Raft drifts for hunting?

[boonerbuck]

I'm thinking some of the jet boat adventurers may be able to help me with this one...

I have a 14 fott durable raft with rowing frame all tricked out. I bought this for duel purpose. It has a 1600 lb capacity and I would of bought one smaller for just fishing but I had some of the Northern rivers in mind for hunting also.

I'm heading out on a trial run on a spot I may hunt but it's not exactly remote. I'm more into figuring out what I need to make this work for next season. Anyways, the reason for the post is to get some suggestions from some of the river rats out there.

I want to book a one way trip into somewhere for a two week drift. Out of Fort Nelson makes obvious sense. With a heavy load, I want to keep the bumpy parts to a class III tops! A one way jet boat or plane ride should get me deep enough I think.

What rivers in that area would not be too complicated or dangerous? Which rivers have plane access so I can fly in my gear? Has anyone done this in a raft before?

I'll be gone for a couple of days so I'll answer any questions when I get back.

TIA

[David Heitsman]

See my post on the Kechika Turnagain thread

[The Hermit]

Many years ago I did a canoe trip on the Nelson. We put in just south of town and paddles/floated down stream (north) past the Snake River and around to where the highway heads north to the Yukon. It took three days of real easy going. TONS of sign on all the many sand bars and oxbows... called a cow moose right to the river, she jumped in off a twelve foot bank and climbed out ten feet from where I was hiding! AWESOME trip.

Also had a drift in a raft down the Profit from about forty miles south of Fort Nelson up to the take out just south of town. I was to meet the guys in the raft as they drifted past at a predetermined spot/day/time and we used quads to ride into the spot from the highway... unfortunately for me they shot an elk earlier that morning and didn't make the rendezvous so I didn't get to do the raft part of the trip. I would love to do that one... lots of elk and moose along the Profit! Go for it!

[BCHunterFSJ]

A friend of mine and I rafted down the Besa and Prophet rivers for elk.
We lost all of our gear and almost died under a log jam... I guess we were un-prepared for this kind of trip. Others have done the Prophet without any major problems. I don't know if anyone else has been stupid enough to float the Besa... A rowing frame will certainly be an asset. Good luck!

[eastkoot]

Years ago 4 of us with 2 boats floated the Prophet from Prophet River air strip to Ft. Nelson Bridge.. Scary at times but pretty neat counrty and lots of game on sand bars and back waters. A long trip, if you shoot something near the first part of the float and the weather is warm, your hooped. Some of the waters from the town of Prophet River to about 2 days float north are shallow and have lots of sweepers and log jams as well as shallow bars.. Be prepared to get wet :eek:(see pic below), full of grit and silt and carry lots of patch kits for your boat.
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/duramaxx/wet0055.jpg

[lunatic]

Not sure how far North you are wanting to go, but the Murray River out of Tumbler Ridge would be an awesome trip. You can put in right outside town and go through some excellent moose and elk territory downriver. A couple of spots would be a little tricky ( there is one small shelf ) but nothing to worry about. I have been through it many times on my river boat. You can go all the way to the highway about 30kms past Chetwynd where the Murray meets the Pine River and if you want, you could continue down the Pine to the Peace River at Taylor. All excellent hunting throughout.

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

Years ago 4 of us with 2 boats floated the Prophet from Prophet River air strip to Ft. Nelson Bridge.. Scary at times but pretty neat counrty and lots of game on sand bars and back waters. A long trip, if you shoot something near the first part of the float and the weather is warm, your hooped. Some of the waters from the town of Prophet River to about 2 days float north are shallow and have lots of sweepers and log jams as well as shallow bars.. Be prepared to get wet :eek:(see pic below), full of grit and silt and carry lots of patch kits for your boat.
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/duramaxx/wet0055.jpg

Pink sweat pants??? Are you guys sure this was a hunting trip.lol :-)

[jml11]

A friend of mine and I rafted down the Besa and Prophet rivers for elk.
We lost all of our gear and almost died under a log jam... I guess we were un-prepared for this kind of trip. Others have done the Prophet without any major problems. I don't know if anyone else has been stupid enough to float the Besa... A rowing frame will certainly be an asset. Good luck!

How do you get by the prophet falls...portage? As I understand it, jet boats can't get up past it?

[jml11]

A one way jet boat or plane ride should get me deep enough I think.


TIA

I would consider the jet boat trip in versus a plane ride. Flying from Ft.Nelson, most of the airstrips are nowhere near the rivers and unless you already know where the strip is, you may not be able to find a pilot to take you in. The added bonus of the jet boat trip in is that you gain vital knowledge of the river you plan to float before hand. This way you can see the river, identify the hazards before hand, plan your route, even track it with GPS on the way in. Many of the rivers in that neck of the woods are braided and have many blind channels which strand boats every year...tuchodi comes to mind. Also, your jetboat captain while be familiar with the river and can provide you with other very valuable information.

[4 point]

You can float some of the MacGregor for moose & g bear.

