AK Coastal Black Bear Gear

[jdvanstar]

Doing a coastal black bear hunt in SE AK this spring - last full week of April. It’s boat based - living on the boat and then stalking bears along the coastline. For all of you who’ve done this before, what sort of gear would you recommend? Waders essential? Ideal pack size? Etc. Any help appreciated!

 

[Coveyleader]

Waders for sure, especially if bowhunting. Rifle, not quite as important.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Using your search engine of choice, search for brown bear gear list. Lots of list out there from the various outfitters.

 

[gbflyer]

Waders for sure. The good guides spend most of their time in the water as to not spread scent. Could probably get away with the guide length (like regular pants) but full length are warmer and you can roll them down. You’re gonna be in the salt with them, don’t buy cheap ones. We like Simms. Some sort of comfortable pile under the waders. Good wader boots, no studs and no felt. Day Pack large enough for your personal daily gear. Preferably something quiet.

Boat based hunt is the way to go in SE. Excellent choice. Oh yeah if you’re not a night owl, make sure you work on becoming one. The big boys come out right before dark, and that’s getting kinda late in April.

 

[Jgriff]

Waders absolutely. You will also need good rain gear. When I was there they told me if you walked more than 100 yards away from lodging, you were going to get wet. It rains all the time and comes quick when it does. One of the funnest, best places I’ve ever hunted though!

 

[Marbles]

Waders and good rain gear are common. I prefer to use wool, synthetics, and a fast drying shoe and embrace being we and cold. But, that is assuming I'm getting off the boat once a bear is spotted for a stalk and not spending hours sitting on the beach. It will also depend on how cold adjusted you are, if you can wear a T-shirt in 30 degree weather and not shiver, you should be good with my approach. Hard to function if you are shivering though.

 

[Theringworm]

My sig pic is from mine SE hunt a year ago. Granted it was a Fall hunt so we were only in the streams with the salmon runs. Spring will be way less of that and more of cruising shore lines I would imagine. So maybe less time actually in the water than a fall hunt and more time in a boat which can be brisk/cold, but still similar gear.

I wore Simms chest waders, and boots. Waist waders, which I also own, wouldn’t have been tall enough for some of the deep water crossings we had. A great rain jacket, I took the Kuiu Yukon and it was sufficient. I wore lightweight - mid weight wool base layers. I took my Kuiu 3200 pack. Everything inside was inside a a dry bag. An absolute must. It was a frequent occurrence that half of my pack would be submerged in the water climbing under big downed logs or wading up and down streams and finding a deep whole. A mesh or lightweight balaclava or head/neck gaiter for concealment. You’ll often be within 20-30 yds of bears. If you typically carry stuff in your pants pockets that you readily use it will need to be relocated to a chest rig/bino harness for ease of access and to keep it out of the water. I used a rubber glove outer layer with a thin wool insert.

Happy to answer any other questions about gear if needed. It’s a blast of a hunt.

 

[Coveyleader]

I'm going to go against the grain, I prefer neoprene waders as they are way warmer, and a lot quieter. I do agree, the waist waders are a good compromise as well. You can get by with hip boots, or even rubber boots, but waders have alot going for them especially during the stalk.

 

[adventure907]

Simms waders, either chest or pant length. Chest waders are more important in the fall, the pant lengths are just fine in the spring.

 

[Northpark]

I got away with knee high lacrosse boots but I’d recommend at least hip boots or preferably waders next time. Good rain gear and layers. I lived in my kuiu attack pants and fleece jacket. Along with my puffy, and rain gear and lacrosse knee high boots. I was boat based and honestly didn’t use most of the gear I took. Think I ended up using my binos and rangefinder and rifle and knife and game bags and that’s about it.

 

[Coveyleader]

Couple wader pros……

Get out of boat anywhere long before you hit the shore.

Going across tidal flats, no need to deviate around water in those little cricks and tidal pools.


Sometimes the shore is very narrow, staying in the water is better than getting in the “jungle”


Incoming tide with boots sucks, don’t forget it gets real cold one hour before dark in the boat. Being wet isn’t fun.

 

[jdvanstar]

Waders for sure. The good guides spend most of their time in the water as to not spread scent. Could probably get away with the guide length (like regular pants) but full length are warmer and you can roll them down. You’re gonna be in the salt with them, don’t buy cheap ones. We like Simms. Some sort of comfortable pile under the waders. Good wader boots, no studs and no felt. Day Pack large enough for your personal daily gear. Preferably something quiet.

