Update on Happy Valley Caribou

[Stid2677]

Any updates?

Seems this has more to do with business issues than caribou migration... I'm headed up in a few days, should be fun regardless.

THIS IS INCORRECT,, I just got home and I saw first hand that there are very few Bou around Happy Valley right now. Mike is in a no win situation, I was there and heard mad hunters because weather and Bou are not working out. I had to drive back from Deadhorse to Happy Valley yesterday because the clouds were all the way to the ground. My feeling is 2 weeks early on winter, which means about anytime now. I flew 300 miles or so and saw 20 to 30 animals total and most were singles and they were not heading in any organized direction.

 

[dieNqvrs]

THIS IS INCORRECT,, I just got home and I saw first hand that there are very few Bou around Happy Valley right now. Mike is in a no win situation, I was there and heard mad hunters because weather and Bou are not working out. I had to drive back from Deadhorse to Happy Valley yesterday because the clouds were all the way to the ground. My feeling is 2 weeks early on winter, which means about anytime now. I flew 300 miles or so and saw 20 to 30 animals total and most were singles and they were not heading in any organized direction.

I concur. have been in and around Deadhorse and well beyond the last 7 weeks. I have seen a total of 10 caribou combined!

I think a majority headed way west, many have been seen around Kuparuk and beyond.

Also talked to some other non-res hunters that flew out and got animals, but worked long and hard for them. They saw more bears than bou, and so have I.

 

[montee77]

Stid2677, what is your thoughts on the caribou where Brookes Range Aviation flys there hunters, we are heading out the 28th of august?

 

[Nick Muche]

"Incorrect" or not, several posts above indicate that a pilot quit. When one books a transport hunt like on the north slope, aren't they getting paid to take you to where the Bou are? Who knows what is going on, I'd sure be interested in hearing though.

 

[Stid2677]

"Incorrect" or not, several posts above indicate that a pilot quit. When one books a transport hunt like on the north slope, aren't they getting paid to take you to where the Bou are? Who knows what is going on, I'd sure be interested in hearing though.

You have NO idea of the logistics up there and your lack of knowledge shows here. So if they flew you a couple hundred extra miles to find game,, where are they going to get fuel to get home??

Transporters are NOT guides and they get paid to take you to a SPOT on the ground NOT to fly you around and FIND game. Transporters provide transportation, guides find you game to kill.

Good luck Sir

 

[Nick Muche]

You have NO idea of the logistics up there and your lack of knowledge shows here. So if they flew you a couple hundred extra miles to find game,, where are they going to get fuel to get home??

Transporters are NOT guides and they get paid to take you to a SPOT on the ground NOT to fly you around and FIND game. Transporters provide transportation, guides find you game to kill.

Good luck Sir

Man, you sure are taking this to heart. I am simply stating there is more to this per the posts above.

 

[Stid2677]

Niche, that is because Mike and Bob are my friends at 70 North and I jut sent many hours with them discussing hunting and hunting issues. When you question Mr Mike's integrity you get my blood up. I have flown up here for the last 12 years with about all the taxis up here and I can tell you that I trust that man's word and I know he is trying to do the best he can by folks. You have no idea how stressed he is over all this, he knows people have spent lots of money and effort and truly is trying to do the best he can. I also have seen him do this at least once before n the many years I have known him and there were no aircraft issues when he made that call.

Niche,, I sat and had this conservation with Mike at Happy Valley. You believe what you care to my friend, but I can tell you I know and believe in my heart that Mike is being honest with folks, is he up against weather and not having an extra aircraft he was promised would be ready,,, yes. But he already adjusted for that and has the ability to move the folks but the Caribou are simply not around the area.

 

[Nick Muche]

St677, I never questioned Mike's integrity... I asked if there was more to this, etc. Regardless, I am done talking about it as it does nothing for anyone.

Best of luck to everyone hunting up there this year.

 

[stuckey_t]

What are the chances the caribou are still going to be moving through the area in the next couple weeks? Are there still caribou around that do not migrate or are the caribou already done going to where they normally go? My understanding was that there are always caribou north of the Brooks range but now it sounds like that might not be the case.

 

[bmrfish]

When we were there 2 years ago they didn't really get moving until the eng of August

 

[burgerta]

The hunting up there is what it is, its the freakn North Slope and the game is find silly Caribou who have no predictability. Its risky business and everyone who puts vacation days on the schedule and puts money down on logistics should know that going in.
Last year the weather left me stranded in Happy Camp for 3 long days with several other groups who waited longer than me to get out. It was a damn Blizzard for 3 days around September 2nd! Once the weather broke BOB and Mike flew their butts off and got everyone out and caught up in 1 day with the Helio and the 206. Everyone sitting in camp was getting frustrated and rumors were flying around then too. But in reality, it was just the weather and hunters blowing hot air. After the weather broke the hunting was poor as the caribou moved a LONG way during the storm. Even then a lot of hunters were pissed at Mike and 70N cause they were not being run over by thousands of Caribou. As I sat back and watched it all unfold I was too embarrassed to even say anything to Mike. He was getting beat up pretty bad for stuff that was completely out of his control. He met every commitment to every hunter that I saw that trip and yet he was the bad guy because hunters did not have great success. It sounds like this is another year of unpredictable caribou and unpredictable weather. After what I witnessed last year I would be gun shy taking hunters into unknowns if I was him too.

