Hunting Kodiak Island?

[Skipmaster1]

Last week my wife and i were at a friends birthday party and we got to talking to another of our friends, Steve. He spent 3 months last summer doing bird studies on Kodiak and is heading back this coming summer. He and 3 others stayed in remote tent camp for the time he was there. After telling us about the great fishing, wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities(he didn't hunt last year), I was really interested. He kept telling me about the herd of feral reindeer and all the blacktails he saw!

After hearing that the deer season opened August 1st, I looked at my wife and said as a joke "Guess where we are going for our Honeymoon/ 1 year anniversary?" Her reply was "I thought we planned our wedding the first week of August so it wouldn't get in the way of hunting season!"

We went about our night and had a great time hanging out with some great people. When we got home she surprised me and  said that we should have Steve over for dinner soon so we can start really thinking about the logistics of going to Kodiak. It turns out that even though she doesn't  hunt, the idea of remote camping on Kodiak really appealed to her! I am truly the luckiest guy in the world.

So, who has hunted Kodiak? Any tips?  We are prepared for the rainy weather and have nearly all the gear we'll need. My new ultra light backpacking Tipi and stove will really be put to the test! Steve will run through our list to make sure we have everything we need and give us the needed contacts for planes and such.

My main concern is how/where to store the meat in such a bear rich environment.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

get Her a hand gun or a good shotgun.. Don't need to come back from hunting to find out a Bear hunted down Your wife.

Also look in to getting a cattle elec-fence, The most output You can buy... Yeti coolers are Grizzly proof.

[Skipmaster1]

Yeah, I'm not too worried about her, we'll have bear spray and she'll out shoot most anyone I know with a gun! She'll probably come hunting with me and just stay back when I start a stalk, plus she can cover me while I field dress.

My buddy used an electric fence and said it was great. They never really have any bear problems in camp because of the extreme cation used in keeping a clean camp, but over the years a few of the researches have had bears come to investigate out of curiosity and the fence will send them packing.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Sounds like an awesome time you got planned right there.

[Skipmaster1]

Originally posted by mysticguido:
 Yeti coolers are Grizzly proof.

My concern is getting such a big cooler onto a bush plane and just because it's bear proof doesn't mean it won't attract bears and nearly destroy an expensive cooler!

[Skipmaster1]

Originally posted by Stiks-n-Strings:
Sounds like an awesome time you got planned right there.

Should be an awesome time! I am so pumped to do this and to be able to share the experience with my wife! It's not set in stone that we are going but it's looking very, very likely!

[beendare]

I would  really like to go back myself....lost my hunting buddy to leg problems.Kodiak is a spot where if you work hard you can see B&C deer.
Steve must have been in the SW to see the reindeer/caribou.

The wind and weather will test even the sturdiest of gear- not a spot to go ultra light. One trip we had [verified] 90 mph wind gusts and you can count on rain. Many guys rent a "Bombshelter"

 The bush flights to the south part of the island are getting very expensive. I would second the portable hotwire setup around your camp to discourage night time visitors- and you will get visitors [picture a VW bug with fur]

Many trips in Nov where you can stay on a large boat. The deer concentrate on the beaches that time of year.

 The deer stand out in that early season with the almost orange of their summer coats against emerald green hills. The deer will be high early. 8-1 is a bit early, their antlers don't stop growing until about 9-1 or a bit later. Mid August their antler tips are still a little squishy.

 The bears really don't want anything to do with you unless you leave food in camp, that said, I still carry a shotgun and my bow on my back especially when crossing thick alder choked draws. If you are good with a pistol better yet.

 Much has been written on the effectiveness of Bear Spray- I would worry the strong wind might put you in a bad position [like writhing around on the ground rubbing your burning eyes while a brownie has his way with you!]

I've spent some time with some pretty hardy gals that enjoy the wilderness....but if it was me, I wouldn't start my marriage on Kodiak. YMMV
 I suppose you will find out real quick if she is a trooper! good luck

[beendare]

Oh, meat wise, we bring some dry bags and sink them in the lake [most flyins are on a lake]

[Skipmaster1]

I know the wind will be fierce at times and rain is the norm. Steves camp used the same Tipi I have as a mess tent and they used small all season mountaineering tents for sleeping. We will probably have both and can always lower the Tipi if winds get too high. The Tipi should be nice though as it and the wood burning stove weigh under 12#'s combined and it should make it more bearable if we can dry out a bit.

