(Poll) Fall: Hunting or Fishing?

[Shockwave]

It would be a lot of fun to troll for walleye while shooting ducks and have the bow in the boat in case a deer is on the shoreline. A limit of walleye, a limit of ducks, and fill the bow tag would make for one hell of a fun day in the boat.

 

[wjschmaltz]

All three freezers are FULL here. Picking up a buddy who is out moose hunting and they'll hang out and relax for the weekend before flying back to ND Sunday. After that, have a couple weekends dedicated big old rainbows on the Kenai, one long weekend to chase bears with my brother, and maybe a couple more short camping trips close to home for ptarmigan and grouse. We will see, winter is knocking! The finale will be my wife's December moose tag! I'm really looking forward to that with the family. Busy year, just the way we like it!

Eyeballing another Kodiak goat trip in February/March, but let's not get ahead of ourselves too much.....

 

[guywhofishes]

I'm going to hit the soft water hard this fall.

I see what you did there.

 

[lunkerslayer]

I probably going to do something other then posting on nda since it's frowned upon and supposedly shows that I have no life. But hey could be worse I could be a closet queen who likes to diddle little children in the woman's bathroom.

 

[johnr]

All three freezers are FULL here. Picking up a buddy who is out moose hunting and they'll hang out and relax for the weekend before flying back to ND Sunday. After that, have a couple weekends dedicated big old rainbows on the Kenai, one long weekend to chase bears with my brother, and maybe a couple more short camping trips close to home for ptarmigan and grouse. We will see, winter is knocking! The finale will be my wife's December moose tag! I'm really looking forward to that with the family. Busy year, just the way we like it!

Eyeballing another Kodiak goat trip in February/March, but let's not get ahead of ourselves too much.....

A good friend of mine is up there moose hunting right now, wonder if its the same fella. He shot a pretty decent moose, sent me pictures yesterday. I will try to post one.

 

[wjschmaltz]

Very nice bull! It's different guys, they just got out of the field about an hour ago. They shot some monsters. The outfitter they're using FaceTimed me about 30 minutes ago and was showing em off. One bull is the biggest of 50+ he's flow out of the field so far this year. Even though the weather has been absolutely terrible for moose hunting this year, everyone I know that has been out has done very well. Great to see.

 

[lunkerslayer]

Very nice bull! It's different guys, they just got out of the field about an hour ago. They shot some monsters. The outfitter they're using FaceTimed me about 30 minutes ago and was showing em off. One bull is the biggest of 50+ he's flow out of the field so far this year. Even though the weather has been absolutely terrible for moose hunting this year, everyone I know that has been out has done very well. Great to see.

Ball Park figure how much would it cost to fly to Alaska for a moose hunting trip

 

[johnr]

Ball Park figure how much would it cost to fly to Alaska for a moose hunting trip

The guy pictured above spent over $15,000. He was flown in with a buddy, dropped off, and had 10 days in the "bush" to find the moose. They then would radio the home base so to speak and get lined out when they finished.
2 Guys $30,000+, not counting the trip up etc.

 

[lunkerslayer]

i need to sell drugs uffda

 

[wjschmaltz]

Ball Park figure how much would it cost to fly to Alaska for a moose hunting trip

The outfit I would suggest using, which it's hard to argue that he's not by far the best in the world for DIY moose at this very moment, is charging $11,000 in 2023. That $11k covers lodging on front and back of trip with breakfast, all shuttles to/from airport and to grocery shop in town, bush flight, and tent/raft/camp rental. He only books 20 groups/year and has 100's of people on the waiting list. 50-60 hunters a year with basically a 100% DIY success rate. His competitor across town charges the same. Takes about 100 groups, OK service, lots of delays, not great gear, and a lower success rate just b/c there are only so many really good spots so lots of people get put into marginal area. They are at the top end of price because of the planes they use and how far they travel. The profit margins are actually surprisingly low. The guy I use has $150,000 in just to get his planes legal before he flies out a single customer. That includes a $10,000 increase in insurance for the second year in a row. Same guy had his fuel costs go up $75,000 this year. Add in the rapidly rising cost of everything else and the impossibility of finding good help.

With a fair amount of research, a person could get a good trip in the $5K range easily for just the flight service somewhere else in the state. But then the rest of the logistics are in your hands (rental car, lodging, raft if needed, shipping a tent and gear, etc.).

After it's all said and done, $15K for a DIY moose trip is probably about right. Bigger add-ons that drive cost up quickly would be
- tags/license $1,000
- commercial flights $1,000
- shipping moose home $900

If a person is going to do it, I would highly suggest GMU 18. The good old days out there are happening right now!