If you’ve never experienced Alaska and want to do it on a budget this is a tremendous opportunity. The outfitter offers DIY hunting and fishing adventures. They provide comfortable living accommodations with a lodge and its very comfortable cabins, transportation, sound advice and a boat for your use. In short, everything you need to make the Alaskan adventure of a lifetime a reality without breaking the bank.
The lodge offers unbelievable silver salmon fishing, of the do-it-yourself variety. Simply stand on shore and cast flies or lures to hundreds of cruising Silvers and starting two to three months before most other streams. That means school teachers, kids and folks with the summers off can get in on the action from June thru August and take home a bunch of fresh, tasty salmon. The Coho will average 6 to 15 pounds and often spend plenty of time airborne on the end of your line. The silvers at this location arrive in mid-June, are thick by mid-July, and remain strong through to fall. Pinks and sockeyes join in the mix as summer progresses and offer great sport, and catching 100 pinks in a day (3 to 6 pounds) is no big deal! The bay itself is also a prime area for Dungeness crab and the lodge provides crab pots as part of your boat package. It’s easy to catch a mess of crabs for dinner.
It’s not uncommon to catch 40 salmon in four hours of fishing within walking distance of the lodge. There’s a short little stream right next to the lodge that hosts a run of over 50,000 salmon. The lodge’s new cabins are located on the best hole at the outlet, meaning new fish arrive at your front door every day. Also you have a choice to fish for silvers in the stream or troll for them in the bay. Fishing the stream means wading and casting in pools filled with hundreds of fish. In the bay, you stalk schools of jumping and porpoising silvers. Fish in the bay are still feeding and more aggressive and limits can be easy to come by. You can explore the myriad of streams located all over the island. The outfitter strongly urges clients to bring a GPS for use in the boat or hire a guide. You can charter a boat and captain for only $400 per day. It’s a great way to learn the area, the techniques and some hotspots.
The fishing in northern POW can be phenomenal. From the incredible run of summer Silver or Coho salmon in the bay and at the Lake outlet to the superb halibut fishing in Kashevarof Passage and beyond plus hundreds of streams, ponds and lakes over this wild 150 mile long island, makes the fishing is hard to beat.
There is superb fishing for Dolly Varden in numerous local streams, excellent runs of sockeye salmon at Sarkar Creek and Red Bay, excellent fishing for cutthroat trout in Neck Lake with trophy trout possible and outstanding fishing for rainbow trout in Red Bay Lake. Steelhead run in early spring and late fall. All in all, you’ll be challenged to find better multi-species angling opportunity over such an extensive fishing season!
Late fall (Sept 1) is prime time for bear hunting (only black bears live on this island) and also Sitka black-tail deer hunting (limit 4 bucks). You can hunt spring bear. There is a one bear limit. (Must draw the tag- apply a year early in Dec) The black bears here are the same specie as on Vancouver Island, but here you save 80% off what you would spend at Vancouver. Joan took a 7’ 3” bear on the Island and many clients have taken 6.5 to 7.5’ bears home. You must apply in a draw for bear tags. You can hunt either spring or fall. Deer season open in mid-August and runs for four months or more with a limit of four bucks. A DIY cast-n-blast is a definite possibility. Venison tenderloin stuffed with crab meat is the ultimate surf and turf!
Sitka Black Tailed Deer
Prince of Wales Island offers exceptional Sitka black tail deer hunting. September is the month to hunt the alpine, October is pre-rut, and November is the rut season. Late fall is a favorite time to be in the woods. Mornings are frosty, and weather is brisk and can often offer a skiff of tracking snow.
The harvest limit is four bucks per person, one buck per tag. The most common way to hunt deer on the island is the “spot and stalk” method. Sitka Blacktail deer also respond well to fawn distress or predator calls. (Watch for the black bears to also come in!) Later in the fall as the rut approaches the bucks come to calls more easily. Hunting for Sitka Blacktail deer is a unique experience and there isn’t a milder tasting deer on earth.
