DIY Southeast Alaska Black Bear Hunt

[MTHunter10]

I'm looking to do a Black Bear Hunt in SE Alaska Spring 2025. I live in Montana and I bought a boat (17 ft V bottom 90hp) this year so ideally I'd like to drive up with my boat and do a Coastal bear hunt around Juneau, Ketchikan, or even put in at Prince Rupert and drive North to AK. This seems like a fairly easy DIY hunt, just a lot of travel involved. Has anybody done something like this? Any advice, recommendations, or experiences folks who have done this can share?

 

[rayporter]

cool
i always thought that would be a great hunt.

 

[gerry35]

I'm just east of Prince Rupert, you would have to drive through on your way to the Ferry. I'm not sure how it would work with customs to launch from Rupert but it is a short hop over to Ketchikan from here and would make your life much more simple. You could take the Ferry anywhere up that you would want to go. Pretty sure there would be lots of good areas around Ketchikan and save you some time and money. Make sure you have ocean fishing gear and you'll dine on fresh seafood as much as you want. If you find some sandy spots you could put down a trap for crab too.

 

[MTHunter10]

I'm just east of Prince Rupert, you would have to drive through on your way to the Ferry. I'm not sure how it would work with customs to launch from Rupert but it is a short hop over to Ketchikan from here and would make your life much more simple. You could take the Ferry anywhere up that you would want to go. Pretty sure there would be lots of good areas around Ketchikan and save you some time and money. Make sure you have ocean fishing gear and you'll dine on fresh seafood as much as you want. If you find some sandy spots you could put down a trap for crab too.

Thats great to hear! How rough is the water from Prince Rupert if were to head north along the coastline towards the Southern point of the Peabody Mountains of Alaska? It seems like it would be fairly mellow since most of the water is shielded by the islands off of the coast of BC.

 

[gerry35]

Thats great to hear! How rough is the water from Prince Rupert if were to head north along the coastline towards the Southern point of the Peabody Mountains of Alaska? It seems like it would be fairly mellow since most of the water is shielded by the islands off of the coast of BC.

I can't tell you about exact hunting locations of course in that area, I know there are some guys on here from Ketchikan that could help with where you can hunt or what areas are closed. I have fished a bunch between Rupert and Ketchikan on our side and it definitely can be rough so you would need to watch the weather. Lot's of sheltered areas though so with common sense you'll do just fine with a 17' boat. You might need to wait out a storm before going over more open water but that's a normal thing to do.

 

[gerry35]

The Panhandle definitely has a lot more sheltered areas, you still need to be careful with the weather but it's a lot more sheltered.

 

[Trial153]

Honestly the travel headaches and expense of trailering a boat from Montana to Alaska, ferry or no ferry…you will be way ahead of game renting a boat for the duration of you hunt. I don’t recall what our boat rental was but it was negligible.

 

[MTHunter10]

Honestly the travel headaches and expense of trailering a boat from Montana to Alaska, ferry or no ferry…you will be way ahead of game renting a boat for the duration of you hunt. I don’t recall what our boat rental was but it was negligible.

Idk, I'd disagree with you based on my research. Boat rentals are around 1k a day from what I can tell. A week of hunting and thats 6-7k of sunk cost. Gas in the pickup from Montana to trailer a boat up there and back would be around $600 which leaves about 6k in savings....unless I'm missing something? The travel would be part of the adventure, not a headache IMO. Driving 1200 miles through some of the prettiest country Canada has to offer.

 

[Trial153]

Idk, I'd disagree with you based on my research. Boat rentals are around 1k a day from what I can tell. A week of hunting and thats 6-7k of sunk cost. Gas in the pickup from Montana to trailer a boat up there and back would be around $600 which leaves about 6k in savings....unless I'm missing something? The travel would be part of the adventure, not a headache IMO. Driving 1200 miles through some of the prettiest country Canada has to offer.

We rented a boat for like 6 days in Ketchikan and it was nothing close to that, last I looked it was like 500 a day with a three day minimum

 

[skipper907]

Do you understand the only place you can drive to in southeast Alaska is Haines that's coastal. The best way to get into SE Alaska would get taking the ferry from Bellingham WA with vehicle.
Also the size of your boat is pretty small to be running around SE, Yes people do it mainly there are locals with a lot of local knowledge of waters and weather. The water may look protected but can get pretty bad with winds that are funneled through the areas.
I would suggest finding someone in SE with local knowledge to help plan your trip or bounce ideas off of.

 

[Scudmaster]

I have done this hunt several times. and it is a really fun trip.

