Round 1: Palouse Elk Zone vs. McCall Elk Zone

This is the third installment on a series of posts comparing Idaho's any-weapon, antlered, general season elk hunts. For an intro to this series, go here.

For the first post in this series, read Dworshak Elk Zone vs. Bear River Elk Zone.

For the second post in this series, read Snake River Elk Zone vs. Palisades Elk Zone.

Here we go comparing the Palouse Elk Zone to the McCall Elk Zone. First up, the Palouse.

The Hunt

There's just a plethora of hunts available in the Palouse Zone, and that should speak something to the elk population here.  But more on that later.  In the middle of early and late season anterless elk hunts sits the antlered, any-weapon, general season hunt, which is all that we're interested with in these articles.  That hunt is on the Palouse Zone B-tag, and runs from October 10 - October 24.  As an added bonus, any elk may be harvested with this tag from October 15 - 17, but only on private lands, excluding corporate timber lands.  So it is a good long 2 week season, with an opportunity to fill your tag with a cow, if you haven't harvested a bull within the first several days of the season.

Location

The Palouse Zone consists of Units 8, 8A, and 11A.  From the map you can see that the Washington border is the Zone boundary on the west, but then drops down with HWY 95 down to Grangeville.  From Grangeville, the boundary heads north along HWY 12 up to Elk River, with the Dworshak Zone to the east.  North of Elk River, the boundary gets a little funky as it jogs back west toward the Idaho-Washington state line.  Essentially, the north boundary line follows watersheds, so a good map is necessary.

Terrain/Land Ownership

Units 8 and 8A are generally known as the Palouse Region in Idaho.  Famous for the high, rolling hills, the Palouse is mostly dry land agriculture.  The north and east portion of Unit 8A gets into National Forest land, and a Clearwater National Forest map is handy.  Unit 11A consists mostly of the agricultural ground in the Camas Prairie, known by locals as "the prairie." The hills aren't as rolling here, but like the Palouse, the fields are spotted with small, scattered pine and fir forests.  The Palouse Zone consists of 1,486,933 acres, or 2.323 square miles.

The Clearwater River runs from east to west, and essentially divides the Zone in two.  The river then turns south at the town of Orofino, following HWY 12 and the east boundary of the Zone.  Think of Units 8 and 8A being the north half, and 11A being the south half.  The Palouse agricultural prairie sits at around 2500 - 3500 ft. in elevation, and deep canyons and gorges break down into the Clearwater River.  The Camas Prairie does essentially the same.

This Zone is 80% private land, 4% Indian Reservation, 9% Forest Service, and the State of Idaho owns 5%.  Some of the 80% private land belongs to corporate timber companies, which are generally okay to hunt on.  But 77% of the land is dry land agriculture, with 22% being forest (timber company land & forest service land).

All in all, the Zone is excellent elk habitat.  The dry land agricultural areas are often bordered by small, isolated forests, or are adjacent to canyons that consist of timber and brush, or sit against forest service land.  Lewis & Clark did not find a large elk herd in this area because at that time, this area was largely forest.  By the early part of the 20th Century, wildfires had turned those forests into large areas of grassy elk paradise.  The elk population grew steadily through the century until the 1970's.  Agricultural improvements and elk began fighting for the same ground, and that battle continues today, with depradation complaints and elk populations both on the rise.

The terrain itself is fairly tame, except for the deep gorges that carry down into the Clearwater River, where it doesn't take long to descend 2,000 to 3,000 ft. in elevation.  While the Palouse Region is quite hilly, it gives way to typical forested foothills and mountains to the east.  The Camas Prairie is flatter by comparison, except for breaks near the river.

Herd Health/Stats

The elk population here is very stable, and growing despite efforts to curb it.  The general season A-tag includes an any-weapon antlerless only hunt near cultivated fields ouside National Forest boundaries, and runs from August 1 - September 15.  There is also a late season extra anterless controlled hunt in January.  These liberal hunts are in response to depradation problems.  The farmers do suffer from elk depredation.  Elk love lentils. 

The objective elk population for the Zone is as follows: 1,325 cows, and 275 bulls (of which IF&G wants 180 mature bulls).  IF&G wants this to remain a sizeable herd, but are doing what they can to keep depredeation complaints at a minimum.

