Last fall, I went up north on a my first caribou hunt. I tried really really hard, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot. I knew the caribou season opened in mid August. I wasn't able to break free until about September 14 - and I was using the Taylor highway road system as my staging ground, with support from ATV and lots and lots of leg work. I do know that the quota was met for the Steese Highway because the herd was camped out right along the road, and people had a hey day, and "gotter done" in two or three days. Quota met. Season closed. The Taylor wasn't like that. The herd wasn't present on the highway - so say the locals when I was there. But, there was some "resident caribou" there, and locals and hunters who happened to be there did well early when the season first opened. But with time, the resident bulls were either shot up, or driven further back. I hunted hard for a week, scouring those hills, and saw zero opportunity, along with all the other hunters I met up there.

Here's what I do know. At the same time this was going on, hunters who had jet boats were busy running up rivers to get into the wilderness between the Steese and the Taylor - to get at the caribou that were camped out there. Rivers like the Goodpastor. I didn't have the boat with to even try. Didn't have the luxury of having a jet boat. But I do know that I WANT that luxury and versatility for the future.

I have a friend from the lower 48, and we are currently researching boats as we plan to get one between now and fall, and split costs, and start a new "do it yourself" adventure of trying to get into wilderness caribou and moose opportunities. So I'm really not looking for any spots - but more for advice on those of you that do this, what boats and engines you use and recommend, tricks of the trade, things to take into consideration, and so on. Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing you knowledge and expertise come forth!

Depends mostly on the type of water you're going to be running.

If it's a bigger river with long wide bends and a lot of fetch, you might want a Vee or semi-vee hull. But if its a narrower river with quick tight bends and trees along the bank, you should be ok with a flat bottom....IMO.

I ran these interior rivers for decades now with a 24 foot flat bottom. There have been a couple of times that I have had to pull into a slough for a couple of days to hide from the wind. But in general. I prefer the flat bottom. Especially if you need to drag it a bit.

Personally, I would not choose a jet. Fuel consumption is double that of a prop. At least on the two strokes. I wouldn't like to carry more fuel at the expense of other gear that I might need or want.

Bottom line is to decide where you will be using the rig most.

What white said.

We run Props out here until we run out of prop water, then we pull over on gravel bars and change out the prop to the jet. This takes about an hour at the most. Then jet boat further. If your new to jet boating you can get into some real trouble. I suggest going with jet boaters to learn a bit before getting yourself into a situation you can't get out of. LOTS of people have flipped boats when they are new.

All that said if you choose a jet boat most of us out here that do it a lot use wooldridges.

Good advice above.

One thing I might mention; if you might find yourself with a jet drive late in the season you can get stranded really quick if you get even a little bit of ice on the river; been there, done that. If that might be the case be sure to carry prop lower unit with you, or have an axillary prop outboard with you.

The time I got "schooled" on the subject we had been camped out for a couple of days on a rather straight stretch of river. Things seemed to be okay, it was cold, but the river was still wide open (or so we thought). We had noticed frazil ice floating down the river for past couple of days not realizing what was happening downstream at the first bend in the river where the current slowed down a bit. With a little effort we could have plowed through it with a prop, no way with a jet; the water intake plugs up instantly. Needless to say the boat spent the rest of the winter up the river winched up on the bank.

White17 - My biggest goal right now is to get after the caribou, and probably the 40mile herd.

Can you speak to the Goodpastor - and a prop versus a jet (or skip if you'd rather not)? I watched some youtube videos yesterday of some guys up in pretty skinny water, in the braids - jumping trees and what not.

I'm sure water depth changes from year to year, and month to month. I just feel like my caribou hunt would have looked a whole lot different last year if I had the right boat.

Air boat. However, you can crash those, too. Trust me.

We have been looking at Wooldridges. So if you change out the lower unit while you are out there - do you have to be equipped to raise and lower the engine on the transom?

The upper Goodpasture, Salcha can drop 6 inches in hours I found out the hard way. Good Luck!

If you are changing from a jet to a prop you might need a lift. I have a Wooldridge and that is what I had to do.

