Kodiak Island goat hunting-boat based

Marshian

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Jul 10, 2019
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My brothers and I will be hunting Kodiak Island this fall with Ninilchik transporters (our one brother is a resident) out of the Larsen Bay and surrounding area the first part of October with the Registration 480 hunt. My hopes initially were to try for both deer and goats as the website shows past successful hunts for both but Im wondering if this is overly ambitious. Im willing to pack a tent and hike up high from the beach and spend one or maybe even two nights up there although returning to the boat each evening does sound nice as Im paying for it and its much better eating and more comfortable. We will have five days of hunting. Has anyone here done a boat based Kodiak island goat hunt. What were your thoughts? Are the goats too high up to realistically have a chance at them by day-tripping from the beach? Ive shot plenty of deer here in Montana so a goat would mean much more to me. Thanks for any input.
 
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Mar 2, 2019
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Tagging in... Very interested in replies myself! Sounds like a great trip! Good luck!
 
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Feb 13, 2017
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Tulsa, ok
Listen to Tundra Talk's podcast about their boat based goat hunt this past spring. Should answer the majority of your questions. They had a hell of a trip.
 

Josey D

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Nov 3, 2013
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Anchorage
No its not to optimistic but will be somewhat weather dependent. Best case sceniero you would spot a goat when you are traveling for the day in the boat & you can hike up kill it & get back down. More likely you will decide how many people want to go after goats & head for one of the areas that hold goats routinely in that area. You will see them on your flight as you are getting close to Larsen bay. It will take one day to hike up & get in postion & spot them, & then the next to seal the deal so plan on two days off the boat. You might be able to make it back that second night depending on the logistics of when, where , & how fast you can hike it out. If so you will still have two days to find a deer which as healthy as the population is right now shouldn't be an issue.
 

OFFHNTN

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Apr 10, 2015
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I don't think it will be overly ambitious, but will be a challenge. I think you need to prioritize what you'd rather shoot if you could only pick one. It is doubtful you will find deer and goats in the same area and/or elevation. And I would make sure your transporter is knowledgeable in where goats and deer inhabit.
Sounds fun though! Good luck!
 

carter33

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Apr 12, 2017
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Fairbanks
Their is a new article up on journal of mountain hunting about a boat based hunt for both goats and deer. Worth the read even though I didn't think it was as well written as most articles on the site.
 
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Marshian

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Jul 10, 2019
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Thanks everyone for the input and advice. I’m gonna early give the goats a solid try. I’ll be sure to post some pics and and a write-up of the trip and what I learned and would do differently next time. Much appreciated.
 
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Apr 22, 2012
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Chugiak, Alaska
You shouldn’t have any problem finding goats and deer in the same areas and, a lot of times, at the same elevations, that time of year. I’ve never done a boat based hunt (although it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun), but I would think that hiking up from, and back down to the salt every day could be unbelievably grueling, especially if you’re fighting through tag alder, and thorns the first 1200’ or so. If I were you, I would plan on goats being my number one priority, spot them from the salt, climb up to them, with the plans on spending at least two days or maybe more. Once you’ve taken your goat and packed him back down to the salt, then start deer hunting. Also, don’t just shoot the first goat you see, or are able to shoot, unless it’s a nice billy, and do everything possible to keep from shooting a nanny. Although there are a lot of goats on the island, I think a lot of the boat based transporters just want their clients to be successful (and promote their business), they really don’t care if their clients shoot nannies. I believe that if the nannies continue to be taken in the numbers that have been taken over the last few years, the goat population is really going to suffer.


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Joined
Nov 13, 2017
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Alaska
Agree with AK Troutbum. If you are in excellent shape it is possible to get an early start, kill a goat in the afternoon/evening and get it packed out the next day, but take your time and try to find a billy. Half the fun of goat hunting anyway is being up high, trying to find a billy and trying to guess horn length, age, etc. Any other goat hunt in the state seriously discourages the taking of a nanny (and has repercussions like you're banned from hunting the unit for 4 years if you take a nanny) and it cuts down on the number of harvestable animals in a unit drastically. If you have good weather, should have time to find a deer as well.
 

Dhosera

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Feb 23, 2018
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Michigan
Been there, done that hunt with the very same outfit you mention. We are going again in 2 years. My BIL is also a resident so we had goat tags as well and ended up deciding as a group that a deer hunt was more what we were after than a goat hunt. You will have to decide as a group if goats or deer are your priority. Then they will position the boat accordingly. You will either be in a good goat area with possibility of finding deer or a great deer area with no possibility of goats in my experience. The goats are not straight up from the salt as they get pressure from the salt and move deeper back into the heads of the bays. Trust me you will see this on your way into LB from the airplane. It will take a day of hiking to get there and another day or 2 to get it done and back to the boat. With only 5 days of hunting I didn't want to burn 3 on a "possible'' goat hunt and leave empty handed. So we shot 13 deer, some big ones at that, stayed on the warm, dry, well fed boat away from the bears as big as VW beetles and had a fantastic hunt. In all honestly we had some close calls with bears, but only after we had killed a deer and were trying to get it back to the boat. We killed one, grabbed onto it and whole and started down towards the beach, called for a pickup and watched as a bear hit our trail and was bloodtrailling us as we made our way to the beach. If we had to wait another 5 mins that bear would have claimed that deer, but we tossed it in the raft and as we were motoring out he was on the beach wondering where his meal went! Plan to loose a day at least to weather. We lost only 1, but rode in 12'-14' waves to make it back in time to get off Kodiak. The group behind us lost 3 days to weather until they got out of port. Weather is the single biggest factor on that hunt. Wind direction dictates where you are able to get dropped off to hunt, picked up from hunting and where they position the boat to try and get some sleep. If its sunny, the deer are ALL OVER. If its raining sideways, or I should say "WHEN its raining sideways", the deer are laid up. Do your meat cutting/de-boning/skinning at night after dinner jamming to music on the covered deck while drinking beer all the while having halibut rods soaking out the back as to not waste precious hunting daylight. Those hills are no joke and its a physical hunt. Add rain and its SLIPPERY! Bring crampons its like having 4x4. O and that black-tail venison is the best game meat I've ever had .....No Joke.
 
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We did a boat based goat hunt with Rogue Charters this past March. Enjoyed it so much we booked the same week again for this coming Spring. Very enjoyable hunt, always in the goats and staying on the boat each night was very comfortable.
 
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Marshian

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Jul 10, 2019
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Just got back from an awesome boat based DIY trip. Unsuccessful on goats but learned a lot, got some deer and nice halibut and had a blast. I did a write up on hunt talk if interested or curious how that kind of hunt worked.

 
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