Fly in hunting for moose with canoe.

[sfire436]

Next season I would be very interested in doing a fly in moose hunt based on a lake in the north country. I do not even know where to start in looking for a pilot etc. Any good exeriences and suggestions would be appreciated. Probably solo hunting. PM me please Id love to hear from you.

Thanks Nick

[Sofa King]

it will help if you narrow down a bit where abouts in the north.
alaska highwayish or dease lake way.

[DawsonCreedmoor]

Give rick at tsayta air a call, out of telegraph creek. Or Keith at Ootsa air out of dease lake. They will point you In the right direction.

[Hanrahan]

Depends if you want a cabin or are just going to bushwack and tent. If you want a cabin, you'll have to go through an outfitter or lodge most likely. They would arrange your flight. If you just want to find your own plane and pilot and fend for yourself for lodging, look online for floatplane operators. A quick google search for " floatplane charters northern BC" shows a bunch. You'll get a per mile cost from them. You'll have to pay both ways. ie: if your lake is 50 miles away, you pay for 200 miles of flying. they might even be able to give you some advice on where to go. Most charter companies will have flown into all of the surrounding useable lakes and seen which ones produce moose.

[two-feet]

You lose 200lbs of weight capacity (plus the weight of the canoe) with a canoe strapped to the floats due to the extra drag. We are going up this fall and are bringing an inflatable boat for this reason. Depending on where you are headed a boat may or may not be worth the extra weight and hassle. Do you have a particular lake in mind?

[Hanrahan]

A little inflateable zodiac an a small motor would be best. You need to think about having room for your moose on the way out. Or pay for a second flight or a bigger plane. Maybe a 180 or 185 to get you in and a beaver to get out if you have a moose. A sat phone is a good idea so you can contact the charter company with that info before they come to pick you up.

[timbermilton]

http://www.northernrockiesvacations.com/

i'm looking at these guys for next year. trad only bowhunt. canoe down the gataga for 14 days, hunting along the way. GOS moose, mulies, caribou, goat, sheep, and of course BLACK BEAR. and adding a bit of flyfishing.

my wife wants to hit up one of their wilderness cabins for a week without the kids.

[bcriverhunter]

going rate is about $9-10 per mile so the
200 mile total trip is 2000 grand plus tip!..also an extra charge
for putting anything outside the cab on the floats $100plus!...but all worth it
to get away from the masses!!

[two-feet]

going rate is about $9-10 per mile so the
200 mile total trip is 2000 grand plus tip!..also an extra charge
for putting anything outside the cab on the floats $100plus!...but all worth it
to get away from the masses!!

is it standard to tip the pilot?

[Hanrahan]

I've flown in the bush all over the country and tipping the pilot was about 50/50. I was never upset if I didn't get a tip. I would say that if the pilot does a good job/goes out of his way for you/helps you out/packs a 1000 lb moose into the plane/gets you in and out safely in some crappy weather, then throw him 20 or 50 bucks. If he scares you/is cranky/doesn't help with much then don't tip. I always felt like I did a good job and helped make someone's trip memorable if they palmed me a 20 on the way out of the plane, but the amount didn't matter.

[Confused]

I thought they changed the rules so you couldn't take an exterior load with passengers in the plane. Could be wrong about this though. Best ask the charter companies.

[Hanrahan]

External loads are allowed with a Type Certificate. If no Type Certificate, then no external loads with passengers. Most operators will have the type certificate, but other restrictions will apply, such as a reduction of gross weight. I believe it's reduced by twice the weight of the external load, but different operators and different airplanes might have slightly differing rules in that regard.

[Alfonz]

External loads are allowed with a Type Certificate. If no Type Certificate, then no external loads with passengers. Most operators will have the type certificate, but other restrictions will apply, such as a reduction of gross weight. I believe it's reduced by twice the weight of the external load, but different operators and different airplanes might have slightly differing rules in that regard.

I believe you are correct about a reduction in the gross weight by twice the external load.

[Everett]

I thought they changed the rules so you couldn't take an exterior load with passengers in the plane. Could be wrong about this though. Best ask the charter companies.

I was told by a Charter operator that this was supposed to become the rule this year but than told me he was going to keep doing it anyway.
The way to bring a canoe is to buy one of these http://pakboats.com/ the wife and I have the 160 model and its awesome. You lose no lift weight and it makes even old cranky pilots smile.
Here is a pic of us bringing the wifes Caribou back to camp.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/North_trip_2011_030.jpg

[Sofa King]

one doesn't need a boat just because you are staying by a lake.
my dad, brother, and two other guys did a fly in.
they got their moose and wolves simply walking around the lake.
and the fishing was spectacular just sitting and casting from shore.

