[Report] Grouse - Cache Creek to Clinton

[J-Man]

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes for 3 days grouse hunting and scouting deer. I'll recount it all here Sunday or Monday.

[Islandbowhunter]

You should go sheep hunting, I just about ran into four of them on the highway!

I look forward to hearing about the grouse hunting, my dog is dying for some action and I'm heading towards the Peace country again.

[J-Man]

Reg 3-17
Hi Islandbowhunter, yea we looked for sheep on the way up to show the kids, but nothing. Some river rafters and a guy going down the Thompson with a wet suit on with a helmet and life jacket, that was a first.

So we never did make it to Clinton, we hunted exclusively around Cache Creek on the old highway side. We pretty much headed up the power line and took all the off shoot roads and did allot of road hunting and some walking. Great to get out but not much grouse to report.

So Friday morning up and out of camp at 6am with grandpa, my 4 yr old daughter and 6 yr old son. We hit some big forks off the VC logging road that are usually prime blue grouse areas. First thing we noticed was the amount of water in the bush, I've never seen so much in mid September. Every pond, slough and run off catch basin was full. At least 4 feet higher then I've seen them. So that I think was a sign of how wet the weather has been this year. Anyways since it was opening weekend and Friday the roads we wanted to go down were all uncleared, so out comes the saw. Spent the first 3 hours in the morning clearing out roads. But not one grouse to be seen, at around 8am still in the blue grouse area I took my son for a walk. We spooked 1 ruffed in some think jack pine. We left that area and headed a ways further into our ruffed grouse area. We spooked a doe while we were watching a free range Mare with 2 black colts. But again no grouse, so we headed up on to the power lines once again. Spotted a big black bear in a berry patch it bolted across the power lines and across the road and into the bush. We didn't have a tag, but it was a big ass blackie. We ended up back at camp at 12pm, had some lunch and took the kids for a walk down to the creek and into the Willow tree meadow. Allot of walking but nothing spooked, again odd usually scare up at least 2-3 in there on previous years.

Left for the evenin hunt at 4pm, it started up more of the same allot of ground covered in usually great ruffed grouse area. We met another camp around 6pm. Chatted and ended up telling us they hadn't seen a single grouse all day until about 10 minutes ago he spooked 2 on the last fork. We chatted a bit more and then headed off to that fork. Its coming up on 6:30pm we stop to clear a tree out, big enough for a ATV to pass but not the truck. I toss the 4 foot piece into the bush and walk back to the truck as I hear grandpa yell grouse and point behind me. For what ever reason he runs to the bush sans shotgun and I run to the truck to grab it. Kind of reverse of what should have happened, he spots a Spruce 4 feet off the ground in a clump of trees. With the kids standing excitedly on the road watching we finally get our first grouse of the season. Back in the truck and off we go feeling better. (at this point there was talk about heading to Clinton or Princeton) We drive about 5 minutes more and I spot a ruffed walking in the tall grass out the passenger window. We bag number 2, my daughter happily carries it back to the truck. Fifteen minutes later we run into our first group of the season. Sadly its just 2 young ones and 1 hen, all 3 in the middle of the road. We size them up and decide to take 1 of the younger birds, leaving the bigger and what we assume is the hen. The hen and first young one run off the road and into the thicket, I go for the lone bird as its running to catch up. And we have our first miss of the season, thick bush - should have grabbed the .22. Oh well all 3 birds take off, its about 7:15 so we head back to camp and the creek to clean our 2 kills.

Saturday morning we head out on the upper roads off the power line. Up to some clear cuts to check out the deer, assuming the grouse are just not coming out in the morning because they haven't switched into fall feeding habits yet. We split up and walk 2 over grown roads. Our first deer we come across are grazing and walking up the logging road, doe and fawn. I sit there with the kids and we watch them for 5 minutes or so until the kids whispering spook them. We meet back up with grandpa and head farther up. just before the clear cut we turn a corner and 4 does are on the side of the road. One pretty massive doe, big neck. We get to the clear cuts, lots of trapped water - like a bog, looks like good moose country. Heading back down we come across another doe and fawn, maybe the first 2 we saw. That was about if for the morning.

We decide to stay at camp a little later Saturday and head out at 5, assuming the grouse wont show up until 6ish. Again cover allot of ground but nothing until 6:30pm. Heading between roads we spook a ruffed from the side ditch, I bail out and take off into where I think it flew. Kids reminding me its grandpa's turn to shoot. As I scan the trees grandpa catches up, typical what did you see, where did it go. "I don't know should be in either of these 2 clumps of trees or on this fallen...." The fallen tree is a jack pine sitting at a 45 degree angle. My eyes focus on a ruffed sitting on the top part of the jack pine. Headshot number 3, kids of caught up to us now. My 6 yr old goes to pick it up but its still kicking so he tells his sister to get it. Seems to think the claws will get him. She grabs it, foot in each hand and heads back to the truck. We travel a bit more, then my daughter and I head down a ATV trail to be picked up on a road below. Nothing on the road but we spook a grouse that was under a group of saplings, it hit the ground running. We caught up but it got into another thick clump and spooked out of there. Took aim, but never pulled the trigger, just didn't seem good. Met up with grandpa and my son, and headed back to camp.

We skipped going out Sunday morning, instead slept in and packed up camp. Its to bad the morning hunts couldn't be as eventful as the evening hunts. Our next trip in a few weeks I think will be to the Princeton or Eastgate area.

To recap that was 7 grouse over 2 days with only 1 group of three on an opening weekend; as well as 9 deer and 1 bear. Cache Creek has been our go to area for grouse for the past 22 years. This was sadly the worst year, and its been a steady decline for the last 5. Its sad, I wish their were release programs to help re-stock these areas. I would gladly volunteer my time or donate money to fund such projects. These past wet springs seemed to really decimate the grouse populations in Cache Creek.

[I'll post some pics later]

[J-Man]

Here are some pics from the weekend.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/2904/ruffed1.th.jpg (http://img341.imageshack.us/i/ruffed1.jpg/) http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9008/spruce1.th.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/spruce1.jpg/) http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6457/plucking.th.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/i/plucking.jpg/)
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/575/deerdj.th.jpg (http://img832.imageshack.us/i/deerdj.jpg/) http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/859/ruffed2.th.jpg (http://img801.imageshack.us/i/ruffed2.jpg/)

[nor'wester]

I wouldn't get too down and out about the grouse numbers in your favorite area. The number of grouse in my favorite areas seem to fluctuate wildly, almost cyclically. One year there'll be hardly a bird to be found, then 3-5 years later you're stumbling over coveys left right and center...only for it to crash again and so on. There's a lot of factors working against those birds, I find cattle damaging the cover is the biggest issue. Combine that with wet spring weather some years and you can see why the numbers get diminished so easily. One thing's for sure, it can't get much worse than this year...nowhere to go but up!!

[finngun]

same sad story behind kammy--- savona tranquill red lake area... 80 km driving -walking - 1 day only 1 single grouse... sad-sad same about deer,,not a one doe,,, never mind
buck.....oh big pile deer hide -legs 10-12 legs,, maybe first nation was really FIRST:mrgreen:... it is not happy to be second class ..:icon_frow