Anyone the Stikine River in Alaska?
Moose
My brother (has a boat and lives in Juneau) and I are thinking of hunting the Stikine River. Anyone done that recently? Any info would be appreciated.
I hunted way up the Stikine many years ago...in BC though.
So your brother has a jet boat?
No, He has a 34 ft. boat that we would use as home base. I was wondering how far up we could go from the mouth of the river with that boat. Is there any reasonable expectation of see moose down there. I know jets are used to get way up the Stikine. Can't afford that.
I think and additional question should be can we use that boat to any good effect around Kake, Petersburg and Wrangle? That's all in the same general area.
At this point, I'm trying to figure out if it could be a hunt.
I also hunted further up in B.C. There were quite a few guys in the area from Alaska that took smaller boats up to camp from AK.
I was on a goat hunt but when we were on the river we saw lots of moose and a few grizzly bear...I held a moose tag but none seen were worth going after...
I have never been anywhere near this river, but just looking at google maps that river looks extremely braided. Not something you are going to want to tackle in a 34 foot boat.
Generally speaking, moose hunting is really pretty limited in that portion of AK.
black bears, deer, and mountain goats should probably be your focus hunting out of Juneau. There are tons of opportunities for all three.
Thanks Mike. Having a few extra tags is a smart idea. And, you're right, it isn't a great moose area. I'm not really after a monster moose right now. I'm after a hunt with my brother. That'll be the fun IF I can figure out how to do it. Of course, I would like to get a moose. Really, I want him to get a moose. I know what it's like to deal with them when they hit the ground. He needs that experience. hahahahahahaa
He wants to use his boat. I have already expanded out from the original thought of the Stikine and I'm starting to think we could cruise shorelines and glass in the area, RMO 38 is the large area hunting unit that covers that area. There's been a lot of logging there so moose are often seen browsing in the logged off areas. We can also hike into some of the marshy areas I'm finding on the map. Make sense?
I sure would like to hear from someone with experience doing it that way. Seems to me like it should work.
Neil,
You may want to post over on www.outdoorsdirectory.com. Its an alaska based forum on hunting, fishing etc. Ilove bowsite, but youre asking a very specific quesiton that might work better over there.
Hugh
I hunted the Thomas Bay Area/Swan Lake/Patterson Glacier for goats and further north for bears when I lived in Juneau. I think some guys use 4 wheelers near the Patterson River for moose.
My friend and I ran up the Taku and Antler River (Berners Bay). Your boat sounds too big to get up a river. We were in a 14' flat bottom Wooldridge with a jet.
I think you had better change your hunt to a Brown Bear on one of the ABC Islands You could do a hunt over a salmon stream. In a tree stand. And stay on the Boat. The moose in that area are dinks. The big ones are up north.
Thanks Hugh and JLB appreciate the pointers. Big Dan, as I pointed out above, I am not after trophy class antlers on this hunt. I am after something much more important!
