Francois Lake Info ???

[rifleman]

I Have Never Hunted That Area. It Is A Long Way To Go So I Was Hoping To Get A Little Info Befor I Trek That Far For Moose/deer/fishing/beer. Any Info Would Be Appreciated. Thanx

[Caveman]

There was lots of Moose sign when I was there. Also Grizzly, so keep your eyes open. Meadows, cut blocks, roads,rivers, pretty typical. I didn't get a moose when I was there but I did pick up a nice 16" husky chainsaw laying in the middle of the road, so not a total wasted trip.

[newhunterette]

I Have Never Hunted That Area. It Is A Long Way To Go So I Was Hoping To Get A Little Info Befor I Trek That Far For Moose/deer/fishing/beer. Any Info Would Be Appreciated. Thanx

sent you a pm with a little tidbit of info

[GoatGuy]

I Have Never Hunted That Area. It Is A Long Way To Go So I Was Hoping To Get A Little Info Befor I Trek That Far For Moose/deer/fishing/beer. Any Info Would Be Appreciated. Thanx

We used to hunt that area (over towards Ootsa) on the way back down from guiding.

Walk 50 feet off the road and you'll be into moose and out of hunters.:D

They'll still come into the call.

[Wild one]

My brother lives in burns lake and he says there are moose and deer all over but he also works in a logging camp.

[moosinaround]

North side of the lake or south side? I worked in that area for a few years, cruising, planting and silviculture surveys. Tons of deer, should not have a problem in the deer dept. Moose are plentiful as well. Sure there are lots of road hunters, but it is a large area. Tons of swamps, meadows, old logging slashes to hunt. Put on the hikers, lock the truck, and head into a piece of hunting splendor!! I have seen lots of animals around on the south side of the lake. Try Uncha lake for some good rainbow and char fishing. North side of the lake along the high ridges are locally renown for big mulie bucks!! There are some good size bears along the lake too, so have fun and go explore!! It is another beautiful piece of BC. Moosin

[dime]

The lake is almost 100km long, so you are talking about a lot of ground here. If you are fishing beware that a lake that big can be pretty ugly if the wind comes up. Moose hunting during the general open season is a gong show, half of the province comes out as it is the closest "any bull" area to just about everyone.

[Jelvis]

MU 6-4, Highway 35, south from Burns Lake access and between Francois and Ootsa lakes good via Southbank ferry also west of Fracois lake (north or south side) all the way to Houston in 6-9 Good moose, bear and deer. Good-luck rifleman Jel

[hunter1947]

Good to see you are back Jel ;-).

[Jelvis]

MU 6-4 Burns Lake South
The Francois Lake road runs south from Burns Lake through fair hunting country. The road west along Francois Lake connects up to Houston road. A ferry across Francois Lake leads to good hunting access. This area good for moose and excellent bear hunting. A logging road leaves hwy 35 just north of Tchesinkut Lake, runs through good hunting area for 20 km. From Palling, 18 km north of Burns Lake town on hwy 16 a logging main runs south-west then south-east through good hunting area, with access from numerous spur roads. This road ends near Anders lake. Jel mu 6-4

[Aaron Blom]

Before you think about going up there just for a deer hunt remember the above average snow fall during the fall of 2006. It started oct 26 and stopped on the 27 after dropping about 3'1/2 of snow. We lost alot of deer and moose. The deer this past fall were few and far between and as I used to work along the lake alot I should have been seeing them. They were not even in the normal fields in nov., this being said did hear of few decent bucks being taken.Most locals I know didn`t even hunt deer seriously this year. Moose are there but they are just way off the roads and the open season is just a waste of time. Might aswell go to Vancouver to hunt moose as there is no one left there they are all up there hunting moose from the roads.

[Jelvis]

I know MU 6-4 is a good mu for hunting it is relatively heavily settled area that offers reasonable moose and black-bear hunting, ruffed grouse hunting, and perhaps the best opportunity to nail a mule deer in the region. The western third of of this unit is accessible only by boat or float-plane, but there is good road access over the rest. Roads south from Highway 16 at Fraser Lake and again at Endako lead to good moose and deer hunting at the east end of Francois Lake. Jel MU 6-4

[David Heitsman]

I hunted for a week staying at a cabin just east of the Elementary School
there at Francois Lake. This would be maybe 10 years ago.

Allthough we were road hunting primarily I didn't see a single bull. Saw loads of deer but all on the private ranchlands near the ferry on the north side.

Had a boat along and cruised the lake on the north side to the east of the ferry and did see several bears. Climbing in after one I found some reasonable 4 pt sheds that let me know the area had potential.

We ended up spending time fishing and really enjoyed the trout we caught in the lake. I think it is a beautiful area and have been back in the spring many times.