Discussion on Moose honey holes / over harvesting

[Sitkaspruce]

The bulls you shot likely don't "live" in that area. Their core area is likely elsewhere and they just showed up for the obviously healthy population of cows that do actually live there. Assuming the cows don't get shot off, next year there will be different bulls from far and wide show up when the ladies start to stink.

JMO
chris

This

The moose in this area can be very transient and they move from high to mid to low elevation depending on pressure, predators and weather. My guess is you have a couple hot cows around and they will drag bulls from a long distance and you were in the right place. A week later there could be nothing. We had lots of encounters this year in some of our regular places, but also found a few new ones when some of our other reg spots produced nothing. At that time of year the bulls will be moving and most are not local. Most of the local bulls are shot during the early season and the bulls from other places move in.

Keep hunting it, but also look for some new areas that have the same type of habitat, access and elevation. You will need to have a back up, trust me.

Cheers

SS

[tyreguy]

This I like.
Rather than just asking for information they rolled up their sleeves, did their homework and put in some work of their own and after a couple years of getting nothing they connected.
I wish more guys would read this and understand that's what goes into your hunting trip. Go to an area and figure it out, don't just post up "I'm not looking for your honey holes" because lets be honest - you are!
I hunted moose for a lot of years before we became successful. Walked a lot of miles in mud and snow, soaking wet catching an afternoon nap around a fire in the bush trying to warm up, then can't get my keys into my truck because my hands are too cold to hold the keys and after all that work i doubt anybody would give up the good information - its like volunteering for a vasectomy because it sounds like fun.
Let alone the expense we went through before we started getting a return. Calf moose 4 ways almost made me a vegetarian!!
Many put in for Moose LEH based on the odds then have no clue that maybe access is poor (that's why it has low odds??), then they waste their LEH by not going. OR, put second choice of low odds - don't do it unless you have a legitimate second choice.
Do the research - Google Earth, Maps, harvest data all can help and its all available under the keyboard in front of you.
Congrats ElliotMoose on a successful ANNUAL moose trip, you deserve it for the work you put forth.



[QUOTE=ElliotMoose;2203532]Interested in hearing people's opinions on this.
" so about 6 years ago we decided that on the years where we were unsuccessful for the local draw, we would head North and chase the generous GOS's up there. So began our annual moose hunt.

We finally decided on a place to check out after hours on google earth. After getting there we find the area is very thick but there is moose sign all over. The only way to really hunt it is to walk the game trails and call the bulls to you and hopefully get a good enough glimpse for a tine count. After 2 years of NIL but a few close calls, we connected with one 2 years ago and it kept us coming back. It's tough hunting but it is true wilderness and we fell in love with the country. We always had a few encounters but it seemed we never hit the peak of the rut. This year everything changed.

[ElliotMoose]

Tyreguy,

Thanks for the compliment. It is definitely more rewarding when you put in the work yourself. We went into the area blind only having seen outdated google earth images and our first two years we saw a total of 3 moose. Long ways to go to come home empty handed. Still, we loved the area and saw the sign so we knew the animals were there. We probably saw 10 hunters on quads cruising the tight quad trails in there this year and every guy had the same report. Minimal sign, next to no animals, area had been shot out. During that same week we called in 14 different bulls and harvested 4. They are there if you want to put in the effort. Moose get shot on the road for sure don't get me wrong, but there's nothing more rewarding than putting boots to the ground and learning a landscape intimately so you know the game trails, the licks, the watering holes etc so you can put yourself in a spot with a good chance of seeing animals and then having it all come together. If only we lived closer and could spend more time in that country year round I'm sure we would be even more successful over the years.

Chris