Hi all, I would like to hunt Caribou on the southern end of Kodiak and wonder if anybody knows of places to land with a wheel pacer?

Eddie,

The only place to land is a rather small, and occassionally VERY soft beach at the mouth of the Red River (or Ayakulik). This puts you a LONGGGGGGG ways from the REINDEER (not caribou), as they generally hang quite a ways inland from there, but you might get lucky.

More importantly, you'll have to cross 40 miles of VERY hostile and VERY cold water in a wheel plane to get to Kodiak.

I did this trip six or seven times a year (round trip) for eight years. They couldn't pay me enough to do it again. Odds of getting jammed up by weather one way or the other are almost 100%.

If you've got time to spare, go by air...

MTV

Hi MTV, I was afaird of that. We have aplace in Seldovia and I'm not looking forward to the trip in the pacer.I have a friend that has a twin I can hop down with and I'm thinking that might be the way to go. I plan to hunt the larson bay area this spring, as I got drawn for a bear there. I have a cabin to use and was thinking if I got a bear early I could get a reindeer for meat, seeing I was already there. Love reindeer hot dogs by the Alaskan sauage co. If the beach is soft its not worth getting stuck there for sure. There should be some early rn kings in the Karluck by mid-may and that just as good. By may I'm ready for unfrozen fish.

Ahhhh, Red River....... Putting a boat close to that beach was bad enough I can't imagine putting a plane on it.
IIRC there was a change to the commercial fishing regs several years ago that prevented the use of a setnet site cabin for a base to hunt from. Don't know if the cabin you have use of is at one of the many setnet sites there around Larson Bay but you might check to be sure.

flynfish,

It wasn't a change to any regs, actually. The Refuge owns the land that MANY (but not all) commercial fishing cabins are sited on. The purpose those cabins were built for, and permitted for, was to support commercial fishing. Their use for hunting or other purposes, other than commercial fishing was never legal.

I've landed on the Red River beach a couple of times, with a Cub. I'd never go there without a good set of BIG tires, cause it can be soft, and it also moves around a lot, so can be unlandable at times, or obstructed by junk on the beach.

MTV

Hi Guys,
Think I'll pass on that ldg at red river, the pacer isn't that good at soft fields, only 8.00 on it. It uses 900' on a normal T/O from a gravel rwy, without popping flaps.
The cabin is a pvt. one a friend of mine lives in summers, but that is a good point for anyone looking to use a cabin there. I guess the guide's there didn't think they had a big enough piece of the pie

MTV

I remember for a few years when I lived there in the early 80's it was common to use a setnet site cabin for hunting. Then it seems there was enforcement or "reminder" that it wasn't suppose to be that way. Everyone read it as "new regs". Thanks for clarifying.

I was only familiar with Red River from the water side at the end of a seine. One of the more challenging areas for a seine skiffman to work due to that beach, particularly with any surf running. Just know that it had lots of soft mud and little pebbles that made life miserable.

The set net operators decided to push the limits on use of the cabins, frankly. It backfired on them, since uses other than commercial fishing were always specifically prohibited in their permits, and they'd signed that provision every year for years.

It went so far as Senator Stevens calling a "Special Meeting" to discuss the draconian "rules" that the FWS was imposing on the poor setnetters.

Fortunately, one of the wealthiest of the setnetters testified to the good Senator first. His argument was that he should be permitted to have a MINIMUM of 2400 square feet of living space for his family, PLUS an additional 2400 square feet of living space for his crew, who actually did all the work (neither he nor his family never lifted a finger in the fishing operation--it was just a freebie summer vacation place on a National Wildlife Refuge). The Senator's response was "My home in Georgetown is less than 1200 square feet, and you're telling me that you can't survive in less than 2400 square feet during the summer months while you're commercial fishing?" The set netter replied that his children invite many of their friends to come down to the cabin for the summer to enjoy the country around there, and his wife needs the privacy to enjoy the tranquility of the place.

The Senator turned to me and suggested that we get a little tougher with the enforcement of the regulations on these people, and left the meeting.

MTV

Hi MTV, Where you on the job as a law enforcement officer?

Yes.

MTV

MTV,

Come on Mike, you were a part time LEO, with your main duties as a Pilot.

Hope all is well down South, Cold as Hell up here now.

Happy Holidays,

Mike

Mike,

Actually, much of the time I spent on Kodiak, I was a Refuge Manager, with collateral duties as a pilot . Subtle distinction, but for about seven years, dang near all I did was chase set netters, deer hunters and guides. That was the period the Region decided to get the set netters in compliance with the regs, deer hunting was just getting spooled up good, the fishing guides and lodges on the Peninsula "discovered" Kodiak, and decided to get away from the crowds on the AK Pen. So, about all I did was chase people, and radio track brown bears.

With an airplane as a patrol vehicle.

My main duties were never as a pilot, though I generally flew more than any of the other pilots in the region. That's cause I was busy doing my job, which required an airplane to get there.

Oh, yeah--and I didn't take vacations . In eight years on the rock, I took one week off for the Reno Air Races. The good news was my schedule was totally flexible. I worked when there was work to do.

On Kodiak, as soon as the set net season and sport fishing let up, deer season and fall bear season were going strong. Short break in Jan/Feb, then get ready for spring bear season, then into the set net season again. Oh, yeah, then there were the boat patrols with the Troopers on the M/V Trooper. I did seven or eight of them as well. Never liked boats much since....

Course, I could have gotten a DESK job as a "full time" SA .

Merry Christmas...

Mike

C-185 wrote:Cold as Hell up here now.

I see that Buckland is 49 below right now. Yee Haw

Gump