2026 POW Black Bear

[Rowdy99]

Hey guys,

Gearing up to head over to Prince Of Wales with a spring bear tag in my pocket. We will be staying with Coffman Cove from June 6th-14th ish (maybe longer). Very excited to see Alaska for the first time and hopefully have an opportunity at a bear after getting our teeth kicked in Idaho last May! Any gear recommendations/flight and travel tips/ friendly advice would be greatly appreciated for this group of Texans!

Anyone else from rokslide planning on being in the area around that time?

We will have a few females with us that aren't big hunters. Outside of doing some fishing, is there anything that is "must see's" for them while we are hunting?

Thanks guys!

 

[Supercubtrapper]

Getting smoked salmon chowder at The Alaska Fish House in Ketchikan would be a top priority for me.

 

[Rowdy99]

Getting smoked salmon chowder at The Alaska Fish House in Ketchikan would be a top priority for me.

I am glad you mentioned this, we should have a day on each end of the trip in Ketchikan!

 

[Coveyleader]

Depending on how you’re getting there, the large cardboard fish boxes are your friend. The cardboard color, not the white ones. They are compact and will fit a 7+ foot bear hide if you happen to shoot a big one.

Halibut will be close to shore, and I would much rather stuff those boxes with fish and let the eagles dine on that delicious ocean flavored bear. FYI you’re not required to salvage bear meat after June 1. In some cases, the meat is most likely better than the hide in that region.

That time of year you will see baby blacktails laying right in the road. They will look like road kill but they’re alive and well. The bears actually start hunting the roads for them.

 

[Rowdy99]

Depending on how you’re getting there, the large cardboard fish boxes are your friend. The cardboard color, not the white ones. They are compact and will fit a 7+ foot bear hide if you happen to shoot a big one.

Halibut will be close to shore, and I would much rather stuff those boxes with fish and let the eagles dine on that delicious ocean flavored bear. FYI you’re not required to salvage bear meat after June 1. In some cases, the meat is most likely better than the hide in that region.

That time of year you will see baby blacktails laying right in the road. They will look like road kill but they’re alive and well. The bears actually start hunting the roads for them.

Plan on flying into Ketchikan and taking the Ferry over to POW! I appreciate the intel on the fish boxes, that has been a topic of discussion for our group. We did read we aren't required to salvage the meat after June 1. Do you think its worth taking some of the premium cuts just to try? Or will it all be too fishy?

We have a couple fawn distress calls we plan on taking and potentially utilizing. We have a vehicle and a skiff to use. We have been trying to decide which tactic to initially focus on. Riding the beaches or walking/calling closed logging roads.

 

[Coveyleader]

Bears are hit and miss up there. I guess it would really depend on where I shot him but you can alway try, no harm in that. Sometimes they smell "neutral" and I'd say those might be worth it. The farther from the salt, possibly better, but the majority of the the bears there are "fish bears" at some point in the year.

I may be jaded a bit, as I hunted the island right at the time before it blew up, and the last time was 3-4 years ago. As of late, you just don't see bears from the truck like you used to. I remember back in 2001, bears were like deer on a evening drive in the midwest. They were literally everywhere. You would think I'm BSing you to say we would see 15-20 bears a night. It would be interesting to chat with the locals up there price per gallon of gas vs bear seen from the truck.

Like everything, changes happen. I couldn't imagine that place in the 80's and 90s. Some of the old stuff I read, and the same bays we used to explore were noted having a couple B&C bears on the same beach year after year sometimes 2 on the same beach, the same night.

I'd take that skiff all day long, and make sure you can get to remote places with it. I'd also stay away from known guided areas or easy to get to places. You will be disappointed as the bears just don't hang out on the beaches in those areas. Have fun, the saltwater fishing there that time of year can be better than the bear hunting.

 

[wildwilderness]

Bring waders and excellent rain gear. I bet you see bears.

If you are borrowing a skiff I’m sure they will give instructions, and beware the huge tidal changes and currents they create.

POW was my first trip to Alaska with Kodiak second. Loved it so much I ended up moving here!

 

[Rowdy99]

Bears are hit and miss up there. I guess it would really depend on where I shot him but you can alway try, no harm in that. Sometimes they smell "neutral" and I'd say those might be worth it. The farther from the salt, possibly better, but the majority of the the bears there are "fish bears" at some point in the year.

I may be jaded a bit, as I hunted the island right at the time before it blew up, and the last time was 3-4 years ago. As of late, you just don't see bears from the truck like you used to. I remember back in 2001, bears were like deer on a evening drive in the midwest. They were literally everywhere. You would think I'm BSing you to say we would see 15-20 bears a night. It would be interesting to chat with the locals up there price per gallon of gas vs bear seen from the truck.

Like everything, changes happen. I couldn't imagine that place in the 80's and 90s. Some of the old stuff I read, and the same bays we used to explore were noted having a couple B&C bears on the same beach year after year sometimes 2 on the same beach, the same night.

I'd take that skiff all day long, and make sure you can get to remote places with it. I'd also stay away from known guided areas or easy to get to places. You will be disappointed as the bears just don't hang out on the beaches in those areas. Have fun, the saltwater fishing there that time of year can be better than the bear hunting.

I bet the old days were really something to behold! I am just hoping we can find a couple good bears! I think we will be leaning into the skiff, I just have to figure out what a good bay/cove looks like on a map so we have a somewhat of a game plan headed in.

We are definitely looking forward to the fishing!

 

[Rowdy99]

Bring waders and excellent rain gear. I bet you see bears.

If you are borrowing a skiff I’m sure they will give instructions, and beware the huge tidal changes and currents they create.

POW was my first trip to Alaska with Kodiak second. Loved it so much I ended up moving here!

We are planning on stocking foot waders with some kind of lace up wading boot and solid rain gear. We are a little nervous about the tidal change, not super proficient at reading tidal maps. I am sure there will be some learning moments.

I have heard it many times, " don't go to Alaska as a young man"... Guess we will see how it changes my life!

 

[Coveyleader]

Go online, as you get closer to your dates, to this link, or one like it and with your phone, take screen snaps of the days and the tides. It will look like the image below. The best hunting times without a doubt is when you get a low tide closest to dark as possible. Example, on the 20th of April, you can see a low tide at 930ish PM, that is money.

If you're fishing, I like it an hour before and after the high tide, or low tide. The water wll be "slack" and you can keep you lines vertical. After that, you would need Rosey O'donnel type weight to keep your line vertical, and even then, its going to be rough. The tides up there are unreal, the tighter the channel, the more violent the tide will be. Also be careful with rocks, you can be in the middle of some pretty deep water, out from shore, and wala, rockpiles. Also logs, keep they are floating everywhere. One guy I hunted with would never drive back in the dark, which always bugged me when hunting bears, as you should be coming back late, but he killed a ton of them, so no arguments from me.

 

[Rowdy99]

Go online, as you get closer to your dates, to this link, or one like it and with your phone, take screen snaps of the days and the tides. It will look like the image below. The best hunting times without a doubt is when you get a low tide closest to dark as possible. Example, on the 20th of April, you can see a low tide at 930ish PM, that is money.

If you're fishing, I like it an hour before and after the high tide, or low tide. The water wll be "slack" and you can keep you lines vertical. After that, you would need Rosey O'donnel type weight to keep your line vertical, and even then, its going to be rough.

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Awesome tip man Thank you very much for that insight.