Northern half of 7-25

[Arctic Lake]

Hi Fellas

Not looking for any ones secret honey hole ! Willing to work get off the beaten path .Just wanting to know what the area is like in the Northern half of 7-25 for moose. Was thinking about the area around Salmon Lake ,maybe the Salmon River
Thanks !
Arctic Lake

[604ksmith]

I've been in that area a few times and I think I've seen a Moose each time. Stay away from McLeod FSR, sometimes it seems like a highway.

If you can, also try and drive a bit farther north on the Germansen FSR and get into 7-28.

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks 604ksmith !

Were you thinking of the area around Philip Lakes Northwest of Rainbow in 7-28 ? Looking at the B.C. Backroads mapbook trying to get a handle on the area .Never been up that way before .
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[604ksmith]

I was thinking more NW of Philip. Philip is likely a decent area (never been there personally) but it's still fairly close to MacKenzie and the highway.

I would say try to get as farther NW of Philip. Chuchi is busy with weekend warriors and cabins, but anything North of that is pretty good hunting. Although, it does become quite the drive up that way.

[Arctic Lake]

Hmmmm.... Well I would think I would need to be North of Mt.Milligan as that is where the mine is .If I go farther than that I hit the Nation River. Hmmm might be quite a long haul for a week when your coming from the Lower Mainland. Was thinking maybe somewhere within one or two hours of Vanderhoof. Maybe I need to start another thread on best area near Vanderhoof , LOL!

Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Sitkaspruce]

If you have driven from the LM, what is another couple hours??

The top end of 7-25 can be good if you are willing to work and get off the roads and into the bush. Lots of spots to check out off the North Rd., up past Carrier Lk and around Salmon Lk. Some older burns (2005-7) has some good habitat. Biggest thing is getting away from the crowds, so if you are willing to use a boat or paddle a canoe, hike into old cuts and pack a moose out, you will have some luck.

7-28 can get busy as lost of people hunt that area. Far enough away from The Fort to keep most weekends away, has easy access and the big lakes can provide some great hunting. Chuchi can be good if you boat the west end and hunt the lake shore, The area south of Witch is cold, north facing hills that hold some moose along with some nice bears.

Drive the extra 2 hours and have a good hunt!!

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks Sitkaspruce !

I plan on bringing a canoe up there and we are up to hunting old cutblocks .How many hours would you say it is into those areas from Vanderhoof ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake !

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks Sitkaspruce !
I plan on bringing a canoe and we are up to hiking into old cutblocks . How long would it take to get into the areas you described from Vanderhoof ?
Thanks !
Arctic Lake

[Sitkaspruce]

Thanks Sitkaspruce !
I plan on bringing a canoe and we are up to hiking into old cutblocks . How long would it take to get into the areas you described from Vanderhoof ?
Thanks !
Arctic Lake

Anywhere from 1.5-3 hours depending on the locations, road conditions and weather.

Canoe will be good as long a you have the experience of paddling with 3-400lbs. of meat in the canoe. Learn to call during the rut and that will help even more.

Cheers

SS

[GoatGuy]

There's an old burn on the Driftwood river just south of Kaza lake. Drive in, hike around from there. Good spot away from the crowds.

You can find it on google earth

[Daybreak]

Germansen has a sharp gravel/stone surface condition. Be well prepared to deal with a flat tire or two.

[Arctic Lake]

Anywhere from 1.5-3 hours depending on the locations, road conditions and weather.

Canoe will be good as long a you have the experience of paddling with 3-400lbs. of meat in the canoe. Learn to call during the rut and that will help even more.

Cheers

SS

Thanks Sitkaspruce

I have had good success with calling ,a few moose under my belt with that method, all called in well within 100 yards .As for the canoe I will need to be cautious for sure !
Thanks A
rctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

There's an old burn on the Driftwood river just south of Kaza lake. Drive in, hike around from there. Good spot away from the crowds.