Why do you not try the [/i]tricks and the trade first[i] , meaning, instead of talking to a friend down here, maybe make friends up there in asking the hunters on the river what they like, do not like and why. A beer will buy allot of knowledge and if someone likes you, they may do the drop off and pick up for a hunt, as you might trade in something they want. It would be cheaper and if word gets around that you might be interested in a boat, someone who thought it was a great idea, will be looking to unload that idea on you, if you still want one.
It usually works for me as people always like being experts on things and educating the world on what geniuses they are.

Yes you will need a lift.

I can't help you on the Goodpaster.

But that's a long ways to go for caribou. And remember, when you are hunting from a boat you are very much confined to the river corridor.

Any time I set out to specifically hunt caribou it was with a dog team or a Super Cub. Otherwise they were just targets of opportunity while on the river.

I Think if I was in your shoes I would look towards the Mulchatna herd given your location. Fly out and get dropped off on a ridge somewhere you are pretty sure there are critters and where you can see better.

You might also consider hunting the Denali highway. They can be pretty thick in that area in the fall and visibility is generally very good.

Not trying to talk you out of a boat. But I have always found them better suited to moose hunting

I hunted the Mulchatna herd, out of Illiamna, twice, just as the crash was starting.
I hear it is coming back. I will say that if you go on August, bring multiple headnets, and buy stock in every company currently selling 100% deet.

I would think it would be best to choose a propulsion system for a longer term, not just based on one river. If your really looking at trailering up to the interior and running the big rivers a prop would be best as white suggests. Here around the Kenai with glacier rivers being most of the opportunity your going nowhere without a jet. I don't have any experience boating the interior, but I've been told a jet can get you away from the crowds. My only on hand observations are locally and a jet opened up a lot of new areas. As others have pointed out running marginal water in a jetboat takes some skill and practice.

I think White is correct. You and your buddy fly into an area where there are Caribou. Buy a boat that you can run a jet or prop. Living in Homer you could use it in the ocean and on easy rivers while learning.

My experience in the interior has been on the upper portions of the Chena, Salcha and 40 or so miles up the Goodpasture. With the crowds during hunting season (low water) a jet boat is limited how far you can go which creates a jet boat jam. With the introduction of the air boats the skinny water is accessible into the boulder patch stuff. On the Goodpasture the upper part is below the Pogo Mine. One Labor day 10 years ago the Salcha parking lot had 110 boat trailers in it. I have been up the Sacha over 80 miles with a jet boat but spent 6 hours and the river dropped 6 inches while I was there. It was a white knuckle ride for 10 miles or so.

Have ran good Pasteur way up past pogo in my sport Jon and in a SJX . A good basic boat to run it with 2 guys and gear would be a flat bottom 18 foot with a 90 horse and a tunnel hull . Sold my sport Jon and run a 15 foot flat now and run it all over

Are you familiar with long-tail mud motors? If not, I’m sure AKNative will show up soon to educate you. He’s about got me convinced to try one.

I pasted one of his videos since he hasn’t got on yet.

I haven't been up the Goodpastor but I do 100% of my hunting out of a jet boat. I have two jet boats at the moment and I use them in two different ways. So maybe this will help you make your decision.

Boat #1 Wooldridge Alaskan 2. 20.5' long with a 175 Mecurey PorXS outboard. This is my haul anything boat. If the boat still floats after you load it will get on step with the jet on. Like Fisherman222 we run up as far as we can with the prop then change out to the jet. My outboard is probably the easiest model to change out. Kusko and I have changed the prop to the jet in under 6 minutes! If you plan on bringing both lower units that's maybe something to consider. another reason I went with the 175 (a little over sized for my boat.) is because once you put the jet on you loose about 30% of your power. On the rivers we run its nice to be able to get on step in about a boat length if you end up stopped in a skinny spot. While hunting I use the big boat for hauling up a base camp and hauling meat back.

Boat #2 The "Split Shot" (because its a sinker) 1648 Lowe jonboat with a Yamaha F40 (30hp with the jet) We drag this one up the river to our base camp in the late spring with the big boat and that's where it stays until October. This is the boat that I do most of my hunting out of. The boats small size lets me go farther than most, get off a gravel bar easily if you mess up and if you suck something into the pump and lose power its easy to stop. It also has oar locks and that lets me jump behind the oars and row to shore safely, if you loose power, float hunt, and get back to base camp.(Take less gas and that saves weight) There are some draw backs with the small boat the biggest being the amount of weight you can haul. Our little boat camp isn't as minimal as a camp that you would take on a super cub hunt but its close. With myself a hunting buddy camp, and a dead moose your not getting on step. Another draw back is the boat has a thin haul. Zspar and 3M5200/4200 have saved my butt more than once.

