Kodiak Deer

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a Kodiak Deer Hunt. Myself and three friends are going to hunt the larsen bay area. We are going to hire a fly out service. We are debating on either a Sept. hunt or we are thinking of hitting the rut in late Oct. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
AKCAT

i always like later, but the deer rut really won't be in full swing till first or second week of november. sometimes it will start last week of oct, but won't be really hot till nov. i'd go on the oct trip if it were me. hunt high...

And watch out for the Brown Bears looking for food too. LOL

Brian

If you want to go salmon fishing the silvers will still be running in Sept/early Oct. As far as the hunting goes, either time is a good pick. The alders will have lost most of their leaves and the grass will have laid down a little by Oct. Plan to hike for them with either time period. They usually don't move down to the beaches until lat Nov.

I have hunted both time periods quite a bit. It does seem that you see more deer in early to mid November and they are definitely more concentrated. I prefer the late September time frame. It sounds crazy but here is my reason. When the bucks are in full rut they are constantly on the move, chasing and looking for "hot" does. We do a lot of glassing and it is not unusual in November to locate a shooter buck, and by the time you make the stalk he is miles away. In Sept and October if you locate a "shooter" chances are he will still be in his bed when you get there. Larsen Bay is a good area to base your hunt. I have always used Andrews Airways or Seahawk Air for the charter flights.They are great pilots that really know the Island. If you go in September hunt high and do a lot of glassing. Mike Carlson at Larsen Bay lodge also has a Beaver on floats. He might be cheaper as he is right there. The cheapest flights into Larsen bay are usually on scheduled flights with Island Air. One more word of advice. Kodiak can be decieving sometimes. Mountains look farther way than they are... If you see a shooter but are not sure you can get to him before dark, go for it! It is not as far as it seems. Also we like to hunt in pairs and we carry backpacks and bone out(or quarter) the meat right on the spot. This way you don't have to make that second trip to the kill site and worry about having some company with big teeth when you get there.Just my two cents. Sorry for the long post. Groundhog

THanks for the help and info guys. I just found out that one of the guys that we are going with has a connection with a boat so now I think we are going to scrap the fly in and go with the boat. We will be hunting the noth eastern half of the Island. Not to sure where excatly but from what you guys are saying I think the later the better.
AKCAT

I've hunted there in late December and seen lotsa bucks within reach of the beaches after all the leaves are gone and the snows have hit good and hard. From a boat, it's not a bad way to go if you've got good spotters and heavy snows to have pushed 'em down.