Alaska moose - OYOA style
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
noharleyyet
Well-known member
What's next?
Still waiting for some bags that were shipped, including the one holding my field journal. Will try to give the play by play from memory, lacking my written notes. Will start on that after dinner. Might take a couple days.
Trona country for antelope.
Trona country for antelope.
havgunwilltravel
Active member
Sounds like one hell of an adventure Big Fin, i certainly appreciate all the reports and updates from you on your travels and journeys. It is no swift play to continuously write such quality updates.
When are you taking a long plane flight and doing some OYOA hunting in the South Pacific? If you can get a leave pass from the handbreak i am sure you could easily fill in some 'down time' months sometime between april-june to climb some real hills and go your hardest on alpine game and deer species that are well within the reach of any keen self guided hunter prepared to catch a flight, hire a car and wear down rubber on their boots in country they will never forget..
When are you taking a long plane flight and doing some OYOA hunting in the South Pacific? If you can get a leave pass from the handbreak i am sure you could easily fill in some 'down time' months sometime between april-june to climb some real hills and go your hardest on alpine game and deer species that are well within the reach of any keen self guided hunter prepared to catch a flight, hire a car and wear down rubber on their boots in country they will never forget..
the nikster
Well-known member
I hope to hell you have some knuckle-smashing video complete with lengthy bleeeeeeeeeps!
Mix in a couple slips/trips/falls and a few farts and you have yourself one fine video!!
Mix in a couple slips/trips/falls and a few farts and you have yourself one fine video!!
Travel Days
The logistics of getting to Alaska is not all that hard. Getting all the gear to Alaska is where things get more challenging. We had shipped most our production gear up to Alaska via Fed Ex and ERA Airline Cargo, so things were pretty well set.
Mason and Brad, the two camera guys, were already in AK, having spent the previous week filming a Mountain Man episode. The plan was we would meet them in Fairbanks.
All went just fine. Even had the surprise of meeting up with my Uncles and cousins. I have three Uncles and many cousins who live in Haines, AK. I have a standing offer to join them on moose hunts at any time. Just doesn't seem like the best way to show how anyone can hunt AK moose, given most viewers don't have family to pick them up at the airport and let them use all their AK-based boats, camp gear, etc.
After a family visit, it was time to get the final details organized and get ready to fly out to Galena on ERA Airlines, where we would be met by our transporter, Charlie Green. Excitement is always high the night before launch, and this hunt was no exception. Sleep did not come easy, given my level of anticipation.
About 10:00 am, we loaded into the ERA 18-passenger turbo prop and within 90 minutes, were landing in Galena. Never seen such nice weather in Alaska. Something seems strange - no winds, no rain, no skeeters, just clear blue skies and amazing colors in the mountains.
While unloading our mountains of junk, Charlie came up and introduced himself. We went into Galena International and found the many containers of production gear that had been shipped out beforehand. Within a half hour, Charlie's truck was loaded to the gills, blocking his visibility as he backed up and rammed his tailgate into the grill of some person who had parked behind him.
Moral of that story - Don't park a brand new rig right behind a fully loaded truck that is many years and miles older. The newer truck never looks the same after that confrontation. Secretly, I am hoping his boat driving results in less damage than his vehicle driving.
Yet, in good Athabascan humor, he steps out, surveys the damage, then jumps back in the truck, announcing to us, "Damn white guys always park like that." We erupt in laughter, followed by his claim that if it doesn't dent metal, it is really not a reportable accident. To be reportable, it must result in more than busted grills and headlights.
We ramble down the roads to his boat launch, seeing all the sights of Galena along the way. We unload our gear and organize it in the boat for the 120 mile trip that takes us down the Yukon, up the Koyukuk, and up the Kateel, to the confluence of the Honhosa.
The new transporter rules state that I must buy the fuel. He cannot deliver it to me. So, his son, Bubba, and I take an ATV and a trailer full of 15 gallon drums to the local gas station. 75 gallons at $7.40 per gallon should be close to enough. This gas will come into play a few days later in the hunt.
Once ready and set, we load up and head down the river. He has put together a nice 18' boat with a 90hp, once he realized we would have four guys in the boat. I appreciated that very much, as a 16' with a 40hp would be a challenge. Given how many boats and motors Charlie has, I think he could make an combination a guy could want.
We were off. Big smiles and lots of excitement. Five hours and we should be at our drop off location. We would have to stop at the Koyukuk check station and check in on our way. Would be a time to get an update from the biologist, if he was there.
Only one small hiccup on the way. The 90hp Merc lost a bolt out of the lower unit, due to vibration, and it was making a huge rooster tail straight up out of the water. Not your normal prop rooster tail, but looked like you had a high pressure garden hose pointed straight up, parallel to the lower unit. Nothing any good transporter couldn't fix with a crescent wrench and pliers. After fifteen minutes on the beach, and Charlie sorting through the array of spare parts he caries, we were back under power. That fix lasted for the entire hunt, never once needing further attention.
