cuervosail
09-30-2014, 01:19 PM
It’s about 1,000 miles from the lower mainland to Fort Nelson but,despite the distance, for the second year in a row we chose a trip by canoe down the Fort Nelson river in hopes of bagging a moose. Last year, over the course of five days in early October, we saw quite a few moose. Some were cows and we weren’t able to determine whether others were legal bulls and we came home empty-handed. This year, we decided to go a little earlier and stay a little longer in hopes of finding some bulls that were just starting to look for some love.
The first morning on the river got off to a good start. Pulling over to check out a promising bit of bush, a bull quickly responded to a cow call. We could tell from the racket he was making with his antlers against the trees that he was eager and close! However, despite our best efforts he went silent and slipped away.
Floating along the river silently is a great way to moose hunt. Jet boats certainly let you cover a lot of river miles but when you’re in a canoe and the only sounds you hear are leaves falling or squirrels chattering (and the occasional stick breaking), your senses are always on high alert. For anyone who has the opportunity, I'd highly recommend it as a way to hunt.
Some elk, a cow moaning (in the same section of bush we saw some action last year) and a brief glimpse of a far-off bull kept us focused for the first few days. One evening, a cow, a calf and a young bull stepped out of the bush about 400 yards from where we had just set up camp. Just as we were closing in for a shot at the spiker, a jet boat rounded the corner and the moose were gone. However, the next day, a young bull made the mistake of taking a mid-day stroll along a rocky beach and a short while later gave us a first opportunity to work on our gutting and skinning skills. It’s always nice to make a kill and not have to do any packing!
On the last evening of the hunt, a bull spent more than an hour grunting and thrashing about 500 yards on the opposite upriver bank. He quit just before dark but we figured he wouldn't travel far and we’d try to get over there before first light the next morning and see if we could persuade him to step out on to the shore.
It was a beautiful sunrise on the first dry morning we’d had on the trip. A couple of cow calls didn't produce a response … right away. The third call got his attention. From the opposite shore, I heard him grunt several times, downstream, back towards camp. Within a couple of minutes, he stepped out of the bush and started to swim across the river. I made a mad dash back to my canoe and was paddling for all it was worth to make it back downstream and try to get a shot. Luckily, one of the guys in our group had decided to ease into the morning, and decided to stay behind. He was messing around with the fire when the bull showed himself. By the time it climbed out of the water, it was only about 50 yards away from the camp. Thoughts of stoking the fire quickly evaporated and a few minutes later we had the second bull of our great trip. A couple of hours of paddling to the take-out and 20+ hours of driving back to the lower mainland were all that remained. The freezers are full this winter.It’s about 1,000 miles from the lower mainland to Fort Nelson but,despite the distance, for the second year in a row we chose a trip by canoe down the Fort Nelson river in hopes of bagging a moose. Last year, over the course of five days in early October, we saw quite a few moose. Some were cows and we weren’t able to determine whether others were legal bulls and we came home empty-handed. This year, we decided to go a little earlier and stay a little longer in hopes of finding some bulls that were just starting to look for some love.
The first morning on the river got off to a good start. Pulling over to check out a promising bit of bush, a bull quickly responded to a cow call. We could tell from the racket he was making with his antlers against the trees that he was eager and close! However, despite our best efforts he went silent and slipped away.
Floating along the river silently is a great way to moose hunt. Jet boats certainly let you cover a lot of river miles but when you’re in a canoe and the only sounds you hear are leaves falling or squirrels chattering (and the occasional stick breaking), your senses are always on high alert. For anyone who has the opportunity, I'd highly recommend it as a way to hunt.
Some elk, a cow moaning (in the same section of bush we saw some action last year) and a brief glimpse of a far-off bull kept us focused for the first few days. One evening, a cow, a calf and a young bull stepped out of the bush about 400 yards from where we had just set up camp. Just as we were closing in for a shot at the spiker, a jet boat rounded the corner and the moose were gone. However, the next day, a young bull made the mistake of taking a mid-day stroll along a rocky beach and a short while later gave us a first opportunity to work on our gutting and skinning skills. It’s always nice to make a kill and not have to do any packing!
On the last evening of the hunt, a bull spent more than an hour grunting and thrashing about 500 yards on the opposite upriver bank. He quit just before dark but we figured he wouldn't travel far and we’d try to get over there before first light the next morning and see if we could persuade him to step out on to the shore.
It was a beautiful sunrise on the first dry morning we’d had on the trip. A couple of cow calls didn't produce a response … right away. The third call got his attention. From the opposite shore, I heard him grunt several times, downstream, back towards camp. Within a couple of minutes, he stepped out of the bush and started to swim across the river. I made a mad dash back to my canoe and was paddling for all it was worth to make it back downstream and try to get a shot. Luckily, one of the guys in our group had decided to ease into the morning, and decided to stay behind. He was messing around with the fire when the bull showed himself. By the time it climbed out of the water, it was only about 50 yards away from the camp. Thoughts of stoking the fire quickly evaporated and a few minutes later we had the second bull of our great trip. A couple of hours of paddling to the take-out and 20+ hours of driving back to the lower mainland were all that remained. The freezers are full this winter.