Objectives are being met for the most part.  The most recent survey, taken in 2009, showed that the Zone has 2,153 cows, and 411 bulls (of which, 151 were mature bulls).  It should be noted that most of the elk are in the upper half of the Zone in the Palouse.  Only 157 elk were counted in Unit 11A, of which 45 were bulls, including 32 mature bulls.  While Unit 11A may have a good bull to cow ratio, there is considerably less elk per square mile.  Further, Unit 11A is almost entirely private, and where it is not, it is likely Indian Reservation ground.  So take that info for what it's worth.

Overall, here's some stats, with a little tinkering on my part where full information was not available.  These are conservative numbers:

Elk/square mile: 1.10

Hunters/square mile: 0.60

Bulls/square mile: 0.18

Average hunter days: 5.11

Bull Harvest Percentage: 21%

Percent Spikes Harvested: 32%

Percent 6+ points Harvested: 17%

Notes:  Some guesswork had to be done in regard to the number of hunters going after bulls only in the Palouse Zone.  I used IF&G numbers for 2010 to try to get reasonably close estimates of how many people were hunting with the A-tag vs. the B-tag.  I believe that the bull harvest percentage could even possibly be higher, but I tried to stay on the conservative side.

The McCall Zone

The Hunt

The general season, antlered-only, any-weapon hunt is with the B-tag for this Zone, and ran from October 15, 2011 - November 3, 2011.  The hunt was preceded by a spike-only hunt that ran from October 5 - Octover 14, by a short-range weapon only, anterless hunt in Units 23 & 24 outside of Forest Service land, from August 15 - September 30, and finally by an archery hunt from August 30 - September 30.

Location

The McCall Zone consists of Units 19A, 23, 24, and 25.  The boundary lines for these units are detailed on the IF&G website.  This west-central Zone in Idaho has the town of McCall as its centerpiece, and it is important to note the circle in this map.  This circle within Unit 24 that stretches from McCall down south past the town of Cascade is short range weapons only.  The Zone consists of 1,909,599 acres, or 2,983 square miles.

Terrain/Land Ownership

This is some of Idaho's typical mountainous back country.  74% of the McCall Zone is the Payette National Forest.  Steep mountains, where the pines grow thick on the north sides, and the south sides are bare.  18% of this Zone is private property, but it is mostly contained to the Little Salmon River and Payette River valley bottoms.  89% of the Zone is considered forested.  Lots of public land here to hunt on, and lots of access points.

McCall sits at around 5,000 ft. in elevation, and the peaks in this Zone generally top out somewhere near 8,000 ft.  This is rugged Central Idaho at some of its best - one canyon after another, and many of them look the same.  A lot of tough walking and glassing opportunities here.  Bring a map and a compass.  I've heard stories of guys hunting in this Zone that trailed elk up and over a few ridges, and were easily lost.  It's beautiful country, but most of it looks the same.

This Zone can suit a variety of hunter preferences.  While heavily wooded in some areas, there are other areas that quite open.  It is a good Zone for the spot and stalk types.  Just remember that you'll be stalking in some rough terrain, or at least steep terrain, at times.

Herd Health/Stats

This was once an elk haven, but the gold rush of the 19th Century almost completely eliminated the herd.  Elk meat was a staple in the mining camps, until the elk were gone.  Elk were reintroduced to the area from places like Yellowstone in the 1930's, and again elk found the habitat to be suitable.  Elk numbers grew fast, and liberal hunting took place until 1976, when the tag for the Zone went from being "any elk" to "antlered only."  The elk has restabilized since then, and has remained steady.

Other habitat features: extensive cattle and domestic sheep graze here, particularly on the west side of the Zone.  Grazing at the river valley bottoms are a favorite pastime for the elk, and of course this is on private property.  And the prescribed burns by the Forest Service, particularly on the eastern side of the Zone provide excellent habitat for the elk.  The elk primarily winter in the forests.  Basically, this is good habitat for the elk in general, and there is nothing holding them back, except for...