By 7pm we were setting camp and organizing gear. The weather stayed beyond what I ever expected in AK. Only passed one camp on our way up the Kateel, having two boats and three hunters.
By dark, things were somewhat settled and we dined in the first of ten days of Mountain House dinners. Tomorrow would be a day of investigation, spending the first five days hunting, but mostly trying to learn the area in anticipation for the heart of the hunt that would be the last five days; the days the biologist told me would most likely be our best days (though he recommended we delay our hunt by five days and hunt the last ten days of seasons, something not possible once production schedules were set).
I went to bed, loving the feel of the crisp clean air on the brisk Alaska river bank. Sleep came easy.
A few pics.
My Alaska-based family in our last moose camp. From left to right - Me, Uncle Larry, Uncle Jim (Jimmer), family friend Herb Spradlin (now deceased), Cousin Robin, Uncle Dave (Boog). This was from 9/5/2001 to 9/18/2001. Was nice to spend an extra week in the old world, living without knowledge of what happened on 9/11
Charlie's boat loaded and organized. Ready to go.
Jerry showing his excitement.
The required check station on the Koyukuk.
If you are a resident, hunting on one of the registration permits, you can shoot any bull, but you must saw the antler palms in half. These are the pieces of the palms that have been turned in at the check station.
Charlie employing his considerable mechanical talents.
Camp at sunset the first evening.
Will post Day One of hunting, sometime tomorrow.
The logistics of getting to Alaska is not all that hard. Getting all the gear to Alaska is where things get more challenging. We had shipped most our production gear up to Alaska via Fed Ex and ERA Airline Cargo, so things were pretty well set.
Mason and Brad, the two camera guys, were already in AK, having spent the previous week filming a Mountain Man episode. The plan was we would meet them in Fairbanks.
All went just fine. Even had the surprise of meeting up with my Uncles and cousins. I have three Uncles and many cousins who live in Haines, AK. I have a standing offer to join them on moose hunts at any time. Just doesn't seem like the best way to show how anyone can hunt AK moose, given most viewers don't have family to pick them up at the airport and let them use all their AK-based boats, camp gear, etc.
After a family visit, it was time to get the final details organized and get ready to fly out to Galena on ERA Airlines, where we would be met by our transporter, Charlie Green. Excitement is always high the night before launch, and this hunt was no exception. Sleep did not come easy, given my level of anticipation.
About 10:00 am, we loaded into the ERA 18-passenger turbo prop and within 90 minutes, were landing in Galena. Never seen such nice weather in Alaska. Something seems strange - no winds, no rain, no skeeters, just clear blue skies and amazing colors in the mountains.
While unloading our mountains of junk, Charlie came up and introduced himself. We went into Galena International and found the many containers of production gear that had been shipped out beforehand. Within a half hour, Charlie's truck was loaded to the gills, blocking his visibility as he backed up and rammed his tailgate into the grill of some person who had parked behind him.
Moral of that story - Don't park a brand new rig right behind a fully loaded truck that is many years and miles older. The newer truck never looks the same after that confrontation. Secretly, I am hoping his boat driving results in less damage than his vehicle driving.
Yet, in good Athabascan humor, he steps out, surveys the damage, then jumps back in the truck, announcing to us, "Damn white guys always park like that." We erupt in laughter, followed by his claim that if it doesn't dent metal, it is really not a reportable accident. To be reportable, it must result in more than busted grills and headlights.
We ramble down the roads to his boat launch, seeing all the sights of Galena along the way. We unload our gear and organize it in the boat for the 120 mile trip that takes us down the Yukon, up the Koyukuk, and up the Kateel, to the confluence of the Honhosa.
The new transporter rules state that I must buy the fuel. He cannot deliver it to me. So, his son, Bubba, and I take an ATV and a trailer full of 15 gallon drums to the local gas station. 75 gallons at $7.40 per gallon should be close to enough. This gas will come into play a few days later in the hunt.
Once ready and set, we load up and head down the river. He has put together a nice 18' boat with a 90hp, once he realized we would have four guys in the boat. I appreciated that very much, as a 16' with a 40hp would be a challenge. Given how many boats and motors Charlie has, I think he could make an combination a guy could want.
We were off. Big smiles and lots of excitement. Five hours and we should be at our drop off location. We would have to stop at the Koyukuk check station and check in on our way. Would be a time to get an update from the biologist, if he was there.
Only one small hiccup on the way. The 90hp Merc lost a bolt out of the lower unit, due to vibration, and it was making a huge rooster tail straight up out of the water. Not your normal prop rooster tail, but looked like you had a high pressure garden hose pointed straight up, parallel to the lower unit. Nothing any good transporter couldn't fix with a crescent wrench and pliers. After fifteen minutes on the beach, and Charlie sorting through the array of spare parts he caries, we were back under power. That fix lasted for the entire hunt, never once needing further attention.
