Hello everyone, its been a while since I've been on here. No trapping stories for you, but I was hoping to maybe get some hunting info. I went and drew the 830 Koyokuk Moose permit, something I know little to nothing about. Can anyone help me out with any tips?

Start saving your Money$$ haha.
You planning on doing it yourself or ??
There are a number of guys that put in up river and boat down themselves. Closest cost effective means to ship your meat in from Galena on back haul. Or take it all the way back up with you if you have a boat.

I hunted that a few years back. As FT stated $$$$$$$, but it is freaking worth every dang penny :)Those moose are extremely vocal and respond well to calling! The banks are pretty thick with willows along the river, I did alot of walking and calling in the side sloughs and saw a ton of moose.

Thanks for the responses guys. So as far as $$, you are referring to hiring transport?

What are your plans? I understand that getting transport is not only a premium but very short on supply. A few planes servicing a lot of people
Are you planning on taking your own boat down?
It all cost money.

I was thinking that maybe it would be better if I used an outfitter and got set up by someone that knows what’s going on. I would hate to waste a tag and two weeks by “learning the hard way”😂 I was hoping someone could say “this is what I did, this is what I would change, this is what worked” etc.

I have done that hunt a couple of times hired a transporter i talked to the guy who is doing the transports now i believe he said 6 g not a cheap hunt by any means but it is only money

Like FT said, save your money. A transporter or a guide in all honesty would be your best bet and IMO create a better hunt in the long run.

I got a long story about my trip But I will break it down to key points.

We took two boats from the Dalton crossing of the Yukon and went all the way down to the Koyokuk and up it. At 7 dollars avg for a gallon of gas it was close to a G everytime we stopped, Ruby, Tanana, Galena. Fuel consumption of a jet vs a prop, there is a huge difference. This is the one thing that totally killed the hunt for them, I got a registered permit and was able to hunt and got a nice bull. Had to turn in half a antler but the trip and memories where awesome. But because they did not plan for fuel consumption we ended up 20 miles shy of where they could use their permit.

If your boat breaks down ie jet unit goes out, there is another G for the barge to tow it and if it is late in the season they might have already stopped running so you will end up paying a G for a local to get it to that town and store it for the winter.
If your battery dies because you left the bilge pump on over night......how are you going to jump the motor or get it started? Plugs, filters, props, all those oh crap things that could go wrong.................

If your truck drops its transmission at the launch sight at the Yukon it is a G to get it towed back to FBX to get fixed.

If you get a moose you have to have a solid plan on getting it on a airplane and back home. The one I got sat in Galena for 8 days before it made it to Anchorage.

For the hunt itself.....Good wet weather gear, muck boots, hip boots are a necessity. Unless your sitting along the river watching up and down it long shots are rare, all the moose I saw could have been dropped within 150 yds of where I saw them. If you do get one have a plan for packing that joker out to the boat. We used a litter, two man carry, and a pac frame.
The river banks are pretty thick with willow but once you get past them it opens up.
I have never heard moose be so vocal. They respond to calling like nothing I have seen or experienced before.
There are bear there also, lots of track and end of the salmon run, take that into account.

When it was all said and done, those two gentle man dropped close to 12 G for a hunt they couldn't do because of poor planning on fuel consumption, a blown lower unit, towing a broke down boat on the Yukon, and dropping a tranny. If things would have went the way they wanted it the trip would have been about 7 G.


Hope that helps a little

I believe a guided hunt in the area is around 16k, but like you said it will save you from learning the hard way and I think increase your chance of harvesting a moose. I have heard of enough outside hunters coming in to get a trophy and not caring about the meat enough to keep it from spoiling. Please don't be that person. The guide will do a lot for you that you would have to figure out for yourself otherwise.

Please don't be like the guy who left this next to a main trail.

There is a guide out of galena he always takes a couple hawgs

Alaska challenge outfitters

Try Virgil Unmpenour. He guides that area. He might do some outfitting so you can hunt on your own with his equipment for a lower price.
mt

Thanks guys. This is only a the second day of homework, but it is never too early to start. I appreciate the input. I’m gonna start looking into some of the names I’ve been hearing and see what they offer