some kodiak/afognak blacktail pointers

[usneskimo]

I am hopefully going to be on leave and on kodiak in mid to late november and hunting either the road system or afognak island depending on weather conditions, and am curious if i can get some pointers on where the blacktail will be hanging out, if the snow will be down most everywhere to where the deer are gonna be concentrated near the beaches or if i will need to hike in to get at em. any help would be greatly appreciated i'm a bit rusty i haven't lived there since i was thirteen.

jesse wade usn

 

[Treetop-flyer12]

Road system in November

Road system in November

Last season the road system closed the 31st of October and was only open the first two weeks of November for Muzzeloader and Bow certified hunters. I was there the first week of November hunting with Muzzeloader and deer were very abundent. Remember only a single deer limit on the road system.

 

[GunsmithRob]

Plan on hiking in. You can't count on snow pushing them down. Like Treetop says, the road system closes the 31st of Oct. You'll need bowhunter or muzzleloader certification to hunt the first 2 weeks of November on the road system for one deer. Be sure of where you're going on Afognak, you'll need native trespass/hunting permits to hunt native lands (a majority of the island) in addition to your regular hunting license and tags.

 

[usneskimo]

thank you for the info you have given. it will probably be the latter part of november i will be there and my family i will be hunting with is native and have the permission and paperwork to hunt afognak. does anybody have address for a site where i can either look at or download the regulations for this year? I may be wrong on this one but you can hunt with a lesser weapon during another season in alaska right? expample during general firearm you can use a bow. and what does the road system consist of now? I am willing to hike in if need be if that is the case that it's just a distance from the road instead of the whole area around the road. thanks again.

 

[GunsmithRob]

Road System

Road System

The road system is basically the NE corner of the island from Saltery Cove to a point just west of Port Lions. Here's a link for the reg.'s Kodiak is Unit 8:
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=regulations.main
You can hunt with a bow during the regular rifle season.

 

[twodux]

road-non road

road-non road

When I lived in Kodiak in the 80's you could drive to Antone Larson Bay and hike over the mountain and be in the non road hunting area as the line went from Saltery Cove to Crag Pt. Then a local resident at the end of Antone Larson Bay Rd. complained that people were taking three wheelers in past his house and shooting "his" deer. He convinced them to change the line to the head of Sharatine Bay. Before the change we did some good hunting and we weren't withing 2 miles of "his" property. We didn't use ATV's either, just hiked in.

You can still take a 4 wheeler out to Saltery Cove. Once you cross Saltery River, you are off the road system.

If you want to hunt Afognak and not have to pay the access fee, most of the open access land is on the north end and the east end around Tonki Bay. The east side of Izhuit Bay is mostly open. Some of it is native owned, but it's joint venture land and available for entry. Some of the land in that area was bought by the State with EVOS (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill) money and is available for entry also. Check with the bureau of land management to get good maps.