Petersburg AK area deer hunting

[npaull]

Has anyone ever hunted (or know anything) about hunting blacktails on Kuiu Island, or Kupreanof or Zarembo, for that matter, in the neighborhood of Petersburg? I have access to a 40' boat based out of Petersburg this fall and am trying to figure out the logistics of a black tail hunt. My father (whose boat it is) and I have lots of experience cruising in the area and black tail hunting, but have never hunted up there. I know POW is an option but I'm trying to get info on any other potential spots too. Any help would be very appreciated. Thanks!

[chukar hunter]

I just got back from Petersburg after 10 days fishing.  We say deer and bucks almost everyday cruising to the fishing grounds on the south side of Kupreanof and N. Zarembo.  All of the islands hold plenty of deer in the muskeg flats, but access can be tough with a 40' boat.  There are a few access areas around the Duncan Canal area of Kupreanof where you can rent Forest Service cabins and they have boardwalk trails to access these areas, but still tough with a 40'r.  You will have to anchor offshore and ride into beaches with a smaller skiff.   

I would personally invest my time on Zarembo.  This is a big logging island and there are traditional cuts all over the island that you might see here in W. Wa, that you won't see on the other islands.   There are a ton of roads that you'd be good to have a mountain bike or even better a quad.  This island get hit pretty hard by the locals of both Petersburg and Wrangel.  We saw three hunters last week.  Good access is out of Saint Johns Harbor(North side of Island), dock for your boat and potential vehicle/quad access if you your boat can haul it.

Deer season started early August so I'm not sure how the pressure may affect the deer habits come fall. 

[npaull]

Thanks for that great info. I really appreciate it. We will definitely have a smaller skiff with an outboard that will allow us to launch to shore easily. I'm looking at going to either Zarembo or to Prince of Wales. I'm going to talk to the Petersburg biologist and get his opinion. There appear to be several small and undeveloped anchorages on the north side near roads which we could mountain bike, which may well be the way to go.

[npaull]

Plans firmed up a bit. Looks like it'll be the northern end of Prince of Wales island sometime in the first two weeks of November. I'm getting excited!

[npaull]

Any reports from guys who've been up to Prince of Wales this year?

Or any other insights from guys who've hunted it?