Has anyone flown with Natron Air out of Soldotna Alaska for a caribou hunt? I am considering whether to use them or not.

I would not use them. Not because they are not a reputable air taxi (they are), but for the fact that the Mulchatna herd has been going weird places lately and access from the Kenai is getting very iffy. Even the guys out of Dillingham have been having troubles.

I would use Papa Bear or Renfro's out of Bethel and hit them from the other side.

You can still use them, but the big bulls have not been showing up lately.

I agree with AKMagnum, Natron has a good reputation but accessing Mulchatna herd caribou from the east side of Cook Inlet (Anchorage, Kenai, Soldotna) has been iffy in the last few years. I'd take his recommendation on Bethel or look to the Western Arctic herd out of Kotzebue.

A buddy of mine regularly uses Natron for winter hunts and he has had nothing but praise for them, but I have to agree with the previous posts. Reports are that the Mulchatna herd is way down and scattered. Kotzebue is probably a much better bet.

Thanks for the advise. I wasnt planning on going until September of 07. Does the health of the particular Caribou herds fluctuate much year to year? I like what I have heard about Natron but I dont want to fly into an area that has no or only small bulls.

Caribou herds are prone to huge cycles of up and down periods. A herd may go from twenty thousand animals to over a hundred thousand animals in as little as ten years or so.

The Mulchtana herd grew rapidly in the late eighties and nineties, and seemed to peak about four or five years ago. It has been moving in a downward trend ever since. It has also changed some of its typical migration routes, etc.

The days of hitting the Mulchatna caribou from the Kenai Pennisula appear to be over, at least for a while. They are still having good luck over in Bethel which is why I recommended going after them on the west side.