[THE SWEDE]

Get Urs to fly you into Mayfeild lakes.Drift down the Gataga to the Kechika and on down to Scoops Landing.Or fly into Dall and make your way down the Turnigan

[boonerbuck]

Not sure how far North you are wanting to go, but the Murray River out of Tumbler Ridge would be an awesome trip. You can put in right outside town and go through some excellent moose and elk territory downriver. A couple of spots would be a little tricky ( there is one small shelf ) but nothing to worry about. I have been through it many times on my river boat. You can go all the way to the highway about 30kms past Chetwynd where the Murray meets the Pine River and if you want, you could continue down the Pine to the Peace River at Taylor. All excellent hunting throughout.

I'm actually doing the drift from Tumbler to East Pine this weekend just for some summer fun. I'll do some scouting and maybe even return this fall. Next year I want to cover some serious remote country though.:-)

[boonerbuck]

Get Urs to fly you into Mayfeild lakes.Drift down the Gataga to the Kechika and on down to Scoops Landing.Or fly into Dall and make your way down the Turnigan

Do you know these waters well enough to classify some of the spots that might be a little challenging? What about reputations about jams and sweepers?

I'll be taking a look at my maps tonight. Thanks.

[THE SWEDE]

I know theres a portoge on the Gataga a few miles up from the confluance

[boonerbuck]

I definately want to avoid anything like that if I can.

I missed a post when I asked you that. He said check the Kechika/urnigan thread.... I'll look and see whats said there.

Thanks.

[Jagermeister]

Not sure how far North you are wanting to go, but the Murray River out of Tumbler Ridge would be an awesome trip. You can put in right outside town and go through some excellent moose and elk territory downriver. A couple of spots would be a little tricky ( there is one small shelf ) but nothing to worry about. I have been through it many times on my river boat. You can go all the way to the highway about 30kms past Chetwynd where the Murray meets the Pine River and if you want, you could continue down the Pine to the Peace River at Taylor. All excellent hunting throughout.

I sold my Willie Drift boat to a fellow that used it to float from somewhere around the pulpmill east of Chetwyd down to Taylor. He told me it was a great way to hunt elk. Oops.

[lunatic]

I'm actually doing the drift from Tumbler to East Pine this weekend just for some summer fun. I'll do some scouting and maybe even return this fall. Next year I want to cover some serious remote country though.:-)



I'll watch out for you. Good chance I will be on the river sometime this weekend. Pay particular attention to the area downriver of where the Gwillim River enters the Murray. Excellent elk hunting through there.

[boonerbuck]

I'll watch out for you. Good chance I will be on the river sometime this weekend. Pay particular attention to the area downriver of where the Gwillim River enters the Murray. Excellent elk hunting through there.

Trip postponed while truck is in shop getting clutch. I'm hoping to be able to do it next weekend but I really wanted to avoid the long weekend on the river, Oh well....
Thanks

[lunatic]

Long weekend will be crazy as it coincides with Grizzfest music festival in town. Hope you don't need a room anywhere!

[boonerbuck]

Nope, have friends in Chetwynd. Thanks!

[Peacepipe]

PRE64 so tell me how you drift down the Gataga and end up on the Kechika?
Scoops landing? WTF?

[Peacepipe]

My apology PRE64 whiskey induced typing. My thoughts were the Gataga flowed into the Frog then the Ketchika but my mistake they both form the Ketchika. That would be a long float and you have to paddle like hell once the Ketchika dumps you into the Liard.

[Fisher-Dude]

A friend of mine and I rafted down the Besa and Prophet rivers for elk.
We lost all of our gear and almost died under a log jam... I guess we were un-prepared for this kind of trip. Others have done the Prophet without any major problems. I don't know if anyone else has been stupid enough to float the Besa... A rowing frame will certainly be an asset. Good luck!

I'm stupid enough. We flew into Redfern and rafted the Besa and Prophet all the way to the Prophet River campground. 18 days of some of the nicest country you'll ever see. Had one raft on its edge on the Besa but we rammed it with the other raft and popped it out from under a sweeper. My raft was 2 feet short of getting swept under a log jam on the Prophet.

The Besa is a crazy river to raft. Truth be told, I was scared shitless in more than a few spots. Rocks, sweepers, the gorge at the quad bridge, etc. Going down over the shelves just upstream of the Prophet was a butt-puckering experience to say the least!

[boonerbuck]

When I first bought my raft I considered the Besa/Prophet because I had horse backed that country a couple of times and hadnt seen anything scary. There is a lot of river I hadnt seen though and I havent been on the upper reaches. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm leaning towards the Muskwa for my first river drift for hunting.

[Fisher-Dude]

When I first bought my raft I considered the Besa/Prophet because I had horse backed that country a couple of times and hadnt seen anything scary. There is a lot of river I hadnt seen though and I havent been on the upper reaches. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm leaning towards the Muskwa for my first river drift for hunting.

The Besa does get a bit better past Keily Creek because there's more flow - however, it's not "maintained" so the number of sweepers is unreal. Also, you still have to do the boulder field and the shelves closer to the Prophet. The shelves are about a 5 or 6 foot vertical drop! :shock: I guess a wise man would do a portage, but not the crew I was with...:mrgreen:

[hunter1947]

I know of a group of hunters that drift hunt every year and they get there animals ,they get picked up down stream 3 days latter ,works very good for them.