[Everett]

one doesn't need a boat just because you are staying by a lake.
my dad, brother, and two other guys did a fly in.
they got their moose and wolves simply walking around the lake.
and the fishing was spectacular just sitting and casting from shore.

Trust me after multiple fly in hunts you want a boat. Yes you can do it the dumb way but well its dumb.

[swampthing]

Sounds like my kind of adventure. Find yourself a good lookin lake and go have fun. The inflatable boat may be best bet.

[Sofa King]

Trust me after multiple fly in hunts you want a boat. Yes you can do it the dumb way but well its dumb.

how is that "dumb"?
it's hunting.
ffs, we never used to have quads and utvs.
boy, people sure get lazy fast.

[2chodi]

Give rick at tsayta air a call, out of telegraph creek. Or Keith at Ootsa air out of dease lake. They will point you In the right direction.

That would be illegal guiding, unless those two are actually licensed guide outfitters.

[Everett]

That would be illegal guiding, unless those two are actually licensed guide outfitters.

Ones a native so rules don't apply and the other is an outfitter.

[Everett]

how is that "dumb"?
it's hunting.
ffs, we never used to have quads and utvs.
boy, people sure get lazy fast.

Obviously you have never hunted in the north on a fly in. Its dumb because walking around a lake every day in buck brush spending many hours doing so sucks when you can paddle across the same lake in minutes doesn't . Many Lakes are very long and thin and unless you have a boat of some sort you are stuck hunting one side and I will guarantee from personal experience if you don't have a boat all the wildlife is on the other side of the lake.
Than its retrieval time and man is that boat awesome when you have moose down 7km down a lake and its just you and the wife to get it back to camp.
Not picking on you Sofa but very few hunters can or have actually dealt with a Moose were there is no quad or truck available also no road or trail and the only way is your back that's when the canoe/boat really shines.

[Duidery]

...boy, people sure get lazy fast.

Lazy? I'd call it smart, easier and efficient. Packing out a large animal along the lakeshore through buck brush and mud vs. paddling or rowing along the lakeshore? Seems like a no brainer to me. Maybe I'm just lazy?

[DawsonCreedmoor]

Not sure what's the point of this... a guy who is completely new to flying is looking for some info, so I give him a couple pilots names. They fly hundreds of people every year, they know what they can and can not do.


That would be illegal guiding, unless those two are actually licensed guide outfitters.

[Hanrahan]

I hardly think an air service telling you what lake they can fly you into qualifies as illegal guiding.

[2chodi]

I hardly think an air service telling you what lake they can fly you into qualifies as illegal guiding.

That is correct, but the air service can't provide advice or information related to hunting unless they are guide outfitters.

[GoatGuy]

Out of Telegraph a couple of close lakes are Mess and Yoheniko, both have moose.

[1/2 slam]

Obviously you have never hunted in the north on a fly in. Its dumb because walking around a lake every day in buck brush spending many hours doing so sucks when you can paddle across the same lake in minutes doesn't . Many Lakes are very long and thin and unless you have a boat of some sort you are stuck hunting one side and I will guarantee from personal experience if you don't have a boat all the wildlife is on the other side of the lake.
Than its retrieval time and man is that boat awesome when you have moose down 7km down a lake and its just you and the wife to get it back to camp.
Not picking on you Sofa but very few hunters can or have actually dealt with a Moose were there is no quad or truck available also no road or trail and the only way is your back that's when the canoe/boat really shines.

I agree completely. I've done 15 fly ins and a boat of some sort is essential.Can you do it without? Yes but why would you. We fly in a 10 foot inflatable Metzler. One of the lakes we go into has a canoe stashed in there. I know the owner so using it is not a problem.

[geoskier]

http://www.northernrockiesvacations.com/

i'm looking at these guys for next year. trad only bowhunt. canoe down the gataga for 14 days, hunting along the way. GOS moose, mulies, caribou, goat, sheep, and of course BLACK BEAR. and adding a bit of flyfishing.

my wife wants to hit up one of their wilderness cabins for a week without the kids.

Keep in mind the safe weight limit you can add to a canoe when paddling a river such as the Gataga and Kechika. I've canoed the Turnagain-Kechika and would like to return but I would only take 2 sheep max. No way could you canoe out with a moose or elk. Also, you would have to be very strong (as in skilled) canoers to take two animals. There are several rapids on the Kechika that may appear easy in a jet boat but wouldn't be easy with a loaded down canoe. You would have to do such a trip later on in September due to the length of time travelling with meat (as to avoid spoilage).

[Sitkaspruce]

one doesn't need a boat just because you are staying by a lake.
my dad, brother, and two other guys did a fly in.
they got their moose and wolves simply walking around the lake.
and the fishing was spectacular just sitting and casting from shore.