By 7pm we were setting camp and organizing gear. The weather stayed beyond what I ever expected in AK. Only passed one camp on our way up the Kateel, having two boats and three hunters.
By dark, things were somewhat settled and we dined in the first of ten days of Mountain House dinners. Tomorrow would be a day of investigation, spending the first five days hunting, but mostly trying to learn the area in anticipation for the heart of the hunt that would be the last five days; the days the biologist told me would most likely be our best days (though he recommended we delay our hunt by five days and hunt the last ten days of seasons, something not possible once production schedules were set).
I went to bed, loving the feel of the crisp clean air on the brisk Alaska river bank. Sleep came easy.
A few pics.
My Alaska-based family in our last moose camp. From left to right - Me, Uncle Larry, Uncle Jim (Jimmer), family friend Herb Spradlin (now deceased), Cousin Robin, Uncle Dave (Boog). This was from 9/5/2001 to 9/18/2001. Was nice to spend an extra week in the old world, living without knowledge of what happened on 9/11
Charlie's boat loaded and organized. Ready to go.
Jerry showing his excitement.
The required check station on the Koyukuk.
If you are a resident, hunting on one of the registration permits, you can shoot any bull, but you must saw the antler palms in half. These are the pieces of the palms that have been turned in at the check station.
Charlie employing his considerable mechanical talents.
Camp at sunset the first evening.
Will post Day One of hunting, sometime tomorrow.
Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
What the heck is up with residents having to cut the antler palms in half? Alaska seems more complicated than Oregon when it comes to regs and that is saying something.
Great recap so far.....
Great recap so far.....
NVLongbow
Active member
Thanks for taking time to write this evening. Can't wait to read more tomorrow.
the nikster
Well-known member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQrTGE4wwwA
And you don't ask Alaska "Why"
Take it back Joe!! Before the residents start fighting over the why's and wherefore's!
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Lawnboy
Well-known member
Yea I was following the letter of the law with the sheep hunt this year and cut out the rib meat. (the meat between rib bones) They even give you a picture of what the carcass should look like after in the regs. Talk about ridiculous
The rib meat on a sheep is about an inch wide and as thick as a rubber band. I guess I could of flossed with it.
Calvin
New member
Yea I was following the letter of the law with the sheep hunt this year and cut out the rib meat. (the meat between rib bones) They even give you a picture of what the carcass should look like after in the regs. Talk about ridiculous
My understanding is that the cut palms is a management tool to keep the number of hunters down. You can still hunt that area as a resident, but you must destroy the trophy value. This lets the locals kill a moose every year to subsist on, but keeps 1000 AK residents from running down the yukon in a jet boat to a get a 60" moose to put on the wall. (which was happening before the reg went into place) Residents can put in to get drawn for a tag and not have to destroy the trophy value.
As fare as the rib meat.. We have to do it with the sitka blacktails too. Nothing like sitting on a mountain cutting out rib meat, that's all blood shot from a good lung shot.
Yeah, that rib-meat law is about as brainless as the one forbidding boning out quarters. I shot a 55" bull on the infamous Sept. 11, 2001 at Kulik Lake, 60 or 70 miles out of Dillingham. My legs still hurt thinking about packing that animal back to the lake.
Bambistew
Well-known member
The 'locals' in a alot of areas could care less about antlers, they probably threw the other half in the river. Not like they're on a "once in a lifetime hunt" or plan on displaying it anywhere besides the roof of the outhouse... They're out there to put up meat for the winter, not go on vacation like the rest of us. The meat at their local grocery store is probably $15-20/lb or more, and they live in poverty.
The boning rules, and rib meat on the smaller animals is fugged up, I agree. But again was initiated due to hunters leaving quality meat on the bone. There are a lot of people that would leave a lot more meat in the field if it wasn't the rule, if its on the bone there are no questions.
I think the worst rule is the OTC (registration) tags only being sold in certain locations at certain times of the year to the benifit of the locals. It could cost you over $1000 to fly into a village to get a permit to hunt the area 2-3 months later.
We have a lot more screwy rules too.
Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
Interesting. I would lean toward restricting hunter numbers prior to destroying antlers if it was my world but clearly it's not. Glad it works out for them.
I BBQ'd up a bunch of ribs a couple years back and chewed away on them for a while. One of the worst idea's I've had in a long time! I am all about utilizing ALL the meat but the gristle is best suited for coyotes etc....
Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
Thanks for the info.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Thanks for the perspective Bambi. Interesting.
I very much agree with FishN4Eyes. I relate to you and your show and it is a big part why I'm on Hunt Talk. Personally, you make it more real to people like me who don't always end up up harvesting the quarry we are after.
I also like to do it my way, which I don't always benefit from, but makes it all that much more gratifying.
