i was actually considering the Lethbridge area. what are my options for that area in terms of crown land, hunting and fishing?
I can make the Porcupine Hills in about 1 hour 15 min. I hunt private lands around the forestry area, but many people hunt in the "green zone" (public land) and do quite well for elk and whitetail deer. Rifle season starts the last week of October until the last week of November and you can take a 3 point or better bull or any whitetail deer. Another 1/2 hour west puts you into the main forest reserve, with pretty much the same rules, except the rifle season starts about the 3rd week in September, so there is a lot more pressure ..... the traffic kind of reminds me of most areas in southern BC.
If you want to hunt mule deer start hunting with your bow, as you will need 4 to 8 years priority to get a buck tag in the green zone close to Lethbridge. If you are willing to knock on some doors and ask for permission to hunt, then you can get a tag just about every second year in a zone only 45 minutes from town (a friends bro-in-law took a 195 in this zone last year). Doe tags are always available.
If you are a moose-nut, well you are going to have to drive for a while. There is a couple of archery (non-tag) seasons south of Edmonton, but not very many. Start thinking about the boreal, say north of Lesser Slave Lk., which actually is not all that far, only about 7 1/2hrs from Lethbridge. The moose draws in the southern green zone take anywhere from 7 to 12 years to get drawn in.
If you do not already know, AB uses a priority system for most draws, the exceptions being Mtn. Goat (once in a lifetime), and bison. The nice thing about this system is that you can plan your hunting every year; you will not get drawn for moose, goat, AND elk all in the same year, well, unless you want to be.
If you want to hunt birds (pheasants, partridge, ducks and geese) southern AB is awesome. There are a fair number of public access lands (irrigation district lands, AFGA/ACA leases), but there are fantastic opportunities if you are willing to knock on a door or two. If you want grouse, again, you will need to do some driving.
There is some excellent trout fishing within an hour of town, but it is mostly rivers and streams, with rainbows, browns, cutthroat and a few brookies to be caught, as well as bull trout, but they are C&R. A couple of fantastic lakes are within 1-2 hours, but can get really busy on the weekends. Flyfishing for pike can take the edge off in the early spring and the action can be pretty furious. Sorry, no salmon, but you can go catch a sturgeon if you want, though you have to let them go. BTW, your fishing license will cost about $28, whether you are a resident or not, and you do not need any special tags or licenses (some exceptions) to fish a particular species, or on a specific body of water...... bloody Liberal BC government
The only thing about Lethbridge is the wind. If you can handle that, it is a really nice place, but if you NEED to be closer to public lands, what about the Crowsnest Pass. What kind of work do you do?
Oh yeah:
NO PST, NO Medical Premiums (well this year anyway), NO carbon tax, NO Liberals...... okay, there may be one or two, but they are endangered once you leave the cities; the habitat just isn't there.