If I had more money...
Boat #3 Jetech LLC inflatable jet raft. My next jet boat will be one of these.They are surprisingly affordable compared to other rafts and they come in lots of sizes. 90% of the holes I put in the split shot are made when I have a moose or two in the boat. This is because you can't get on step and you draw more water. I rub bottom where I wouldn't hesitate to go through while on step. Rocks and aluminum don't mix. But if I had a raft could bounce off rocks all the way down with out a scratch. Plus it would fit in my Wooldridge and I would't have to drag a boat any more. I could take it from one river to the next in a few hours.
Don't get me wrong I love the split shot but I'm tired of sinking.

Got post happy and didn't finish. Plus it (the raft) will fit in my Wooldridge and I can take it to another river without too much trouble. I'm drooling thinking of the adventure possibilities as I'm writing this. Got to have it!
Hoped this helps.

I was lucky if I got two weekends out of a prop on the Kenai. Jets suck up the gravel?

Seems to me that road got pounded. We floated the MacClaren River one year. We didn't do so well on moose but the number of ducks on that river was epic. The trip would have been worth it just for the duck hunting.

I have seen a lot of people on the East end of that road. The weather can be a little iffy out there too. Not many places to get away from the wind

That's Unit 13, isn't it? I hunted the Fog Lakes area a few times and saw decent bulls in there but it was a lottery system and I never got a tag.

I spent a few days there last fall, when I was on a great big two + week road trip up north. LOVED the country. Hiked all over like a maniac. Saw zero. Talked to everyone on the road who would speak (everyone was friendly). The general consensus was, no caribou. The water was so high all around, that they couldn't get there. The few business establishments along the road were either closed, or dying. Everyone there was Do It Yourself type. That whole length of road, I saw one or two small bulls harvested of each - moose and 'bou. That was early to mid Sept. I'd like to be there when it's happening, but that shook my confidence a bit.

Where is "down here?" I am in Alaska, talking to Alaskans. And on multiple fronts. This is one of them. And it's winter. When spring hits and snow and ice melts, I will be thrust into daily work and really no chance to leave Homer until September. Then it will be time to hunt! So I gotta do what I gotta do. Having said that, your comment about jumping in for a ride with someone who has a jetboat on the KP would be a blast and a good learning experience. Any takers?

Can you comment on what you use for a lift?

I think early to mid Sept might be a bit too early for caribou on the Denali. Pete would have a better idea or certainly Denali Trapper.

Yes that is GMU 13 B & E I believe

Ben - Enjoyed that post! i gotta start with one boat. we will go from there...

Several places to use a boat in unit 13. The tier 1 permit for caribou anyone can get, tho it's too late now for next fall. You can buy a good used 4 wheeler for less than a good boat.

I have a Magnum standard 4" Powertran Jack Plate. It has 7.5" of vertical travel. It's 100% electric and I've been pretty happy with it. Another good Jack plate,especially for jet boating, is the Flat jack made by Bob's Machine. It has a thin profile so it keeps the intake of your jet tucked up in the tunnel. That way you always have a solid flow of water into the pump. The reason its so thin is because the hydraulic pump and reservoir is in the boat not built into the jack plate. I didn't have room for the reservoir in the back of my boat so I went with the Magnum.

I love talking boats!

I live in Fairbanks, my time is spent on the Yukon, and smaller rivers around Fairbanks. I've settled on air cooled mud motors for my purposes, they go shallow enough, fast enough, and are fuel efficient enough for me.

Are they're faster boats? Yes, they pass me all the time and are probably carrying much more gas than me and are louder. The one year I did the math and added up the river miles traveled, and miles run up an down hunting, I think we ran over 300 river miles and burned around 40-45 gallons of gas. That's from memory, I'm going to start keeping notes. I know we always have gas left over when we get back to the ramp.

