Afognak Island Elk Hunt

[Krieg Hetzen]

So I managed to get the luck of the draw today and snagged DE723, Eastern Afognak Island Elk hunt for this year. My season dates are October 8th - 22nd. I have several question regarding this hunt that the previous threads on rokslide did not cover. Also this will be my first fly in hunt and my first time hunting for Elk.
1) What is the normal weather there? Judging from all the historical things I can find its 30-50f with a lovely mix of wind, snow, fog and rain.
2) Which transporters have people used in the past? So far I have Seahawk Air, Andrews Air and Kodiak Air Service to call on Monday to start gathering information about prices and schedules with a deposit possible in March/April.
3) For those that have hunted Eastern Afognak, I’m looking at the Pillar lake area for the cabin if its available (appears they only go out to September right now for scheduling, I will call them Monday as well). How is using the cabin as a base camp? Does it have decent access to the surrounding ridge lines and mountains (where the deer and Elk are I assume)? Should I instead look for an alpine lake and base camp there, hopefully above the devils club?
4) Is Afognak Island Elk hunting similar enough to other Roosevelt Elk in the US that I can use it as a basis to start learning elk patterns, behavior and calls? Or does it require its own special considerations?
5) Is a stove a necessity or will a covered area and fire suffice? I have a Nemo Chogori 3man, insulated pad and 0 degree bag from Nemo as well which has kept me warm to 20 (coldest its gotten so far).

In the meantime I will most likely be watching everything I can find on YouTube about this including rewatching the meat eater and remi warren hunts. It seems that information about the area and the hunting there is fairly sparse with most people describing it as one of the tougher hunts around, typical Gulf Weather (wind, rain, fog and snow) being predominant throughout October, to expect a lot of up mountain/down mountain type of walking, extremely thick willows/alders/devils club/salmon berries, a lot of bears and just general “what was I thinking”... Sounds like a blast. I know there are some recommended items for the islands and dense bear country that I will be looking to pick up such as an inReach, back up sat phone, bear spray (in addition to side arm and possible a camp shotgun/lever gun) and a bear fence. Lastly I’m going to pick up some black tail tags and hopefully can snag a couple of those in addition to an Elk, the Elk is the priority though.

Any additional thoughts, advice or input would be greatly appreciated as I begin my journey for my first Elk. Thank you for your time!

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Steve Rinella has a few episodes of his hunts there. It looks like being wet and socked in is common.

 

[Krieg Hetzen]

Going to shoot this back to the top just to see if anyone has something to add whether its Elk in general or related to Afognak Island. Thanks.

 

[Brendan]

Haven't been there, but have heard Remi Warren talk about the hunt. Commentary was something along the lines of one of his worst pack-outs ever: bring help. Much bigger body size than a Rocky Mountain Elk.

 

[Krieg Hetzen]

Based on that and the other videos I’ve found it definitely does not look like it will be easy or a walk in the park. Just helping shape my offseason training so I can try to be some what physically prepared.

 

[wildwilderness]

Andrew Air sold out to Island Air. There is still Seahawk Air.

 

[akhunter87]

So I managed to get the luck of the draw today and snagged DE723, Eastern Afognak Island Elk hunt for this year. My season dates are October 8th - 22nd. I have several question regarding this hunt that the previous threads on rokslide did not cover. Also this will be my first fly in hunt and my first time hunting for Elk.
1) What is the normal weather there? Judging from all the historical things I can find its 30-50f with a lovely mix of wind, snow, fog and rain.
2) Which transporters have people used in the past? So far I have Seahawk Air, Andrews Air and Kodiak Air Service to call on Monday to start gathering information about prices and schedules with a deposit possible in March/April.
3) For those that have hunted Eastern Afognak, I’m looking at the Pillar lake area for the cabin if its available (appears they only go out to September right now for scheduling, I will call them Monday as well). How is using the cabin as a base camp? Does it have decent access to the surrounding ridge lines and mountains (where the deer and Elk are I assume)? Should I instead look for an alpine lake and base camp there, hopefully above the devils club?
4) Is Afognak Island Elk hunting similar enough to other Roosevelt Elk in the US that I can use it as a basis to start learning elk patterns, behavior and calls? Or does it require its own special considerations?
5) Is a stove a necessity or will a covered area and fire suffice? I have a Nemo Chogori 3man, insulated pad and 0 degree bag from Nemo as well which has kept me warm to 20 (coldest its gotten so far).

In the meantime I will most likely be watching everything I can find on YouTube about this including rewatching the meat eater and remi warren hunts. It seems that information about the area and the hunting there is fairly sparse with most people describing it as one of the tougher hunts around, typical Gulf Weather (wind, rain, fog and snow) being predominant throughout October, to expect a lot of up mountain/down mountain type of walking, extremely thick willows/alders/devils club/salmon berries, a lot of bears and just general “what was I thinking”... Sounds like a blast. I know there are some recommended items for the islands and dense bear country that I will be looking to pick up such as an inReach, back up sat phone, bear spray (in addition to side arm and possible a camp shotgun/lever gun) and a bear fence. Lastly I’m going to pick up some black tail tags and hopefully can snag a couple of those in addition to an Elk, the Elk is the priority though.

Any additional thoughts, advice or input would be greatly appreciated as I begin my journey for my first Elk. Thank you for your time!

SeaHawk. Rolan and Jo are awesome. I'm sure the others are good too...but I personally would only go with someone else if I couldn't book thru them.

