Idaho elk hunt 2011

[Bjorn]

The sacrifices we make!!  

[rainman]

Great story Mike.

[John Havard]

Yes Bjorn,  in order to make a good friend feel as though his cooking is appreciated I go to great lengths - often eating far more than most other human beings should.  I'm a giver and love to make others feel good.  Funny thing is, after eating almost a half-gallon of it I was beginning to no longer be interested in eating any more.

[GRINCH]

Now thats a true friend to go to those lengths to make him feel good.  

[Hopewell Tom]

Great story, guys. No Elk yet, but it sure sounds like you guys are enjoying yourselves. Lots of hunting, arrows flying, game meat in the pot, comfy camp. What a life!

[wingnut]

The evening hunt was spent looking over some more country that might hold elk or deer.  We did see a couple of deer but no elk sign.  The other thing we didn't see or hear on this trip were moose.  It was the rut and we used to see and hear bulls all the time.

We decided that with two days to go the next morning we would come in on the river and hunt up to the OMG slope in hopes of catching the elk down where we had heard them before.

So we had a plan for the morning and settled in for John's dump cake before bed.  What a treat!!

He's become a very good dump cake chef.  LOL

Mike

[Ray_G]

Originally posted by wingnut:
The evening hunt was spent looking over some more country that might hold elk or deer.  We did see a couple of deer but no elk sign.  The other thing we didn't see or hear on this trip were moose.  It was the rut and we used to see and hear bulls all the time.

Mike

Mike,

I have been enjoying your post and photos.  Sounds like Jason and John are the kind of camp mates that make for a great time.

In talking with my Conservation Officer buddies, elk are not the only critter taking a hit from the wolves.  They told me that moose have been hit pretty hard, also.  That would explain their absence.  In the unit that I lived in and drew a moose (bull) tag in 1995, there were seven sub-units with 5 to 7 tags per sub-unit.  This year's regulations show a grand total of 8 tags for the whole unit.  The years of no management of the wolves will take a long time to fix but hopefully, with hunting and trapping seasons that are six months long, the wolf population will reduce and big game populations increase.  I don't think it will ever be back to the "glory" years but a better balance.

[John Havard]

Ray, good and interesting post.

In various parts of Alaska game herd populations have been decimated by wolf (and bear) predation.  Those areas under State control have historically been opened up to aerial wolf hunting.  Where aerial wolf hunting has been allowed the game herds have bounced back very quickly - often in two or three years.  ADF&G biologists say that once aerial wolf hunting in those areas is stopped it takes only two years for the game herds to begin declining dramatically again.

As you said, the right solution is a good balance.  The predators don't need to be completely wiped out but their numbers must be reduced significantly in order to have a huntable number of game animals.

In areas under Federal control forget it.  The game herd populations will never rebound there because the Feds won't allow aerial predator reduction.  Where we were hunting was inside of the Boise National Forest so I fear the worst for what was once (according to Mike & Jason) a fantastic place to hunt elk and deer.

[wingnut]

Well as this story has been dropping to page 2, I guess it's time to wrap it up.

That last morning took everything we had in the tank.  The climb was fierce and we saw a lot of elk sign but no elk.  We did call in a couple of hunters that came in off the top and during that episode, heard a bull bugle from his bed up the hill.  When we headed back to the truck we all knew that our hunt was over.  

We started breaking camp after breakfast and decide to go take some pics of the area that afternoon.  Here are some of the pics we took.

Jason with his grouse hunt story:

 

John in his Pink Floyd shirt and cool hat

 

The three amigos

 

[wingnut]

Wolf tracks near camp

 

We drove up the mountain to get some more pics

 

Of course we spotted some deer and Jason tried to stalk them in his hip camos.

 

[wingnut]

Here's a good one John took of camp after dark with the electric lights,

 

We packed up the next morning and headed for home.  John made it that night and it took us until midnight the second day to complete the drive.

It was a great trip with fun guys to be in camp with.  We hunted hard and had our chances on the elk.

We started talking about Alaska and Colorado before the hunt was over and are planning future adventures in the locals.

Mike

[RM81]

Thanks for taking us along.  

[lt-m-grow]

Great story mike.  I always enjoy these.

Sorry to hear about the "end of idaho" for you and Jason.  I feel the loss with you.  And unfortunately, I am hearing that from too many places.

Thanks again for the story and great pictures.

[John Havard]

One of the more-insane thoughts I was having the last night in camp was how many gear loads in a Super Cub would it take to get this entire camp up on top of a moose ridge?  It was without doubt the most comfortable and well-fed camp I've ever been in.  I have never been on a guided hunt for any kind of animal.  But if I went on such a hunt I'd be surprised if the camp was as nice as this one.  A great hunt does not always end up with a loaded meat pole.  This was a great hunt!

[Pon]

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoy reading your story

[Roughcountry]

Great hunt Mike, John and Jason.
Thanks for taking the time to let us hang out with you. Looking forward to your next.

[imhntn]

Sounds like a fun trip.  Thanks for taking the time to share it all.

[Hud]

Very nice camp, great time for all. Thanks for story and pictures.

[GRINCH]

Looks like a great time was had by all,very nice camp,personally looked like a blast.

[House]

Very well told Mike, as always.  Thanks for taking us along.  I too have seen a pretty drastic decline in the number of elk in the area we hunt in Idaho over the last 4 or so years?  Well good luck to you on your future hunts and I always look forward to reading your posts!

Travis