If I had to throw a dart , this is where I would aim !

[fuzzy 63]

Hello all , as the title says , I would be aiming straight at the east kooteneys . Having just returned yesterday from a road trip to visit my elderly parents and seeing so much wildlife from Grand forks eastwards I would dare say that this is the only area I would spend my time . Bighorn sheep and mulies on the hillsides , turkeys on the fields , elk herds in the hay fields and whitetails bedding in my parents front yard , I basically lost track of the amount of animals that we saw over a five day period . In Kimberley I had to come to a complete stop on the road to allow a herd of whitetails to cross the road on the way up to the golf course .
Sorry to east kooteney outdoors people for giving this up to the masses , but for supporting local economy and punching your tags this is the bulls eye of the province .
Of all the deer seen , two were nice bucks hoping to create next years fawns ! Was a nice time and definitely where I will be spending my time , money and effort next year , and a shout out to the guys at St marys fly shop in Cranbrook for listening to my fish tales and for telling me their stories as well .
Have a great day
Cliff

[Bobfl]

just came back from there for a week, seen one deer, you must have being at the game farm

[hoochie]

Everything is on private land, lots of non shooters. dont go. too far away.

[fuzzy 63]

Yes , pretty well everything on private land , but some private land eventually comes to crown somewhere and as having family in koots for over 30 years with lots of meat in the freezer , and a broad area to search '' Grand forks , eastwards '' I have never seen as much game as I have had on this trip , although most sightings were from the cab of the truck on the pavement . Was mostly illustrating that populations look strong and that is good potential for the future . And yes it did feel somewhat like a game farm at times watching, the urbanized whitetails standing on their hind legs to eat the mountain ash berries and leaves on a daily schedule , ''there are lots of variables for this to occur'' . Very likely it's the predator population in the wilds , ease and access year round to backcountry for all user groups , and easy living in towns that animals have adapted to , to create such a way of life .
Unfortunately , our time was not spent in the wilds so my perspective was only as a roadside observer from the driver seat zipping along highway 3
felt good to back in the EK's for the week .
Hoochie ,it sounds like you know the kooteney's well :wink:

[hoochie]

I worked there last year for about 7 months. I was living in Kimberley, but was in Fernie and cranbrook a few times a week.
There is a lot I could learn.
I was lucky to speak with locals who were more than happy to share local knowledge and point me in an area, and give me tips for a successful hunt.
I appreciate their tips and experience, and have even considered moving there as the way of life seems right up my alley.

[fuzzy 63]

My Dad was born and raised in Kimberly and is now retired in Cranbrook , and sister and B'law have spent entire lives there . They have witnessed the huge increases and believe as I do about the populations adapting to urban living and surviving . Under moms front porch is where a Whitetail doe for the past two years has given birth to her fawns and seems right at home . Nice to see , but a problem at the same time on so many levels .

[huckleberry]

I was also born and raised in Kimberley, probably around the same time as your Dad. Back then you rarely saw a deer in town, mainly because the town boundaries were smaller and people shot and ate the deer that got too close. We don't see too many whitetails in Kimberley, mostly Mulies and part of the reason is the nature park west of town right to the St Mary's Lake road.
Not trying to discourage you about hunting here, but IMO the elk population is way down, and the Mulies are losing ground as well as the whitetails with the liberal doe season. Elk season here is a gong show, and most locals are relieved when it's done.
This time of the year the elk are grouped up on St. Mary's prairie so if you saw them there it would give you an impression of abundance, when they head back up in the spring they disperse across a wide area.

[fuzzy 63]

I think for me to be here next season is part in part to be with family and to utilize the local knowledge of the locals as hoochie has stated . I know about gong shows having spent a lot of time fishing gong show rivers and working for a long time in the recreation and resort industry's . I'm fortunate to have many opportunity's with private land owners allowing access to their land holdings and am indeed privileged in that regard . what I hope to see in the future is the recognition from all sectors of the positive benefit of keeping the wild in the animals . In the thirties , my gramps would , as huckleberry stated would go out the back door and look for what he could find and bring home meat for the freezer . Always close to home , on foot , boots to the ground . The game management today ,IMO seems to be more tourist oriented and made to order for bringing money to towns for the locals, at the expense of the wild in the animals . When my parents ranched in Mcbride , one of the merchants used to praise the Elk that would bed in his storefront\restaurant because the cameras would come out and business would pick up . My Dad was not as optimistic as the store owners because the elk would piss all over the round bales and render them use less .
The elk we saw were from Radium , Canal flats and more around yahk .
It seems there is a lot of dysfunction with regards to hunting and access all across Bc and if we don't make something of what we have around , we will lose what we have left .