Kotzebue Hunt Recap

[Sconnie77]

Day 4:
With no tags left and nowhere to fish, we called the transporter to pick us up, They said to be ready by 0700 the next morning. We spent the day playing cards, glassing from camp and hoping we saw a wolf we could go chase. That evening we counted 9 bears in the surrounding valleys. I guess the blood scent had spread by then.

As the evening went on we saw the same sow and cub from the day before making the hike up to our camp. While we watched them we heard some rocks being kicked in camp. Turns out you can;t just pay attention to one set of bears when there's more out there.

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With that bear spooked off, we decided to be proactive about running the sow and cub off

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The next morning the transporter picked us up.

Maybe you posted it and I missed it, but what were the dates of your trip and how were the bugs? Thanks!!

 

[Kyle Avey]

I’m interested in the dates as well. I’m going in mid august this year. Wondering about the mosquitoes.

 

[brisket]

August 19 was the first hunting day. My experience with bugs probably isn't typical for that time of year. We were in the tops and the wind never went below 20mph. We never saw any bugs

 

[Sconnie77]

Thanks for the reply, glad you had a great trip. Looking back is there anything you would do differently, or wish you would have know before going?

 

[Sako76]

Loved your story! Congrats!

 

[Elkhunter777]

Great story!
Thanks for sharing with us.
Mark

 

[brisket]

Thanks for the reply, glad you had a great trip. Looking back is there anything you would do differently, or wish you would have know before going?

The hunt part of the trip went so smooth I wouldn't change anything.

Logistics, there's some info I wish I had going in.

1) Alaskan airlines has a companion ticket if you get their card. This saves about $500 each if you travel in pairs

2) NAC will ship anything to/from kotz or Anchorage for like $0.50 per pound. They will also freeze it for you and the cost for them to hold shipments waiting for you to pick it up is minimal (I wasn't charged at all)

3) Although there's lots of fishing outfitters, it can be hard to get a booking lined up last minute. If you want to do what I did (assuming you tag out early), do some research beforehand and have a list of folks to call about availability. This probably holds true for anything you think you might want to do.

4) I wish I had brought more than 1 set of travel clothes. Whether you tag out early and go on a different adventure or just get stuck in Kotz waiting on weather, it's nice to have a clean set of street clothes.

5) Pay for the extra minutes/custom texts on your inreach/sat phone. Being in frequent contact with my wife won me a ton of brownie points, and even when you're in civilization you may find that your cell phone won't work. Sat phone always worked

6) Fish boxes from any of the outfitters seemed to run $20-30 each. Fish boxes from Walmart in Anchorage were $7. Decide how much hassle you want to go through to save $100

7) It seems like no matter what town you're in, there is a hotel that has a freezer. It may be important to call around before you need a hotel to find the ones with freezers on site.

8) Arrive at the airport in Kotz on your departure day early. Everyone on that plane is checking tons of luggage and the airport is not staffed to handle the surge. Give yourself plenty of time.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for the story. We will be flying out of Kotz in September and making a story of our own!

 

[brisket]

Thanks for the story. We will be flying out of Kotz in September and making a story of our own!

Please post the story!
I'd love to hear about how it goes

 

[Northwestalaska]

Hunting out of Kotz can be an effort and having someone who has experience up there is a big help.

Back Haul on NAC: Yes they have a freezer and the back haul rate was .38 cents per pound last year..Cheeeeep.

Alaska Air: Try to fly with Alaska all the way. They do a great job with the extra bag charges and you can take your meat and horns home with you Cheep when compared to united or...

Meat Boxes: Expect to pay about 20$ a box in koto if you can find them. Rack Boxes are best purchased from Alaska Air and understand European Mounts will add a bunch to your shipping costs. Better to split the racks and nest them. We sell waxed meat boxes to our clients for $10 as a service. I ship a palette load up and my guys are covered at cost. Please don't call asking to buy them from me as this is a service for my clients. Saves Tham a bunch and they know its there.

Plan on spending 1 night in Kotz after your hunt ends. This will allow you enough time to bone and box your meat. Lots of BnB's in Kotz but almost all of my clients choose to bunk up at the "Man Camp" in town. Lots cheep and very basic. The hotel runs about $225 a night per person and the BnB's run almost $200. Man camp is closer to $100.

Plan 9-12 months out guys. The flight services I work with are down to 2-3 spots left....