Black Bear
If you are after a trophy black bear, Prince of Wales is the place to hunt, offering the highest population density of trophy black bears in the world! Studies have shown that bears on Prince of Whales have a skull size averaging of one and a half inches larger than bear populations of the same age found anywhere else in North America; except for Vancouver Island, which has the same specie. With a spring hunt offered in April, May and June and a fall black bear season in September and October, opportunities for the self-guided hunter are limited only by the imagination.
During spring, bears frequent beaches and tide flats, foraging for mussels, crabs and grasses. In fall, bears key in on the salmon spawning streams and berry patches. Typical bears weigh in between 300 to 500 pounds, while a large fall bear can be as heavy as 700 pounds. Skulls average 19″ to 21″.
Bow Hunting
The combination of dense old growth rain forest and countless salmon streams offers the ideal close range scenario for the bow hunter. Success averages on Prince of Wales for bow hunters are very good, and calling is exciting.
The Skiff Advantage
Renting the lodge’s 20-foot Lund skiff opens tremendous opportunity for a hunter/fisher to comb hundreds of miles of shoreline and reach otherwise inaccessible beaches and streams. Make it appoint to bring a GPS if you plan to fish very far from the lodge or consider hiring them to guide.
Tags
A non-resident hunting license is $85. Black bear tags are available through a draw, and are $225. Sitka blacktail tags are $150.
We suggest that you purchase your license and tag online in advance at www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/buyonline. Black bear & deer can be hunted in Alaska without a guide.
We suggest that you purchase your license and tag online in advance at www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/buyonline. Black bear & deer can be hunted in Alaska without a guide.
Why Hunt Prince of Wales?
• Affordable world class hunting, with some of the best waterfowl opportunity in Alaska
• Densest population of trophy black bears in the world
• Abundant Sitka black-tailed deer
• A comfortable cabin to come home to
• 20-foot Lund skiff with a 90 hp tiller to open up incredible fishing/–hunting opportunity
• Prime opportunity to combine hunting and fishing and do it very economically.
An August report from one of our clients:
Client Name: Greg Parker
Outfitter = AK #19 –Excellent
Animals_Taken = fish
Camp = Excellent
Food = Excellent
comments = Unguided fishing trip. Outfitter was great! Took time to make sure we had all we needed. Accommodations were excellent! Would recommend trip very highly.
COMMON QUESTIONS:
1) How do I get to the Lodge? Fly thru Seattle to Ketchikan,AK., then take a float plane to Thorne Bay on POW Island. The lodge will meet the clients at the float plane dock in Thorne Bay. Float plane cost to Thorne Bay is about $250 r/t.
2) What do I do about buying our food?
There is a grocery store, liquor store and tackle shack in Thorne Bay. Most folks purchase their license on-line at AF&G and they are mailed to them before they ever travel. If they get here and have no license we can take care of that in Thorne Bay. A day trip to Craig will offer more shopping.
3) I have my own freshwater gear- but what do I do for saltwater heavy stuff?
Outfitter has Halibut rods and terminal tackle, (circle hooks and weights). Plan to bring swivels and heavy jigs if you prefer a self-guided package. You can pick up herring at the grocery store or keep salmon bellies for bait.
4) What about freshwater gear? The client is responsible for their own light tackle “salmon / trout rods.” We can supply a list of spinners or flies etc if need be.
5) Laundry? There is full laundry in each cabin.
6) Rough travel Schedule? Outfitter likes the clients to arrive on a Sunday and leave on Saturday. This has worked out well, as the client has a day to travel on each end. You can be at the office on Friday, travel on Saturday be here on Sunday, travel again on Saturday and be home on Sunday, back at the office on Monday. If this doesn’t work for you for what ever reason, we can talk about options on a case by case basis.
