Hunting in Idaho ?

[Iowabowhunter]

Don't forget to bring a flyrod! Snake River in ID has some awesome fly fishing!

[John Scifres]

Oh heck yes!  I forgot to even mention the trout fishing.  I plan on going back to the McCall Zone and just backpack from one lake to another with a flyrod     There's grouse too.  And those tags are cheaper.

[Smithhammer]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
 I plan on going back to the McCall Zone and just backpack from one lake to another with a flyrod         There's grouse too.  And those tags are cheaper.

That would be a great trip. Between the fishing and the hunting, there wouldn't be enough hours in the day!

[mmgrode]

When game animal management becomes relegated (due to federal mandate)to an unmanaged top level predator that hunts without season or bag limit, pressures elk enough to cause abortion of calves (future elk), and also cause loss of winter body fat from this pressure you have lost much of your management control. You can see this in several areas of central Idaho.  In my opinion, this pandoras box that has been opened would have been better left shut.  

With that said, state game agencies have been saddled with this situation and, really, not been allowed to deal with it as they would like or as I believe they should have the right to.  The fact of the matter is the less non-resident elk hunters come the less dollars come in for the management of game and nongame species in the state. Now, with wolves as a convenient means to attain a hunter-free end, the antis have what they need to suppress our hunting heritage.  

We must be careful, very careful.

Now, Idaho is a wonderful place to hunt, with many opportunities at several game species and all the public land you like to roam as you wish.  It really is one of my favorite places.   If that's what you're after in an elk hunt, that's great.  However, if I was going to travel half way around the world to hunt elk, I'd go to a place with higher densities.  

Matt

[gringol]

Originally posted by Mike Mecredy:
I think the guy just wanted to know if he could get an over conter tag and find public land and enjoy a do it yourself hunt.  But...

Yeah, we got wolves here, but the hunting's still pretty good,   5 types of grouse, 4 types of rabbits, quail, chuckar, pheasant, geese, ducks turkeys, 2 types of deer, Moose, elk, pronghorn, bighorn mtn.goat, bear,coyote, badgers, foxes, varmits, and wolves.  Yes, you can hunt them too.

Not to beat a dead horse, but there are lots of places in the rockies with no wolves and a struggling elk pop.  In contrast, yellowstone has a bunch of wolves and a huge elk pop.  It's a lot more complicated than "wolves eat all the elk."

[Eric S]

Things seem to have gotten of track here. The simple answer is yes you can. I would suggest visiting Idaho fish and game website and use the hunt planner it is a great tool.

[Izzy]

Wow Im glad you brought this up, Ive been looking into Idaho hunting as well. Are the deer tags either species or does it vary by region. I keep hearing about the under hunted white tails out there.

[elk ninja]

Izzy, you can buy an either species tag or a white tail specific tag.  The gender and/or antler points vary with the unit and season however.  We certainly don't have the densities of white tails that the Midwest and East have, but there are some brutes around, especially in the northern part of the state.  Check the regs for sure, but most of the OTC deer tags I believe are good for the whole state...

[Greg Skinner]

There are lots of whitetails up here in the northern part of the state.  How they compare with densities back in the Midwest I can't say.  The month of September is set aside for bowhunting only, and you can choose a tag that allows either mule or whitetail. This will be the best opportunity for hunting deer that aren't spooked from being shot at with rifles, but most whitetail buck hunting savvy revolves around rut patterns, so that won't work in September.

Whereas there is plenty of public land available on which to hunt, some of the very best habitat that supports the biggest deer is private farmland.  Probably the biggest difference between here and what I read about in the Midwest is that rifle season begins October 10 and runs through most of November, including the rut.  Once rifle season starts the big bucks go nocturnal except for when they get careless during the rut.  It takes some serious time and scouting to get yourself withing bow range.

There is also a late December archery hunt in a couple of areas of the state and if the weather cooperates they can be good.  

The wolves don't seem to have much effect on the deer, focusing more on elk and moose.  There are still plenty of elk around, but the thing I have noticed here in the Grangeville area is that lots of elk have moved from remote, primitive back country locations closer to populated areas where they seem to feel safer from wolf predation.  It used to be the farther a bowhunter got into the remote wilderness the better the elk hunting would be.  Now you can often find more elk on private land closer to human habitation.  

It is also true that the habitat in the back country needs some help from fires or timber harvesting, neither of which has been happening in sufficient enough volume to accomplish the purpose.  It is a complex issue that doesn't have a simple answer. Wolves have not decimated the elk herds in quite the way that was once predicted, but they have definitely changed the dynamic of bow-hunting for elk.

The short answer to the original question is that, yes, there is still plenty of good public land hunting, but it is not as easy as it was 15 or 20 years ago and you definitely need to allow plenty of time for your hunt.

[Mike Mecredy]

JUST SO EVERONE KNOWS.  If you ever want to hunt Mule deer in Units 55 or 54, those are over the counter tag for archery but draw only for rifle.  I live very close to them and if you want to hunt there I can show you where.

[durp]

gringol...i dont know where you got your info about elk #'s and wolves in the rockies and yellow stone but i think you should check it out a little closer...

[gringol]

Originally posted by durp:
gringol...i dont know where you got your info about elk #'s and wolves in the rockies and yellow stone but i think you should check it out a little closer...

Durp, wolves certainly have an effect, but there are lots of moving parts in an ecosystem and wolves can't be blamed for all problems with the elk pop.  In ID the winter of 97 killed 40% of Idaho's elk.  I lived in eastern wa at the time and it was a brutal winter.  Idaho fish and game studied it and said as much.  Of course, there are plenty of studies on both sides of the issue, which is exactly the point.  It's complicated.

[Mike Mecredy]

Since the wolf reintroduction, elk numbers are down, they were down after the harsh winter too, but the reintroduction hindered the rebound they should have had.  But they are still out there, you just have to hunt harder now than you used to.  I don't elk hunt anymore, but I know plenty of bowhunters that still get an elk.

Mule deer are pretty stable, they weren't effect as bad as elk I guess.  I think wolves like elk better or somthing, maybe they're easier to catch.