Lower mainland hunting newb
- Thread starter Gabrile
- Start date
the lowermainland hunting topics always kinda leave me cruising google earth for a couple days checking out places where we used to fish and hunt and 4x4 around.
I grew up going to big paintball bush parties after high school at the far back end of chilliwack lake starting in 1986 when i got my drivers license and my first paintball stuff.
That turned into fishing chilliwack lake and hike in trips with my more adventurous friends up to Hanging lake which is in a big bowl straddling the border high up above the south east corner of chilliwack lake.
But the part that should interest any hunter consricted by the confines of the lowermainland, is the road systems that start on the north east side of the lake, also called the trans canada trail. The area up there is very seldom interupted by man and holds excellent numbers of deer and black bear. You run the chance of seeing grizzly as well as moose and elk up in that country. Higher up in those peaks there are goats as well but not sure if there are hunting opportunities.
Access will be the issue as the last time i went to drive down the road at the start of chilliwack lake, they had it blocked..... If it is just closed to vehicles..... a mountain bike or horseback maybe?
If I lived down there still , I would be hunting back there without a doubt.
I grew up going to big paintball bush parties after high school at the far back end of chilliwack lake starting in 1986 when i got my drivers license and my first paintball stuff.
That turned into fishing chilliwack lake and hike in trips with my more adventurous friends up to Hanging lake which is in a big bowl straddling the border high up above the south east corner of chilliwack lake.
But the part that should interest any hunter consricted by the confines of the lowermainland, is the road systems that start on the north east side of the lake, also called the trans canada trail. The area up there is very seldom interupted by man and holds excellent numbers of deer and black bear. You run the chance of seeing grizzly as well as moose and elk up in that country. Higher up in those peaks there are goats as well but not sure if there are hunting opportunities.
Access will be the issue as the last time i went to drive down the road at the start of chilliwack lake, they had it blocked..... If it is just closed to vehicles..... a mountain bike or horseback maybe?
If I lived down there still , I would be hunting back there without a doubt.
I will be going to Chilliwack region 2-3 very soon. I am excited to see what will happen!
When I lived in Dawson Creek and FSJ it was SO common to see wildlife around you. I have been in lower mainland for three years now, have not seen anything. Hopefully region 2-3 would be different!
The problem with the lowermainland is you are dealing with the Black tail deer (my favorite).... arguably the hardest deer to hunt in canada. Partly due to the animal itself and partly due to the terrain you have to hunt them in. Most of the places they are seen, are close to , or in areas they can't be hunted. They are somewhat creatures of habit though and once you find sign accompanied by any kind of game trails.... you are in thier domain.
Rut time is coming too and it might pay to look for reasonably fresh logging activity over on the harrison lake side and hike/sit hunt the upper treelines. Black tails are known to form good sized bachelor groups of various aged bucks and they like to spar and play around in the cuts and open areas in mornings and at dusk.
I dunno what else i can pass on, you kinda got get out there and discover , which is half the fun of it.
good luck!
Rut time is coming too and it might pay to look for reasonably fresh logging activity over on the harrison lake side and hike/sit hunt the upper treelines. Black tails are known to form good sized bachelor groups of various aged bucks and they like to spar and play around in the cuts and open areas in mornings and at dusk.
I dunno what else i can pass on, you kinda got get out there and discover , which is half the fun of it.
good luck!
The muleys are actually fairly dumb from my experience. Granted I've haven't had much relative to some folk, but I found they were pretty much just standing there waiting to be shot. The only difficult part is the terrain; lots of hills and valleys.
I am kind of surprised to know that it is hard to get to them. In Dawson Creek they were literally feeding infront of my house all the time. They would pass in groups and I would just stand at my balcony and take pictures of them.
Mulies appear dumb because they are curious animals. Black tails living near people ..... probably behave the same way. Black tails that don't live near people..... I have not met any dumb ones yet. There was a really cool article years ago called the Ghosts of the Coast and discussed coastal mountain black tail in the ranges that included oregon, washington and the border regions of skagit and chilliwack. That article was what led us to hike into Hanging lake in the early 90's when i lived in sardis. Helped one friend drag a deer out of the scree slope leading up to the bowl that the lake is in. Was an epic adventure and I never returned LOL
That said I don't want to put ideas in Gabrile's head that these animals are out of reach to a new hunter. Just gotta get out there and put time in although they are different than hunting peace country mule deer.
there are crap loads of deer around ryder mountain in chillwack and around cultus lake and the west side of vedder mountain but due to residences and no shooting areas , they aren't really huntable anymore but I do know a guy that used to post black tail pics from chillwack that was taking them every year under his apple trees with the crossbow LOL
That said I don't want to put ideas in Gabrile's head that these animals are out of reach to a new hunter. Just gotta get out there and put time in although they are different than hunting peace country mule deer.
there are crap loads of deer around ryder mountain in chillwack and around cultus lake and the west side of vedder mountain but due to residences and no shooting areas , they aren't really huntable anymore but I do know a guy that used to post black tail pics from chillwack that was taking them every year under his apple trees with the crossbow LOL
Yeah, I was listening on the news a while ago that some Chilliwack residents are complaining about shooters. I think now shooting in the woods in Chilliwack if you are not hunting you need to be 400 meters of road from any side because big people complaining
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
It does seem that way, I’ve had limited encounters with mule deer in my areas but they always seem to be watching and checking us out more than anything and then when they decide to hightail it they leave.
