Moose in BC

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ratherbefishin

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Not looking good....moose numbers are down and wolf numbers up.Beetle kill didn't help the browse situation .Not exactly sure what correlation there is ,if any ( moose populations seem to be lower in many areas where those factors don't exist)
The Prince George area where we generally hunt has seen significant declines.We were going way north to the BC -Yukon border to drift the Swift River,but that got too crowded.We're not trophy hunters, a 3 or 4 year old bull is prime eating ..is a fly in worth considering?....but the question is where to put in for an LEH hunt this year?I'm considering going to a place where there is mule/white tail or elk as well as moose,even if the chances for a moose are lower.
Anybody else experiencing this ?
 
Wolf numbers are up, but these mild winters are not doing them any favors either. My dad works for highways and had to pick up a road kill calf moose the other day, and it was absolutely covered in ticks.
 
You live in one of the big three moose destinations, BC / Alaska / Yukon. It is no struggle to get a moose here, and yep a fly in hunt will put you in dense moose just about anywhere in the 7's that doesn't have a road or quad trail. Flying in region 6 and 7 it's normal to see a half dozen to a dozen moose a day. Lots of calves made it through this winter too with the mild weather. Call Northern Rockies lodge and ask for a moose lake suggestion. You can also do just fine with a truck and a pair of boots, but the plane makes it easier.
 
Starting to think about moose LEH already. I'm familiar with 6-08 and 6-09 but things have gotten thinned out there lately.

Would like to start considering Region 7 but I don't have a clue where to start.

I have a good 4x4 truck and boots. No quad. I'm not scared to hike and hunt, in fact I prefer it, but recovery as we have discussed earlier can be an issue. I have a 25-year-old partner though, that'll help. Considering buying an inflatable mini-zodiac boat.
 
We've got a quad ,inflatable and a 19 ' Grumman freighter canoe..the cost of flying in 3 or 4 guys us pretty high,but may be worth it if it puts us on a good moose lake. The challange is living on Vancouver Island precludes scouting...we have to locate a good spot and drive a long way to get there, the early season presents meat issues ,and we prefer to hunt in colder weather anyway.We're not trophy hunters,just looking for a good hunt and some meat to take back home.
 
blacksheep nailed it.

If you can get away from the beaten track you'll get moose, usually takes a day or three.

Don't need anything more than a topo map and a backroads mapbook, pick an area of the map (or google earth) with moose elevations and little to no development and have at it. If you want a hell of an experience go to what National Geographic dubs the "Serengeti of the North" along the Alaska Hwy West of Fort Nelson. Sadly the scene of the moose rider video as well. There are huge amounts of moose in BC, and the more I talk to hunters from elsewhere the more I realise how they'd kill to have the opportunities we do. And if you don't find what you're looking for year one, you'll have built some experience for year two.
 
I'd fly in region six and here's why: Lots of lakes to choose from. many quality lakes in minimum flying distance.Good moose densities. No antler restrictions. Less expensive air charters.
 
but we still haven't seen this years new regs for moose in region 6.
my understanding is there will be some changes that folks aren't gonna like.
we have taken several years to get equipped for extended trips in the far north of BC. We also have a friend who ran a business for several decades flying hunters into the general vicinity of the sikanni/bessa drainages who has passed on his supply trail/spike camps maps/coordinates to me. Posessions I keep well guarded LOL
I've spent the past few years pouring over google earth, building quad trailers, accumulating rock solid gear/equipment and lastly, building a custom 2 man camper trailer that has an air conditioner and coolbot system to immediately convert to a meat locker for the looonnnnngggg drive home to my butcher. It's also fully insulated, skinned with custom formed 16gauge stainless steel (F U mr grizzly) and commercial zerolock freezer panels. Should be finished by june as I've taken a short break hehehe
so many guys I know have found themselves with big animals down and all the hooks full up north, only to get back home to find their meat has gone bone sour.
not happening to us.
This season if all goes well we will be hunting the far north in august for our moose from now on , freeing up sept and oct to fill the deer and elk tags ;)
we thought about jet boats ect ect and decided on Yamaha grizzly quads, canoe with outriggers, 12 foot aluminum with a 9.9
 
I think there will be lower harvest quotas this year due to moose population declines
Yeah,I've talked to several guys who live long distances from where they hunt and have lost meat.Not good.We like the last week of September first week of October ,it tends to be cooler then and most of the flies and hornets are gone
 
i have not been in Canada for that long but how can you possibly loose or waste meat?

that is a discussion we had with Mike (Boomer) in Whitehorse a few years ago.

when i lived in Africa i never lost meat and temperatures were higher than here.

i hunted caribou in the 20 or 25s in celscius and never lost any meat please educate me.

Phil
 
I used to work with a guy that hunted way up north , maybe he put the fear into me on the meat spoilage I don't know. He had a few stories of meat going bone sour. Have heard similar from others over the years. I just think about how many times I've put it into high gear getting an animal out as the air fills with blow flies in high 20 temps. Maybe I have a compulsive disorder dunno but I'm building my mobile meat cooler anyways hehehehe :)
 
Getting the hide off ASAP is always a good idea....but I just like hunting in colder weather,fewer bugs,flys and hornets....last year we quartered and hung a mule deer,but built a small smoky fire just off to one side..,that helped
 
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One thing I would really like us an updated moose population map ,something you could at least count on to give you an idea where to go for the fall hunt.I know they do winter flyovers to count populations,but that only happens every few years so the information is often way out of date.
 
I found 3 moose today in region 5-1 on my way up the hill out back runnin up to check the lake ice on my quad. :)
lotsa moose around, they just know how to hide well come fall LOL
 
ratherbefishin said:
One thing I would really like us an updated moose population map ,something you could at least count on to give you an idea where to go for the fall hunt.I know they do winter flyovers to count populations,but that only happens every few years so the information is often way out of date.
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Yikes, yearly population maps? An annual synchronized migration of the lower mainland would decimate anything left. Moose would go the way of the pine tree in bc. But then again you could just have a map of bc, colour it all red signifying moose and be done with it.
 
Went to start the truck this morning with my kid in my arms, round the corner and there's a cow with a yearling in tow. Talk about a wake up call!Ended up stuck in the neighbours yard. Like most I see around here they were covered in ticks. Sure don't see them like you used to, I remember counting 24 from purden to town. Always seen lots, only a half dozen in the last two years if that even. The amount of wolf sign around is mind blowing, nearly every trip out we find sign or hear some.
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