my first moose trip

[island hunter]

g'day guys. Ive been lucky enough to talk my wife into a hunting trip up around Dease Lake this September. she will be staying at home but the father inlaw and i will be spending 7 nights up that way fishing and hoping to get my first moose.
I've been talking to a few people about the area and they say that there is some great meadows up there with good opotunities.
Any advice or hints would be really appreciated as I'm really loofing foward to a successfull trip. thanks.

ez.

[gone hunting]

Does the father inlaw have any experience in the area?

[Avalanche123]

Hmmmmm sure there are some "great meadows" but there aren't really any close to the highway. One option is floating the Dease River but you need a boat for that. There are also rut closures in that area too.

I may be able to help but I think you need to be a bit more specific on what you want.

[mark]

Tons of country up there, but not alot of access. I wasnt overly impressed, wouldnt drive that far for a moose.

[mpotzold]

Agree with MARK. Spent about a week moose hunting in the area a few years back. We only saw one cow. Every clearcut close to the road had none or very few old signs(tracks...).Talked to a road crew & the guys told us that they didn't see any bull moose for over a month while commuting to work. You have to get a boat or get prepared to walk in a long way. Problem?(IMO) Moose are road hunted day and/or night! Would not recommend!

[jml11]

Talked to some locals in Iskut a few years back after river boating up the stikine. They made it seem that moose hunting up there was pretty lousy most the year, the moose are up in the hills and come down late in the year. Didn't recommend hunting until late october. We only saw one cow calf pair will on the stikine as well, I was expecting to see moose all over the river but it was not the case.

[hunter1947]

If it were me in your shoes I would be hunting just north of Fort Nelson or just be for this town ,around mile 290 marker.

Your chances of getting a moose are hi around the Fort.

[Machinist]

I agree with MARK as well , Major long drive , one moose after two weeks of pounding , wouldn't drive that far for a Moose ever again


Tons of country up there, but not alot of access. I wasnt overly impressed, wouldnt drive that far for a moose.

[1899]

Get in touch with Bruce McNaughton on Dease Lake. He flies people in with his DHC-2 Beaver. You only need to fly a short distance to be into moose, so it won't cost too much and you could have the hunt of a lifetime. And depending where you go, you have a good chance at caribou too.

[Avalanche123]

Bruce has minimums so it really doesn't matter how close you are as you will pay a fixed price for short distance flights. Bruce is incredibly busy at that time of year and if you haven't booked yet, be prepared to wait.....

If it were me, I'd take the advise of others and head up towards Ft. St. J or Fort Nelson. At least you have road options......

Or book the flight with Bruce, pay your $$$$ and get into some real crankers!

Good luck!

[island hunter]

:smile::smile:we are taking our 12 aluminum boat as the father inlaw is more intrested in the fishing. we also have hooked up with a old friend of his up that way who is willing to come out with us for a week or so.
thanks for advice, i too had heard that later in the year was better for the moose but september seems to fit the budget and schelldule better so we will give it our best.I also heard that there is a chance of catching some white tail up that way along with caribour.whatever the outcome i'm destined to love my first real canadian hunting trip.

ez.

[Avalanche123]

Whitetail in Dease Lake? There aren't even Mulies up there....

However you are correct, you will enjoy yourself as Sept is a nice month.

Have fun!

[1899]

Bruce has minimums so it really doesn't matter how close you are as you will pay a fixed price for short distance flights. Bruce is incredibly busy at that time of year and if you haven't booked yet, be prepared to wait.....

If it were me, I'd take the advise of others and head up towards Ft. St. J or Fort Nelson. At least you have road options......

Or book the flight with Bruce, pay your $$$$ and get into some real crankers!

Good luck!

Do you know what his minimum is these days? Our flight was just about 1/2 hour each way, so that would be a total of 2 hours assuming you only need one trip to get everything out. IIRC the charter was less than $1000, which isn't too bad split 3 ways. Mind you that was a few years ago when fuel was less than half of what it is now.

Funny story about that trip. When we returned to the dock another party was just getting ready to go out. You should have seen the amount of crap this group had. They even had a folding table! Bruce, my friend and I were shaking our heads (my friend was a pilot for Air Tindi in Yellowknife and I used to fly lots too).

These three guys even had a few flats of beer. There was absolutely no way to take everything; the back of the floats were under water when everything was piled in (of course they didn't believe Bruce when he told them BEFORE everything was loaded). The question became, "What should we leave behind?". So these guys started pounding the beer because it was heavy. They figured if they drank most of it they would at least get to enjoy it and save weight!:D

[1899]

BTW - here is a link to Tweedsmuir Air Services' rates. I have never used them so I can't comment on their service, but it gives you an idea.

http://www.tweedsmuirair.com/services/rates.htm

[Avalanche123]

I have no idea what Bruce's minimums are. I would suspect his rates have gone up due to fuel prices...surprise surprise eh!