2022 Caribou hunt booked! Will moose be around too??

Wapiti151

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Afternoon all! I just booked a ‘22 DIY drop camp hunt with Golden Eagle out of Kotz for myself and 3 buddies. We just closed on a house in Anchorage this week and head up next week, so I’ll be a resident by the time we get dropped in at the end of August.

This is obviously a unit 23 hunt, and since I’ll be a resident I definitely plan to have a grizz tag in my pocket. My main question, is should I make the trip up to Kotz to get my Moose RM880 permit in July of ‘22 for this hunt as well, or will the area we will find caribou, not be the best for moose? I apologize for the ignorance here, and I understand that the caribou move unpredictably, but wanted to bounce some of this off of you guys with more experience up in that unit than I (which is none) lol.
I spoke to Heather at GE a bit on this, and she mentioned that if I had an area I particularly wanted to go in order to find moose and bou, they would take us in. But, this is definitely a Caribou FIRST hunt and don’t want to sacrifice us all tagging out, for a chance at a moose…when the moose hunt can come later. I can always take an add’l caribou too for the extra meet opposed to searching for a moose.

Thanks in advance! And seeing this will be a first trip for me, any other advice is welcome. I think I’ve been reading posts on this general topic since I heard about Rokslide. Caribou has been my number 1 bucket list species for a long time now.
 
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Wapiti151

Wapiti151

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You kind of confirmed the direction I have been leaning towards after research. The grizzly is a no brainer for sure. I’d rather not change camps, unless we had to for caribou. From what I understand, that first week of September should be good though…and the meat will be great.
Thanks for the reply!
I would not do both moose and bou unless you planned to change camps, and had a lot of time- 2+ weeks. Now Bou and Grizzly is a great combo
 

chucko

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It depends greatly on where you get dropped I have seen moose from many of my trips and a couple of real monsters . I always had a tag but never used it as most were seen to far from camp. Kill a bear please
 
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If caribou is your #1 bucket list hunt and it's a caribou first trip, I wouldn't mess with the moose. Especially given the timing of the hunt and the number of people. Outfitters love rebooking clients they don't have to worry about. It makes their life easier. Establish yourself as a competent hunter, outdoorsman, and valued client and they will likely open up to you for future hunting opportunities. There are some really good areas in that unit that have some great crossover for moose/caribou come September. You may just have to wait a few years for your turn. I've spent a few days flying the unit in Sept and IMO the best spots to hunt moose in 23 are on floats, but not sure I would suggest rolling the dice with that transporter.....

On the flip side, if for some reason GE suggests maybe getting a tag, it's not as logistically impossible as it seems. Contact the guy that owns the store in town and let him know what you are up to. He had everything filled out for me so all I had to do was sign. He was even there 15 minutes before the store opened for me to plan around the airlines schedule. Plane landed, I ran to the store, signed for my tag, bought a small bag of chips, told him to keep the change from the $50 for the chips, walked back to the plane and hopped on. I think I maybe forked up 15K airline miles, total trip cost was about $75, and was about 3.5 hours from leaving my pickup to returning.

Also, based on everyone's 2021 reports, congratulations in advance on your grizzly! And welcome to Alaska!
 

Larry Bartlett

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Shoot a griz, even the smaller ones. That region needs to be culled of bear. Those small arctic griz are fast and nimble killers. Many hunters pass on them because they aren't huge, but if season allows and you have a tag you'd be doing the ungulates a favor.
 

eamyrick

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Shoot a griz, even the smaller ones. That region needs to be culled of bear. Those small arctic griz are fast and nimble killers. Many hunters pass on them because they aren't huge, but if season allows and you have a tag you'd be doing the ungulates a favor.
Don’t non-residents have to have a guide for Grizz? I went on a fly fishing trip out of Kotz in August and all I could think about was how the Grizzly could stand a few more hunters. We saw 17 not even looking for them on a 7 day float.
 
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Wapiti151

Wapiti151

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Don’t non-residents have to have a guide for Grizz? I went on a fly fishing trip out of Kotz in August and all I could think about was how the Grizzly could stand a few more hunters. We saw 17 not even looking for them on a 7 day float.
Yes non res must have a guide. I will be a resident in June, and the hunt is in August. After talking to fish and game, I’ll have 2 brown bear tags in my pocket…and won’t hesitate to take two out based on the numbers I’ve heard. I talked to GE and browns caused a lot of issue for them last year, they were rather pleased to hear there would be a resident in our group.
 

eamyrick

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Yes non res must have a guide. I will be a resident in June, and the hunt is in August. After talking to fish and game, I’ll have 2 brown bear tags in my pocket…and won’t hesitate to take two out based on the numbers I’ve heard. I talked to GE and browns caused a lot of issue for them last year, they were rather pleased to hear there would be a resident in our group.
That’s awesome. I just sent Jared and article I wrote about our fishing trip in August. Rock solid outfit. He can fly!
 

VernAK

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Yes non res must have a guide. I will be a resident in June, and the hunt is in August. After talking to fish and game, I’ll have 2 brown bear tags in my pocket…and won’t hesitate to take two out based on the numbers I’ve heard. I talked to GE and browns caused a lot of issue for them last year, they were rather pleased to hear there would be a resident in our group.

By all means take a bear or two out of your hunting areas if you can do it legally as the amount of caribou or moose killed by predators is far greater than the number killed by hunters. Half of the new born calves will not see their second month of life.
 
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Wapiti151

Wapiti151

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By all means take a bear or two out of your hunting areas if you can do it legally as the amount of caribou or moose killed by predators is far greater than the number killed by hunters. Half of the new born calves will not see their second month of life.
That is the plan! Now, fingers and toes crossed the unit remains open!
 
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