Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Alaska's Hunting Regulations

I moved to Alaska in 2001, and I didn't take up hunting until the spring of 2006. Don't get me wrong; I REALLY wanted to go hunting, but I was a bit overwhelmed by Alaska's game laws and fearful of instances such as recent illegal moose antler ( details ). I didn't want my hunting experiences marred by an unintentional run-in with law enforcement.

Since the spring of 2006, I have shot a black bear, brown bear, and a caribou. On each hunt, I was hunting with someone with far more Alaskan hunting experience than myself, and even though I had personally read and re-read the hunting regulations several times before taking the field, I was STILL nervous that I might be inadvertently doing something wrong. The little voice in the back of my head nagging, "Did you read ALL the small print? Better read that again."

I hope someday my regulation-anxiety subsides, and I am more able to FULLY enjoy all the great hunting this state has to offer.

For those of you residents not born in Alaska, how long did it take before you were completely comfortable with the game laws here? Are you still a little nervous when you take to the field?




Oh, and one more thing.....

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the violators and poachers, for which many of these reactionary laws were written to ensnare. Without your untiring efforts and unscrupulous actions, the rest of us law-abiding hunters might not be able to go about our business without continually looking over our shoulder. Thanks.

Dan if the regs don't make it in the camp gear, I feel a bit uneasy.

exceptions being if I'm going into a specific sheep area I've read through them and sheep are pretty uncomplicated. Only way I'd have confusion there I'm thinking is if I decided at the end of a hunt to take a meat ram just to keep from going home empty and he was marginal on full curl. Most any sheep I'm interested in shooting is gonna be over 8 years old.

But float trips for moose or bou etc. good maps and the regs are indespensable. Regs change with the country. It sucks in many ways but is what it is.

I've been hunting here for 25 years, but only learned to hunt hard and effective for about the last 18 or so.

Was vastly different than my hunting experience in the lower 48 so I guess I went through quite a long learning curve.

Took me two years to make sense of the regs, and I then I realize I need to re-read them every year.

You're lucky to have found some experienced hunters to take you out, I never had such luck.

Not to cause concern, but I recall a caveat in the regs stating that they are not complete and are just guidelines. You need to consult state codes for the complete details.



Maybe it's just the online version.

LINK

Moose get a bit silly the rest ain't bad. Course I seldom do anything but wolf, bear, deer and goat in SE.

It ain't real bad until you look at the fish regs for the Kenai...

For me,

Every year is a new adventure.........but it's worth it.

Joe

The hunting regs ain't too bad, however, the fishing regs can cause a person to go insane.

Especially with the emergency openings and closings!

Add on top of that as far as fish and game people are concerned your guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent. That's the disconcerting part.

I have questions, I call a biologist, bypassing the ladies at the front desk.

Yes, the fishing regs are just as numerous, and the emergency openings/closings just add to the festivities. The fishing regs on the Kenai are crazy: on Tuesdays you can catch alligator gar, but only if someone in your boat is wearing red and they have only one left shoe. Wednesdays are for cane-pole fishing only, and on Fridays you need a special muffler bearing on your outboard.

I mostly fish saltwater, and I think the saltwater regs are a bit easier to follow than the freshwater regs. I don't envy you guys that regularly fish the Kenai.

For some reason I took to the fishing regs much quicker than the hunting regs. ???

Hey - fishing regs are easy. Just light the fuse and make sure it clears the boat........




Your milage may vary.........

Reminds me of a joke my dad used to tell....

Frank was a local guy and known to be a very successful fisherman. Frank always came home with his limit of big fish. The local warden complained that he never had time to get out fishing and readily admitted that he was a very poor fisherman. He asked Frank, if he would take him fishing sometime. Frank, of course, was a bit skeptical about giving up he secret spots and fishing techniques, but finally took pity on the warden and agreed to take him fishing.

In the pre-dawn light, Frank and the warden headed out to one of Frank's secret fishing spots. Once on the scene, Frank quickly flipped open his tackle box, lit a stick of dynamite, and tossed it into the lake. BOOM! After the water settled down a bit, Frank proceeded to select the largest fish with his net, as the warden watched in utter disbelief.

You know, Frank, I'm going to have to write you a ticket for that, said the warden. Frank pondered that thought for a moment, and then reached into his tackle box for another stick of dynamite. He promptly lit it, tossed it to the warden and asked, "Are you here to fish, or are you just going to run your mouth?"