Early Bison Draw Zone A Oct. 1st - 15th

[whitlers]

Hello all.

I'm new to the forum, but been following it for a while and there is tons of good info. Don't know why I didn't join years ago..

Anyway, I drew an early draw in zone A and I have a few questions. I have used the search function and read over numerous threads and got some good info. I would just like to clarify a few things and possibly have a couple people with first hand experience chime in.

Questions:

Did you pay the ranch fee (how much) or did you take the trail around?

What sort of weather should we expect the first week of October? As of now we have quads but no sleds.

Where is a good spot to set up a wall tent still in vehicle acess area?

Has anyone gone around via Cypress Creek?

How about problems leaving camp for the day while hunting? Anything stolen etc..



As of now our setup is four people, two trucks. One towing quad trailer and quads other towing an enclosed U haul for gear and meat. We have a wall tent to stay in and canopys on the trucks. Plenty of gear just need a place to set it all up.


Please feel free to chime in and let me know what I have missed. I need all the info I can get if im gonna take one of these beasts home!

[BiG Boar]

I'm new to the forum, but been following it for a while and there is tons of good info. Don't know why I didn't join years ago..


You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

[ncurrie]

I got the same draw! see you up there!

[doubled]

You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

ROTFLMAO Dave!!! That is one good impersonation.

[yota]

You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

Epic comment. lol

Sorry Whitler I dont have any advice for ya I've never been as lucky as you to get the draw.

[whitlers]

You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

I dont even know what to say to that.. yah got me?

[Iltasyuko]

I went in January so can't offer much help. We were planning to set a wall tent deep in the valley, but after doing the math on time needed to shuttle all the crap needed to put a wall tent camp together and get it back out, plus get an animal out, we decided to rent a cabin and spend our time hunting.

I know when Vern was running the cabin / trespass fee, he would have let us set a tent on the ranch no charge - I totally forget what the trespass fee was in 2011.

[scoutlt1]

You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

That is classic! :-)

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

HA HA HA thats cool big boar !. my thoughts too.. althou i have no problem helping out a fellow hunter and new member to the site . .i love this site . and wish i would have found it sooner myself . .

[kako99]

Got it 3 years ago for oct 1-15, but it was bull only. My budy got it this year, so I'm going up again. I got it within 2 hours of are hunt. Saw lots too. We had the first snowfall of the year on oct 4 If I was you I would bring chains. Chainsaw with peanut oil works well too.

[Marlin375]

Questions:
Up the Halfway in 2009.

Did you pay the ranch fee (how much) or did you take the trail around?
By all reports the trail around needs to be frozen to be passable, Pay the tresspass fee, no idea what it will be this year or who in your party will be charged, likely everyone because Moose and elk are also open. Take lots of cash.

What sort of weather should we expect the first week of October? As of now we have quads but no sleds.
We had temps of 5 to 10 degrees daytime and one clear night it went down to -17, expect some snow squalls and a muddy trail going in.

Where is a good spot to set up a wall tent still in vehicle acess area?
There is a large pasture on the other side of the ranch and before the 500kg road starts. We took a wall tent to the end of the 500kg road (like 27k If I remember)
But there were a couple of camps just past the ranch.

Has anyone gone around via Cypress Creek?
No Idea where that is.

How about problems leaving camp for the day while hunting? Anything stolen etc..
There was only 2 parties that past us apart from the VIP outfitters guides that we saw every couple of days. Again we base camped at the end of the quad road, but no issues with the truck or trailer back near the ranch.

[whitlers]

Thanks Marlin375! Thats on the money what Im looking for.

Thankyou everyone else for the input. I can understand the hesitation to help out a new commer seeing as my first thread is asking alot but I'm not new to this game and we all love the same thing. Glad to be here!

[whitlers]

Got it 3 years ago for oct 1-15, but it was bull only. My budy got it this year, so I'm going up again. I got it within 2 hours of are hunt. Saw lots too. We had the first snowfall of the year on oct 4 If I was you I would bring chains. Chainsaw with peanut oil works well too.

Easiest way to quarter big game by far. Tried a battery sawzall last year on our moose, worked okay but not nearly aswell as the old husq

[ncurrie]

When I called to book my cabins, I was told the trespassing fee was $250

[tomahawk]

Chainsaw with peanut oil works well too.

No need to use any oil, there is plenty of lubrication in the animal as you quarter it. Why drive oil into and all over good meat? We have quartered many large game using a dry chain (it isnt dry once you start cutting), including 5 Bison and it works great.

[Marlin375]

When I called to book my cabins, I was told the trespassing fee was $250

Per person?.....Per hunter?

Time to fix up that trail.

