I may be going to Ketchikan this summer. I noted the dates fall in the tail end of black bear season. As I've never been there, I was wondering if bear hunting is feasible and if so, is it any good?. Thanks, Rich.

Oh Ya ...................................... They may not be as thick as they are on Kuiu Is . But the whole mid to southern portion is overloaded with black bear ..................... They can he hunted easily from the road system and if you have a skiff you can get into world class black bear hunting ... ... When you get there ,go to Murray Pacific or Tongass Dock Store and get your rain gear .. Grunden,s or Helly Hansen .... I like the old style HH bibs and Grundens commercial green pullovers and snap front hooded coats ... I don,t like the Harvestor series ... They are for at sea ..pain in the butt to deal with in the brush ......... New whit ox ,or better yet Pig Skin gloves are best ... They are devil,s club proof .... .. Cow hide gets too slimy when wet ..... ., If you are going to be clambering around in the brush you should get corks ... X Tra Tuff corks are pretty good ... You will need regular Xtra Tuffs also .... They are called Ketchikan Sneakers for a good reason ........................................

There are black bear on all the Islands around Ketchikan but most people hunt Prince of Wales. Main reason is the bears are bigger and the hundreds of miles of rodes .A problem people will have to deal with is a current proposal by the F&G to close all hunting on P.O.W. rodes. This sounds like it is going to pass and be in effect for the spring of 2009. I was told the authorities found quit a number of dead bears along the rode system most small bears and sows.

The Prince of Wales closure on hunting Bear from a motor vehicle from the road system is just for the month of September .....

You must look over quite a few mid to late June Bear to get one that's not rubbed ... but they are there ... Also many Bear start leaving the Beaches in June and follow the green up ... up land.

The mainland might be a better choice for getting a good June hide than the western Islands.

Thanks for all the info. I'm really looking forward to it. When you mention hunting from the road. Do you just cruise along looking for bears from the car? Do you drive past them and then stalk back to where you saw them, or do people shoot them from cars? Thanks again.

There are very few roads in this country .... except for Prince of Wales Island which has lots because of many years of Logging.

That road system gives you upland and beach access ... most everywhere else you need a boat.

Many bear have been taken on POW Island just driving the roads or walking blocked Logging roads.

You cannot legally shoot from the vehicle and you cannot shoot from the drivable surface and your bullet cannot cross the road.