Why Kodiak DIY?

Welcome to Kodiak DIY.  Our mission is to provide essential gear so that DIY hunters can have amazing experiences while creating lifetime memories of waterfowl hunting on Kodiak Island. The idea for this came as I know that there are a lot of people like me who love the adventure of hunting new places, new species, and/or looking to check birds like Harlequins, Barrows Goldeneyes, Longtails, and other ducks off their list, but don't want to be stuck using and/or paying for a guide.  The logistics and cost of getting the required gear back and forth to Kodiak is usually logistically and financially burdensome, if not impossible for most items, so that is why I am starting this rental service. If you have some knowledge of duck hunting, you can do some research (YouTube videos were very helpful for me), are patient with weather, can be flexible, and don’t mind some trial and error, I sincerely believe that you can have an amazing experience chasing sea ducks on Kodiak Island. 

I truly believe that with all the resources available, if you are willing to do your homework, the chances of you having an amazing experience are very realistic.   Although I can’t help you with everything, I can promise that any gear that I provide will be in full working order and will only contribute to your success.  At this point, and in the foreseeable future, I will not be able to provide a vehicle or lodging. However, during the waterfowl hunting time frame, both of those are readily available from other parties-you can get what you want that fits your budget and needs. 

As for what you will need/want that will be up to you.  You can likely be successful with a vehicle,  boat/motor combo, and two-three dozen decoys set up for long lines...but having a variety of decoys can be an advantage at times...especially if you want to target certain species.  Please read the descriptions, look at the pics, and ask any questions before reserving items as I want you to know exactly what you will be getting for your rental(s). 

In my opinion you will be much more successful, efficient, and it is much more ethical to hunt having some kind of boat with an outboard.  These ducks are tough and even with what appears to be great shots, they can dive and swim outside of effective swatting range before you even have a legit shot at finishing them off from the shore.  They are great swimmers/divers and cripples will likely swim faster than a dog in most cases. Without a boat with an outboard, the only thing you may be doing is watching a cripple swim off.  In addition to having a much higher chance of retrieving birds, having a boat allows you to deal with the tides, and be able to how where you want no mater what the tide is doing.  During larger tides, there can be over 12 feet of elevation change in the water level (potentially for even more depending on what the wind is doing) which can cause issues with effective decoy placement and/or even being able to retrieve your decoys at the end of a hunt. 

We wish that boat and decoy rentals were available in other areas, but we are proud to offer this service in Kodiak.  Our goal is to provide the gear to help you have the hunt of a lifetime.  To keep with that goal, we will be limiting boat and decoy rentals to a maximum of three parties at a time to make sure there are not too many people out pressuring the ducks at one time, make sure the decoys you would like are available (within reason), and to have a back-up boat available if an unforeseen issue arises-we understand that you are here to hunt and we will do everything in our power to make sure the right equipment is available to you and that requires having backups for you in case of unforeseen circumstances.  Until it gets closer to season, we will only be taking decoy rental reservations to those that rent a boat.