[Mik]

The last time we were there was 12 years ago, so things may have changed, but this is what I remember;

Just before the "Pink Mountain Store" on your left is a road called "Cypress hills road". Turn left off the highway, and the road is quite straight, drive for 15 minutes or so, great road. You will come to what looks like a farmers field, (ranch),where you turn right(goes thru the middle of the field) and head towards the bush. The road eventually splits and you take the left split. it kinda goes down and its a little hilly, then angles to the left. not very far you will see a an oil well head, and just past that on top of the little hill we pitched our wall tent on the right.

From there we drove our sleds towards the river, it was excellent hunting along the way, tracks and crap all over the place.We saw 1 massive bull on the straight stretch towards the river, but could not connect. There are some great swampy areas on the right and clearings to hunt. At the end of that straight stretch heading downhill,the rd. turns a 90* left and there you head on a trail down to the right (quite steep) to the river. The trail kinda tapers off in a round about where you turn right head into the bush you will come out at the Halfway river. There is where we crossed it on the sleds(Quite Fun). You will almost immediately hit the road where you turn left and whoa-lla have fun hunting as you are now on the other side of the gate! If you go right, also some great spots and the "gate" is located there.

Good luck to all the bison hunters & Hope this helps,
Mik

[cameron0518]

Great post. Been following for a while but never would do the ohhhh sooooo difficult signup until you needed help. LOL. Good luck anyways, I love looking at my bison on the wall.

[whitlers]

That is great info. Seeing as it will be Oct I am not expecting enough snow for sleds and I am assuming this river is deep and impassable by quad. Guess there is pros and cons to both early and late draws.

Thankyou though! Sounds like it would have been a badass trip

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

Dry Chain works just fine ..

[fearnodeer]

Big Boar you sound like a bully with this response hell four or five years ago you started hunting and were did you get your info from. LOL



You didn't need a friend like us before. But, now you come to us, and you say: "Don Corleone, give me all of the answers for this LEH hunt, its my first post." But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship, or contribute to posts before you needed our help. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into our website on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to help you murder this bison.

[ncurrie]

Per person?.....Per hunter?

Time to fix up that trail.

He said per tag.

[Mik]

That is great info. Seeing as it will be Oct I am not expecting enough snow for sleds and I am assuming this river is deep and impassable by quad. Guess there is pros and cons to both early and late draws.

Thankyou though! Sounds like it would have been a badass trip

Yes, you can cross with a quad. It is shallow enough if you choose the right path. On our trip we had quads, trikes and snowmobiles.

[MB_Boy]

Big Boar you sound like a bully with this response hell four or five years ago you started hunting and were did you get your info from. LOL


He did come on here for info on bear hunting AND proposing to his fiancee (now wife) at the time.....on a trip to Ukie! All as a very new hunter albeit not his first post. :-P


Just bustin' your balls Dave :wink:.......when I saw your first post in this thread it took me back to the "should I bear hunt in the morning and propose in the afternoon.....she doesn't like the idea of hunting....etc.etc". (just vaguley recalling the thread's content). :wink: "You've come a LONG way kid!" :mrgreen:

I do get where you're coming from about the first post when needing help but the OP seemed to come across with a decent intro as opposed to many of the first posts just after LEH comes out with "Hi, where do I find a bull moose in 5-08". We've all seen many of these posts over the years and not everyone quite gets the "etiquette" (if that's even the right word to describe it) of this forum, I roll my eyes at the bulk of them but for some reason this one didn't seem to be quite as blunt.

[whitlers]

Yes, you can cross with a quad. It is shallow enough if you choose the right path. On our trip we had quads, trikes and snowmobiles.

Cool I guess I will find out.

[whitlers]

He did come on here for info on bear hunting AND proposing to his fiancee (now wife) at the time.....on a trip to Ukie! All as a very new hunter albeit not his first post. :-P


Just bustin' your balls Dave :wink:.......when I saw your first post in this thread it took me back to the "should I bear hunt in the morning and propose in the afternoon.....she doesn't like the idea of hunting....etc.etc". (just vaguley recalling the thread's content). :wink: "You've come a LONG way kid!" :mrgreen:

I do get where you're coming from about the first post when needing help but the OP seemed to come across with a decent intro as opposed to many of the first posts just after LEH comes out with "Hi, where do I find a bull moose in 5-08". We've all seen many of these posts over the years and not everyone quite gets the "etiquette" (if that's even the right word to describe it) of this forum, I roll my eyes at the bulk of them but for some reason this one didn't seem to be quite as blunt.

Hunting has been in my family like I'm sure most of this board for generations. I can totally understand where you guys are comming from. I'm not new to this game nor am I an expert by any means whatsoever. I just enjoy our good outdoors and believe in conservation like everyone else. I've done all the research I can on my own just needed some first hand experience to top it off. I'll be sure to share my trip with you all and more to come!

Thanks everyone for the info.

[Ogopogo]

I'll be up there in December for bison as well for the first time and have just been reading old forums on here for info. I've done a bit of research, but mostly just going to wing it and see what happens. I've made my rsvp at the ranch already which is good I guess.

