What I learned my first Kodiak blacktail hunt

[wjarrell]

Did you post your article yet, if so where do I find it?

 

[Trapyotes]

First kodiak hunt for me also. I hunted larcen Bay Area. What I learned is that it’s cold and windy in November but the hunting was great.

 

[mcseal2]

I submitted the article for review, but it has not yet posted. We will make sure to get a link to it put on this thread once it is up, so if you follow this post you'll see it.

 

[mcseal2]

First kodiak hunt for me also. I hunted larcen Bay Area. What I learned is that it’s cold and windy in November but the hunting was great.

Cold, wet, and windy!

Some of the guys we talked to saw lots of does and fawns low by the bays but not many bucks. Did you see that also? I was wondering if the bucks were just higher than they hunted? I'm doing a lot of guessing here, both on how they hunted and where the deer were. I got invited on a boat hunt for 2024 so I'm doing some homework for that as well. Thanks.

 

[Trapyotes]

Cold, wet, and windy!

Some of the guys we talked to saw lots of does and fawns low by the bays but not many bucks. Did you see that also? I was wondering if the bucks were just higher than they hunted? I'm doing a lot of guessing here, both on how they hunted and where the deer were. I got invited on a boat hunt for 2024 so I'm doing some homework for that as well. Thanks.

I flew in November 1st. I hunted between 800 and 1200 ft. It took some effort on my part being solo and 59 years old. Took me 3 hours to pack the first one down to the beach. It was great hunting because when I seen does coming the bucks were chasing. If you are hunting that area I could tell you more details.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks, that’s in line with what I was thinking. Glad you had a great hunt.

I’ll add more detail after the article.

 

[AndyMotz]

I am looking forward to reading the article/story when it comes out. I am part of a group planning a camp style hunt on KI for November of '23. Thanks for the great read here as I am doing a lot of it. I don't want to be the anchor holding the group back.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I just published the article @mcseal2 wrote about his Kodiak Blacktail hunt. It's a good one so check it out!

Kodiak Blacktail Hunt

 

[Voyageur]

Good write-up on the hunt @mcseal2
Thanks for sharing.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks, It was an adventure.

 

[mcseal2]

I got asked about the kukri I mentioned in the article. This is what we took.

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CS39LMC4/cold-steel-39lmc4-gurkha-kukri-plus-machete-4034-stainless-steel-blade-kray-ex-handle-secure-ex-sheath

It’s halfway between a hatchet and machete in function. Mine usually lives in my river boat. It’s handy for clearing a camp site or fishing spot of weeds, can split wood if needed, and the thick spine works to drive in tent stakes. Its a tool that isn’t great at all jobs, but is good enough you can carry it instead of several others.

With this one’s flat grind it’s better at machete work than the convex ground Condor one I have. Seeing pics of the big grass some camps get set up in on Kodiak, and having extra weight allowance we brought it along. It worked out well because I used the kukri to clear an area for our cook tarp while the other guys had the axe for driving tent stakes and bear fence posts. It worked really well chopping brush, cutting paracord, etc. Being stainless it didn’t get oiled and stuck in a tote after camp was set also like my good Gransfers Bruks small forest axe. It stayed out where it was accessible for little jobs.

With the sheath it weighs 1lb 15.4oz. About the same as a lot of bigger hatchets. My GB small forest axe is 35oz, my small GB outdoor axe 21oz.

 

[AKDoc]

I just read your article...nicely written from a very real life and relatable perspective with supportive pictures of your adventure...great job Heath.

I've mentioned before, but I've just got to say again, you do a fantastic job of going with what the wx and the transportation logistics give you...Kodiak wx is on a scale all of its own! Your positive and grateful attitude is always reflected in the sharing of your adventures with us, even when dealt a tough hand on the Rock...thank you. So many things totally outside our control when doing remote hunts in Alaska, but our mood and attitude along the way is under our control and up to us...and that is so much easier said than done...I'm always learning to do better with it.

 

[KChunter71]

Great write up Heath!

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks guys, glad you liked it.

AkDoc I think ranching helps with that attitude. There is so much beyond my control I’m used to it.

 

[Wapiti66]

Thanks for the article. Kodiak sounds like a tough hunt

 

[mcseal2]

Tough weather and terrain but beautiful. The deer didn’t seem terribly wary when they were actually out and not hunkered down. I think weather is a huge factor to success. Ideally I’d have chosen a little more open terrain too, but a lot in AK is beyond our control.

 

[JakeMcCandles]

I joined mcseal2 on this hunt, and figured I would share a few of my own lessons learned/observations, especially around logistics. I'll add the same disclaimer - this was just my second Alaska DIY hunt, and there are others on here who know a lot more than me!

Gear - I focused on "warm" and "dry", and was very happy I did. I took two sets of Kuiu rain gear - Yukon and Kutana - and hunted in the Yukons and kept the Kutanas as a dry set for camp. I generally hunted in First Lite base layers, a Kiln hoody and rain gear, and then for glassing and warming up had a Kuiu Superdown Pro jacket and Superdown Ultra bottoms. I also had a Kifaru Lost Park parka for evenings at camp. Even when it quit raining, it was never dry enough to hunt without rain pants - the First Lite Corrugate pants I took never got used.