 

[stuckey_t]

The hunting up there is what it is, its the freakn North Slope and the game is find silly Caribou who have no predictability. Its risky business and everyone who puts vacation days on the schedule and puts money down on logistics should know that going in.
Last year the weather left me stranded in Happy Camp for 3 long days with several other groups who waited longer than me to get out. It was a damn Blizzard for 3 days around September 2nd! Once the weather broke BOB and Mike flew their butts off and got everyone out and caught up in 1 day with the Helio and the 206. Everyone sitting in camp was getting frustrated and rumors were flying around then too. But in reality, it was just the weather and hunters blowing hot air. After the weather broke the hunting was poor as the caribou moved a LONG way during the storm. Even then a lot of hunters were pissed at Mike and 70N cause they were not being run over by thousands of Caribou. As I sat back and watched it all unfold I was too embarrassed to even say anything to Mike. He was getting beat up pretty bad for stuff that was completely out of his control. He met every commitment to every hunter that I saw that trip and yet he was the bad guy because hunters did not have great success. It sounds like this is another year of unpredictable caribou and unpredictable weather. After what I witnessed last year I would be gun shy taking hunters into unknowns if I was him too.

Very helpful to know! Never been up there before so I have no idea what to expect. We leave from Minneapolis to start heading to Deadhorse on saturday. I will have an awesome time regardless of whether I get an animal or not. God willing I will see something with pretty horns but if not it is helpful to know what to expect. Thanks for the post!

 

[stuckey_t]

Part of the confusion for a lot of newbies like myself is when looking at doing a hunt like this it might not be portrayed realistically. I was under the impression that a north slope hunt has nothing to do with migration routes. Part of my confusion might be from this post from Cabelas who sold us this trip:

This is what we were told by Cabelas:

"This trophy caribou hunt takes place the North Slope of Alaska. This vast pristine Alaskan hunting territory is situated between the Arctic Ocean to the North and Brooks Range to the south. Here a resident herd of over 40,000 Barren Ground Caribou reside. Due to the remoteness this area of Alaska has been consistently producing trophy class caribou. This is not a migration hunt and these caribou live here year round. Dedicated skilled hunters can expect near 100% shooting opportunities on trophy class bulls. This area of Alaska hunters are allowed to harvest two trophy bulls. Your outfitter will supply you with all the necessary gear and food for a 7 day hunt. This is a very physically demanding hunt however if your a trophy hunter looking for 340 - 400 inch bulls this is the place to go. This hunt is limited to 12 unguided hunts per year and are usually booked over a year in advance."

Regardless we are not afraid to crank out the miles with boot leather so if we get lucky it won't be from lack of trying....

 

[Nick Muche]

Interesting

http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=445296&messages=1&forum=10

 

[TEmbry]

Two friends from Colorado went up and killed two NICE bulls off the road first week of August. (tagged out on a bull each in first 3 days actually).

Others just got back from sheep hunting and said the bou numbers were way down. Didn't see a single bou on the drive up or the flight in, saw very few on the drive back down.

There is definitely a plane/pilot down in the equation, but I don't think that is the reason people aren't finding bou. It's a gamble when it comes to these animals. Some times they are in, sometimes they aren't. They could be anywhere and don't follow a playbook. Hunters will always place anger somewhere after a slow hunt and unfortunately it's usually on the guy they paid to go on the hunt.

 

[Stid2677]

Be safe all...

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local...cle_bff1ef94-3f94-11e5-9ebe-f7af6a193436.html

 

[hodgeman]

Part of the confusion for a lot of newbies like myself is when looking at doing a hunt like this it might not be portrayed realistically. I was under the impression that a north slope hunt has nothing to do with migration routes. Part of my confusion might be from this post from Cabelas who sold us this trip:

This is what we were told by Cabelas:

"This trophy caribou hunt takes place the North Slope of Alaska. This vast pristine Alaskan hunting territory is situated between the Arctic Ocean to the North and Brooks Range to the south. Here a resident herd of over 40,000 Barren Ground Caribou reside.....

Yeah, those 40,000 bou reside on about 97,800 square miles. Caribou hunting is usually feast or famine... I went 5 days last season and didn't see a single caribou. Day 6- saw well over a thousand by 7:00a.

 

[Nick Muche]

Current weather reports for Pump 2 area can be found here. Sagwon, AK is what it is called on Weatherunderground.com in case the link doesn't work.

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/zmw:99734.31.99999

 

[KimberMontana]

I was up there last year and flew with 70 North. They did a great job of getting us out in front of that storm that prevented alot of groups from getting in around September 1. We actually arrived a day early and they fit us into the schedule, got us into the Brooks and that ended up being critical. Caribou sightings and kills were very low, but snow moved in and animals started moving and we killed some great bulls.

If I were going back up there in 2 weeks I would trust that August 25-September 10th is prime up there. When I booked with 70 North I found Mike to be a little gruff, but he was very honest and fair with me. 70 North was very accommodating and I would definitely use them again.

I think when people book a hunt like this and they haven't done it they expect that caribou are everywhere and its going to be fairly simple. The reality is that the game per square mile is very low and there are a lot of things that can go wrong and derail things. You have to be willing to adapt and move forward. Instead of taking just enough vacation time, take an extra week. Give yourself plenty of time on either end and plan to spend as many days afield as possible. If things go according to plan, you get more days. If not, you still get a quality hunt. I think having extra time is the single biggest stress reliever in a hunt.

 

[colonel00]

I don't know that the OP or realunlucky were expecting caribou everywhere. I think the concern was that the transporter was cancelling a couple weeks to a month ahead of time saying the bou weren't around. As you mention the time you expect to be prime, that is when I believe one or both of them were planning to be up there. I was up there last year in on September 15th after the early storm had passed through. It was desolate and only a handful of hunters. The caribou were scarce but you could find them if you were patient.

I do understand that it would be very difficult for a transporter to try to drop clients in front of animals when they are scarce and not moving in an organized pattern. However, it seems to be a very tricky subject when you discuss a transporter versus a guide.