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Moose hunting strategies for Fall 2009
Gene Plihal
for Smoky River Express
As I write this article, we are in the midst of one of the worst droughts in the 35 years I have been in this part of North America. So, the question arises, where do I hunt moose in these conditions?
Hopefully, by the time this is published, the drought will be a distant memory. Hopefully we will have plentiful rains soon, after harvest of course, but before freeze up.
In the event we don’t, hunting lakes and creeks that still have water in them should be productive. Of course, the law says you can’t harvest a moose while he is in the water, but shoreline hunting and creek edge hunting should be profitable.
That means, in most instances, getting off the quad. Many lake shores and creek edges do not have quad trails parallelling them, so walking is the only option. Of course, the weight and conditioning of the hunter is a factor in all of this. Walking is hard work through thick willows and tall shoreline grass (about the only place grass is tall this year). And, then there is the matter of taking care of the animal once we’ve harvested one far from the beaten track. We addressed care of meat in last week’s issue.
Walking shorelines and creek edges should be done slowly with binoculars in hand. Very early morning and late evening hunting for moose is usually effective if the weather is warm or hot. Remember, legal time is one half hour before sunrise and one half hour before sunset. One old timer I know says the first twenty minutes in the morning and the last twenty minutes in the evening are the only times worth hunting moose. During the rut things do change in this regard.
Walking shorelines and creek edges has its share of hazards. First, identifying the moose as a legal animal is complicated by the omnipresence of brush and willows. Is that a bull moose I see or are those branches from a willow above his head. Making a positive identification is critical. A black spot behind a cow is not necessarily a legal calf if you have that license. It could be a bull.
I have been out virtually every day doing farm fencing and what not early in the morning and I have yet to see one bull moose. I have seen a number of cows with calves.
The intense heat and dry conditions may account for why I am not seeing these bulls, and I have seen circumstances in the past where bulls don’t start coming out in the fall until it cools down. Let’s hope this is the case this year.
Take time before the moose hunt to sight in your gun. I can recall one fall when I went 30 days without seeing a bull. And when one does see his animal, he wants to make absolutely certain his weapon is shooting where it is supposed to to ensure that the larder is full this winter. Good hunting but more importantly, be a good hunter.
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