I am planning a black bear hunt in SE Alaska for May 2004. One of my good friends grew up there and her parents still live on a small island up there. Her dad is retiring from commercial fishing and said I should come up and hunt bears. He has hunted them some but more for food, not for trophy hunting. He has a vehicle I could use to access the island (there is a fair road system). There are some clearcuts and meadows (I think he called them muskeg areas) that could be hunted but from what I have heard the tidal flats would be the best place to hunt for bears at that time of year. For those of you who have done this spring tidal flat bear hunting I have some questions. While my friend�s dad has a skiff, I and the guy who is likely to go up with me are not real comfortable going out on our own. The host suggested that if we are not tagging our bears in the first few days that he would take us out in the skiff, otherwise we will hunt the clearcuts, muskegs and tidal flats on foot.

When talking about hunting bears on tidal flats what exactly does that mean? I thought that it meant at low tide the bears would be out feeding on the exposed crabs, clams and kelp etc along with whatever grasses might be available. Therefore I thought it would be important to try to coincide the hunt when low tide was in the evening. The guy who is likely to go with me has hunted SE AK before for black bear on a guided hunt. His guide used a skiff to access the tidal flats. My hunting partner said in reference to the tides �we had a problem with low tide. The long mud flats prevented us from getting on shore. A rising tide appeared to work better for us since it prevented the boat from being stranded and an 11 foot tidal swing would make for a bad stranding if we are in the mud. The grasses (reddish in color, I don't recall its name) grow above the high tide mark so the tide didn't appear to impact feeding.�

If we are accessing the tidal flats from land (there are places where the roads come quite close to the ocean and the topography is very flat) then we will not have the problem of trying to put ashore in the mud. Also are the bears mainly feeding on grasses above the high tide mark or on stuff exposed during low tide? Would we be better off if not using a skiff to just cruise the roads and glass the open areas we come across or park it and walk along the tidal flats hoping to find a bear out feeding? Thanks so much for any advice you can offer, Rufous.

Don't under estimate the problems with hunting in this area especially if you are not 100% comfortable around small boats. Remember you have 2 tides a day so think about how much water is moving in and out (and the speed of the tides) if you are having 11' tidal swings...ie faster than you can walk on a tidal flat. These areas as well as muskeg can make for very difficult walking for those not used to it.

Yep, the tides are the thing that effects the SE coastal hunting more than anything else. But don't let them deter you; just be sure you get a tide chart (just a little book)so you'll know what's going on. You'll also need charts of the area you're hunting.

Cruising with a skiff is going to be your best shot for finding and looking at several bears. The main thing is to take an anchor with a good amount of line AND a long mooring line (200 ft isn't too long)and string it all out when you stop for a stalk. You never know when a quick 'look' turns into a long 'stalk' or two .

The bears will be out on both low and high tides. They'll be a little easier to see on low tides, tho. Just cruise slooowwwwly. You'll catch them munching on sedge or just wandering. They go in and out of the woods a lot, tho, so if you see one you want to check out you'd better hustle. You'll learn to evaluate them quickly with your binos from the skiff...beaching and looking is time consuming.

This is really a fun way to hunt, tho. Just watch your location, watch the tide, and watch the weather. You don't want to be caught out in a blow with a major channel to cross; hmmmm, but it does make for an interesting ride . Be sure you have all your licenses and CG-approved devices in the skiff; ya never know when one of those floatplanes is gonna land, cruise up to you, and out steps a F&G guy to check you.

Don't pass up the opportunity!

[ 07-23-2003, 20:17: Message edited by: PostDriver ]

rufous,

I posted this answer at the 24hourcampfire board, but will add it here as it may help stir up some more hints...

rofous,

There's no way I would pass up on a chance to use the skiff. While it's possible to hit a few choice flats via the road system, you'll get to more areas on the water. Plus you can stay a bit off-shore and glass an entire area from a better angle.

The bears may be anywhere in the tidal flat areas. From up eating grass, to down below the tideline turning over rocks and eating the small crabs and bugs down there.

By far the best time to hunt is a low tide in the evening. You are right to time your hunt to match that criteria.

When hunting from the skiff you should stay in the skiff most the time. You may not thoroughly cover each tidal flat area, but you will cover more ground and probably find more bear that way. Not all bear are in the 'bear looking' areas either. I've seen lot's that were walking (feeding) along the narrow rocky beaches between these areas. You gotta look everywhere, because that's where the bears will be.

Since you probably won't want to run the skiff when it gets dark, you may want to hunt a good spot that is accessible from the road. So perhaps use the skiff till near dusk, then from the dock run to a nearby flats.

Here's two bears that were shot on narrow rocky beaches...