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for the information. We have our transporter booked and deposit sent. On our moose hunt last year out of Bethel we wrapped the skulls and racks using foam and shrink wrap and were able to check them like bags on our flight. We flew Alaska air the whole way. I was hoping to do the same for this hunt. Any reason that can't work? I don't have space in the house for a shoulder mount so I was planning to do a euro mount and put it in the shop with the moose.

Thanks for your help.

 

[HuntHarder]

Thanks for the information. We have our transporter booked and deposit sent. On our moose hunt last year out of Bethel we wrapped the skulls and racks using foam and shrink wrap and were able to check them like bags on our flight. We flew Alaska air the whole way. I was hoping to do the same for this hunt. Any reason that can't work? I don't have space in the house for a shoulder mount so I was planning to do a euro mount and put it in the shop with the moose.

Thanks for your help.

Did you have to pay someone to boil your moose skull in AK before wrapping it? I was wondering if it is possible to just skull cap, split the cap, wrap it up and call it good.

 

[mcseal2]

No we spent several hours cleaning them with knives and a garden hose as best we could. We got the brain out and whittled off every piece of tissue we could. We then wrapped them in shrink wrap and covered the antler points, then brought them home. We did pay a friend with beetles to finish the euro mounts from there once we got home. We made sure to unwrap the skulls as soon as we got home

 

[mcseal2]

It's possible to split the cap and less work. It makes for a smaller package too. I just didn't want to due to going the Euro mount path. That's a big heavy set of antlers and I wanted to leave them attached to the skull so I could get them hung like I wanted.

 

[HuntHarder]

Thanks for the info. We used an expediter and they are shipping our horns back. Seems like this is a terrible way to do it imo. Cost is close to 700$ to get horns back to lower 48 going this route. Next time i go to AK I am doing exactly what you have done. AK AIR seems more than willing to ship horns and meat back, with little, to no hassle.

 

[Sawtooth]

Great hunt report! Three of us are headed up to Unit 23 this coming September, so our hunt is later in the month than yours. Really enjoyed the photos and hunt details, as well as the travel and logistics comments later in the thread.

 

[Sconnie77]

The hunt part of the trip went so smooth I wouldn't change anything.

Logistics, there's some info I wish I had going in.

1) Alaskan airlines has a companion ticket if you get their card. This saves about $500 each if you travel in pairs

2) NAC will ship anything to/from kotz or Anchorage for like $0.50 per pound. They will also freeze it for you and the cost for them to hold shipments waiting for you to pick it up is minimal (I wasn't charged at all)

3) Although there's lots of fishing outfitters, it can be hard to get a booking lined up last minute. If you want to do what I did (assuming you tag out early), do some research beforehand and have a list of folks to call about availability. This probably holds true for anything you think you might want to do.

4) I wish I had brought more than 1 set of travel clothes. Whether you tag out early and go on a different adventure or just get stuck in Kotz waiting on weather, it's nice to have a clean set of street clothes.

5) Pay for the extra minutes/custom texts on your inreach/sat phone. Being in frequent contact with my wife won me a ton of brownie points, and even when you're in civilization you may find that your cell phone won't work. Sat phone always worked

6) Fish boxes from any of the outfitters seemed to run $20-30 each. Fish boxes from Walmart in Anchorage were $7. Decide how much hassle you want to go through to save $100

7) It seems like no matter what town you're in, there is a hotel that has a freezer. It may be important to call around before you need a hotel to find the ones with freezers on site.

8) Arrive at the airport in Kotz on your departure day early. Everyone on that plane is checking tons of luggage and the airport is not staffed to handle the surge. Give yourself plenty of time.

Thanks much for the feedback - I appreciate it!!

 

[CGA]

Looks like a great trip!

 

[decrooj]

Sounds like a an amazing trip. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy hearing people’s stories and seeing photos, as well as what worked well and what didn’t work so well in regards to the entire trip, including all of the logistics! It really helps those of us that are planning a trip of our own. I will also anxiously be waiting for your wrote and pictures of your trip that is coming up mcseal2

 

[Santa]

Awesome trip report! I love reading detailed reports like this. Almost makes you feel like you’re there. Thanks for sharing. We’re booked w/ Ram for 2021. Can’t wait to hear the trip reports from all the guys going this year. Best of luck.