Are they're boats that will go shallower? Yes, but I do aright. I keep toilet wax ring in the tool box for WHEN, not if but WHEN I tear a hole in the boat. I like the wax because you can put it on wet, no cure time, and when you're ready for a weld patch you can just melt the wax off with a torch. I'm not worried about tearing my mud motors up on the bottom, I've hit logs, stumps, rocks, chewed gravel, grass and don't get clogged with floating leaves either. I do very much worry about tearing my old beer can Ouachita up on the rocks, if I had a tougher hull I'd take more risks. But then it would be heavier, decrease what speed I have, and increase fuel consumption. It's give and take.

At wide open throttle my 35 Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engines burn 3.2? gallons an hour according to the book if memory serves. Depending on how heavy the boat is, if I'm going up stream or downstream, and how stiff the head wind is I get anywhere from 12-25 miles an hour. When the boat is heavy and going up river with headwind it can make for slow going.

But where I feel these air cooled mud motors shine is when the boat is empty and your hunting. No need for full throttle to get on step, and the motor is relatively quiet at the lower RPMs. We've been very lucky the last several years to get moose and caribou. All of them we've been fortunate enough to get were standing on the beach when we drove up. They knew we were coming, and every one of them was looking at us, but most of them stand there wondering if we're bad news.

A boat is a wonderful tool, but it has to mach your purposes, and it's hard to get a boat that matches all of the potential uses in Alaska. There are times I wished I had a big jet boat that I could drag to Valdez or Homer and fish from. But they're big, heavy, thirsty and loud. If I could afford it I'd have these mud motors, a big jet boat, a big fiberglass ocean boat, and a couple different airboats, and maybe even a plane! But I can't, yet, so I use cheap old jon boats and air cooled mud motors.

Be safe out there!

That boat zips right along.

That Mud Motor might be a good alternative to a jet or an air boat. How does it perform through thin ice, frazil ice or slush? It would sure be a lot more economical and quiet than an air boat. Any thoughts?

They chew through as much ice as you want to beat your boat on! But they do need enough water to get a bite. I've never run an airboat, I've seen some good videos and heard people talk about them.

Didn't finish my thought on airboats. Maybe Howler will chime in, he has one. Having never owned one or run one I don't have much to say, but those that have them and use them for what they're capable of don't seem to want to give them up for what they use them for.

I would have loved to have owned an airboat but you can hear those things coming from five miles away. I had a Zodiac with a 25 hp outboard and never felt hindered by it. I ran the Big Su, the Little Su, the Kenai, fished way offshore at Deep Creek and ran all sorts of other water in it. I got an occasional hole but nothing that ever put me out of commission. It was light, carried a ton of weight and was safe. I did go through a lot of props. I built prop replacement costs into my weekly summertime budget.

Zodiaks are supposed to be a good boat! About the only thing I'd use an outboard for is the ocean. I guess if I lived on the Yukon and commuted on the main river I'd likely have an outboard for that too. There are times it would be real nice to cruise at 25-30 MPH regardless of load!

If money weren't an object and I were running strictly fresh water, it'd be an airboat.

Reading this thread reminds me of my wife asking why my brothers and I have so many boats. Each one has a specific purpose. It all depends on where you are going to go and what you are going to be doing.

I like my little Swamprunner for getting around shallow water. That being said, ice doesn't seem to bother them as you can chew through it, and haven't hurt a prop on ice yet, but I carry 3 spare props and they are under $20 apiece. I have hit rocks and old dock piling of submersed timber and broke or cracked the prop. They change out in minutes when that need arrises .

There's an ol saying " If it flies, floats or f___ks, it's cheaper to rent.

Please pass the Dramamine

Those mountains didn't seem to get any closer.

I am with Howler. Yeah it’s loud, yeah it’s a wee bit expensive, but there’s nothing quite like it.

It would appear that this airboat would also go across land - at least for a good ways

I WAS gonna wait till I retired to the Florida Everglades, but maybe not!

Airboats are pretty handy in Alaska. When your moose falls in the water you can hook up to the horns and drag it up onto dry land.

I worked with a guy that trapped beaver out of his air boat. He said he got tired of going through the river ice. He could jump dams and go anywhere he wanted.

Every once in a while on warmer days an air boat would run the river ice in front of my cabin.

Oh, you old guys anyways...

I knew Mike would like that!