Questions Regarding Hunting Goat and Pigs on Kauai

[bojangles808]

so i hiked the trail in december and was tempted to bring my bow but i never. weather forecast said it was supposed to pour. kinda glad i didnt its a long hike and very muddy dont think i would have liked packing out that deep. we hiked all the way to the kalalau campsite the first day and its 12 miles in with 5k elevation gain. left at 630 got there at 430. only saw a couple of goats after about 6 miles and they were in spots i would not want to hunt. very steep and slippery (at least in winter). i think the key is to go when they are rutting which is starting right now (at least on maui). we stayed a day in kalalau and then came back on the 3rd day. on the way back i saw a little bit more goats including a nice billie right off the trail at 20 yards (7/8mile mark?). he would have been dead if i had my bow. there really used to people so getting close i dont think would be a problem. issue with these billies is if they are on a cliff edge if you shoot them they sometimes jump of the cliff before you can recover. I lost two hunting last saturday this way.

for permits u need to book way out in advance your camping permit and for water i used iodine tablets and my buddy used a katadyn pump. we didnt get sick.

honestly imo if you are going to kauai though with the family id leave the bow at home. if you did hunt maybe do a day hunt on the kokee side of the island or hunt pigs with the toulons. the camping spot halfway in hamakoa isnt anything special the real gem is making it all the way to kalalau. its a pretty intense trek esp with kids to do in a day. if you were to do it (i dono how rugged your kids are) id probably hike in to hamakoa the 1st day, then make my way to kalalau beach hunting along the way the morning of the second day with the family. stay in kalalau 2nd night and hike out the 3rd hunting along the way. maybe camp in hamakoa again on the way out (can kids do 12 miles in a day?) but i think the hunting permits are only 3days so im not sure. for me though kauai is such a beautiful place personally id be spending most of my trip in hanalei at the beach with the kids.
heres some pics

 

[bojangles808]

I actually watched a few of their videos. I was assuming he's with Hunt Fish Kauai? .

ya thats him and his brother

 

[SLDMTN]

Thanks for taking the time to type all that out

 

[Beendare]

so i hiked the trail in december .....

Hey Bo...do the tourist choppers still come in there every 15 minutes? Thinking back on my treks in there those choppers were annoying. We were coming over that last bald ridge into the Kalalau valley and had one so close I swear we could almost touch the skids.

Nobody has discussed it but they used to bring Zodiaks in there with groups...that might be the way to go for a hunt.....though I know that beach washes out in certain times of the year.

I agree with Bo...the valley itself is awesome...something like 7 waterfalls with pools you can swim in. Its crazy the work that previous civilizations have put into that valley with all of the terraced benches...all grown over now...but still there.

 

[bojangles808]

Hey Bo...do the tourist choppers still come in there every 15 minutes? Thinking back on my treks in there those choppers were annoying. We were coming over that last bald ridge into the Kalalau valley and had one so close I swear we could almost touch the skids.

.

ya there are still running just about every 15-30 minutes overhead its pretty annoying. pretty sure no commercial boats are supposed to land on kalalau beach so i dont think zodiacs would work, but i think from may to september you could rent kayaks and kayak in. winter time the swells come out of the north and the water is way rougher.

 

[Beendare]

ya there are still running just about every 15-30 minutes overhead its pretty annoying. pretty sure no commercial boats are supposed to land on kalalau beach so i dont think zodiacs would work, but i think from may to september you could rent kayaks and kayak in. winter time the swells come out of the north and the water is way rougher.

Ok ,thx

 

[jb79]

I took my wife on that hike for her 30 birthday and she is NOT a hiker! We didn't do any research, just bought our permits and went for it......I ended up talking her across that 7 mile section, went to full panic and froze! Still made it by dark but didn't get to really enjoy the valley as she was spent and I decided we should break the hike out up and stay at the half way point the next night and then day 3 hike the rest of the way. Day 4 at the hotel it rained so hard we would have been stuck in there! I will say there were a ton of goats the last few miles and I've been wanting to go back and give it a go!! She even wants to do it again.

 

[wildwilderness]

My friend and his wife just got back from hiking the trail last week. He said they saw plenty of goats so I will see how it goes next week.

 

[toddb]

My son lives on north Shore of kauai . He said if his off days line up he could help on pack outs or run your camera or video. He has hiked the trail several times. He also has a tent there plus a kuiu pack , he may rent out for a nominal fee to fellow roksliders if he can't get off work. No compensation at all for him to tag along. Just wanting to make new friends. Pm .me for contact info.

 

[toddb]

Thanks brodie for watching my back. Good job.

 

[Brodie]

Hey Todd, might not want to post all your sons info on an open forum. Good way to open the doors to the spammers etc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[toddb]

Thank you brodie. I have a bad habit of trusting people a little to much.

 

[SLDMTN]

Dredging this thread back up, it's less than a month until I'm down there. Where has this summer gone?

At this point, I am still planning on taking my bow and hunting the coast. I'll have my fins and spear gun as well, can't wait!

 

[HERD CHALLENGER]

You better check on what's going on there. Heard they are getting rid of all the game with helicopters starting Aug 24. They want to get rid of all non native animals

 

[bojangles808]

Dredging this thread back up, it's less than a month until I'm down there. Where has this summer gone?

At this point, I am still planning on taking my bow and hunting the coast. I'll have my fins and spear gun as well, can't wait!

i hope you got your permit already they sell out well in advance if you go kalalau trail side. if its sold out you can go before first light and hope theres no ranger at the trailhead. i =ve grumblings from hunters about goat eradications in west oahu but havent heard anything about goat eradications recently on kauai, but hopefully they get rid of the hippies? id check the surf report too before you go if there is any early season north swell the water is super dirty for spearfishing and theres lots of big tiger sharks roaming around there. migth not even be worth bring dive gear if theres swell the whole time youre here. we just had our first decent north swell fill in yesterday

 

[bojangles808]

You better check on what's going on there. Heard they are getting rid of all the game with helicopters starting Aug 24. They want to get rid of all non native animals

oh i just found it online it was oahu not kauai where theyve been doing the eradications. sucks.

Hawaii DLNR launches aerial eradication of destructive animals o - Honolulu, Hawaii news, sports & weather - KITV Channel 4

 

[SLDMTN]

I spoke with Forestry and Wildlife yesterday over the phone and he said the same thing about Oahu. Nothing happening on Kauai yet. Then he kinda paused and asked if I had seen guys hanging out of helicopters shooting stuff. No, sir just didn't want to pack extra luggage if I won't need it!

 

[SLDMTN]

id check the surf report too before you go if there is any early season north swell the water is super dirty for spearfishing and theres lots of big tiger sharks roaming around there. migth not even be worth bring dive gear if theres swell the whole time youre here. we just had our first decent north swell fill in yesterday

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check for sure!

 

[Beendare]

Eradication on the big island in the recent past has knocked some of those herds down but good.

 

[SLDMTN]

Got my hunting license and land use permit squared away. Luckily October is a down season for the most part. I had a couple days to choose from for permit access.

Gotta practice on some small off-angle targets now, these goats are a little smaller than the last thing I shot with my bow...