I would like to go later in the season but with her as a teacher and me spending 2 weeks in september out west chasing elk, it doesn't work well for me and she can't do it any other time.

Each of us will be packing heat and I have the same thoughts on bear spray but many people who have much more experience that i do in bear country still recommend  having it.

I really hear you about bringing her along but I think she'll be ok. If it came down to it she'd spend the whole time in the tent reading. We dated in high school and have always been good friends over the past 15 years, I know what she can handle and what she can't and she knows that if I am telling her this is gonna be rough, she is in for one hell of a ride. I think we'll only be camping/hunting a few days anyway and try to visit her family in anchorage and do some other sight seeing.

Great idea on storing the meat!

[Bambeklr]

Man that sounds like a killer trip. My wife loves camping but I think that would be a little extreme for her. Either way if you all do it, good luck. You will make memories that will never be forgotten!!!!!

[tuscarawasbowman]

When I was going to school at NOLS we were testing a portable electric bear fence setup that NOLS has been testing for 10 yrs. on NF land for the Forest Service. As far as I know the Forest Service has not yet cleared it for production but all I can say is we had no problems and if they do give it the green light keeping food in bear country will be a heckuva lot easier.

[Bivyhunter]

I don't think you'll have a whole lot of luck with firewood for your stove (certainly finding dry stuff will really be tough).  Most of the vegetation that is taller than grass is scrub willow and some alders.  Where I was on the west side, there wasn't any firewood.  The bears should still be pretty busy on the salmon streams in August, we never had a problem with them.  Good rain gear and a better tent!  Your wife will do just fine.  I've dragged mine around on multiple bivy hunting adventures and she has done better than many of the guys I've hunted with over the years.

[straitera]

Be careful. Seen it before. Either she has something up her sleeve; or, you just may have one of the coolest wives on the planet! I vote for the latter. Better not tell her about the Grizzlies.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Greg,

You really need to stop posting.

I get more and more jealous evey post.  You are going to have a great year brother!!!!

 

[Tom1954]

I hunted Kodiak in early Sept, I think, and all of the deer were up high.  Two major things I wished I knew going in was the amount of side-hill walking we would be doing.  I bought a pair of Danner lace-to-toe boots after the hunt because of the difficulty I had with normal hunting boots during the hunt.  You'll really need the extra support.

The other thing I wish I knew was the amount of hiking we had to do through the alders, and how thick they were.  I carried a hip quiver and had severely damaged feathers on nearly every arrow within 3 days.  Take something to protect your feathers, or consider a bow quiver.

Perhaps you're prepared for both of these situations already.  I'm just mentioning them in case you aren't.  And yes ... it rains FREQUENTLY on Kodiak Island.  But you already mentioned you had good rain gear.

[Steve H.]

Kodiak is one of the few places I haven't hunted yet in Alaska but it is on my tentative list for this year too.

[WarDancer]

There is nothing easy about hunting on Kodiak, need to be in really good shape,probably see a lot of bears. I would sure think twice about taking the wife.

[Chromebuck]

I've worked Kodiak Island for three full years as a fishing guide and a transporter for hunters.  Hunting Kodiak in August is an obsurd thought if not petrifying.  The alder and devils club is still standing and for those that are not familiar with Kodiak it looks as lush as a Hawaian Island in the summer.  There is no vegetation under 7ft until you get to altitude or the southern tip which is tundra and where the caribou exist.  You'll be roaming around in tunnels that were mostly forged by brownies. I have yet to met a person that felt comfortable hunting leaf-on there.  Firearms are mute point. If an encounter were to happen it would be NOW!  Running into some cubs or a cache of dead blacktail would likely seal your fate.  Not worth it.  Go in August to fish silvers, halibut and rockfish.  Hunt no earlier than October.  Contact me if you have any questions about the Island.  As of last year there is an over the counter Mt. Goat tag that has nearly 100% success rate if you can hike, but for residents only.  There are Elk and woodland bison hunts also available for drawing, but the drawing ended Dec. 31, 2011 for the 2012 season.  Also, as of last year you cannot fly and shoot caribou on the same day. Take plenty gear.

