Each time frame is extremely doable, and all offer their unique advantages and disadvantages. August they won't be rutting obviously, and the bucks are typically found in bachelor groups bedded for most of the day. Thick brush, warm temps, to combat. Longer daylight hours means more hunting time. The bedding is a disadvantage to finding but an advantage to actually killing bucks once found. The coats in August are almost a bright orange color so they contrast nicely with the green undergrowth. Expect them to be up high. Kodiak doesn't have a lot of elevation gain to contend with, but everything is steep, wet, and thick brush can be almost impassible at times.
November is basically the opposite. They are rutting, stupid, and move 24/7. They can be found from the ocean beaches all the way to the peaks. No bugs, no warm weather, and the brush dying off makes it much easier to pass through. The brown winter coats blend perfectly with the dead vegetation so spotting them can be more of a challenge if it weren't for them moving around constantly.
I'll be back down there for 8-10 days this coming August :)
wildwilderness's Link
Too bad the photos are lost from this old thread on an early August hunt
https://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=339313&forum=7
I’ve done 2 August hunts…and doing another this August.
What you quickly realize is when the wind blows- and its almost always blowing- the bugs aren’t bad. When there is a lull in the wind, or when you get down in some of those canyons in the windshadow, those bugs come up out of the tundra and it can be brutal.
Since I started spraying a set of clothes with permerthrin, its been much better in fact my last AK drop camp I only had one bite.
Thanks for that tip to turn the phone sideways. Nice that some of the pictures show.
