Alaska black bear hunt 2019
- Thread starter djlax
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I flew in to 16b in may. Doug from Alaska West air only charges $1500 but you have to make your way to nikiski to use him so that eats most of your cost savings. But then you can have a rental car to use if you tag early. They will probably fly you further north in 16 than I was if you are flying from anchorage. If that ends up being outside the predator control area then who knows you might see bigger bears I don't know.
No can't tell you August but you will probably be hunting higher than I was which was about sea level. I will likely be there next fall as well with my brother since he can't make it in the spring. I hunted in fall off the trail system last year and we were looking above the treeline.
It's nice having a transporter who will drop you in an area they are seeing bears. It's basically a semi guided hunt at that point. The bear are miraculously easy to see from the air which is precisely why you can't hunt and fly during the same day by law.
However, you are only looking at a half hour of flight time or an hour you have to pay for each way. $1k per hour is fairly steep. If you eventually get smart enough to pick your own spots you can save some $. I know in the spring it's not rocket science and you can land in an area near where you spot a few.
No can't tell you August but you will probably be hunting higher than I was which was about sea level. I will likely be there next fall as well with my brother since he can't make it in the spring. I hunted in fall off the trail system last year and we were looking above the treeline.
It's nice having a transporter who will drop you in an area they are seeing bears. It's basically a semi guided hunt at that point. The bear are miraculously easy to see from the air which is precisely why you can't hunt and fly during the same day by law.
However, you are only looking at a half hour of flight time or an hour you have to pay for each way. $1k per hour is fairly steep. If you eventually get smart enough to pick your own spots you can save some $. I know in the spring it's not rocket science and you can land in an area near where you spot a few.
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Yes. Mine was an average bear and bb aren't actually that big. I paid Alaska airlines $75 to check a 55 cooler which fit the bone in meat and skull. I left the hide with a tanner in town.
I didn't get him until day 6 though. Pilot put me in a good area even saw 3 bear including 1 he thought over 6 ft when he was dropping me off in the vicinity. But seeing them from air and spotting them from the ground are 2 different things. Next time I would better position myself closer to the very bottom of the hillside where they were so trees and brush along the river wouldn't be covering them as much instead of glassing from my campsite a long ways off. I will also have a tripod for my binos to glass longer and steadier.
I wouldn't completely discount August. Those pilots fly all over and know where they see them and the food sources any time of year I'm sure.
I didn't get him until day 6 though. Pilot put me in a good area even saw 3 bear including 1 he thought over 6 ft when he was dropping me off in the vicinity. But seeing them from air and spotting them from the ground are 2 different things. Next time I would better position myself closer to the very bottom of the hillside where they were so trees and brush along the river wouldn't be covering them as much instead of glassing from my campsite a long ways off. I will also have a tripod for my binos to glass longer and steadier.
I wouldn't completely discount August. Those pilots fly all over and know where they see them and the food sources any time of year I'm sure.
Well the only experience I have was in Matachewan, Ontario hunting over a bait barrel, so the Alaska style will be new. Quite honestly the experience is more of what I'm going for - I've never been to Alaska. Sort of like bird hunting, I like watching the dogs work more than I care about shooting birds. Anyway, I've read the bears should be moving up to the blueberry patches by late July, so that's why we chose late August - hopefully still reasonable weather above tree-line before late fall.
Another subject - my family and I have enjoyed this bear meat from Ontario more than expected. I read all sort of opinions online prior, but this stuff is good, zero complaints.
Another subject - my family and I have enjoyed this bear meat from Ontario more than expected. I read all sort of opinions online prior, but this stuff is good, zero complaints.
Many of the locals hunt over bait too.
As far as weather expect plenty of rain and don't be surprised if the temp drops below freezing at night especially.
Be very very careful and plan and train thoroughly. It's a huge deal especially if you are going yourself. Start off with backpacking where you cannot just go back to your truck for supplies and try to go weekends it is raining heavily and if it's cold all the better. Practice cooking and filtering water. Get a gym membership that has a stair climber as you are lucky to find a hill that isn't strait up and down and chocked with brush you can hardly get.through.
As far as weather expect plenty of rain and don't be surprised if the temp drops below freezing at night especially.
Be very very careful and plan and train thoroughly. It's a huge deal especially if you are going yourself. Start off with backpacking where you cannot just go back to your truck for supplies and try to go weekends it is raining heavily and if it's cold all the better. Practice cooking and filtering water. Get a gym membership that has a stair climber as you are lucky to find a hill that isn't strait up and down and chocked with brush you can hardly get.through.
I recently returned from Alaska, but was unfortunately unsuccessful finding a black bear. I guess it's been unseasonably warm and dry, so the black bears are sticking to cover - not on the hillsides eating berries, not yet at least. I caught my first Dolly Varden and enjoyed some beautiful scenery - and dodged a few wildfires. Saw several moose, one big bull. Kicked up lots and lots of willow ptarmigan. A truly beautiful country up there.
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IAhawks84
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Sorry to hear that you were not successful with the bears. I had a similar experience in May. We set out to Idaho for black bear, having never hunted bears before, we contacted fish and game and told them our plans. They said we'd be a little earlier than most but thought it'd work to our advantage and we had a great plan. We show up at warm river Idaho, pull into a camp ground and the ranger there told us we were too early. Too much snow. Been there 5 minutes and they tell us were too early. Talk about a let down. We hunted 4-5 days. Found 1 pile of scat and one bear carcass. The bear carcass was in the second location we hunted, and that was the only drainage we could access. Needless to say, it was a longer drive home than it was out there.
Your photos look like you experienced a lot of other things though. Alaska is a majestic place that is worth the trip just for the beauty of the land. It is rough however booking a hunt, all of the anticipation, traveling, and not even seeing the critter your chasing. I just had a little boy 2 weeks ago, but I'm going to try to make it back out to Idaho for the last two weeks of the season since our tags are good for the fall still. I wish you luck in your future if you decide to continue on your black bear quest as well.
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