8) Can I hire guides for fresh or salt water? Daily fresh-water or fly-fishing guides are $400 for the group (not per person.) The price is the same if you go on the boat. The salt water guide is also $400 per day for the trip, not per person. The captain takes you out in the 20-foot boat. Split the cost four ways and it figures out to $100 per person for a memorable adventure.
The charter rate for people who are not guests is a base of $1000 day for up to 4, plus $250 each after four.
9) LOGISTICS IN GENERAL? PLEASE understand the logistics that THE LODGE is 65 miles from a grocery store. The do it yourself gig is only as good as the clients understanding they must plan for things.
10) Do we need to bring towels and linens? The cabin is completely furnished. All linens, cookware and such are there.
11) Is there a grill and smoker for the fish? There is a gas grill, and a little chief smoker.
12) Is there a TV? DIRECTV in each cabin
13) Can we mail some gear in advance to the cabin? Mail USPS to Whale Pass. No Fed-ex or UPS.
Rates (children under 12- free) THREE PLANS AVAILABLE:
PLAN 1. The self guided plan features the cabin, vehicle, skiff, and use of all the big toys, and includes onsite gas, meals and housekeeping. $2500 per person based on double occupancy. This is the most common package we sell. It makes for an economical vacation with lots of options. PLEASE NOTE THIS INCLUDES THE BIG 20’ SKIFF WITH 90HP MOTOR! A BOAT THIS SIZE IS NORMALLY AN UPGRADE ELSEWHERE.
PLAN 2. The full service plan, includes your travel to the lodge from Ketchikan. float plane to Whale Pass, cabin, vehicle, meals, fully guided fishing, and your return trip to Ketchikan. $3800 per person based on double occupancy. Book your trip with a minimum of four guests and have the facility to yourself. Experience a private lodge atmosphere, without the cruise ship crowd.
PLAN 3. Add daily guiding to the full service plan: or a single day charter when available call for rates.
Fall /Spring Prince of Wales Bear Hunting RULES: Attention all bear hunters! the State of Alaska changed the bear hunting regulations for Prince of Wales Island. All bear hunting for non-residents is now by permit drawing only. While this is unfortunate for the two lodges we represent (AK #17 and #19), the few that draw a bear tag are sure to have a huge hunting area all to themselves! And one can imagine that the bear population is going to skyrocket! And in the fall multiple Sitka Blacktail bucks are possible, plus great fishing. And all of this will generally run around $1000 per person, sometimes less depending on party size!
Please refer to the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game website– http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntlicense.draw
The above link will take you to the page with the hunt application information and requirements. You must apply online (VISA or MC only, checks are not accepted). There is NO REFUND of application or license fees.
A hunter may apply individually OR two (2) hunters desiring to hunt together may apply as a party. Both hunters would need to apply on the same application and, if drawn, both hunters will receive permits. If either hunter is ineligible for any reason, the entire application is invalid.
All applications submitted are final and application fees will not be refunded. Nonresidents must obtain or have applied for an Alaska big game hunting license prior to applying.
If you received a drawing permit last year, you are ineligible to receive a drawing permit for the same hunt this year. If you drew for a fall hunt, you could apply for a
Deer season opens August 15, the bear is on a draw for a nonresident in unit 2, fall season opens Sept 1. The early deer season is an alpine hunt, I would boldly say one of the toughest hunts in AK. There are no roads above the timberline, as all the roads in SE were logging access. That said, if they are in pretty good shape, and willing to put in at least one night in the field, it is a trip of a lifetime. Lots of bucks, up high, hard horned after early September, all chocolate horned. September is on the tail end of the Silvers, and the halibut are in close feeding on fish washing out. If I could only be in AK one month of the year it would be September.
If they are not prepared to put in the shoe work, I would suggest a later hunt, weather permitting we can put out on some halibut and rockfish. October goes into a pre-rut time here, bucks respond pretty well to a call in the clear cuts. Frosty mornings, opening up to shirt sleeve weather in the day.