[BiG Boar]

Big Boar you sound like a bully with this response hell four or five years ago you started hunting and were did you get your info from. LOL

The response was in jest and was a changed up quote from the movie the godfather. Here is the original quote:

Don Vito Corleone: I understand. You found paradise in America, you had a good trade, you made a good living. The police protected you and there were courts of law. You didn't need a friend like me. But, now you come to me, and you say: 'Don Corleone, give me justice.' But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to do murder for money.

Fact of the matter is as soon as most of these first time posters get their LEH information, they're out of here, never to contribute again. Hopefully whittler is an exception and stays with us and contributes to the board.

[Bear Chaser]

The trail around the north side of the ranch fence is the softest I've seen it this year. Some deep holes to sink quads in.
The Cypress side is actually a pretty good alternative to paying to go through the ranch.
The correct way to access it is left off the Alaska Highwy onto the Mile 143 road; proceed to approx km 29.5 turn right onto the Robertson Creek road; drive approx 11 km turn right onto the Genesis road( the Cypress designated trail is accessed through here as well); at approximately km 8.8 the road makes a "Y"; stay to the left and park trucks in the vicinty of a wellhead a few kms down the road.
Walk slowly down the road trying to not slip in buffalo shit. Find a buffalo and shoot it.

While travelling down the Mile 143 and portions of the Robertson Creek roads keep in mind that with few exceptions it is private land on both sides of the road. The local ranchers do not take kindly to trespassing.

[whitlers]

I think we are gonna go ahead and pay to pass through the ranch. Seems like the easiest approach. Everything is comming together now. Just have to be patient!

[whitlers]

Just getting some more stuff in order for the hunt. We have the option of grabbing a polaris ranger side by side that is under 500kg gvw. Does anyone know if the road limit is dry gvw of vehicle or is it with total load?

Also has anyone been allowed to camp on the ranch?

Thanks,

Craig

[moosehunter1]

we have group hunt for Bison this year from October 1-15. Do you have phone number for Vern or cabins & other info about trespass fees etc?

[guest]

Dixie Chicks Killed VERN ..... He is no More ................ Contact the Blue Berry F/N Ranch out of Ft. St. Johnothan Info should be in the pack u get from Gov. BCExpect tp part company with Big money for Access and or Cabin. and by the way .......... Learn the Gutless Method for dressing your critter.

[Ry151]

If it's frozen save the money and go around. It's supper easy, one bad dip is all. Plus bison are on the trail, that is where I shot mine. You pop out onto the road that can be followed to rob lake( I think, never went that far). We were there in nov and seen a guy that was staying at the ranch loading a buffalo into his truck at horse camp which is basically the end of where atv's can go by the map.
Go to McElhanney in Fsj and ask for a map of pink mt for a bison hunt and they know exactly what your looking for with all the trails.
Talk to the tompsters (spelling may be wrong) and ask to camp there with the wall tent if the cabins are booked.
If you want a Garmin gps track of the trail around pm me your email

biggest note is most side by sides are over the weight limit but no one seems to monitor it any way, quads are restricted to 400 mm from the train but sleds can go anywhere so if it's cold take at least one sled preferable with out paddles along just incase it is down way off the trail.

[Darksith]

I went in January so can't offer much help. We were planning to set a wall tent deep in the valley, but after doing the math on time needed to shuttle all the crap needed to put a wall tent camp together and get it back out, plus get an animal out, we decided to rent a cabin and spend our time hunting.

I know when Vern was running the cabin / trespass fee, he would have let us set a tent on the ranch no charge - I totally forget what the trespass fee was in 2011.

I was the same way...but now in hind site, I would shuttle all my crap in and stay deeper in the valley...especially in the early part of the season. That being said though you can only go so far on quads since you won't have any snow in early october. If you stay at the back of the ATV access area...even if its in the bands cabins there, you will have a head start on everyone...there is only so much value to driving a snowmobile or ATV behind a bunch of other hunters...if you are out front driving the trail and its still dark...again there is no value there as you will only spook animals without being able to shoot them...if you are already out there at day break you may have an advantage. To stand at a swamp or clearing without the animals hearing an ATV roll in would be what you want in October IMO

I think the tresspass fee was 150 for the tag holder and 100 for each helper...if it was winter again when I got the draw I wouldn't pay the trespass fee or rent a cabin, I would be just as comfy in my wall tent and the trail around wasn't really that bad...in October though, that swamp you need to cross...that could get ugly. I would at the very least check it out before I paid the fee though, or pay the fee for 1 and that guy takes your gear through, and everyone else goes around.

[moosehunter1]

Thank you for all the info it was very helpful.

[300ultra]

Hi Darksith, I would sure appreciate a gps map of the area! also do you know the gvw of atvs and snowmobiles of the area, also how was your hunt? thanks for the info

[ajeatoo]

Thanks for all the great info, we got a bison leh for Nov 20 - Dec 5 and are heading up for the first time so I really appreciate all the tips!!