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Outdoor Corner: The Great North moose hunt
Gene Plihal
for Smoky River Express
For those that still think, “There’s no place left to hunt,” obviously you haven’t left the steering wheel of your pickup, if you hunt locally, or haven’t considered the North.
Having outfitted in the area known as WMU 534 for many years, I can honestly say, “Go North young (or old) man (or woman).” You will experience hunting what it used to be like around here 35 years ago with one important difference: there’s no way you will be going home to sleep in your own bed every night after the hunt.
On the east side of the Hay River all the way to Wood Buffalo National Park there is an infinite amount of wilderness, in other words, heaven. One important caveat: this is no place for the faint of heart or the weak kneed. It is true wilderness with all of its accompanying bliss and traps.
For starters, falling into the Hay River, or any water body for that matter, can mean instant hypothermia most times of the year. One of my former guides, a hardened NWT (Northwest territory) resident, when I asked him why he often didn’t wear a life jacket while hunting the river tersely noted, “If you fall in you’re dead anyway after about a minute. So, don’t fall in!”
Hunting is done usually from a spike camp with boats or Argos. My preference is drifting down a river for half a day and then motoring back the second half of the day after lunch on the shoreline. Of course, it is against the law to shoot an animal in water so all of the shooting and hunting must be done on shore once a moose is spotted.
The moose up there are typically quite a bit larger than locally. But, with a 194” Boone and Crockett being harvested this past year in WMU 523 (yes, that’s right, in our Falher, Donnelly, McLennan, Nampa area), we may have to rethink the efficacy of government moose management. (Now, there’s an oxymoron – government management– that’s like saying “square circle”). But really, I have noticed some giant antlers on moose in our local area these past few months; one on the Little Smoky near Five Star that was amazing in size and relatively indifferent to my presence even though it was mid-hunting season. That having been said, the big moose are up north. Though there are few per square mile, the presence of large antlered animals makes it worth the trip. And, licenses are relatively easy to get for those North zones.
Prepare in advance. Allow at least two days to go up and set up camp and another two days to take down the camp and return. This is a pristine area yet so you should leave it as you found it, inviolate. Allow a good week for the hunt. Take plenty of grub and don’t hang it in the trees by your sleeping quarters. Nights are cold up there even in late September so take your 5-star sleeping bag. It’s about a four hour drive to High Level and another three hour drive to the NWT border from Falher/Donnelly. Scout in advance (August) and you should have a blast – a hunt of a lifetime.
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