Black Bears in Alaska - worth it?

[mark land]

Weather was very nice, no bugs, nice and cool during the day, did have some snow 1 day, the day we decided to fish, imagine that!  But fairly nice, little rain, really a great trip!

[L. E. Carroll]

Our weather was also great.. I actually spent from May 18th thru June 4th there this spring and only encountered a very slight mist in the air one morning and this was after the hunt..

Cost.. this year was $3000 per person for HOC[ 6 max on the boat]. I paid $550 round trip for airfare from Portland Ore. to Anchorage add aprox $250 if you want to connect on to Homer roundtrip.  I was lucky, as I have a brother who lives in Anchorage and I borrowed his pick-up for the trip down and back to Homer for I and Thomas Burns, another hunter on this trip. I just left it parked in HOC's parking area while hunting].  

I think $350.00 was really close for hunting/fishing license and bear tags.  

We went out on Sunday AM and returned on Friday afternoon around 5 PM.... When not hunting, which was best from 5 PM till about 11Pm] We got to spend plenty of time fishing for halibut in the surrounding waters.  I actually caught an aprox. 38# halibut while anchored in our regular spot for hunting one afternoon.

I left two beautiful damascus knoves  [ by "Skullworks" along with $320 as a gratuity for our wonderful 2 man crew.. My total for the hunt was right at $4350 including the shipping of fish and bear hide and skull..

You really need to consider a room both the night prior to the hunt and the evening you return to Homer, to have time to insure all your sending home [ game and fish ] is taken care of and that propper shipping instructions are understood by the shippers as you need to stipulate the day you want your frozen boxes to arrive at your home if you use Fedex... I would suggest having all game and hides processed [ packaged and frozen]and taking it with you on the plane home.  

Here's the thing.. my hide and head was frozen [on the boat]  and still frozen upon return to Homer,  The skull needs to be removed from the hide if your not getting the rug etc. done in AK.  Otherwise you can't fly with it.. therefore I had to wait until after we left Homer for it to be taken to the processor as it took two days to defrost enough to remove the skull [ done by a local taxerdimist that meets the boat on return to port] and seals the hide  [ he's under contract with the state to do this] so that it could be included in my fedex shipment.. Had it been seperated prior to freezing on the boat, it would have made shipment home with me on the plane really simple and alot cheaper.

 Save lots of money by having your fish processed and bring them back frozen on the plane... about a $1.00 per/lb to totally process fish and vaccumn seal and "flash" freeze, plus about $25.00 for a styroform lined box.  

[Uncle Buck]

As far as the question "is it worth it" I would gofor the experience of hunting Alaska. If the goal is just to get a black bear there are plenty of places in your home state of Michigan you could bag one. But for all the experiences listed above I would definitely go.

[dnovo]

Great story Lloyd. Brings back good memeories and a strong desire to go back. 4 of us hunted with HOC in 2001. I got the only bear and a 85# halibut. It was an awesome time had by all. The days on front and behind the hunt are an excellent idea. Baggage on the plane then was a lot easier then and we were able to take everything with us. i think I was the only one to pay extra and it was only $75. We each brought back 90# of halibut filets.

[uglyjake]

Great information.  Are you planning to go in the Spring or Fall of 2011?

[jon boy]

2K is a bargain.  Most of the boat based hunts are now around $3500 plus air.  The prices have gone up a lot in the last few years, but they are great fun. Alaska is a place you will want to go to more than once. Homer Ocean and Alaska Coastal Marine are both very good for boat hunts.

[paparick]

I live in Alaska, and the black bears are thick here.  There are some areas where they are doing anti predation hunts due to decimation of the moose population.  I think there's a guy that has a lodge on the Yentna river that will take you right into the middle of one of the largest populations of black bears in the state.  If you hit it at the right time, you won't have to get very far up river to get into the bears.  If you travel to Alaska in the spring, we have the Great Alaska Sportsman Show every year at The Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.  There you can get the absolute best deals on hunts or combos.  Good luck!  Oh, and bring a back-up weapon.  As they say, "Welcome to Alaska, step off the airplane and into the food chain".  Grizzly bears are no joke.....really.

[huntingarcher]

Wow hunting black bears in Alaska does not seem to cost as much as I though.Lots of planning goes along way.Great info guys.