 

[Brendan]

Alaska: The Last Elk Frontier - Western Hunter

Remi Warren discusses elk hunting experiences in Alaska.

westernhunter.net

You haven't mentioned it, but do you have a hunting partner, or trying to do this solo?

 

[FLAK]

Isnt that one of the "Big Bear" Islands??? Just wonderin.

 

[Brendan]

Isnt that one of the "Big Bear" Islands??? Just wonderin.

Yes.

 

[Krieg Hetzen]

It is currently being planned with a partner, I am sure that my wife would kill me if I went on a solo hunt to a place like Afognak. I have contacted Seahawk, Andrews and Kodiak Air Service for some quotes and have gotten atleast one reply so far. I have read that article from Western Hunter as well. A solo hunt there does not sound fun.

 

[timekiller13]

I have not hunted elk on Afognak, but did hunt blacktail deer last year on the south end of the island. Beautiful place but it is wet and wild!! Thick nasty brush, steep climbs, torrential rain, 50-60 mph winds, snow, sleet and hail, all in the same morning. Lots of bears around. We never encountered any but saw plenty of sign. We did see one herd of elk on the south end while we were hunting. Those things are HUGE! I could not imagine packing one solo. Doubtful you would get the meat out before a bear got on it. One of the group's in our lodge last year shot an elk on Raspberry Island and they had a bear on them before they had the elk broke down.

Despite all that. I would hunt Afognak again first chance I got. Holds a special place in my heart. But I would never do it solo.

 

[dieNqvrs]

Weather will be shitty, count on it. Figure out how to get dry. Cabin will be easier, but a good tent like a Bomb shelter is a must.

Pillar creek is in a hole, elk are ways either direction from there. There is a YouTube hunt from 2017 (I think) based out of there. No input or recommendations other wise.

A hunt Partner should be in shape and able to pack 100 plus pounds in steep slick terrain. They are big. 350+ pounds of meat on a decent bull.

Spot and stalk will be name of game. Don’t bother with calls.

Bears are around, be prepared. Quarter and relocate meat away from carcass. I had a bear sneak in and take a full hind quarter from kill site as I relocated meat away 300 yards from kill site- never saw the bear. Weird yogi bear stealing picnic baskets. A bear fence is good for a tent. Hang high in trees if at cabin.

I dont use a side arm when hunting, just a long gun. Spray isn’t necessary, but if you bring spray ensure your inform the transporter. They put it in the float- not in cabin!

All transporters are good. The bigger they are the better they handle getting back on track from weather delays.

Good rain gear, trekking poles, a good light weight tarp or 2 and be able to grind day in and day out Hiking and hopefully packing is a must for success.

Will be a Great experience, tough hunt, beautiful island. But worth the effort. Good luck.

 

[Krieg Hetzen]

Thanks for all the input. Over the last week I've gone away from the idea of staying in the cabin and just getting a hot tent combo. Most likely going to go for the SO 8 man with stove and full liner. I'll bring some tyvek to keep me off the ground and call it good. Have a transporter lined up as well (Kodiak Air Service), now I just have to get some firm commitments from my possible hunting partners and then put a deposit down this month. Can't wait to get on the ground there this October.

 

[stonewall]

Remi Warren did a podcast covering it. Worth a listen. Afognak sounds like a hunt that would be fun to talk about after the fact. Would be cool to get one of those giant bulls one the ground. Sounds like a great experience. Wish you the best. Post pics for us

 

[Usi05]

Jealous but I’m not mentally strong enough for that kind of suck yet... maybe another year or two

MeatEater podcast #85,86,87 will talk about Afognak hunt with Remi and bear encounter they had. They have an episode with it too if you haven’t jumped into those already.

Good luck!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dieNqvrs]

It Doesn’t suck until it does, then you deal with it. It is amazing beautiful country. It’s just not as easy as an antelope hunt.

 

[finneyz]

Hey Krieg,
A buddy was drawn for this tag also and we are working to get information on this hunt. I am not sure how far you have gotten on your hunt, but I would be interested in sharing notes. We have a Public use cabin booked and planning to base out of there and spike camp out as needed. Let me know if you are interested notes/information sharing.
Zach

 

[Krieg Hetzen]

Well covid put a damper on things but I booked through Kodiak Air Service for 10 days at the end of October. I should be going with two other guys, one lives in Washington and works corrections with the other one living up here and working on the North Slope so we will see if everything connects properly or not. I have all the gear I think I need except the bear fence and hot tent. The snow is almost cleared enough for me to go scout for sheep and do some spring black bear hunting. Another couple weeks and not only do I get to start hunting again but I get to work on my endurance and mountain skills. Atleast I can run those hunts solo!

 

[finneyz]

We reserved our week (still confirming how long) for laura lake at the beginning of the hunt. I figured we are going to look at rafts and bear fence at Kodiak for spiking out of Laura. Still confirming that the area to the west (near discovery bay) needs a native use pass. Thinking of working the logging areas as a start. I am going to plan to look for black tails while we are out. I believe my buddy is booking with Seahawks air to the cabin. I hear a boat is necessary? I am hoping we can do some flying around prior to drop off to see what is in the area and get a better idea of a plan on our end. Are you on onx? If you are going later than my trip will be happy to let you know what we find. I hear the nice accommodations of a heat tent, but we are going minimalist since we have a lot of hiking out of the harden cabin.