Hunting Locations Around Harrison Lake

[Jonothan]

Hello, im a a new hunter to the area of harrison, and was wondering if anyone knows any good spots for ; Deer ( Mule and Whitetails ) , Grouse, coyote, and any other game animals.
Any help would be great thanks

[dracb]

Hello, im a a new hunter to the area of harrison, and was wondering if anyone knows any good spots for ; Deer ( Mule and Whitetails ) , Grouse, coyote, and any other game animals.
Any help would be great thanks

Johnothan,
Did you take the Core Course? Given your question in post 1 I suspect you did not. That would be your first step in entering the hunting fraternity.

As for where to hunt around Harrison, you will find blacktail deer along side any road in the region and even more in the clearcuts. Whitetail deer are according to some posters on here a mythical beast in Region 2 and in any case there is NOT an open season there for whitetail deer. There are grouse and bear out there in the same areas as the deer. The forested areas in general have fewer coyotes per square km than the farm land. On the other hand there are plenty of bobcats both east and west sides of the lake.
Did

[Fella]

Hey bud welcome to the site and to the sport. My best advice about Harrison is to get out and explore it. Check google maps for an area that has cut blocks and go there. When you get there get out of your truck and start hiking the edges of the clearings and pay attention to a few things: poop, trails, type of feed (hint: look for willows and grass) nearby water sources and cover. You're a little too close to the coast for white tails and mule deer, you'll be hunting blacktail deer in that area so get into the timber. Remember, hunting is a year round activity. To be successful you'll want to start scouting as soon as you can. One last tip, if you show the more experienced hunters that you're putting in the effort, they'll be willing to give you advice.

[Jonothan]

Yeah, I am just about to take the CORE, and since Harrison is my local area, I thought I would try to get some input out ASAP so i would be ready when the time came. Thanks for the detailed description I will defidently check out some of the locations you have mentioned.

[takla1]

Once you get your Core your first opportunity in your local area will be Spring Bear. north/east/west Harrison lake are literally crawling with black bear,i find the best time to start hunting them is just after may 24th long weekend.
Try to get up to the head of the lake along the lilloet river youll see some large bruins up in there

takla

[Bonz]

being new to this, you`ll soon find the local valley hunts arent easy. real bussy in our areas with general outdoor people and noise. get away from them roads is my advice.
chilliwack is another local area to look at.
personaly ive yet to ever see any whitetail down here, even been onto herling where they transplanted some, and didnt see any. not saying their isnt, just not seen alot. most is blacktail then changes to mules around hope area.

lots of bears local though

as above said. put some effort into mapping and learning a bit, after you pass your class i may share some spots. usualy people will help once they see an effort first, lots do no work and just want hand outs of honey holes.

[Jonothan]

thanks for the helpful feedback Bonz!

[blackbart]

If I recall correctly it seems that the one G/O territory is or was for sale recently. Weird hey.......

[Bonz]

If I recall correctly it seems that the one G/O territory is or was for sale recently. Weird hey.......

??..what do you mean, theirs more than 1 guide area local is their not? ive ran into a guy says he was a guide in the general area, with a client.

[twoSevenO]

Someone actually paid for a guided hunting trip up Harrison?!

[Ride Red]

being new to this, you`ll soon find the local valley hunts arent easy. real bussy in our areas with general outdoor people and noise. get away from them roads is my advice.
chilliwack is another local area to look at.
personaly ive yet to ever see any whitetail down here, even been onto herling where they transplanted some, and didnt see any. not saying their isnt, just not seen alot. most is blacktail then changes to mules around hope area.

lots of bears local though

as above said. put some effort into mapping and learning a bit, after you pass your class i may share some spots. usualy people will help once they see an effort first, lots do no work and just want hand outs of honey holes.

When were whitetail transplanted down in the valley???

[Bonz]

loooong time ago. see if i can dig the info up

[Bonz]

their was this old disscusion. some say rumour. still digging for something official

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/archive/index.php/t-75803.html


page 2 out of the regs, doesnt specify a transplant, only that their is whiteys, or was...lol

4
A small population of white-tailed deer has
become resident to the Herrling Island area
(MU 2-3) near Hope, BC. Hunters are reminded
that there is no open season for white-tailed
deer in this area.

[MichelD]

The whole whitetail on Herling story is a rumour as far as I can tell and always has been.

Shack wrote this in 2011 and it is still true:

"While not an "expert" on Herrling, I have spent some time on the island, and more than my fair share of time angling near or around Herrling. I have on MANY occasions seen blacktails walking the beaches, in the timber lots and basically all over the island, not a once have I seen a whitetail. Further to that, for the last 25 or so years, the regs have had the warning in them, do you really think in that many years they NEVER came off the island, never got hit by cars on the number 1 hwy, never been photographed, trail cammed by the numerous hunters on this forum or elsewhere! Come on, I just call it MIS-IDENTIFICATION. Show me the proof, and I will eat my words, until then..."

