my Dad, who lives in Achorage, each pretty experienced as far as backpacking and staying in wilderness areas in Montana/Utah. I have done quite a bit of rafting, but some of the other guys haven't done much. Different I know, but helps.

I imagine there will have to be more than one trip for all of us, but I don't think taking several boats is a problem. We are discussing some guys getting moose tags and others getting caribou or bear so that we can save money and still have a 'hunt' for each, even though we all can't pull the trigger. That saved us money for bush plane fare.

I'll bug you about it in a few days if I don't hear from you Thanks again.

6 guys! Wow! That's a lot. You'll need 3 boats, and that's a lot of air taxi time. Hiking up there is a different world. Nothing like backpacking. The terrain is tourturous to walk in, and that's on the flat. Most of the taxis, at least those I've dealt with, have about an 800 pound limit. And a boat and frame will push 200. Are you looking at this for this upcoming fall? If so, you need to get hustling, as it is already quite late. Rentals may be all reserved already. I'll have the contact info Monday.

I do not have first hand experience with these folks:

http://www.pristineventures.com

but they do specialize in float trips and have a good amount of info on their website, including classes, educational CD's, etc.

Larry Bartlett, who teaches the classes, has written an excellent book on the subject - "Alaska hunting-A Complete Guide to Float Hunting Alaska" - that might be worth a gander.

John

scw--Here are some particulars. The last trip I took, and I think the best, was on the Selawick, out of Kotzebue. Actually, there are several rivers that one can access from Kotzebue. When we arrived there, we really didn't know which river we would float. That was intentional. We then discussed with the air taxi what they had been seeing, regarding caribou and moose. That is when it was decided to go up the Selawick--good choice. Other rivers to consider: the Tagagawik (Tag) River or Squirrel River. The Tag is real good, but the Squirrel sometimes gets crowded. Lots of Black Bears up there, also no shortage of Griz.

The Air Taxi we used is Northwest Aviation, owned and run by Jim Rude. Zero complaints and very helpful. Ph: 907/442-3525.

We rented all our stuff from Wild Alaska in Anchorage (907/344-9453). You must tell them every specific item you want. We had it delivered to Kotzebue, it was there waiting for us. I recommend you rent boat (raft) and all accessories, tent(s), cook stove, cooking utensils (be very conservative--it is amazing what you can do with one skillet, one pot, and a coffee pot, plus a spoon & fork each. Don't forget a flipper to be included). Also, an ax and several plastic tarps. A bow saw ain't a bad idea, and it is light. Take a flashlight with you. Notice no lantern? Extra weight. Fuel for the stove can be a problem (I prefer the liquid fuel type over propane). Have Jim Rude get your fuel for you, ahead of time. Take plenty of matches. Be sure you have a good bed (NOT down) and a sleeping pad is a near must. Take good, heavy weight game bags. It takes a lot of them for all the meat on a moose. Have at least one good, stout pack frame (I'd say one per 2 people). Take plenty of 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch line. Salt. That pretty much covers it. I do take enough food for about the first day (there is a store in Kotzebue that has all you need), from then on, it's greyling till something is shot. Think weight, weight, weight. Live spartan or pay through the nose for weight. You won't likely want to pay for shipping all that meat home, just the loins, maybe a round. The rest you can easily donate in Kotzebue. You MUST bring all the meat out of the bush. Have fun, but if you want to go this fall, get to getting! Indeed, it may be too late to put it together already.

Arts, I've never considered a DIY hunt in Alaska, but your posts have me itching to go right this minute. Great info.

Thanks Arts, some if this is a little easier for me with my old man in Achorage. Also I will be up there visiting for a week before we actually head to the hills, so the time constraints in Alaska are about nill, but I'll call this week to get reservations. I didn't even think about them filling up, stupid me....

Arts,

A group of us have been thinking of just such a trip for moose in 2006 and had been wondering how to pull it off. A couple of the guys have done DIY caribou and blacktail hunts but were wanting to do the moose thing, just didn't know the particulars about the boat, etc. Thanks for sharing.

One thing that is important to remember, and it surprises a lot of guys, is that the moose season is really quite short, hence you have to have your scheduling down pat. It doesn't help that the Alaska G&F usually doesn't come out with the exact dates until about May or June, but you are pretty safe using the previous years info. The short season is why things like gear rental and air taxis get booked up, and be assured, the big airlines accessing Alaska book up pretty early, too.

Well, hopefully it will work out. The Wildlife Society is having their big annual meeting in Alaska in September 2006 (don't know exact particulars yet) so a group of us wildlife biologist-types are hoping to either get our big air fare paid by our employers or at least write it off our taxes for business . If moose isn't in season then we'll try black bear or caribou. However, one of the guys in our group has been about 4 times already and he is going again this year thus he is about done with the caribou/black-tailed thing. I tell him, "it must suck getting bored with hunting caribou in Alaska" .

Arts, that is exactly the thing that slowed down our plans, we are going n August, and the proclimation won't come out until June!! Takes effect in July! Sloppy way to run it, IMHO.

Anyway, I think we will get the boats, etc and fish if the moose season isn't open yet. We really shouldn't have a problem though.

Check last years regs, you'll likely be very close. Last couple times I went I got on the phone with the F&G and that is what they suggested. The season is usually in September, not August. Unless you're a die hard fisherman, the greyling fishing actually gets old pretty quick. There isn't much challenge to them--and they are edible for sure, but I'd say they are a good ways from the top of the list in that catagory. Be sure and either skin them or scale them (which I found easiest/fastest), as they have big, hard scales that are no good on your plate! Be sure and check if the river location you are eyeing has other than greyling. Most don't.

The seasons seem to be pretty convoluted, some areas are open at the beginning of August, some not until Sept. We we were tying to wait and decide when we knew for sure which would be open. We are more interested in some big pike and trout, and prefectly willing to hike for it, too.

Have you been out fishing for Halibut, etc? We are going around Sewerd Bay for several days.

No, I haven't. I want to work that in some day, but haven't yet. If you are interested, I can give you more rundown on the Squirrel, Tag, and Selawick, but if it doesn't appear you'll be going there, I won't bother. As for the season, you should be pretty safe in planning for an area using last years season dates for that area. They don't seem to change them much. If you wait for the info, it is almost a guarantee it will be too late to get it put together. I'm not a real avid fisherman, so I'm not much help on that score. I fish some, but don't go to much of an extreme. None of the rivers I have floated have trout or pike in them--wait there, as I do recall that the lower Selawick was said to have pike, but it is very slow down there and you have to row to move. I don't think it is good moose country at that point, though caribou may be decent. You are getting out of the area I researched, as moose & caribou were what we were after, fish a distant trailer, mostly for a change of pace and food.



That part about posting more only if you guys are interested may not have come accross right--what I mean is I don't want to post unwanted or un-needeed info, but if you guys want it, no problem. Hope I can help you.