Upper Nushagak River

[HuntAK59]

Well, I'm planning a trip for moose this fall. One of my too many options is the Upper Nushagak River. The main concern I have is that the season ends on 9/16. Just as the rut is starting. I called the FWS, as I heard he is doing a moose count. But, his area was south of the Nak Nak. But, he informed me that the Upper Nushagak is low grounds, so not much to get up and glass. Well theres my main issue, low land, early season: how does this fare?? Has anyone got out there to hunt in years past?

I am waiting for a call back from F&G, but they are doing a caribou calf survival count, so they are hard to get in the office.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[trailblazersteve]

I personally wouldnt plan a fly out moose hunt if the season ended on the 16th. Heck I don't even do my yearly float hunt before the 18th. As far as flat ground, if you can't get high enough to glass then you would have to rely on calling and moose in most area's don't really start to respond till after your season ends. I would look into a different area..

[Catch It]

Definitely look into a different area, there are no moose there, very hard hunting, they don't respond to the call until Dec. 1 it's a real dead zone. I'd go near Wasilla, they have all the moose.

[Gary]

Definitely look into a different area, there are no moose there, very hard hunting, they don't respond to the call until Dec. 1 it's a real dead zone. I'd go near Wasilla, they have all the moose.

Sounds like a STRONG recommendation, to me.

[HuntAK59]

Definitely look into a different area, there are no moose there, very hard hunting, they don't respond to the call until Dec. 1 it's a real dead zone. I'd go near Wasilla, they have all the moose.

Talkeetna Spur road had a 70" moose on it yesterday, I heard

[alaskankid13]

Just stay home. It's cheaper that way. I hear powerline pass has a few good bulls up there, pressure seems high.

[Tyin 1 On]

Sounds like everyone is trying to shy you away from this area! HMMMM??? I have hunted this area twice, both times seeing big moose but yes it is tough to hunt and moose are not rutting yet. The last time I was there we hit the middle of season and the natives hit the beaches hard. There was 13 moose kills the first 3 miles of river that we were hunting. Did see some bulls but nothing legal, 2 days before we left had a couple guys float by and they killed a 72" just up river from us. Big moose there but not the easiest to hunt.

[nooksack]

I have hunted in the vicinity many times and if you want to work hard you will have success.

[skudrunner]

No moose out here.

[Daved]

My experience hunting river systems is two fold.

1) The easiest and best way to find moose is on the river. You are way more likely to run into them walking the river while you slowly and quietly motor along than while you TRY quietly to walk slowly through the woods. The moose get chased around pretty good after a while and are weary of the river, especially if there is a lot of people buzzing around. However, they are not too far off the river, just out of sight really. We have watched moose on the Susitna early mornings close to the river. When they heard boats moving around they immediately moved out of sight. Same on the Nowitna and Tannana rivers. So, floating downstream on a moosey river really works, and if the season ends on the 16th, then there is a probably a high kill rate with a lot of pressure. Fish and game needed to curb the moose kill rate and limited the season to before the rut.

2) The next easiest way to find moose that have been chased off the river is to set up OFF the river and call them in. 1/2 mile off the river, and you will never see a soul. Of course this only works when they are in the rut, or you find a frequent travel path. Sounds like option number two is not the best option for you because of the early season.

I would talk to the area biologist and get a handle on how many moose are in the area. It the counts are really high, then you can suffer with some of the competition of other hunters. If the numbers are low, you might as well float the Su close to home. What a dilemma we have in this state.

[sh]

Good advice

My experience hunting river systems is two fold.

1) The easiest and best way to find moose is on the river. You are way more likely to run into them walking the river while you slowly and quietly motor along than while you TRY quietly to walk slowly through the woods. The moose get chased around pretty good after a while and are weary of the river, especially if there is a lot of people buzzing around. However, they are not too far off the river, just out of sight really. We have watched moose on the Susitna early mornings close to the river. When they heard boats moving around they immediately moved out of sight. Same on the Nowitna and Tannana rivers. So, floating downstream on a moosey river really works, and if the season ends on the 16th, then there is a probably a high kill rate with a lot of pressure. Fish and game needed to curb the moose kill rate and limited the season to before the rut.

2) The next easiest way to find moose that have been chased off the river is to set up OFF the river and call them in. 1/2 mile off the river, and you will never see a soul. Of course this only works when they are in the rut, or you find a frequent travel path. Sounds like option number two is not the best option for you because of the early season.

I would talk to the area biologist and get a handle on how many moose are in the area. It the counts are really high, then you can suffer with some of the competition of other hunters. If the numbers are low, you might as well float the Su close to home. What a dilemma we have in this state.

The first moose i got was exactly like that. Hiding 1000 feet from the river. Called , and shot him running at me from 50 feet with a 375. Very exciting time indeed.