[twoSevenO]

It's funny how often threads about Harrison lake come up ... people just think "oh it's in my back yard I should hunt there" ... as if thousands of other lower mainland hunters didn't have the same thought.

The problem with Harrison is the amount of recreation that goes on there. Yes, people still shoot a buck on occasion, but with so many people 4x4ing and quad ding and dirt biking up there it's just too much pressure for them.

Be prepared to hike a ways in away from the nearest road if you want to see game. There are members on here who have hunted that area for years and never gotten a shot off.

Lots of bears though.

[Gulf63]

I am somewhat new to HBC, but not new to hunting. I spent much of younger days in the West Harrison area. With knowledge from locals and many days spent off in the back hills I have seen a number of deer, but they are few and far between. I have seen more Bobcat and Bear, than deer. Regarding Herling Island, in 2013 I had the pleasure of sitting on a log pile, near the South road into the wood lot, watching a white tail doe and fawn for about 25 minutes. When they finally caught wind of me they ran away with their signature white tail wave. It is not a myth!! Before that day I had never seen a WT in the over 200 days that I had spent on the island. I have not been there since and do not know if they are still there. There is no open season for WT there

[twoSevenO]

Question .... why would one spend 200 days on herrling island?

[Gulf63]

Camped, fished and a little quadding for many years. It was also one of the only safe flat area for kids with bikes and quads. When the island was closed to motorized rec I hiked it many times and spent a number of nights on the island

[Gone_Fishin_]

Yes there are whitetail in region 2

Have seen a 3 point buck by hope

Caddisguy on here has a trail cam vid of a doe/fawn in region 2 from last year.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?119013-caddisguy-trailcam-highlights-(from-250-vids-out-of-2-3-cams)-June-15-July-5th&highlight=caddisguy

[Gone_Fishin_]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?119307-caddisguy-trailcam-highlights-for-July-5th-to-July-18th-2015&highlight=caddisguy

[Bonz]

The whole whitetail on Herling story is a rumour as far as I can tell and always has been.

Shack wrote this in 2011 and it is still true:

"While not an "expert" on Herrling, I have spent some time on the island, and more than my fair share of time angling near or around Herrling. I have on MANY occasions seen blacktails walking the beaches, in the timber lots and basically all over the island, not a once have I seen a whitetail. Further to that, for the last 25 or so years, the regs have had the warning in them, do you really think in that many years they NEVER came off the island, never got hit by cars on the number 1 hwy, never been photographed, trail cammed by the numerous hunters on this forum or elsewhere! Come on, I just call it MIS-IDENTIFICATION. Show me the proof, and I will eat my words, until then..."

agreed, ive yet to find anything on a relocation. i havent been around long enough in this to know thats been in regs for years. just assumed they wouldnt put that unless they had prof of them. never hunted herling myself, but have alot in surrounding areas an also yet to see any

[Bonz]

never had mush issue tagging up harrison personaly., and have put others on their game to. agree it is a bussy area with general outdoor people though. i try and avoid them
harrison is a big area. doesnt always mean to go only in main area up toward 20 mile bay...


its black tail in there for deer, so personaly i dont find them down in the open cuts, i tend to find them in the steep thick crap anyways. not near roads

[Brent376]

2 bucks personally this year and 5 total by my friends and me... lots if bucks in Harrison but, as everyone says, get off the roads and hike in and up. Thick brush and some hard slogging but, worth it.

[Rotorwash]

last year I was in that area for work and saw some mulies and white tail. big silver area. saw some elk in the valley between pitt lake and tipella. was pretty cool

[scotty30-06]

Lol yup as some guys have mentioned...just cause it's close to home dosnt make it easy....and be ready for real early mornings or last light....thats what I have found anyways

[Fella]

It's blacktail country. That's why there are "no deer" in Harrison.

[caddisguy]

Yes there are whitetail in region 2

Have seen a 3 point buck by hope

Caddisguy on here has a trail cam vid of a doe/fawn in region 2 from last year.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?119013-caddisguy-trailcam-highlights-(from-250-vids-out-of-2-3-cams)-June-15-July-5th&highlight=caddisguy

Lol thanks man I was just reading through this thinking "argh I hope I don't have to post trailcam vids again"

but yeah WT's are definitely around the Hope/Chilliwack area. I can confirm that first hand, 100%. Actually had two healthy WT fawns last season (just one doe/fawn the year prior) and watched them grow through to September. They were doing very well... so well that I worry about the displacement of BT's, as BT's only exist on a tiny coastal portion of our continent. That said, nature will do what it does, but in this case, not in my lifetime.

[604Stalker]

Fingers crossed they open wt season in reg 2 and you've got a honey hole

[scotty30-06]

Yea we season down here would be sweet