Last year in reg3 at a friends cabin was the first time I got to see this, we have mule deer where I hunt locally and I’m just starting to find areas that they’re in up higher. I would love to get a mule buck this season if things fall into place, otherwise I’ll hop into a neighboring reg and try to take a 3rd whitetail buck in nov. It’s interesting to see the difference in reactions between a whitetail and a mulie when they notice you lol.
They closed a lot of the FSRs in the Fraser valley to recreational shooting about 2 years ago. 400m buffer zone where its illegal to discharge a gun unless hunting. Luckily those closures don't impact hunting, but it makes going shooting in the bush much more arduous.
I've spent a fair bit of time up west Harrison and Skagit Valley over the last few years and have not found much... Im going to explore around chilliwack lake next time I get a chance to go out. Might head that way this Sunday if my knee is up to it (25km hike outside Tulameen this past weekend kinda kicked me ass lol)
East Harrison is a good area to especially when the snow flies and they come off the hills. West Harrison is good I’ve put a lot of time in their and found the pockets, shot one buck mid September and my buddy I got into Hunting a few years ago dropped two in September as well. Between three of us we average 4 blacktails out of west Harrison a year. chilliwack is great two I have 2 areas I hunt their every year spend a lot of the off season scouting and putting the puzzle pieces together about how each mountian range works, on trail cams every year atleast a few 120-140’s bucks, most areas I hunt in the lower mainland require deboning and packing out meat as it’s way to far from a road to drag .
Blacktail Hunting is a tough one to cut your teethed on if your a new hunter but it’s a great way to learn, unfortunate you won’t be seeing loads of deer all the time I’ll try and give you some tips that Work for me.
use google earth to find areas that interest you, I look for big timer area as it adds security and a food source from the lichen off the trees in winter, also southern exposure.I usually always start with a mountian, I can connect the dots with the valley bottom after. Once I have found a spot I hike till I find trails if it’s a mountian I hike the hips in and usually have good luck finding north to south trails, I find the “bedrooms” as I call it aswell.
Once you have sign asses how your going to work the area, what the wind usually like?, thermals?. Does hunting up hill or down hill in your area provide an advantage.
Hunt your areas find the deer if you just see does don’t be discouraged I find end of September most blacktail bucks are nocturnal anyways or not moving around a lot. I have a saying “ I hunt the does” cause if you know where the does are sooner or later come rut theirs gonna be a buck.
Have patience in your area sometimes I can go a whole day or two of Hunting it not seeing anything, sometimes longer , that’s blacktail Hunting, once you have areas established just keep learning from them and the best thing is that you will think their is always better spots so you will always been looking and learning!!
I will warn you it’s addicting and a great way to learn
Any questions just ask, good luck and have fun out their
Blacktail Hunting is a tough one to cut your teethed on if your a new hunter but it’s a great way to learn, unfortunate you won’t be seeing loads of deer all the time I’ll try and give you some tips that Work for me.
use google earth to find areas that interest you, I look for big timer area as it adds security and a food source from the lichen off the trees in winter, also southern exposure.I usually always start with a mountian, I can connect the dots with the valley bottom after. Once I have found a spot I hike till I find trails if it’s a mountian I hike the hips in and usually have good luck finding north to south trails, I find the “bedrooms” as I call it aswell.
Once you have sign asses how your going to work the area, what the wind usually like?, thermals?. Does hunting up hill or down hill in your area provide an advantage.
Hunt your areas find the deer if you just see does don’t be discouraged I find end of September most blacktail bucks are nocturnal anyways or not moving around a lot. I have a saying “ I hunt the does” cause if you know where the does are sooner or later come rut theirs gonna be a buck.
Have patience in your area sometimes I can go a whole day or two of Hunting it not seeing anything, sometimes longer , that’s blacktail Hunting, once you have areas established just keep learning from them and the best thing is that you will think their is always better spots so you will always been looking and learning!!
I will warn you it’s addicting and a great way to learn
Any questions just ask, good luck and have fun out their
Thank you buckhunter! Your name matches your post.
I'll save this info and reread it while planning a trip.
I got many input from alot of people! I had many people msg me hunting spots! I had newbies who msd me to join in hunting. So I better get my ass out there and make it happen.
Seems lots of bucks this year, lots of little guys spikes and 2 points, I’ve got one tag left saving it for a hammer. Wait till rut, have you played around km 20 ish in the burns at all ?
Got drenched around there about a month ago, was there all day Saturday and it poured. Started a thread about jacket options when I got home lol.
I have a doe draw up in region 3 next month so that's what I'm going to focus on to start with but you've renewed my will to give the area another shot if I can get a doe on Remembrance day weekend.
I have a doe draw up in region 3 next month so that's what I'm going to focus on to start with but you've renewed my will to give the area another shot if I can get a doe on Remembrance day weekend.
