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Banner Year for Moose
Moose hunting in Alaska has been going downhill for the past 15 years due
mostly to predator problems. At Willow Air, we have conducted our
self-guided moose hunts on the Innoko River for over 30 years and due to the
fact the Kuskokwim Mountains block the heavy snows from reaching the Innoko
River area, moose have not been affected as bad as other areas, but we have
seen the numbers go down. This decline prompted Fish and Game to shorten the
season by 5 days about 3 years ago. The season for non-residents went from
Sept 5-25 to Sept 5-20. When we had warm seasons and the rut was delayed,
those last 5 days were our best. Losing those 5 days made it even harder to
keep up our averages. This seemed to be the case in 2009 when we had warm
weather and ended up with our worst year ever. However, on a positive note,
another change we have seen over the past few years is the number of
resident hunters coming from Anchorage has declined significantly due to
high fuel prices. This decrease in hunting pressure has helped increase the
moose population. September 2010 started out warm and the weather did not
get cool, so we were braced for another slow season. However, while flying
around during moose season I noticed I was seeing more moose than I had seen
in years past, so I felt the moose decline had turned the corner and the
population seemed to be increasing. Our hunters soon started killing moose
and we ended up having our best season ever. So I think the moose population
has turned a corner and is on its way up. Our normal average is 50% which is
great for self-guided hunts, but in 2010 we had a kill average of 72% with
our boat and motor hunts at 60% and our floats at 88%.
2010
Bear Hunting Update
We had 2 spring brown bear hunters and ended up harvesting 3 brown bears and
1 black bear. We had 3 spring black bear hunters and harvested 4 black
bears, so we had over 100% success on bears in 2010.
ALASKA HUNTING IS
AFFORDABLE
Willow Air is a fully certified, fully insured air taxi operating out of
Willow, Alaska. We are approximately 70 miles north of Anchorage. We are a
small family business, and every year we have customers tell us our service
is better by far than any air taxi they have flown with. We will be happy
to provide you with references, just ask. Safety is our number one priority
and our airplanes are maintained to the highest possible standards by some
of the best airplane mechanics in Alaska. Please have some leeway at either
end of your hunt to allow for bad weather, because your safety is our number
one goal. We provide fully guided and drop-off unguided hunts. If you are
in good physical condition, a drop-off hunt is the most economical way to
hunt moose, black bear, wolf and wolverine. Our drop-off hunts can be
tailored to your individual needs. You can bring all your own gear or we
can rent any or all of the gear you will need, including tents, cooking
stoves, utensils, boats, motors, etc. To hunt brown bear, sheep and goats,
by law you must hire a guide. We have fully certified guides and several
one-on-one and two-on-one hunts available. We do take a limited number of
hunters, so book early to avoid disappointment.
HOW
WILLOW AIR IS DIFFERENT
Our airplanes in McGrath are dedicated to moose hunters during the month of
September. Most air taxis drop you off and come back and pick you up in 10
days. On our fixed-camp hunts, we drop you off; then every day we fly the
rivers and check on camps. You will probably see us every 2-3 days. If you
need anything, leave out a blue tarp and we will stop and see what you
need. If you need boat gas, we will drop it off. If you are short of food,
we will drop it off. If you have a moose, we will fly it back to McGrath so
you don’t have to babysit it from weather and bears. That is very
important. You can concentrate on helping your partner get his moose
instead of guarding yours. At Willow Air we take a limited number of
hunters and take care of them, instead of overbooking and not being able to
provide good service. |