You can find it on google earth

Thanks GoatGuy

Have to look up the Driftwood River.

[Arctic Lake]

Germansen has a sharp gravel/stone surface condition. Be well prepared to deal with a flat tire or two.

Thanks Daybreak !

I would not want to be without a spare then !
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Of course things all hinge on the LEH draw . I have been out of the game for 10 years. Life !
Arctic Lake

[Daybreak]

Thanks Daybreak !

I would not want to be without a spare then !
Thanks
Arctic Lake

I was in there a few years ago and had two flats... one trailer and one truck and the tires weren't cheap. I strongly suggest a patch/plug kit, soapy water and a compressor to cover your ass if you plan to cover a lot of miles in there. That will buy you some piece of mind.

[takla1]

ive hunted moose /bear all over that country,7-28/27 and easy to get draws generally around 3 to 1 odds or slightly better.Over 15 yrs in there we got our draw nearly every yr with 4 of us applying.Theres always shit house luck ...if your lucky but generally you have to work for the bulls which means being set up early in area's with fresh sign and staying till last light.Best time for the rut is last week of sept to the end of first week of oct...we generally always shot our bulls the last few days of sept.
Lots of black bear hogs on the south faceing mnt sides with blue berrys as well...weve taken a few 500 lbs..

takla

[Arctic Lake]

ive hunted moose /bear all over that country,7-28/27 and easy to get draws generally around 3 to 1 odds or slightly better.Over 15 yrs in there we got our draw nearly every yr with 4 of us applying.Theres always shit house luck ...if your lucky but generally you have to work for the bulls which means being set up early in area's with fresh sign and staying till last light.Best time for the rut is last week of sept to the end of first week of oct...we generally always shot our bulls the last few days of sept.
Lots of black bear hogs on the south faceing mnt sides with blue berrys as well...weve taken a few 500 lbs..

takla

Hi Takla and Thanks !
So if I'm reading right you are not hunting 7-25 but 7-28 or 7-27 ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[takla1]

we hunted 7-25 as well but never had as much luck as further n.w.
7-25 is much closer to St.james and gets hunted fair hard by the locals.Once your out further there are tons of logging slashs in 27/28 and lots of off the beaten track small lake country.Early in sept the bulls will be up higher and sticking to the bush that that last week it gets good.

takla

[Arctic Lake]

Hi Fellas

Well 7-28 is out, we drew a bull moose hunt in 7-25. Going to head out first week in October should hit the rut just right.Any thoughts fellas ?
Thanks again to all of you for the replies you posted above !
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

I have been looking over the B.C. Backroads map and Google earth at Salmon Lake area, seems the Salmon river is larger at the south end of the lake compared to the north end. Does anyone know if you can put a canoe in the south end ? Is it fast flowing in the fall ? Just an idea for an area to hunt in 7-25.
Thanks Again !

[Sitkaspruce]

AL

Pretty tough float unless you gets lots of water, lots.

There is beaver swamps all along the stream and if I remember correctly, the river is the boundary between 7-25 and 24, so you really limit yourself to one little area.

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks Sitka

I appreciate the reply ! Hmmm... There seems to be a ton of lakes in 7-25 so I will do a little more investigating for canoe options . Also seem to be small bodies of water/ponds off of some major FSR's that are probably past by and missed by fellas cruising the roads. I know that I really want to fill that tag !T

Thanks Again !
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Was wondering what the deer hunting is like in 7-25. I know that the deer won't be rutting when I'm on the hunt for moose in that area but ......
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Any input to the above post
Thanks

Arctic Lake

[RackStar]

ive found up that way deer are in small pockets

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks RackStar
Arctic Lake

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Hmmmm.... Well I would think I would need to be North of Mt.Milligan as that is where the mine is .If I go farther than that I hit the Nation River. Hmmm might be quite a long haul for a week when your coming from the Lower Mainland. Was thinking maybe somewhere within one or two hours of Vanderhoof. Maybe I need to start another thread on best area near Vanderhoof , LOL!