[boonerbuck]

The Besa does get a bit better past Keily Creek because there's more flow - however, it's not "maintained" so the number of sweepers is unreal. Also, you still have to do the boulder field and the shelves closer to the Prophet. The shelves are about a 5 or 6 foot vertical drop! :shock: I guess a wise man would do a portage, but not the crew I was with...:mrgreen:

That's the stuff I save for a hot summer day close to civilization when I'm not carrying 12 grand worth of gear....haha:razz:

[Fisher-Dude]

That's the stuff I save for a hot summer day close to civilization when I'm not carrying 12 grand worth of gear....haha:razz:

I hear ya. The guys I was with had old gear, while I was packin' all expensive, top notch stuff. Glad I had my rifle in my quad scabbard while scraping our way underneath sweepers! :-?

[boonerbuck]

I just got back from drifting the Murray between Tumbler and East Pine. What a fun drift and we were totally surprised and blown away by a goat sighting on one of the cliffs. I could have tossed a pebble at him. I actualy got a 1 min hd vid of it. I'll post it on youtube then post up a link tonight.

[lunatic]

I just got back from drifting the Murray between Tumbler and East Pine. What a fun drift and we were totally surprised and blown away by a goat sighting on one of the cliffs. I could have tossed a pebble at him. I actualy got a 1 min hd vid of it. I'll post it on youtube then post up a link tonight.


Not uncommon to see goats downriver. There are about 6 different spots you may see them. On Sunday we were downriver, just prior to entering the canyon where the s-curve and the whirlpool are, and there were 3 of them right at the waters edge. How busy was it farther down? We only went as far as the Gwillim. I couldn't believe the number of vehicles at the launch. I've never seen it like that in 8 years of boating this river. Most must have went up to the falls as we only seen 4 boats downriver. How was "the shelf"?

[boonerbuck]

Not uncommon to see goats downriver. There are about 6 different spots you may see them. On Sunday we were downriver, just prior to entering the canyon where the s-curve and the whirlpool are, and there were 3 of them right at the waters edge. How busy was it farther down? We only went as far as the Gwillim. I couldn't believe the number of vehicles at the launch. I've never seen it like that in 8 years of boating this river. Most must have went up to the falls as we only seen 4 boats downriver. How was "the shelf"?

One river boat went a short distance down river and came back. We saw a couple of guys in a canoe but they didn't catch up to us. When we were packing camp a lone canoeist stopped in to say hi. That was it. Lower river was all quiet...

The shelf was fine. My buddy took a big roller there. He blocked for me haha. I deliberately hit everything I could because I need some experience.

We never saw a single moose track in the whole drift.

[boonerbuck]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dc2ezjAss8

[lunatic]

One river boat went a short distance down river and came back. We saw a couple of guys in a canoe but they didn't catch up to us. When we were packing camp a lone canoeist stopped in to say hi. That was it. Lower river was all quiet...

The shelf was fine. My buddy took a big roller there. He blocked for me haha. I deliberately hit everything I could because I need some experience.

We never saw a single moose track in the whole drift.


We don't generally see lots of moose along the river once calving season is over. When the cows are having their calves, they come to the water, especially any islands. After that we generally only see elk, bears, goats, etc, though we do see the odd moose. I guess they are all at the highway right now teasing hunters prior to opening day. On a recent trip home one night ( late ), we saw 13 moose within 1/2 hr of driving. There were tracks right on the boat launch about a week ago :D.

[lunatic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dc2ezjAss8



I filmed them the other day, but after watching it the quality isn't worth posting. Too bouncy where we were on the boat. Hard to tell exactly where that was, but they are open on LEH on the left hand side going downriver from about where Meikle creek enters the river. I heard you mention that you have never seen goats that low before. Two years ago at about 5 AM, I was leaving town heading out elk hunting. As I went by the "welcome to TR" sign by the riding stables ( which are just as you're leaving town ), I caught a glimpse of something. My first thought was "wolf" as I had seen that it was white. As it crossed the road no more than 20 feet in front of my truck, I realized it was a goat. Now THAT was a surprise.

[boonerbuck]

I wouldnt be surprised seeing them on a river at the base of some big mountains or something but you look around and there is no alpine nearby. On top of a lot of those cliffs it's flat.

[killman]

Nice Vid boonerbuck, I saw a goat this weekend in a spot I thought to be a little strange as well. Not any real mountains around just one little rock face above a lake and him right in the middle.

[boxhitch]

Here it is. Some good info

Then take a look at some of the packraft pages for rivers like the Turnagain, Gataga , Crooked,
https://vimeo.com/32702618
http://www.liardtours.com/canoe#canoeing-3

Have fun! )

not sure where this one is, but looks fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0X78tIzThg

[boxhitch]

bike/rafting Sacred Headwaters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mACi-txocKw

[ryanb]

10 year old thread!