3-12 LEH Moose HELP

[300H&H]

Im not having any luck with my LEH bull moose in 3-12A.

Can anyone point me in the right direction ?
Im not looking for your hot spot, I just want Dad and I to get our first moose.
We will be coming from Kelowna up Hwy97C towards the Elkheart Lodge.
Please help.
Moose steaks if I tag out - incentive, not a bribe :wink:.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Have you got access to a snowmobile??? Need to cover some ground.
Can be a very hard draw to fill.

I know two guys (both very successful hunters) and, while both got their moose near the end of their draws, they said never again.

Need fresh snow, hit some solo tracks and start tracking.:neutral:

SSS

[coach]

PM sent. SSS is right about snow levels though. Chains a must this time of year.

[Foxtail]

A friend of mine had that area last year. I went with him and like others have said, it's tough. In 7 days I saw 2 cows and a bull about a mile away. They were bedded on the side of a mountain across the valley in a cut block. I hightailed it across the valley and up the mountain to where they were. Found the tracks and tracked them into the thick stuff for a couple hours till the tracks went dry. That was on the last day. I followed tracks on the second day for 4 hours before it started to get dark. Fun hunt though, even tho we came up empty.

[ufishifish2]

I know whatcha mean 300. I have the same draw, but for 3-12B. Been out most days this month. Tracks are always 1 day too old. On Sunday I followed them anyways. All day up and down mountains. I've had easier Goat Hunts. Still no luck. I find 3-12A easier to hunt, but harder to draw. Will send PM with a descent area for ya. Options, options.

[Fisher-Dude]

That's a tough one to fill. Buddy had that and we didn't even see a moose during several outings.

Best advice is as SSS says - cover as much ground as possible looking for solo tracks. The bulls tend to be holed up in the willow swamps now, eating and sleeping, trying to recover from the rut, so they don't show themselves too often. When you do find a track, stay on it!

[300H&H]

Thanks for the help and the PMs guys.

Your right, this hunt is turning out to be much harder than I thought. We do see moose each time we are out but NO bulls - yet!!!
The snow has fallen and we do see fresh tracks. The bull tracks (and cow) that we find are all in new growth trees (4-7' tall). They are sticking in or very close to cover. Due to my bad knees (Im only 44 and they need to be fixed/replaced) and Dads bad heart, we are forced to drive the roads and only get to do a bit of walking.

We went into a spur road and 5km in the road looked flat & smooth. So driving slowly I moved ahead and heard "crack-crack-CRUNCH". The truck broke thru a large frozen puddle. the trucks front end sunk to the top of my front bumper. So I oppend the door and the water was within a inch of comming in the cab. All I could think was "Im screwed". I could not get out in 4x4 so I tried to rock it back & forth but just got deeper. Looking behind the truck I could see no trees/stumps/rocks to hook up my come-along & strap to. Again "Im screwed". Last chance to get out I put it in 4low and went forward a bit then floored it. Mud started to fly everywhere ! Slowly moving back I yell "GO GO GO". And it worked. Pulled the ice out of the engine compartment and were back hunting.

Keep the comments coming, again thanks.

[M.Dean]

If your seeing most sign in or around the new growth tree's, if possible try to get above the new growth blocks and glass down into them. I find up here thats where most deer and moose hang out, so I have my little look out spots where I can pull up and see into the trees the best, I glass each area for a good half hour, a lot of times the animals hear you coming and won't move for 10 or 15 minutes, also look for pieces of moose, a bit of a ear, or a black out line or just a out of place black spot!!!The main thing is, never give up!!! Treat your last day of the hunt like your first!!! Good Luck!!!

[boxhitch]

The moose react to increased vehicle traffic just like the deer. They have no reason to be wandering around in the open.
Forecast is for a bit of snow tomorrow, bet the roads will be active this weekend.

[swampdonkey]

r u nrear paridise lake area

[Lillypuff]

Lots of Moose by Hathume Lake use to live in Kelowna. Dont know if they would be there this late in the year Mules usually head down 2nd week in Oct

[300H&H]

r u nrear paridise lake area

We have been hunting there but today we came up Bear Main.
Only saw a cow & calf today.
No deer.
Some fresh sign up higher and in the back spur roads.
Snow was up to 12" deep.
Still trying !

[Man Tracker]

I'm in in the same shoes 300. I've been scoping that country since Sept, seen 19 moose of which 14 bulls. My son has LEH for 3-12 in Nov, we seen 15 moose on the weekend and not one BULL. Snow is the biggy now, it was deep last week cant imagine now, strap on the snow shoes. Goodluck!! And cover lots of ground..

[gary murray]

I was up around Hatheume lake and Elkhart lodge on Saturday and i seen lots of moose tracks and i mean lots.

[zimbu]

Yup the snow's getting thick up there 6" fresh wind packed snow on top of 6" of melted down crunchy stuff. Yuk.
Look for lots of red willow and south facing slopes. That's where the party's at.

[GoatGuy]

put the miles on and you'll run into them.