First Alaskan hunt

[chefrvitale]

Hi all, I am going to Alaska August 18th chasing Caribou with my 70# Tomahawk and cedar arrows. Has anyone been to Alaska this time of year? I am trying to get as many first person experiences as possible to help me prepare. I will be dropped by bush plane for ten days north of delta junction, any info would be great.

[AkDan]

yup be prepped for bugs!  snow!  rain!  heat!  bears!   Bring a light weight headnet in every pocket!  Whitesox and skeeters can be miserable!

Be prepped for warm weather meat handling!  Do some research on this, early-mid august around here can be rainy cold miserable winter feeling, or down right hot from one day to the next!

Also depending on where you're at you'll want a way to comm check emergency season closures (if you're hunting the 40 mile herd)...some of that herd shuts down fast.  Not knowing where you're going I thought I'd mention that, at least run it by your pilot.  

If you're flying farther north to the porcupine herd area you'll be fine.  A sat phone is still a good thing to have regardless.

if I can help I live in north pole and should be home still at that time.

[willob]

Can I ask how you decided to go to this area?  I am starting to plan a caribou trip and looking at different areas.  How do you know the area is good for bowhunting with some cover available?  Do you rely on the recommendation of the flying service?

[AkDan]

caribou are nomads..there is no good area...bou are where they are.  If you hire a guy make sure he can A drop you near a heard and B move you if needed....40 mile country and the porcupine herds are both located in good stalking country...unlike say the centeral arctic which are basically on a golf course.

Western arctic is also good but logistics are harder due to access.  Ie $

we have 26 wild herds of bou, plus the herds on the kenai penn of reindeer (think jim shockey in Alaska).

[willob]

Thanks for the info Dan.  I have a couple of friends that hunted the North Slope area a couple of years ago.  They saw plenty of animals but stalking was almost impossible in the area due to flat open country.

[AkDan]

The slope can be tough if youre outside of any creek bottoms!  

Ya gotta hunt them where they are unfortunatly.     Caribou move fast when theyre roaming, the down side to trees is seeing animals before they zip through when in small bands.   You can hunt the migration trails and catch them in mobetta areas like in western arctic country.  

Generally when a group comes through the rest either use the same trail or one next to it.   Until they dont and leaving you questioning their sanity lol. They are as predictabally unpredictable as it gets.

[chefrvitale]

Great tips, I am going with Richard Gardner. I hired his son as a apprentice out of culinary school and let him stay with my wife and I while he got settled. Richard offered to take me hunting in zone 2 so I jumped at it.

[chefrvitale]

I picked up Sitka rain gear for the trip, have you guys heard anything about it? The guy told me it was designed for this style of hunt and I got it for about 70% off after my coupons and the clearance super sale I found it at.

[AkDan]

good stuff, as is kuiu.

I prefer helle impertech guide in 3/4 for hunting and 1/2 for fishing only because I'm cheap LOL!  I've beat them to kingdom come.  My only complaints would be, they don't last forever, they eventually dry rot off the fabric, and the cuff straps will LIKELY (not always) need to be re-sewn or reinforced.

[AkDan]

I need to make a correction here....

"plus the herds on the kenai penn of reindeer (think jim shockey in Alaska). "

This would be Aleutians, not kenai peninsula. Adak should ring a bell to many, and their is many other islands with herds roaming with little pressure.

[flinter]

Dan is spot on. Consider taking an ultra light fishing outfit with very small spinners or a fly outfit. Fried Artic Grayling with wild blueberry pancakes on the tundra will be a meal you will long remember!!!

[chinook907]

Chef - I flew into Richard's area a number of years ago before I switched to a trad bow.  He is a friend of some close friends in Delta. Are you going into the old long-abandoned gold mine area ?  That's where we went.  I was a little shocked to see that exact spot in a caribou article for Traditional Bow hunter mag a couple years ago.

It's a good area, beautiful really.  Caribou was 3rd on our list so we went in the latter part of September, mainly for moose and grizzlies.

As I remember zone 2 generally doesn't close early due to the quota being killed.

Sitka type clothes would be great there as it's a nice ridge system well above treeline.

We actually got a fair bit of snow but we were in 6 weeks later than you.

Decent area for stalking, and there are some caribou trails burned deep into the tundra as well.

[Kevin Dill]

I've flown through the Fortymile region a bunch of times and I've even managed to see a caribou or two. In mid/late August they are most likely going to be near or above treeline on high hills, plateaus or ridges. Think lots of rocks, scattered clumps of berries or brush, few scrubby spruce...maybe some tussocks. Visibility shouldn't be a problem. As August gets long, the migration begins toward the south and east generally. I've had years where hundreds of them came through my area in just a few days. By September 10 many of them (if not all) are out of the alpine and long gone. Mid/late August should be prime for the GMU you're in, and then it comes down to your pilot-friend being able to place you near animals. If that doesn't happen you'll see few or no caribou...the Fortymile and Nelchina herds can be notoriously unpredictable and hard to locate. That's the nature of caribou anyway; they're evolved to be wanderers and not homebodies.

I'll be in the Fortymile area in late August myself...fires permitting. I'm going up alone and cubbing in to an area I've never hunted before. I'm hunting solo for 8-10 days and I expect to see plenty of caribou...but not every day. I'm looking forward to the challenge and adventure. Should be a good one.

[CoachBGriff]

Be sure to keep up updated on this trip!  It sounds like it will be a blast!

[chefrvitale]

Back from Alaska and wishing I was still there! I am trying to post some pictures but can't find the option, any help would be much appreciated.

[achigan]

I upload images to Photobucket. Open the pic, click on img. i box to the right, that will copy the file. Come back here and click on "full reply form". That will open box to copy the file. Add text, done.

Go here to find all you need to know about posting pics!

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=129

Bisch

[chefrvitale]

Thanks guys

[yeager]

Richard,  I've been researching different areas of Alaska for a hunt in 2017.  Which transporter are you using for your hunt?  I've been looking at 40 Mile out of Tok and Quicksiver out of Fairbanks.  Thanks and good luck on your hunt!

Bob

[AkDan]

Bob, ive flown with both, both are class outfits!