You can hunt black bears just about any place in North America, but Alaska black bear hunting is incredible! There are TONS of bears, and they have better hides than in many other places. An estimated 100,000 black bears (Ursus americanus) inhabit Alaska. Statewide, the annual harvest continues to increased steadily making black bear hunts in Alaska very popular because of their high success rates.
Alaska black bear huntING
Alaska black bear hunting is typically a combo, but not always.
Combo hunts are the most common way to hunt black bears in Alaska, with the black bear almost always being a secondary species. We have good combo options for: moose; caribou; Grizzly bear; Brown bear; Mountain goat; Sitka blacktail deer; and Dall sheep. *Note that we need to customize your hunt and build it around your primary species.
- Vessel-Based Black Bear Hunts: These are by far our most popular Alaska black bear hunting trips, but spots are extremely limited. We have both fully guided and DIY options available.
- Baited Black Bear Hunts in the Spring: Hunting bears over bait in Alaska can be amazing! You can take multiple black bears in many areas, and even combo with a brown bear!
- Fishing, black bear cast-and-blast combos are tons of fun, and so can our coastal bear hunts where you can also enjoy some amazing waterfowl hunting.
- We even offer a great unguided black bear hunt for you DIY hunters.
When hunting black bear in Alaska, color phases can vary from jet black to nearly pure white. Black is most common, but brown or cinnamon color phase black bears are sometimes seen in Southcentral Alaska and on the southeastern mainland. Cinnamon-colored black bears are also common in Alaska’s Interior. Some bluish-colored bears called glacier bears may be found in the Yakutat area and in other parts of Southeast Alaska.
What type of black bear hunt do you want to experience? We can help you customize your hunt to mix and match your primary species depending on your needs and the area you’re hunting.
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our most popular black bear hunts in alaska are vessel-based hunts
Hunt bears from a vessel off the coast, and while you’re at it, take advantage of the superb fishing that Alaska has to offer. What’s not to love about that?
Alaska has some pretty incredible fishing, and we can help you book a cast-and-blast trip in just about any combination that you can think of. Southeast Alaska is usually where our vessel-based hunts take place. This area is a maze of thick coastal habitat, featuring everything from tide flats and ancient forests to rocky fjords and glaciers. Being able to glass from the water is a huge advantage.
With all the amenities, a vessel-based hunt is comfortable and rewarding.
The hunt involves glassing the beaches in the springtime as big boars feed on the first green grass of spring and search for sows. When September arrives, they will be keyed on salmon that pour inland to spawn making for an exciting, up close and personal hunt. An added bonus is that in the fall you can also hunt Sitka blacktail.
Coming back to the boat for a seafood feast and a warm bed adds to the adventure, recounting the days excitement. Making the stalk on a bear fight full rut or realizing you’re walking through the big bears bedroom, this is a hunt you won’t soon forget. The ocean against a backdrop of steep fjords makes vessel-based black bear hunts in Alaska extra amazing!
The only problem is that vessel-based black bear hunts in Alaska are very limited. Contact us quickly to secure a spot!
*If you’d like to save some money with simpler accommodations, we can often accommodate that as well. Just let us know what kind of bear/fishing combo you’re looking for and we can help you book it. It’s tough to find a trip that’s more fun than one of our black bear hunts in Alaska coupled with some fishing!
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Bear Hunting Over Bait in Alaska
Hunt Brown Bears and Black Bears over the same bait!
We have a number of different baited black bear hunts available in Alaska, depending on exactly what you’re looking for. These hunts are a lot of fun, and much more relaxed than your typical hunt in Alaska. You’ll have the option to sleep in in the mornings because you’ll probably be hunting almost until midnight most nights. After you wake up enjoy some fishing before you hit the stands for the rest of the day.
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Kuiu Island
In the Sitka area, Kuiu island has the highest density black bear population anywhere in Alaska, and trophy quality is second to none.
There is also a healthy population of wolves on the island, and it is not unusual for hunters to have an opportunity at a wolf during black bear hunts. We think that this is one of the best black bear hunts in Alaska.
Bears will be emerging from their dens in search of their first meal, usually along the sedge grass flats at the edge of the water. Sedge grass stalks are spiky, wide, and stiff, but the sedge grass is up to 25% protein at this time of the year. Consuming large quantities of fresh sedge grass helps replenish the lack of proteins during hibernation and restart the digestive system.
You’ll be hunting from a live-aboard luxury yacht that can comfortably take up to 6 passengers.
You’ll use skiffs to locate bears and do an initial evaluation on size, quality, and whether a stalk is possible based on current conditions and location. Once a potential bear is located the real excitement begins as you maneuver your skiff to shore and stalk within range. This can be extremely tricky as bears have an incredible sense of smell, and the slightest shift in the wind can alert the bear, who will then quickly disappear back into the arboreal rainforest.
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Prince of Wales Island
Prince of Wales Island supports one of the highest populations of big black bears in the world.
On our Prince of Wales bear hunt you can stay in a luxury yacht, fishing for King salmon and halibut while you glass for big bears cruising the coast. A trip like this takes some planning, and you’ll have to draw a bear tag, but man is it a great one!
With no brown bears to compete with and an endless supply of salmon, all the bears on POW do is eat and grow. The massive bears on this island can get up to and over seven feet! Because of this, Prince of Wales Island has become a monumental black bear hunting destination, with more Boone and Crockett entries than anywhere else.
Despite the publicity and record book bears, this gem has remained under-pressured. Whether it’s the effort it takes to get there, the fact that you have to apply for a tag, the lack of interest by island resident’s, or the sheer carrying capacity of the area, it is a proven producer of high quality black bears. We can help you with your application.
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Prince William sound
If you’re looking for a true quality hunt where you can take a beautiful trophy black bear, this Alaska black bear hunting trip in the Prince William Sound region would be a great choice.
Mature bears in the Prince William Sound area average over six feet, but every year it seems, at least one of our hunters takes a monster pushing seven feet or more!
The reason these bears are so big and have such beautiful coats is because of he high quality and amount of food in the area as well as great genetics. A mature, jet black boar with a thick, beautiful coat is the goal on these Prince William Sound hunts out of Cordova, Alaska.
A black bear hunt in the Prince William Sound area can be (and almost always is) a combo with brown bear or grizzly in the spring. In the fall, it can be a black bear, mountain goat combo hunt.
If this Prince William Sound black bear hunt sounds good to you, contact us today!
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Jared Griffith –
From the animals to the mountains even the jet boat rides. You truly get to experience Alaska while on this hunt. There were so many bears that if I chose to, I could have shot a black bear each night.
Dennis Glatt –
What an amazing hunt with my daughter!
Daniel Clodfelter –
I was hopeful for any bear, black or grizzly, but especially wanted a grizzly bear. To be able to harvest a blonde grizzly was beyond my expectations. Then to have a chance at a variety of different color bears but also a pleasant surprise. Had opportunity to hunt more color phase bears than I imagined!