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/cuervosail1/IMG_0155_zpse4ef056b.jpg (http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/cuervosail1/media/IMG_0155_zpse4ef056b.jpg.html)
The first morning on the river got off to a good start. Pulling over to check out a promising bit of bush, a bull quickly responded to a cow call. We could tell from the racket he was making with his antlers against the trees that he was eager and close! However, despite our best efforts he went silent and slipped away.
Floating along the river silently is a great way to moose hunt. Jet boats certainly let you cover a lot of river miles but when you’re in a canoe and the only sounds you hear are leaves falling or squirrels chattering (and the occasional stick breaking), your senses are always on high alert. For anyone who has the opportunity, I'd highly recommend it as a way to hunt.
Some elk, a cow moaning (in the same section of bush we saw some action last year) and a brief glimpse of a far-off bull kept us focused for the first few days. One evening, a cow, a calf and a young bull stepped out of the bush about 400 yards from where we had just set up camp. Just as we were closing in for a shot at the spiker, a jet boat rounded the corner and the moose were gone. However, the next day, a young bull made the mistake of taking a mid-day stroll along a rocky beach and a short while later gave us a first opportunity to work on our gutting and skinning skills. It’s always nice to make a kill and not have to do any packing!
On the last evening of the hunt, a bull spent more than an hour grunting and thrashing about 500 yards on the opposite upriver bank. He quit just before dark but we figured he wouldn't travel far and we’d try to get over there before first light the next morning and see if we could persuade him to step out on to the shore.
It was a beautiful sunrise on the first dry morning we’d had on the trip. A couple of cow calls didn't produce a response … right away. The third call got his attention. From the opposite shore, I heard him grunt several times, downstream, back towards camp. Within a couple of minutes, he stepped out of the bush and started to swim across the river. I made a mad dash back to my canoe and was paddling for all it was worth to make it back downstream and try to get a shot. Luckily, one of the guys in our group had decided to ease into the morning, and decided to stay behind. He was messing around with the fire when the bull showed himself. By the time it climbed out of the water, it was only about 50 yards away from the camp. Thoughts of stoking the fire quickly evaporated and a few minutes later we had the second bull of our great trip. A couple of hours of paddling to the take-out and 20+ hours of driving back to the lower mainland were all that remained. The freezers are full this winter.It’s about 1,000 miles from the lower mainland to Fort Nelson but,despite the distance, for the second year in a row we chose a trip by canoe down the Fort Nelson river in hopes of bagging a moose. Last year, over the course of five days in early October, we saw quite a few moose. Some were cows and we weren’t able to determine whether others were legal bulls and we came home empty-handed. This year, we decided to go a little earlier and stay a little longer in hopes of finding some bulls that were just starting to look for some love.
The first morning on the river got off to a good start. Pulling over to check out a promising bit of bush, a bull quickly responded to a cow call. We could tell from the racket he was making with his antlers against the trees that he was eager and close! However, despite our best efforts he went silent and slipped away.
Floating along the river silently is a great way to moose hunt. Jet boats certainly let you cover a lot of river miles but when you’re in a canoe and the only sounds you hear are leaves falling or squirrels chattering (and the occasional stick breaking), your senses are always on high alert. For anyone who has the opportunity, I'd highly recommend it as a way to hunt.
Some elk, a cow moaning (in the same section of bush we saw some action last year) and a brief glimpse of a far-off bull kept us focused for the first few days. One evening, a cow, a calf and a young bull stepped out of the bush about 400 yards from where we had just set up camp. Just as we were closing in for a shot at the spiker, a jet boat rounded the corner and the moose were gone. However, the next day, a young bull made the mistake of taking a mid-day stroll along a rocky beach and a short while later gave us a first opportunity to work on our gutting and skinning skills. It’s always nice to make a kill and not have to do any packing!
On the last evening of the hunt, a bull spent more than an hour grunting and thrashing about 500 yards on the opposite upriver bank. He quit just before dark but we figured he wouldn't travel far and we’d try to get over there before first light the next morning and see if we could persuade him to step out on to the shore.
It was a beautiful sunrise on the first dry morning we’d had on the trip. A couple of cow calls didn't produce a response … right away. The third call got his attention. From the opposite shore, I heard him grunt several times, downstream, back towards camp. Within a couple of minutes, he stepped out of the bush and started to swim across the river. I made a mad dash back to my canoe and was paddling for all it was worth to make it back downstream and try to get a shot. Luckily, one of the guys in our group had decided to ease into the morning, and decided to stay behind. He was messing around with the fire when the bull showed himself. By the time it climbed out of the water, it was only about 50 yards away from the camp. Thoughts of stoking the fire quickly evaporated and a few minutes later we had the second bull of our great trip. A couple of hours of paddling to the take-out and 20+ hours of driving back to the lower mainland were all that remained. The freezers are full this winter.
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b496/cuervosail1/IMG_0155_zpse4ef056b.jpg (http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/cuervosail1/media/IMG_0155_zpse4ef056b.jpg.html)