Late Season Moose Hunt 3-30A

[gmachine19]

So I got lucky drawing a late season (November) bull moose hunt on 3-30a and I need some advise when I should take a week off work :D

I understand that this is post rut season and bulls would probably be tired from all the cow chasing they did. Would they be staying still and resting on the first week of November or would they be packing on some weight for winter at this time already? Where would be a good place to look for in this area?
My buddies hunt this area for mulies every year and they claim to see a lot of moose. But seeing that we drew a late moose hunt, they are unsure when the moose will be around this time of year. They're usually finished hunting for mulies around september and have never been there around november.

Any tip is greatly appreciated!
G

[Sofa King]

it ain't like the old days anymore.
I remember me and dad putting in our draws and second-guessing the ones for late moose, as the snow was always so deep and the roads impossible to get up into.
sure ain't like that anymore.
I'm driving around in areas with no snow still that used to be waist deep way before then in years past.
so access shouldn't be your problem so much, but, yes, the moose won't be out-and-about like earlier in the season.
still though, they do have to move around.

take your week as early as possible I'd say.
but guys with more knowledge of your area will surely have a better idea.

[HarryToolips]

X2 as early as possible...they will be feeding trying to get back the lost calories from the rut..

[browningboy]

After the rut they go in heavy timber and hide and rest

[gmachine19]

So in essence, should I looking for swampy places if there is no ice yet? or do they prefer brush food?

[burger]

Thick bush where they can hide.

[ElliotMoose]

I'm sure you will hear several opinions on this... But my suggestion would be to hunt the last week of the tag. Ive hunted the area for 10+ years and we've had the group draw 3 times, being successful every time. I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to take holidays at that time of year, so I usually end up going the first week just because I cant stand having a tag in my pocket not being put to use. If unsuccessful, we go up the last 5 of the month as well. All of my groups late season moose have been shot when we go up for those last 5 days.

I find that the first weekend of November, right after the rut, is when the moose are pretty well holed up in the thick timber and not moving around much. Pushing the thick timber will be your best bet at this time. Another thing to take note of is that with Nov 1-15 being spike-fork season, as well as the long weekend being in that time frame, there are more people in the bush meaning more pressure on the animals. Come the end of the month as the snow really starts to fly, the moose instinctively go in to feeding mode and are constantly on the move trying to put weight back on for the winter. The last time we got that tag we went up the first 10 days of November and saw 4 moose. Went up for the last 5 days of the month to the same area and saw 46. Keeping in mind that some of those might have been the same moose spotted multiple times, that's still a lot of sightings. 5 of those were bulls and we put two down including a nice 42"er. Putting on miles in the trucks and quads has been the most productive method for us at that time of year. That's my 2 cents

Side note - As with most of the province, the wolves have really put a beating on the animals up there these last few years. We bumped into a pack of 16 in broad daylight last November, all of which looked well fed. If you see any, take a poke!!

[BearStump]

^^^That sounds like solid advice.
I had luck on my November draw a couple years back with advice to look hard around the red willows. its a good food source for them that time of year.