Thanks
Arctic Lake

Chuchi lake is 2 hours north of Vanderhoof

[Arctic Lake]

Chuchi lake is 2 hours north of Vanderhoof

Thanks for the tip Bow-Zone Mikey ! We ended up getting the draw in 7-25 so Chuchi Lake will have to wait for another year.
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Bit of an update . So I have been looking at 7-25 east of Fort Saint James the north and south areas and completely missed looking at the portion of 7-25 that is west of Fort St, James, lot's of lakes in there as well . Hmmmm...... ? Anybody ?

Thought I would passs along that if you want a page blown up from the BC. Backroad Map books they can blow up a page for you .
Arctic Lake

[J_06]

I have been looking over the B.C. Backroads map and Google earth at Salmon Lake area, seems the Salmon river is larger at the south end of the lake compared to the north end. Does anyone know if you can put a canoe in the south end ? Is it fast flowing in the fall ? Just an idea for an area to hunt in 7-25.
Thanks Again !
Salmon river ain't flowing much come fall and can get fairly low in spots. Lots of log jams and drift wood sweeper in spots. It's a decent area with lots of access and lots of other hunters. Worked at the mine for two years and hadnt seen a lick of game from the fort or from Mackenzie. Got to get off beaten track for sure and you'll be into some nice country. Lots of local buddies hunt this area and do good.

[J_06]

Bit of an update . So I have been looking at 7-25 east of Fort Saint James the north and south areas and completely missed looking at the portion of 7-25 that is west of Fort St, James, lot's of lakes in there as well . Hmmmm...... ? Anybody ?

Thought I would passs along that if you want a page blown up from the BC. Backroad Map books they can blow up a page for you .
Arctic LakeSame same. Lots of access, LOTS of hunters. Wear out some boot rubber and you'll find game. Avoid Tachie...they got a sign stating " no whiteys" in case you forget. Don't leave valuables in the pickup and I hope you don't have nice rims. The locals are greeaaat.

[Arctic Lake]

Well thought I would tell you fellas My buddy and I mostly hunted areas off the Cripple road in 7-25 . Spent 5 days from Oct 6th on with no luck. Only saw one cow moose. I called morning and evening with no action. So I thought my calling was off went into 7-28 to see if we could bag an immature and ended up calling in a nice mature bull but the draw was for 7-25.

A group of fellas got a bull near Cripple Lake I think they were camped at Cripple Lake. Was it anyone on here ?

Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Just wanted to add to my above post .Any of you guys hunt 7-25 so far this year for moose ? We were in the north east portion .I'm curious to know how you made out . What about the other Mu's that that touch the northern half of 7-25 . Like 7-28 and 7-24 ?


Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Geez, no one hunted that area on here this year ?
Arctic

[sdurango41]

We hunted 7-24 off of Davie Muskeg Rd. this year and ended up with one bull down. We had a LEH draw that started on October 1. We saw one other bull on the first night (Sept. 30) and it was 4 pt. on one side and I was pretty sure a 2 pt. on the other side but not 100 %. To many twigs and fading light. There was a spike fork for the area and had to make sure so let it walk. Lots of wolves running around but not in front of my gun! We called the bull in that was shot in on the day we were planning on leaving to head south for mulies. Not many moose running around that is for sure. We did see a few fresh tracks and some of those had wolf tracks right on them.

[Arctic Lake]

We hunted 7-24 off of Davie Muskeg Rd. this year and ended up with one bull down. We had a LEH draw that started on October 1. We saw one other bull on the first night (Sept. 30) and it was 4 pt. on one side and I was pretty sure a 2 pt. on the other side but not 100 %. To many twigs and fading light. There was a spike fork for the area and had to make sure so let it walk. Lots of wolves running around but not in front of my gun! We called the bull in that was shot in on the day we were planning on leaving to head south for mulies. Not many moose running around that is for sure. We did see a few fresh tracks and some of those had wolf tracks right on them.