Anywhere out toward Shelikof Straits has tons of firewood on the beach.  Mostly all cottonwood and seasoned to perfection.  Very rich Alutiq native culture in the area as well as Russian Orthodoxy.

~CB

[Skipmaster1]

Originally posted by Chromebuck:
I've worked Kodiak Island for three full years as a fishing guide and a transporter for hunters.  Hunting Kodiak in August is an obsurd thought if not petrifying.  The alder and devils club is still standing and for those that are not familiar with Kodiak it looks as lush as a Hawaian Island in the summer.  There is no vegetation under 7ft until you get to altitude or the southern tip which is tundra and where the caribou exist.  You'll be roaming around in tunnels that were mostly forged by brownies. I have yet to met a person that felt comfortable hunting leaf-on there.  Firearms are mute point. If an encounter were to happen it would be NOW!  Running into some cubs or a cache of dead blacktail would likely seal your fate.  Not worth it.  Go in August to fish silvers, halibut and rockfish.  Hunt no earlier than October.  Contact me if you have any questions about the Island.  As of last year there is an over the counter Mt. Goat tag that has nearly 100% success rate if you can hike, but for residents only.  There are Elk and woodland bison hunts also available for drawing, but the drawing ended Dec. 31, 2011 for the 2012 season.  Also, as of last year you cannot fly and shoot caribou on the same day. Take plenty gear.

Anywhere out toward Shelikof Straits has tons of firewood on the beach.  Mostly all cottonwood and seasoned to perfection.  Very rich Alutiq native culture in the area as well as Russian Orthodoxy.

~CB

Thank you for the information. The only other real info I have is from my buddy who spent 3 months in a remote tent camp there last summer. We will be having a serious sit down with him to find out exactly where he was and what the conditions he encountered were like. I know he did lots of fishing and had lots of deer in bow range....he just never thought to bring his bow when he left home for the summer! I also know he spent some time with a guy he met on the island that spent 4 weeks every summer hunting solo from a backpack.

I talked with my wife today about the concern of you and others here about trying to hunt this time of year and your reccomendation of just camping and fishing. We both agreed that if it isn't possible to hunt safely then we may just can the trip as neither of us really enjoys fishing. We may just fall back onto our backup plan of a week or 2 of chasing speed goats in MT and I'll head to Kodiak either this year or next after I get back from chasing elk

I'm sure I will be contacting you in the future as I have a lot to think about.

[limbow]

I just went to Kodiak this last November and hunted out of Larsen Bay. We hunted out of a lodge there so I can't comment on where to store the meat out in the bush.

 I primarily wore my Kuiu Chugach rain gear the entire trip with the spindrift jacket beneath and Sitka Kelvin pants down low. The temps were in the low 30's for the most part. We had rain, sleet and snow while I was there. The real kicker was the high winds. It was from 20-40mph with gusts up to 60mph! Difficult conditions for stick and string.

I bought a pair of Lowa GTX hunter extremes and a pair of Hanwag Trapper Elite GTX boots. I took them both and rotated them every other day. This type of boot is a must for this trip in my opinion. However one trad hunter in our camp wore Lacrosse rubbers the entire time, he had done this hunt before and was well versed with hunting-period! I learned more from him in 7 days than I could believe. Thanks Marty!  

I am pretty sure I spent more $$ on gear for this trip than the trip cost me, my wife would concur    But, I did not want to suffer through a trip of a lifetime due to a poor choice in clothing/boots.

My pack was an Eberlestock X1. It performed well with a quartered out Sitka Blacktail and spare gear I had packed. I purchased a few extra lashing straps from Eberlestock for my pack and I am glad I did, I used all of them once I had a Blacktail packed inside my X1.

I packed a sidearm as did all of us that were there. Four out of 6 of us had Brown Bear encounters. Fortunately with each occurrence the bear went away from us instead of engaging with us. One hunter lost his Sitka Buck to a sow and two cubs!

As we were leaving, it snowed heavily. We heard  that pushed most of the deer down low and onto the beach area. This would have helped us trad bow hunters for sure. Good luck and enjoy your trip. A few pics from my trip to Kodiak  

 
 

Here are some of the alders we contended with--How do you get an arrow through that??