Boat based hunt is the way to go in SE. Excellent choice. Oh yeah if you’re not a night owl, make sure you work on becoming one. The big boys come out right before dark, and that’s getting kinda late in April.

Great stuff!!!

 

[jdvanstar]

My sig pic is from mine SE hunt a year ago. Granted it was a Fall hunt so we were only in the streams with the salmon runs. Spring will be way less of that and more of cruising shore lines I would imagine. So maybe less time actually in the water than a fall hunt and more time in a boat which can be brisk/cold, but still similar gear.

I wore Simms chest waders, and boots. Waist waders, which I also own, wouldn’t have been tall enough for some of the deep water crossings we had. A great rain jacket, I took the Kuiu Yukon and it was sufficient. I wore lightweight - mid weight wool base layers. I took my Kuiu 3200 pack. Everything inside was inside a a dry bag. An absolute must. It was a frequent occurrence that half of my pack would be submerged in the water climbing under big downed logs or wading up and down streams and finding a deep whole. A mesh or lightweight balaclava or head/neck gaiter for concealment. You’ll often be within 20-30 yds of bears. If you typically carry stuff in your pants pockets that you readily use it will need to be relocated to a chest rig/bino harness for ease of access and to keep it out of the water. I used a rubber glove outer layer with a thin wool insert.

Happy to answer any other questions about gear if needed. It’s a blast of a hunt.

Thanks - sounds like it’s time to go wader shopping

 

[LoggerDan]

I’ve lived and worked in remote fly in and boat in logging camps on POW for many years. Waders are good, just avoid neoprene. I prefer taller hip boots. I know the big attraction of this hunt to people from Outside is the whole boat skiff thing. I get it. But in all my years working there, most of the bigger bears weren’t killed or seen out on the flats. I know, disappointing. my two seven footers were taken well inland, maybe half mile to a mile. Depending on where you hunt, tides, size of skiff, bad water chop, weather, you may lose time.
Wool shirts, wool sweaters and good cork boots were essential to me.

 

[Brent]

I've hunted boat based on the PWS a dozen times. You'll want to have a good layering system for weather changes and sturdy rain gear that will stand up to a good brush beating. For packs, a 3500 cu. in. day pack is sufficient.

I'm not opposed to using waders, but I've never felt that I needed them for coastal bears. I use knee high Lacrosse boots that I can comfortably walk and climb in. I've found that if you wear your rain pants over your knee highs you can go over your boots in the tidal flats and streams without getting wet feet.

 

[Raghornjp]

I live and hunt in se and spend a good bit of time chasing bears in a boat
I prefer high lacrosse boots and I’ve never used waders
Layered synthetic clothing and a decent rain jacket is all I use
Plan on being wet and dress to stay warm if you are and you will be fine

 

[MrRogers]

Buy a good rain jacket and bring plenty of warm clothing so you can dress in layers. And good luck! Was bear hunting up that way last spring and had a blast.

 

[Raghornjp]

Boat hunting for bears in SE is a blast and depending on where you are going you can have a good chance at a real monster

 

[Frontier Mulie]

Completed a boat based bear hunt in PWS in 2022. I would agree waders/wading boots are a positive. We did not need them all the time but when you do you really need them. Ours was a transport hunt so the boat captain could not "guide" us for bear. Bring everything you need to take care of bear (knife, game bags, gloves, ect.). I also took some primos shooting sticks as there is not a rest everywhere to shoot off of.

Our boat had a clothes dryer and that was awesome to dry out your stuff. Quality rain gear a must. I had Kuiu Kutana and it worked well. Waterproof gloves for getting in/out of skiff and for fishing in the rain are nice too. Layers are nice as temp can flutuate alot that time of year. If gun hunting any caliber will pry work but if you deciding between two go with the bigger one. PM me if you would want to discuss anything else. I got alot of information off this site in prepartation for our hunt last year. Happy to return the favor.

 

[444Marlin]

I did a boat based hunt in PWS. I got by with the knee-high LaCrosse boots, and my friends in Alaska preferred the thigh-high rubber boots.
Good glass was important. I upgraded my binos after the trip, because the fellas with high end glass saw 2-3x the bears I did.

Be aware of the tides. It can make retrieving your zodiac tricky.