Island Air - The operation at Island Air was top notch. They were easy to deal with in booking our trip and promptly answered questions. As mcseal2 said, weather delayed us getting out to the field for two days. The folks at Island Air were transparent about the delay, kept us updated, and were excellent to deal with in the process. Pilots and aircraft were great, and it was nice to be working with an operation that had multiple aircraft available as they worked through the backlog. I provided weather updates via InReach each morning and also coordinated on our pick up timing, and Island Air always responded right away to texts (it is nice to know the people in charge of getting you out safely are paying attention!).

Commercial Flights - Alaska Airways is the way to go. They have more generous baggage weight/size allowances, and their people are used to dealing with hunters and everything that goes along with that. We had the option to book the flights direct with Alaska Airways or through American Airlines as their partner. Either way would be the same aircraft and schedule, but if we had gone through American, I believe we would have paid more for oversized and overweight baggage.

Lodging - I highly recommend an airbnb/VRBO rather than staying at one of the Kodiak hotels. We've done this for our last two Alaska hunts (Kodiak and Kotzebue) and both were good experiences. During our weather delay, waiting around was much more comfortable from our own little house with a kitchen and living room than it would have been in a hotel room. It was nice to be able to cook a few meals, have space to prep and sort gear and then process meat upon our return. For 4 guys, the price was essentially the same as a hotel.

Getting Around Kodiak - Taxis are plentiful around Kodiak, and there are several that are vans or trucks that can take multiple people and gear. There are several companies, but we found one driver that was great and just texted them directly when we needed a ride. Depending on where you stay, you also may be able to walk to several of the restaurants and to Big Rays sporting goods.

Kodiak is the most challenging place I've ever hunted - the weather and terrain are fierce, for sure. It was an amazing hunt, and I can't wait to go back!

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I was blessed to be stationed in Kodiak for 3 years. I loved hunting blacktail. Hunting them August when they are in velvet is the easiest. Well, you'll have to climb to get to them, but the weather isn't constantly trying to kill you. Kodiak is indeed a special place.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for adding your input Steve, good tips.

Something your post made me think of is to delegate according to your strengths when planning a trip. Dean and Steve travel for work and have a lot more experience with that than Jeff or I. Depending on who is going, one or both of them handle hotels, flights, etc. They don't screw it up like I probably would. Before we hit that phase I do most of the initial research on transporters and then present options to the group to discuss. This being Jeff's first trip he mostly learned from our planning and handled anything we asked him to.

Once we have something booked I dive into research on what to expect and what to bring. I make Excel lists of what we take as group items we'll share for hunting or camp that add up the weights. I'm glad they let me handle the fun part.

Dean handles the group part of meal planning. Whatever we need for the camp kitchen, what we bring or buy in town, that type of stuff. We eat better when he does that than we would if I did.

Once group items including food/cooking are taken into account, everyone has the rest of their share of the transporters weight allowance to use how they want. People can decide what gear or clothes they want according to that. Individual food items also come out of this. Any snacks, drink mixes, or food for extra days. Really anything past what we plan for group meals is in here food wise.

If we are close on weight I'll ask questions ahead of time. Some transporters for example have let me have a few extra pounds because of the food weight we will consume in the field. When asking these questions I have a total weight of everything we are bringing. I ask them "Our group weighed our gear and the total is X pounds. Will that be ok or do we need to drop it down". Whatever they say I accept their answer. They are responsible for our safety and this is their area of expertise. We stick to whatever they tell us.

I have a good fishing scale for weighing catfish. We take it on trips (usually leave it in the hangar in town) to weigh our totes. It comes in handy flying home as well to weigh luggage or meat boxes. Paracord works well to make a quick harness to weigh a box.

Last being organized helps limit needless redundancy. Redundancy can be a good thing on some items, but when hunting pairs for the game we've pursued not everyone needs to carry their own stove, spotter, tripod, and tarp for example. Be prepared while keeping things as light as possible. This trip we had more weight allowance than ever before. We'd have had to pack light for one Beaver so we took 2 planes. Despite this we didn't pack a lot different than past hunts. A few more clothing layers, a better med kit, and a little more food and bigger kitchen. Even with more weight allowance from the transporter we still had to haul everything we took to Alaska, around Alaska, and from the float plane to camp and back. If the lake we were hunting had frozen we may have had to carry it much further or leave it behind.

Each trip being efficient on gear gets easier. Everyone packs their fears and I'm no exception. To alleviate mine I need a tarp to crawl under if I'm away from camp or the tent gets wrecked. I also want a stout fixed blade with me in the field. At camp I want a dry bag with extra layers and food in case we get stuck out for extra days. Sometimes I can't have all those things, but they are where I start when making my lists.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

just curious how much weight total did you guys have. we had about 500 pounds in gear which seemed crazy but we brought alot of extra stuff we probably wouldnt need next time (feel like that always happens on our first trip doing a new hunt). like the extra 20 pound propane tank and the coleman grill (ended up just boiling brats in the jet boils). We also brought a yeti 65 to keep stuff from freezing. We were worried about weight so left a few things behind with the pilots help, but in the end could have brought it. Our pilot told us if we go out at the 1100 pounds we could shoot what ever we had tags for and i was surprised at first but remembered all the gas that he has to burn to get out to us.