Hey gang, long time lurker first time poster. So season has been over for me for nearly a month and a half now where i live and i've been spending lots of time recently reflecting on yet another year with an unpunched elk tag. I do well with deer but elk have been my unicorn (I know , i know its cliche, just like the many masses of unsuccessful hunters chasing elk, but every year I commit my whole september and half of october to chasing elk and have done so for better than a decade), i've put in the time year after year and live close to an area that has (some) elk but they are under a lot of pressure and seldom seen, even more seldom killed. Our elk are pure bush elk, just before the foothills mostly dark timber and they seldom show their faces in cutblocks or openings during daylight hours. glassing for them is impossible due to no sight lines due to fairly thick bush. I'm starting to figure out the type of places they like to hang out or move through, but still struggle to put the puzzle together. I have found a pocket in a river bottom that seems to consistently hold elk but after 2 years of hunting it unsuccessfully, continually trying new ways to get into them. i know why they are there now. All the prime spots to see them or to punch into where they are is heavily timbered and have very fickle winds, and often swirly and seldom consistent and if its consistent its not the right direction to make an approach. There are almost no ways to enter where they're at without prevailing wind or thermals blowing your scent into them. There is a few lease roads that approach the river valley in a few spots on either side of the river but they are several miles apart up/down river. The river is an intermediate river with spots that are 6' deep and spots you couldnt get a canoe through, theyre so shallow. The prevailing wind typically come out of the west and goes down river to the east. I've been raking my brain about ways to access the spots where they are at without doing what all the hordes of other guys are doing. Like a sneaky, undiscovered back-way in to punch into areas the elk feel secure but the rest of the road hunters or half-assers arent able or willing to access. I tried a solo canoe hunt last year on this river and it was an.... adventure to say the least. But enjoyable lol. I saw elk pretty quickly but it didnt come together for me. Some spots are perfect for the canoe, some are so shallow youd barely be able to paddle it and has hidden boulders that will kick your canoe sideways. The outside bends of the river are typically steep dark timber slopes leading down from timbered flats with the odd flats on the bottom close to the river but its pretty slow going, steep and noisy with a wind disadvantage the inside bends are typically cobble stone river flats leading up to willows which lead into dark timber and up to the hills leading out of the valleys. There is appx 5-8 bends per mile. So i guess my question is this; when walking along these kinds of rivers, does anyone use chest waders to go from walkable inside bend to inside bend crossing the river between each, instead of sweating it out on the steep banks? If i walked into the wind upriver a km or two or ten from the pressured access points would i have a better chance to be where the elk are after being pressured? How would I hunt these places? would I just walk west sneaking along the banks from side to side looking to bump into them headed to the river for a drink and stalk into them? Should i be looking for drainages leading down to the river? Look for benches? South side is typically shady, North side is slightly warmer and gets more sun I can almost guarantee no one is going further than easy walking distance from these access points. Lots of road hunters. What do you guys think? Any insights?
Thanks a ton - SQK
Thanks a ton - SQK
