Flying into lakes with outfitters there

[Steelpulse]

So I have not done a fly in before and this season I will be flying in to a lake where an outfitter has a cabin, they have a cabin on a few of the lakes in the zone and the zone is not huge

I spoke to the pilot and he was not super jazzed that I wanted to fly into a lake where an outfitter is set up on, my issue here is the land is not his and there aren't really that many options if you don't fly in, the pilot will fly me there though and we will land 5-6 km away at the other end of the lake and then we are hiking 10-20km away from the lake where the cabin is

obviously it's the bush the guide doesn't own the area but I do get that this is their business and they hunt the area a lots

my question is should I contact the guide out of good old Canadian courtesy and ask what his plans might be during my hunt time, if he's moose hunting great because I'm sheep hunting, but if he's sheep hunting I want to be away from Him so we aren't hunting the same range, I have no problem hunting west if they are east or vice versa there is lots of land to hunt so not overly concerned
Or should I just fly in and whatever I'm just over thinking the whole thing, just hunt and maybe we cross paths at some point and maybe we don't?

thanks

[Pemby_mess]

So I have not done a fly in before and this season I will be flying in to a lake where an outfitter has a cabin, they have a cabin on a few of the lakes in the zone and the zone is not huge

I spoke to the pilot and he was not super jazzed that I wanted to fly into a lake where an outfitter is set up on, my issue here is the land is not his and there aren't really that many options if you don't fly in, the pilot will fly me there though and we will land 5-6 km away at the other end of the lake and then we are hiking 10-20km away from the lake where the cabin is

obviously it's the bush the guide doesn't own the area but I do get that this is their business and they hunt the area a lots

my question is should I contact the guide out of good old Canadian courtesy and ask what his plans might be during my hunt time, if he's moose hunting great because I'm sheep hunting, but if he's sheep hunting I want to be away from Him so we aren't hunting the same range, I have no problem hunting west if they are east or vice versa there is lots of land to hunt so not overly concerned
Or should I just fly in and whatever I'm just over thinking the whole thing, just hunt and maybe we cross paths at some point and maybe we don't?

thanks

Contacting him prior, to make mutual mitigation plans, is probably a good idea. He's likely already agreed to work positively with you through his tenure management plan. He may even have some excellent ideas for how the two of you can deliberately avoid stepping on each other's toes.

[bighornbob]

Contacting him prior, to make mutual mitigation plans, is probably a good idea. He's likely already agreed to work positively with you through his tenure management plan. He may even have some excellent ideas for how the two of you can deliberately avoid stepping on each other's toes.

In theory this is a good idea. But I have known guides that have worked for outfitters and if they knew there was a resident in there they would pound that area hard to scoop the rams before residents. Or the outfitter will fly the area before you ever get there and scare all the sheep out of there to areas you wont be able to get to. Another buddy who was a local told me to lie to the pilot about what you were hunting. If you told the pilot you were going for sheep he most likely would tell the outfitter as they worked closely together and the valley would get buzzed by planes. If you said you were hunting moose then you got left alone as the outfitter did not care if you took a moose. Obviously if flying in, in a small plane, telling the pilot you are hoping to kill a moose and coming out in a Cessna is not feasible.

if it was me, I wouldn't tell the outfitter nothing. If you meet him in the hills, then you can ask where he's going etc. He already has the major advantage over you, and now you would be willing to give him the heads up where you are going.


BHB

[yama49]

I agree with every thing BHB said, go and enjoy yourself..

[Ron.C]

Had a similar situation in the area we backpack into. Gave the outfitter a courtesy call about 5 years back . I didn't want to mess with his hunts anymore than I wanted him to mess with mine.. Was not surprised when I was told his outfit hunts the entire area extensively and he is fully booked for the next 3 seasons.

I took that for what it was worth and went in anyway. Figured if he was booked that far in advance it must be good country. Or he was full of $&@+.
After 5 seasons of backpacking into this area, I only ever ran into a guide once. I was driving into the trailhead and came across a truck stuck on the road with a horse trailer in tow. I stopped and helped him out. Turns out it was one of the guides. We BS 'd for a bit and discovered we may be heading into the same lake. So we traded some info that was mutually beneficial. He told me once I was in there to drop by his camp and if I got an animal down he'd pack my game out on his horse for me as thanks for the help I gave him.

As it turns out, he never went into the area I was in. To date, only ever seen 1 other hunter in that area.

So I say make your plans and go.

[markathome]

Ron C - great post - thanks!

[Linksman313]

Good points on both sides of this question, whatever you decide best of luck on your hunt Steelpulse! Please be sure to post pics and your story of success here when you return.

[ryanb]

The guides motivation is #1 running a successful business. Competition with residents is counter to motivation #1. Any plans you negotiate with the outfitter beforehand are likely to be for his benefit, not yours. I think it's best to not call him beforehand and if there's an issue in the mountains, then a reasonable discussion between you and the guide is likely to work better for you.

[Sharpish]

It's likely that any information you give him will be used against you. Hopefully the pilot doesn't tip the outfitter off.

[butcher]

Find his horse trails and use them to go to his best areas and kill a ram. Make sure to pack the horns past the cabin on your way out.