JasonWi
WKR
Great write-up. Congrats on the fun trip.
What type of camera were you using?
What type of camera were you using?
Alaskan Sitka blacktrail hunt - 7 bucks down (photo heavy!)
- Thread starter shanevg
- Start date
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OP
shanevg
WKR
Just a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot.
Chesapeake
Lil-Rokslider
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- Apr 15, 2012
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- 211
Pretty cool trip and photo's. I love that place.
Did you guys hunt up off one duck? Cant say I've heard of folks doing that before. Its a pretty active day hiker, sight seer type area. Did you have much company out toward polk? Often the opener can be crowded on the south end with the folks that have to wait for the non-subsistence opener. But these days it seems many of them head toward the north end.
That stuff you call fog is the clouds. The ceiling often drops low when it rains up there. That time of year you have to deal with it when trying to hunt the sub alpine. Often it will raise up mid day and you can hunt. You have to hang out up top waiting and hoping it blows out. If you give up and head down the hill it often clears up right as you get back to the truck. If you get to hunt 50% of your days, your doing good weather wise. Its best to have some fishing gear as a backup plan, or to hit the clear cuts and lower muskegs. But who wants to travel to Alaska to hunt clear cuts.
Did you guys hunt up off one duck? Cant say I've heard of folks doing that before. Its a pretty active day hiker, sight seer type area. Did you have much company out toward polk? Often the opener can be crowded on the south end with the folks that have to wait for the non-subsistence opener. But these days it seems many of them head toward the north end.
That stuff you call fog is the clouds. The ceiling often drops low when it rains up there. That time of year you have to deal with it when trying to hunt the sub alpine. Often it will raise up mid day and you can hunt. You have to hang out up top waiting and hoping it blows out. If you give up and head down the hill it often clears up right as you get back to the truck. If you get to hunt 50% of your days, your doing good weather wise. Its best to have some fishing gear as a backup plan, or to hit the clear cuts and lower muskegs. But who wants to travel to Alaska to hunt clear cuts.
- Thread Starter
- #24
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shanevg
WKR
Yeah we did hunt One Duck but you had to hike way over the back side away from the hiking trail to really get into the deer. Certainly don't see any hikers back there.
We never ran into hunters on any of the mountains other than One Duck. A few down on the roads but not too many actually. Yeah the "fog" is low cloud ceiling which is a real killer. The day we were packing everything up it rained on and off all day but the cloud ceiling was at 4000 feet. That would have been great! Like you said, we did plenty of waiting the fog out, some times for 24+ hours. It can certainly be tough. I can't imagine how much fun that hunt would be if you were lucky enough to get good weather the entire time!
We did try hunting clear cuts on some of the really rainy days but never saw a single buck outside of the alpine. You definitely need to get up high to find the deer.
We never ran into hunters on any of the mountains other than One Duck. A few down on the roads but not too many actually. Yeah the "fog" is low cloud ceiling which is a real killer. The day we were packing everything up it rained on and off all day but the cloud ceiling was at 4000 feet. That would have been great! Like you said, we did plenty of waiting the fog out, some times for 24+ hours. It can certainly be tough. I can't imagine how much fun that hunt would be if you were lucky enough to get good weather the entire time!
We did try hunting clear cuts on some of the really rainy days but never saw a single buck outside of the alpine. You definitely need to get up high to find the deer.
Chesapeake
Lil-Rokslider
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- 211
The deer are there down low, just impossible to find unless your eyes are tuned to them. It's not like spotting deer in Washington. The brush there and the deer are a different animal. That's why the early alpine, rut, and late beach hunts are so popular. It's the only times its halfway easy to spot them deer.
The real secret there is just to get to an area where pressure has been low or nonexistent. There will be bigger bone in those spots. Find a place only a helicopter could get you to and you'd be money. Places that require a float plane or boat ride are also good. Road access hills can be decent but not like expensive or hard access hills are.
The real secret there is just to get to an area where pressure has been low or nonexistent. There will be bigger bone in those spots. Find a place only a helicopter could get you to and you'd be money. Places that require a float plane or boat ride are also good. Road access hills can be decent but not like expensive or hard access hills are.
pyroducksx3
WKR
Well if your friends don't want to go back I know someone who will go 
Looks like a great hunt Shane! Thanks for sharing.
Kevin Root
WKR
Thanks for the write up on your hunt. I enjoyed reading it and seeing the pictures. Looks like an awesome place to hunt Alaskan Sitka blacktail deer to me.
7mag.
WKR
Great story and pics Shane. That looks and sounds like it was a great hunt. I have wanted to do something similar for a couple of years. You guys are animals. That looks like some miserable conditions. Congrats, and thanks for sharing.
DWarcher
WKR
Great write-up...you've given me the itch!
hunter4life
Lil-Rokslider
Great pictures! Looks like you had an awesome trip in spite of the weather.
Muledeernv
WKR
Congrats on your hunt. Thanks for the right up and great pics
Just read though and looked at the pictures what a great trip putting the small deer on my bucket list thanks
WonkyWapiti
WKR
Well I've been lucky enough to have taken off a total of 5 intermittent weeks since elk archery season and haven't been reading alot on here as a result. I just read this thread and I have to say this sounds like an awesome trip. My buddy has been trying to get me on a Sitka blacktail boat hunt. Well what did I find this morning when I was at the grocery store? A copy of the Alaska Sporting Journal with an awesome cover shot of Shanevg with one of his blacktails with a write up of his hunt! Good job!
- Thread Starter
- #35
OP
shanevg
WKR
Well I've been lucky enough to have taken off a total of 5 intermittent weeks since elk archery season and haven't been reading alot on here as a result. I just read this thread and I have to say this sounds like an awesome trip. My buddy has been trying to get me on a Sitka blacktail boat hunt. Well what did I find this morning when I was at the grocery store? A copy of the Alaska Sporting Journal with an awesome cover shot of Shanevg with one of his blacktails with a write up of his hunt! Good job!
LOL, yeah that was sure a surprise. I knew I made it into the magazine, but I wasn't expecting a cover photo until I started getting texts from a bunch of my friends who were finding the magazine in stores.
luke moffat
Super Moderator
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- 111
Just now saw this thread!!! Awesome stuff Shane! I'm hoping to go to POW this year again for some early season bucks! Thanks for the pics and story man!!
Falcon
Lil-Rokslider
Congrats on a great adventure.
Nice pictures and a well written account of your hunt was a pleasure to read.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Bryan
Nice pictures and a well written account of your hunt was a pleasure to read.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Bryan
small ?
Take a big 4x4 off the alpine and be responsible for moving it to lower elevations and you'll reevaluate your "small deer" judgement. You'll get 60-75 pounds of boned out meat from a big boy, add your pack weight and all of a sudden your working hard. Add the unpredictable terrain and weather and all of a sudden you've got yourself a sporting event. A big Sitka deer is to be respected on all accounts.
If your a beast kill two and haul your 150 pound pack off the mountain. I've been known to do that once or twice a year.
Take a big 4x4 off the alpine and be responsible for moving it to lower elevations and you'll reevaluate your "small deer" judgement. You'll get 60-75 pounds of boned out meat from a big boy, add your pack weight and all of a sudden your working hard. Add the unpredictable terrain and weather and all of a sudden you've got yourself a sporting event. A big Sitka deer is to be respected on all accounts.
If your a beast kill two and haul your 150 pound pack off the mountain. I've been known to do that once or twice a year.
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7mag.
WKR
That's awesome Bighorse, you are tougher than me. Looks like a couple of nice bucks, do you have any more pics of them?
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