Obviously you have never hunted in the north on a fly in. Its dumb because walking around a lake every day in buck brush spending many hours doing so sucks when you can paddle across the same lake in minutes doesn't . Many Lakes are very long and thin and unless you have a boat of some sort you are stuck hunting one side and I will guarantee from personal experience if you don't have a boat all the wildlife is on the other side of the lake.
Than its retrieval time and man is that boat awesome when you have moose down 7km down a lake and its just you and the wife to get it back to camp.
Not picking on you Sofa but very few hunters can or have actually dealt with a Moose were there is no quad or truck available also no road or trail and the only way is your back that's when the canoe/boat really shines.

SF, you really need to think before you type......

After our first fly-in, we never went in again without a boat. Ours was a 9'"zodiac" type with a wood floor and a 4 hp merc outboard, all fit in the pontoons.

It has saved us many times with less hours spent packing, less walking the same area, much better fishing, and one time, we had a health emergency and it got us to the guide cabin to access the radio to call the plane in.

Get a collapsible boat of some kind, will make your hunt much easier.

Cheers

SS

[Hanrahan]

And life jackets. It seemed like every spring and fall we would have to fly the coroner or divers into a lake to find a body. If it's cold and you're bundled up with big boots and jacket you'll never swim to shore. Guys go under quick with that much gear on and the divers would find them standing on the bottom of the lake.

[M.Dean]

Any chance you can find a hunt'in buddy to go with you? I also like hunting alone, but believe me, when you have a moose down, it's a chore for two guys, never mind just you. If for no other reason, when your face deep inside the moose cleaning it out, it's nice to know there's some with a rifle behind you,cuz you'll be in grizz country for sure! Good luck, sounds like a great trip!

[Fred1]

Any chance you can find a hunt'in buddy to go with you? I also like hunting alone, but believe me, when you have a moose down, it's a chore for two guys, never mind just you. If for no other reason, when your face deep inside the moose cleaning it out, it's nice to know there's some with a rifle behind you,cuz you'll be in grizz country for sure! Good luck, sounds like a great trip!

This is good advice... Ive gutted and packed a few moose, they get big and heavy real fast. Just the gutting etc can be a real chore alone. And if your bush wacking or pushing thru swamps with no trail the pack will be hell. I get the sense of adventure for sure! Hell Im doing my first sheep hunt, solo. Regarding moose hunts, Ive done a bit of moosing and I know what Im getting into - solo moose hunting can turn into nothing but hard work. If you shoot, whatever you do don't let him die in any depth of water!!! You will most likely have to make many many trips to get that bugger to a place to hang or near a place for extraction - hope for cool weather. Moose are big! Big does way better with two people. Some kind of boat is good advice too! Sounds like a great adventure! Go for it! But go prepared and don't be afraid to shoot a small one ;)

[Liveforthehunt]

As said plenty of good advice. My old man doesn't have the greatest back so each year we shoot 2 big bulls no quads and guess who gets to do all the work. Gutting packing skinning beast mode turns on and you just giver. The old man taught me everything I know but he's slow with the gutting ect. Moose are big animals especially up north. Another word of wisdom if you are seeing lots shoot em in the morning to give yourself all day to process it, nothing worse than being tired finishing up at 2 a.m. exhausted. Done that once or twice

[Cordillera]

If you are hunting solo and flying out I'd try the gutless method. Saves trying to mess around inside the ribs which is really hard solo and then you are moving thirty percent less weight at all moves.

[Liveforthehunt]

If you are hunting solo and flying out I'd try the gutless method. Saves trying to mess around inside the ribs which is really hard solo and then you are moving thirty percent less weight at all moves.

Valid point only issue with that is you won't get to enjoy the tenderloins after a hard days work ;)

[Sitkaspruce]

Valid point only issue with that is you won't get to enjoy the tenderloins after a hard days work ;)

Why is that??

Simple to remove them, takes about a minute each....shorter than cooking them....

little cut between the hip and last rib, insert hand with small knife, feel the tenderloin and cut them away at each end, they just peel out. Simple and quick.

Cheers

SS

[argyle1]

Give rick at tsayta air a call, out of telegraph creek. Or Keith at Ootsa air out of dease lake. They will point you In the right direction.

Kieth is retired and sold the beaver to BC - Yukon

[Avalanche123]

BC-Yukon either has a new owner or they sold the Beaver...I can't remember which.

As other said, definitely take some sort of boat to hunt a northern lake...you will not regret it.

[Useyourfeet]

Pack raft...look it up.

[Avalanche123]

BC Yukon was sold to a local outfitter minus the planes.