Prince of Wales deer hunting

[npaull]

Hi all,

I have a chance to go up to Prince of Wales island this fall to hunt deer from a boat. I'm thinking potentially of heading up in the late season to hunt during the rut when the deer are pushed down close to the water, such that they'd be easily huntable from a boat.

I'd appreciate anyone's suggestions on locations and timing for this (I've heard early November would be best?). Anyone done a hunt like this? Anyone heard anything about how POW has been hunting recently? Any and all info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Glockster]

I heard winter kill was pretty bad in most blacktail herds in AK.  Don't know if it extended down to POW, but that would be my first call...to ADFG or look in their site for news on that situation.

I used to hunt like that when I was in Sitka.  Most of the close to town areas were hammered and the deer were not prancing around on the beach like I envisioned.  Also you have to remember the daylight is pretty short up there in the fall/winter so camping out in one of the remote(r) areas from boat would be the way to go instead of burning daylight running to and from town each day.

Good luck, fun deer hunt when they are plentiful

[bradslam]

Just my  , but it is much more fun hiking up to the higher muskeg areas than cruising around on a boat.  Of course, this would depend on your physical limitations.  When I used to commercial fish out of POW Island, I would take the skiff out of town several miles, beach it, and start hiking up.  Very fun to stalk those deer up high.

[ribka]

Gasman and I were up on POW last May bear hunting. Many days coming home at night we saw close to a 100 deer feeding on the road sides. According to Game mgr up there deer pops are all time high.

A friend who lives up there and hunts deer goes to higher elevation clear cuts and muskeg. I think there is a 4 deer limit there now. go up when they start rutting. I would not bother hunting from a boat.

[npaull]

Thanks for the input.

So the boat I'm talking about is a 40' sailboat, so we will be able to get (and plan to get) way the hell away from any town, then take the dinghy ashore to still hunt/spot and stalk. The boat will be more of a mobile camp than a hunting technique. I've heard that hunting late in the season the deer get pushed closer to water. I've no problem with some hiking but the opportunity won't lend itself to hunting way up in the mountains. Would love any more input anyone could offer.

[AKBowman]

Thanks for the input.

So the boat I'm talking about is a 40' sailboat, so we will be able to get (and plan to get) way the hell away from any town, then take the dinghy ashore to still hunt/spot and stalk. The boat will be more of a mobile camp than a hunting technique. I've heard that hunting late in the season the deer get pushed closer to water. I've no problem with some hiking but the opportunity won't lend itself to hunting way up in the mountains. Would love any more input anyone could offer.

They only get pushed to the water as a last resort from snow. They only resort to eating the kelp when everything is covered up by snow, and it usually takes a lot of snow...around chest deep on the deer to move them down. during early November they will be somewhere between below the alpine to above the mid timber line...you know in the ALDERS!!!!!!!

Either way they will lastly be up above the beaches.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Sitkas come to the beaches year round. I routinely see them in the summer. They use the salty rocks as a natural salt lick. Low tide is the best time to catch them there, especially if it's early morning or first light. (not necessarily the same during the long summer days) The difference between summer and winter is, in summer the deer will head right back up high, especially the big bucks. (my best guess is better feed, and less bugs and bears) In winter, the deer will hang close to the beaches unless pushed away. They'll usually find thick timber, if it's available, to bed and feed in. (more cover and less snow to get around and find food in) Best tip I can give you for early morning winter hunts, especially in clear weather is find open south facing ridges to concentrate on as the sun comes up. The sunlight always draws deer in the winter. Sitkas also like high vantage points where they can spot trouble coming from below, then slip out the back door, usually into a good brush patch. If you can get above them, it usually will work in your favor. If it's really windy, find canyons in the lee of a ridge or hill where the wind isn't so bad.

Remember, in Southeast it's illegal to shoot from a boat. In Prince William Sound and Kodiak, it's legal as long as the boat is not under power. So if you do find deer on the beach on POW look for a landing spot out of sight of the deer, where you can get to shore and make a sneak.

[Deep Forks]

When we went up and hunted the blackies we used a large boat for camping along with a wall tent.  Also had a skiff to motor the shorelines for hunting the hillsides above camp.  This worked very well.  The rut with snow was the best time.  We had good success hunting up hill in the morning, spot and stock and hunt back down another drainage and get picked up in the boat at dark.  It was great hunting with many deer spotted daily.        

[npaull]

So the trip's been booked... heading up November 3-11. Going to be hunting the NE corner of the island most likely.

For those that have hunted there - I'm a meat hunter mostly, and the fact that you can only shoot bucks makes me a little nervous. Is it pretty reasonable to expect to see decent numbers of small bucks (again, don't care about trophies) to fill a few tags? I'm planning on hunting with my longbow, but there will be a rifle on board too for a friend of mine who's a gun hunter, although I'd only use that last day to fill a tag for the freezer...

Would love people's insight into deer numbers up there. THanks!

[_TONY_]

I heard winter kill was pretty bad in most blacktail herds in AK.  Don't know if it extended down to POW, but that would be my first call...to ADFG or look in their site for news on that situation.

I heard the same thing from a guy I know up in Craig... Was supposed to go do that hunt for the first time, but decided to back out and wait until next year...

Couldn't justify the ferry costs on weak numbers...

[npaull]

I actually heard from a state bio and a guide up there that the POW population is very high right now... We'll see I guess but I'm hopeful. Just want to find a spike or corky or two...

[Angus]

What part of the island will you be hunting? if you're anywhere near Craig I would take the boat to either Suemez or Dall Island and find a clearcut that comes down close to the water. Hit the beach there then get on a logging road and start hunting, either the clearcut or hike the roads, either way, you probably won't have to look hard to find them.
I didn't notice any fewer deer this past summer then any other of the past 20+ summers I've spent on POW Is., they were seen walking through camp all summer, also saw them flying to and from the resort when I came and went. Good luck!

[npaull]

Thanks for the input Angus, appreciate it. We'll be hunting the NE corner of the island, probably based out of Salmon Bay. We're well enough away from roads (3-4 miles) that we should be able to access lots of country that rarely gets hunted. If need be we can use the boat to get closer to roads for some longer-distance hiking, but so far seems like farther from roads is (obviously) less pressure. 

[Angus]

Keep in mind, there are something like 1200-1500 miles of logging roads on the island with probably less then 5000 residents on the island plus some hunters from Ketchikan and a 5 month hunting season, doubt those deer know what pressure is, atleast not like the deer around here do.

[npaull]

Good point, Angus. I'm hoping they won't be too hunter-wise.

Anyone else hunted up there in the rut? I'd love any advice or stories... thanks!