I would highly recommend AGAINT launching from Pr Rupert. Getting across the Dixon Strait would be dangerous. Not to mention the ability to carry enough fuel without towing a barge!!! There are no other stops before Ketchican for services. I agree with prior posts. Would be cheaper to rent a boat at a local marina. Also tags need to be applied for 18mo in advance. so do you have a tag?

Let me know if you want any more info.

Scud

 

[Nick Muche]

You guys, those are all minor details, can be figured out later

 

[Coveyleader]

i hunted with a guy who drove from MT up to Prince Rupert, then took ferry to Ketch, then over to POW. He did it every year, his truck looked like the beverly hillbillies coming and going. Sad to say SE Alaska has a lot of restrictions these days, and tags are getting very hard to draw.

Good Luck!

 

[Nick Muche]

Was that Big Dan?

 

[Coveyleader]

Was that Big Dan?

Yes, Danny Moore. RIP, he was a pioneer up there Along with a couple guys from ID.

Ask Bob about the first time they met. Then ask him about the “little bear” A lot of history in that area. Since the draws and Dan’s passing, it’s pretty tame These days.

 

[fj40rob]

OP, did you figure out your tags? You can move around with a 17' boat, but you have to be picky with the area, weather, and fuel. I have done it around Petersburg, Wrangell, and south of Haines. The Juneau area is out of the way, and the bears are a little bigger south of Juneau.

For many areas with fetch in SEAK, every 5kt of wind over 10 equates to a foot bigger waves (3ft =15 kts). Usually, the early mornings are better. My comfort level for a 17' boat is 2' waves. 3' becomes spooky and the safety margin is tight.

 

[MTHunter10]

OP, did you figure out your tags? You can move around with a 17' boat, but you have to be picky with the area, weather, and fuel. I have done it around Petersburg, Wrangell, and south of Haines. The Juneau area is out of the way, and the bears are a little bigger south of Juneau.

For many areas with fetch in SEAK, every 5kt of wind over 10 equates to a foot bigger waves (3ft =15 kts). Usually, the early mornings are better. My comfort level for a 17' boat is 2' waves. 3' becomes spooky and the safety margin is tight.

No I haven't yet. Putting this hunt on the back burner for a couple of years. Going to shoot a few more "little bears" in MT and ID over the next couple years and then maybe make the voyage to AK. Appreciate your reply though, very helpful info.

 

[Mt Al]

I did fishorhunt.com in Thorne Bay and was way cheaper than $1K/day for the boat, cabin, truck and canoe plus piles of fishing gear, etc.. Highly recommended, IMHO the value for money was well worth it, though it has been many years since I went there, plus POW Island is a draw now for black bears.

That said, love the plan and hope you do it because it's an awesome place to be. Hope to do the same in a few years, but drive to PR and take the Ferry to Ketchikan or Thorne Bay or thereabouts because I don't have the stones to cross the Dixon in any boat piloted by myself, let alone a small one, or anything with one engine.

My daughter and I spent days in our rented skiff all round the 'calm' protected backwaters many miles from Thorne Bay and it got sketchy a few times. Still, it was a blast, caught lots of fish and unsuccessfully hunted bears from shore and the road system.

Hope you do it and share pics after you drop a few MT bears!

 

[Bighorse]

Fuel.......on a 17' and trying to get into remote bear country and back hauling sufficient gear for cold wet camping and travel is a real concern. At some point you'll need to seal your bear with F&G in Ketchikan, so there's no dodging town. You'll also be in a situation where you need to care for a pile of spring bear meat and a hide. Your adventure is admirable and possible. I've been running small boats all over SE AK and have harvested plenty of bears. You'll need a raft to deal with tides. Also will you have a partner? Having a good partner will improve your experience alot. Someone to assist with navigation, gear chores, and boating is a winning situation for your endeavor. Then there's the reality of wet ocean navigation and rough seas. Spending five to eight hours at the helm with chop can wear on ya. You'll likely want a chain saw and or a heap of dry wood. Once you successfully navigated a long coastline you're gonna labor to set up a quality camp and the first thing you'll reach for is dry wood! File a float plan. Have good communications and know how to hail the USCG. Your tag will likely need to be a drawing tag as most of the islands have gone to non-resident draw. At least it's that way on POW, Kuiu, and Kuprenof. That tag and license will run ya around $700. Driving through CA with a rifle will cost ya too. I'd say you'll run through 80gallons of fuel for a 90hp outboard pushing a very heavy expedition prepped skiff. Have exposure gear too, a skiff suit or Tuxy storm suit is great for all day weather. Anyhow.....Coastal Marine exploration and hunting is great. Be real about what your doing and cross your T's and dot your I's. Best wishes for a safe and successful expedition.