Sdurango41

Were you hunting with livetohunt from HBC ?

Thanks
Arctic Lake

[sdurango41]

Nope. Up with my dad and one of my buddies and his dad. Ended up with the moose. 2 mulies and a black bear.

[Arctic Lake]

Okay Thanks sdurango ! Great news that you brought home game ! I'm thinking about where to apply for next year already. Oh yea since we drew a bull tag this year our odds will be reduced so have to see how that will go .

Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Bringing up my old thread again . As I mentioned we never bagged a moose in 7-25 that year but going to apply for the LEH this year. We only saw one bull taken and saw one cow in a week of hunting the second week of October in 7-25.We hunted around Cripple Lake went down the Mcleod road to the Salmon river. I called my ass off nothing .Maybe should have went the first week of October. We really want a moose . Maybe should try again for 7-28 this year. Long as there were no huge fires up that way last year. Would like to apply for LEH Bull in that general area . Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated !
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[Sitkaspruce]

Both MU's are good for moose, with 28 having less roads, so more hunters concentrated in one area.

Go last week of September, first week of Oct, by the second week the rut is really winding down and the bulls are more interested in food.

I have hunted all that area for years and personally like 25 due to its size and different options for hunting. But it also gets hunted hard by the locals, so you need find those areas in back that has little access.

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Well thought I would tell you fellas My buddy and I mostly hunted areas off the Cripple road in 7-25 . Spent 5 days from Oct 6th on with no luck. Only saw one cow moose. I called morning and evening with no action. So I thought my calling was off went into 7-28 to see if we could bag an immature and ended up calling in a nice mature bull but the draw was for 7-25.

A group of fellas got a bull near Cripple Lake I think they were camped at Cripple Lake. Was it anyone on here ?

Arctic Lake
Thanks for the reply Sitka !
I will put this quote up from my old thread as well .I may have more questions and as always I'm not looking for someone's honey hole . We checked out many spots off the Cripple road, went in and called but no response also checked out the McLeod road area and did the same thing . Used to hunt one hour north of P.G. which is roughly the same distance north as where 7-25 is and always went second week of October and had success calling them in . wonder why the rut may differ in 7-25 ? No longer viable to go to the old spot north of Prince George that's why we are looking around north of Fort Saint James buddy lives near there but does not get out to scout as he works a lot. I'm in the lower mainland .
Arctic Lake

[Sitkaspruce]

I lived, hunted and guided in Fort St. James for 15 years and although you will get the odd bull coming to a call later in Oct, Sept 25-Oct 7 has been prime time in my experience. Not to say they don't come in later, but they are much hotter to trot earlier. Mu favorite time in the last week of Sept as the bulls are really wandering and looking for love and not all have found it yet.

Talking with buddies who still live there, the story is the same as most other places in BC: preds, unregulated hunting, loss of important habitat and poaching have knocked moose numbers way back. Moose in the PG-FSJ-Burns lake areas are not what they used to be.

If you get a draw, PM me and I will see if I can help.

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Hi Again Sitkaspruce

Thanks again for the reply ! I will let you know if we get the draw !
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Bringing up this old thread again as it is time to put in for Bull Moose LEH Draw . Did not have any success a couple of years ago with our draw in 7-25 hunting the Cripple Road area of 7-25 . Only saw one bull taken . We went first week in October. This year we are going the last week in September. What about Maybe Jaw Lake area Bunghun Whucho Lake . Maybe go into the Philip Lakes Area ? Is the previous information given by members still relevant ? What about fires that may have impacted those areas last year ? My buddy lives in Vanderhoof and I'm coming up from LML .
Thanks Very Much !
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Anyone have anything to add it would be appreciated !
Thanks
Arctic Lake