HUNTMAN
New member
Congrats . You are on a roll
Enjoy the ride. Hunt
Enjoy the ride. Hunt
A Summer of Moose and Mosquitoes
- Thread starter ----
- Start date
antlerradar
Well-known member
That is awesome.
sounds like it will be a great summer and fall
sounds like it will be a great summer and fall
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
I have been waiting for this to pop up. This is going to be an awesome summer.
duckhunt
Well-known member
This is great. I love following these threads. Congrats on another great tag.
Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
I just spent a very similar weekend in Idaho with my wife. Finally drew a moose tag and spent 4 days trying to lay eyes on one with no avail. I can see success will be hard earned on this one....
LCH
Well-known member
I think we need to buy a duplex out there.
Nameless Range
Well-known member
Great Pictures! This will be an awesome thread to follow. That is some of the finest country in Montana. All those streams - you should pack your fishing rod on these moose scouting excursions.
Schaaf
Well-known member
You've been on a roll, Randy.
Looking forward to clicking on this thread hundreds of times in the coming months haha.
Looking forward to clicking on this thread hundreds of times in the coming months haha.
A side story to last weekend-
We had a camp set up on a campground along the highway through the unit. On our way back out to go looking for moose after lunch, we came around a corner and almost hit a dog walking down the centerline.
We pulled over to see if we could coax the dog off the highway. The dog was obviously exhausted and lost. It's a popular fishing area, so we assumed her owner was fishing nearby. After debating for a while what to do, the dog climbed in the cab of my truck and laid on the seat. Thankfully she had a collar with a phone number on it, but no answer on the other end.
We drove up and down the highway for a couple hours with this strange wolf in our front seat, asking everybody we could if they knew where she belonged. No takers. As it was starting to get dark, we were grasping at straws so decided our only option was to drive the dog to the town where the phone number was from (1.5 hours away), and see if we could find a place to stash her for the night until the shelter opened in the morning.
Luckily we never made it all the way to the town, as the number on the collar finally answered. They were pretty happy to get the lost dog back, and no harm caused other than missing out on an evening's worth of moose scouting.
Today I looked up the meaning of the dogs name, and it turns out it's the Goddess of the river's original name that runs through my unit.
Who knows if it's good karma, but it certainly can't hurt.
We had a camp set up on a campground along the highway through the unit. On our way back out to go looking for moose after lunch, we came around a corner and almost hit a dog walking down the centerline.
We pulled over to see if we could coax the dog off the highway. The dog was obviously exhausted and lost. It's a popular fishing area, so we assumed her owner was fishing nearby. After debating for a while what to do, the dog climbed in the cab of my truck and laid on the seat. Thankfully she had a collar with a phone number on it, but no answer on the other end.
We drove up and down the highway for a couple hours with this strange wolf in our front seat, asking everybody we could if they knew where she belonged. No takers. As it was starting to get dark, we were grasping at straws so decided our only option was to drive the dog to the town where the phone number was from (1.5 hours away), and see if we could find a place to stash her for the night until the shelter opened in the morning.
Luckily we never made it all the way to the town, as the number on the collar finally answered. They were pretty happy to get the lost dog back, and no harm caused other than missing out on an evening's worth of moose scouting.
Today I looked up the meaning of the dogs name, and it turns out it's the Goddess of the river's original name that runs through my unit.
Who knows if it's good karma, but it certainly can't hurt.
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
Maybe with all your "oneness" with the animal kingdom Dink's prediction on the goat hunt was just a little delayed
just in time for the election.....
6mm Remington
Well-known member
Congratulations on the great tag. What district is it? Good on you guys for saving the pooch. She looks pretty sweet. Kind acts will come back to reward you!
Best luck on your hunt.
Best luck on your hunt.
A couple more days spent in the unit, and no moose spotted. I am seeing quite a bit of sign from (I think) last fall, so I'm feeling optimistic. After talking to a couple people that know way more about moose than I, I realize that the chances of glassing moose right now are about zero. Big black moose don't do well in 90° weather. I think my best shot at getting to know the moose in the unit is going to be through trailcams getting pictures at night.
This little creek is quite a bit of a hike into, is LOADED with brook trout, and has a ton of old moose sign in it. I imagine I'm going to get to know this creek well.
I set a trail camera on a pinch point along this creek. This country isn't brushy at all (first picture^), so for the most part animals can wander pretty aimlessly through the timber. The topography of this spot kind of funnels everything down into this creek crossing though. Lots of deer sign on this sand bar, and one set of bear tracks-
I was able to check on the camera I set last weekend, and to no surprise it was littered with elk pictures. Seems like no matter where I set a camera, an elk is going to park right in front of it and fill up my SD card. This camera is now covered in chew marks and spit.
I set up one last camera in an area I have seen moose before. There's so much water in this unit I think setting up on a water hole would be pointless, so I'm trying to concentrate on funnels. This is a little draw between two very large meadows, that has a well used game trail on it. It's hard to tell, but that flat spot is a pond as well. I circled my camera position and drew a line along the trail. I saw a ton of elk in this area, so I'm thinking it might be more like my last attempt.
This little creek is quite a bit of a hike into, is LOADED with brook trout, and has a ton of old moose sign in it. I imagine I'm going to get to know this creek well.
I set a trail camera on a pinch point along this creek. This country isn't brushy at all (first picture^), so for the most part animals can wander pretty aimlessly through the timber. The topography of this spot kind of funnels everything down into this creek crossing though. Lots of deer sign on this sand bar, and one set of bear tracks-
I was able to check on the camera I set last weekend, and to no surprise it was littered with elk pictures. Seems like no matter where I set a camera, an elk is going to park right in front of it and fill up my SD card. This camera is now covered in chew marks and spit.
I set up one last camera in an area I have seen moose before. There's so much water in this unit I think setting up on a water hole would be pointless, so I'm trying to concentrate on funnels. This is a little draw between two very large meadows, that has a well used game trail on it. It's hard to tell, but that flat spot is a pond as well. I circled my camera position and drew a line along the trail. I saw a ton of elk in this area, so I'm thinking it might be more like my last attempt.
jryoung
Well-known member
If those elk keep filling up your SD cards and you get bored, just shoot down I-15 I have a couple of spots you could put them.
MThuntr
Well-known member
My freezer is down I-15...just saying
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
I don't know what it is, but it just seems like animals love licking camera lenses.
Yeah? You want pictures of the elk in that unit too?
I'm pretty sure if I can get as many elk pictures as I did in the Lochsa last year, I'm going to get them everywhere. Bring on the shoulder seasons!
Grant- My moose packing rule is- 'you pack it, you keep it.'
