Kodiak Island August or November?

[Ryanr84]

I haven’t hunted yet. Leave Nov 4.

How’d you end up doing on your hunt? Interested to hear it!

 

[mcseal2]

Article and post are here, it was a good adventure but the hunting was tough

What I learned my first Kodiak blacktail hunt

This thread is my attempt to pay back all the help and advice I received from guys here when planning my hunt. I owe you guys that helped me a lot, its priceless being able to ask questions when planning a trip like this. My midwestern home is a long way from the places I've hunted moose...

rokslide.com

 

[AK Troutbum]

We had a very tuff hunt. Not many buck sightings and the weather was not favorable. Definitely a awesome place! I would pick somewhere that is unknown we went to a known drop off location and after a day of being there another camp rolled in and on the backside of our mtn range there was another camp hunting the same range. I would definitely pick a mtn lake that is unnamed next time! We will definitely be going back. Very beautiful place but also very unforgiving!! Be prepared for lots of rain and wind

Most of the lakes are unnamed, or they’re just identified by their elevation. If you can land and take off from a lake on Kodiak, trust me, it’s being hunted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HuntFishCamp]

3 of us are going mid to late August '22
Don't want to deal with bears and I live in a place with shitty weather so don't want to vacation in it on an island in November
Plus the fishing is a big part of the trip also

Muley,
I noticed you had mentioned an emphasis on fishing. Does that mean you were staying on the salt? We are planning to go Late August ’24 to get on some good fishing, staying at a lodge. We are planning to do plenty of hiking to get up to the deer each day. How did your trip turn out? Looking for insights into the feasibility of a salt based camp whereas it seems most hunters here opt for a fly-in drop camp that time of year. I would PM you but I don’t have that capability as of now.

 

[Muledeerfanatic]

Hunting sucked
Fishing was great
We flew into a lake
Fished out of Kodiak
I wouldn't spend money hunting deer there in August or probably ever again but I would go just to fish for sure

 

[DMurphy]

Hunting sucked
Fishing was great
We flew into a lake
Fished out of Kodiak
I wouldn't spend money hunting deer there in August or probably ever again but I would go just to fish for sure

We are eying a trip to Kodiak next August around the opener. Do you mind if I DM you to get more informaiton on what was good and bad on your trip and any suggestions you might have?

 

[BaylorBowhunter]

we did mid Nov and used a boat as a transport service and hunted on our own. Hit it just right 3 tags filled by bow and two by rifle. We were a touch late for good fishing but still caught a few.

Blacktail sniper. Who was your transporter and would you recommend them?

 

[HuntFishCamp]

We had a great trip in early September. We stayed at a lodge on Raspberry Strait, Cranberry Creek Lodge. 5 hunters. We fished on the cloudy/rainy days and hunted on the clear or less cloudy days. Self guided hunting. We shot 3 bucks with 3 days of hunting. We had to climb 1500-1700 feet to get into the deer on each hunting day. Deer were relatively easy to spot first week of September with red coats on the bright green carpet up there. They were tougher to spot in the brush. Only myself had a tripod for glassing. Hand holding 10x made it tough to ID bucks vs does at longer ranges. Next time we will all have tripods and I will bring 15 power binos.
Caught silvers in the rivers. Halibut, cod, rockfish in the salt. Fishing made the early trip worth it.
Next time would consider a December hunt to get some ducks and see deer at lower elevation.

 

[DMurphy]

We had a great trip in early September. We stayed at a lodge on Raspberry Strait, Cranberry Creek Lodge. 5 hunters. We fished on the cloudy/rainy days and hunted on the clear or less cloudy days. Self guided hunting. We shot 3 bucks with 3 days of hunting. We had to climb 1500-1700 feet to get into the deer on each hunting day. Deer were relatively easy to spot first week of September with red coats on the bright green carpet up there. They were tougher to spot in the brush. Only myself had a tripod for glassing. Hand holding 10x made it tough to ID bucks vs does at longer ranges. Next time we will all have tripods and I will bring 15 power binos.
Caught silvers in the rivers. Halibut, cod, rockfish in the salt. Fishing made the early trip worth it.
Next time would consider a December hunt to get some ducks and see deer at lower elevation.

Any issues with bears? The bugs? Were you able to get relatively close for your shots- within say 300 yards? We are taking a similar trip this August.

 

[FAAFO]

August blacktails in AK is about as challenging as taking the fat girl home from the bar at closing time.

 

[Antares]

August blacktails in AK is about as challenging as taking the fat girl home from the bar at closing time.

Why you such a downer, dude? First you’re shitting all over mt goat hunting, now this. If it’s not your thing, fine, but let other people have their joy.

 

[DMurphy]

August blacktails in AK is about as challenging as taking the fat girl home from the bar at closing time.

Sounds lovely. I'm in.

 

[JoeB]

Chunky chicks rock

 

[FAAFO]

Why you such a downer, dude? First you’re shitting all over mt goat hunting, now this. If it’s not your thing, fine, but let other people have their joy.

Lighten up Francis. It’s not a downer. It’s saying how easy it is to get them. They taste delicious that time of year too. Much better table fare than mid Nov.

The problem is even in August the popularity has caught on. Lots of bow hunters that time of year. It’s a great kick off before other hunts. So be prepared to have a plan b, c, d, and e because there’s a chance your #1 spot is taken.

 

[FAAFO]

So it’s super easy, but also so competitive you need to have 4 backup plans. Makes perfect sense.

Are you talking to yourself? Let me tell you how easy it is, you could get a buck. Do you need it explained to you in any more detail? If so PM anyone and they can tell you how easy August blacktails are.

If you need someone to feed you info you’re quoting the wrong guy.

 

[HuntFishCamp]

Any issues with bears? The bugs? Were you able to get relatively close for your shots- within say 300 yards? We are taking a similar trip this August.

We saw bears up close fishing the salmon rivers. No fresh bear sign up the mountain. No problem with bugs where we were at. All of our shots were at or under 300 yards. My buck stood up out of his bed about 150 yards out while we were sneaking along a Ridgeline. I would be prepared to shoot out to 400 if possible.

 

[DMurphy]

We saw bears up close fishing the salmon rivers. No fresh bear sign up the mountain. No problem with bugs where we were at. All of our shots were at or under 300 yards. My buck stood up out of his bed about 150 yards out while we were sneaking along a Ridgeline. I would be prepared to shoot out to 400 if possible.

Thanks for this. If you think of any more information that might be useful, please don’t hesitate to DM me- I appreciate being spoon fed information.