Here's my raft beached at low tide. Where I'm standing will be covered by water in a couple hours.



Here's a picture of an area where one side is a mud flat, yet there's good water (any tide) just one the other side. It pays to check the charts and beach the boat wisely.



You could pull a small skiff up most the streams in this picture by wearing waders and walking it up. Then if you shoot a bear you just load it up and float down stream till there's enough water to run the kicker. Got to watch the tides here too though, or you'll get stranded!

Another thing about beaching with an incoming tide...

As mentioned you'll need a long line (the 200' suggestion was a good one) to reach above the tideline sometimes, and here's why...

Last May while hunting on Kuiu two of us went to shore around 7:00PM to do a "quick" hunt before dark. The kicker wasn't running well (the skiff had been towed for the past two days, in very rough seas) and kept dying on me when trying to idle around. By the time we got near shore I was getting tired of restarting the motor, and chose to beach in an area that wasn't very good. The tideline was farther up than the anchor line would reach, and while mostly flat, there were lot's of 2-3 foot boulders lying around.

We stretched the line as far up as it would go and set the anchor in the mud. I knew high tide would cover it, but planned to be back before that happened (it's obvious where this is going, right?)

Sure enough, we hunted a great looking flat that kept going, and going, and going... Then the worst happened! We spotted a nice black bear way back at the end of the flat. Being the prudent hunters we decide to let it go, and attend to the skiff. NOT!

We went and my partner shot that nice 7'2" blackie just like most of us would.

Then I went back for the skiff. It took 30 minutes just to get back. I didn't remember it being so far! It was starting to get dark too.

When I got there, of course the water was way up the beach, and the anchor was submerged. I knew I would have to wade out deep enough that the water would go over my Xtra-Tuffs, but that was a small price to pay for a nice bear. So I started wading around, looking for the anchor. When I found it, I was up to my thighs, nearly balls deep.

No problem though, now just pull in the skiff, and head towards the downed bear. Except that when I started pulling in the line, it snagged! Remember those boulders I mentioned? Well the line was snagged HARD under one of those rocks way out near the skiff.

It was getting dark, my partner was elbow deep in bear hide, I'm half wet, the radio is in the skiff, and the skiff is stuck about 50 yards offshore. Funny how things happen like that.

I did what is probably a stupid thing, and it only took me a split-second to decide on the course of action. I simply started wading out to the skiff. I knew it would be deep, and might even have to swim a bit. As it turned out I only got armpit deep by the time I reached the skiff. Fortunately the rock that snagged the line also allowed me to climb up into the skiff, and after I got it I untied the anchor line from the boat, attached a float to the line (to recover the anchor later) and got the motor started.

I went back to the big boat, and our third partner took the skiff and recovered the bear shooter while I started drying off.

I've since learned that people have died doing a stunt like that. I wasn't too worried, as I had a back up plan if I hadn't recovered the skiff.

The moral of the story...

Use floating line to tie off the skiff!

I really appreciate all the replies. As I said in my original post I do not think the host will let us take the skiff out without him and he does not seem to be too excited about playing chauffer. He did say if we were not successful in the first few days he would take us out in the skiff. Maybe he will get more into it earlier but I am not counting on that. So that is why I am trying mainly to find out whether or not we should bother to hunt the tidal flats on foot from land. Most likely if we do it that way we will be hunting blind (have not already spotted a bear to stalk). Beats sitting on my butt here in Walla Walla, WA. Perhaps not the most productive or classic way to hunt SE Alaska for bear in the spring but I am hopeful that by cruising the roads, glassing clearcuts and meadows and doing some tidal flat hunting we should be able to find a good bear. Rufous.

Rufous,

I didn't pick up on the fact that the skiff owner didn't want you to use it yourselves. I'd promise to be careful, and ask real nice.

Anyhow, I have known a few guys hunt the road system during the Spring, and come back home with bears.

I hunted bear in SE AK last year with three buds in the kind stuff you're talking about, although not mud flats. Rather, we were in low lying areas with vegetation. Bears came to dig and eat in the stuff. We killed three good ones. We also got ourselves in a bit of trouble with our watercraft, but as with most things, it could have been avoided.

The plan was basically to hop in the boat and use high tide to get set up just inside a rivermouth in a likley spot. Tie off boat, set up camp. Glass and look for bear sign nearby. Find bears, stalk any shooters, kill same. Skin, quarter. Repeat for additional bears. Go home.

And that's how it played out, in a nutshell. Except for the part where the boat, um, flipped upside down on a rising tide. Human error's great, isn't it? Filed under 'live and learn'.

Good luck, but watch those tides--they're no joke.

Leighton