Wolves.  I haven't talked too much about predators in this series to this point.  Wolves across the state are doing some damage.  Some people say the damage is extremely high, and environmentalists say it is next to nil.  The truth is somewhere in the middle.  However, it does appear to be noteworthy that I believe wolves are to blame for a low cow to calf ratio in this Zone.  IF&G may not say specifically so, but they will acknowledge that there is an established wolf population here.  Still, as the numbers will show, there are plenty of elk in this Zone.  It should not be written off as a hunting opportunity.  In fact, it may be even more so because some have written it off.

Elk population objectives are this: 2,450 - 3,700 cows, 525 - 800 bulls, of which IF&G would like to see 300 - 450 mature bulls.  The 2010 survey counted 3,292 cows, 616 bulls, of which 474 were mature bulls.  Mature bulls is the only category above objective.  All others are within objective.  For some reason, no data is available for Unit 24, so these numbers are just for the other Units in this Zone.

Now, the stats:

Elk/square mile: 1.31

Hunters/square mile: 0.81

Bulls/square mile: 0.21

Average hunter days: 7.35

Bull Harvest Percentage: 13%

Percent Spikes Harvested: 28%

Percent 6+ points Harvested: 30%

Notes: 2009 data was used to estimate hunter numbers for 2010.  Harvest numbers were taken from 2010 statistics.  A total of 92 six points, or better, were harvested.  Only 88 spikes were harvested.

Analysis

The Palouse Zone can be a challenge for many hunters because so much of it is private land.  Even when private land is accessed, you're often competing with other hunters in areas were the elk are at.  There are plenty of elk in the forested areas of the Palouse Zone, and access is easy to get to.  But again, you'll run into other hunters, as forest land is limited.  Just as with almost any other Zone, you can get away from the hunters if you work harder, and your chances of getting an elk are good.  But in this Zone, it really pays off to know landowners.  Some hunting success happens south of the Clearwater River, but most of the elk are north of it.  Some of the forested land is very similar to the Dworshak Zone.

The McCall Zone, on the other hand, is mostly public ground.  It is a heavily hunted unit, as it is a stone's throw from the Boise metropolis.  Many Treasure Valley folks make this Zone their happy hunting grounds.  Forest Service roads can take you many places here, but nothing beats getting away from other hunters than parking, and getting out to walk over ridges.  Despite the number of other hunters, there's lots of elk here, and the mature bull ratios are high, which is attractive.

The Winner

The McCall Zone.  In the end, the public land vs. private land issue takes the most consideration.  The McCall Zone just has so much land to offer the general season hunter.  Elk numbers appear to be good now, but that could change in the future due to wolves and hunting pressure, among other factors.  But if I had to choose today where I would hunt tomorrow, I would take a week off of work, and head to the McCall Zone.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Okay, Fine, I'll Vote For You

For the cause of the Idaho spud industry...

Read More

Place: Richfield, Idaho

Read More

2012 Salmon Number Predictions Are Up

According to federal, state, and tribal biologists, 2012 salmon numbers should be high.  The estimate is based off of the 2011 jack numbers - how many salmon were counted heading west this last year.  168,000 salmon are estimated to be returning to Idaho this coming season, out of a total of 277,400 (4 year olds) swimming up the Columbia.

Estimates have been fairly reliable.  2011 saw more fish coming back than what was expected.  So this is not an exact science.  You can read more here.

Speaking of salmon estimates, this reminds me of a story that dated back to the 1960's.  Wildlife officials saw that returning salmon numbers were way down.  The IF&G prohibited salmon fishing that year, but Idaho residents would hear nothing of it.  They said - damned if they're going to let the salmon go home, where Oregonians will harvest them anyway.  They might as well harvest the fish before someone else does.  Even in the face of the prohibition, Idahoans were setting up salmon fishing contests.  IF&G beefed up sending more game wardens to the scenes, ready to make arrests.  But folks did what they wanted anyway, certain that no reasonable judge would find them guilty of anything.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Let's Revisit The Issue Of Wolf Bounties

In the first couple of decades of the 20th Century in Idaho, ranchers were in an all out battle with wolves, much more so than they are today.  The concern of today's ranchers in Idaho over wolves is not based upon some shallow "Little Red Riding Hood" syndrome, as the environmentalists have coined it.  No, their concern is based on experience.  Their grandfathers fought that war, won it, and lived to tell the story.  But their efforts to undo the wily and rapidly growing wolf population was undone when the federal government had other bright ideas in the last couple of decades of the 20th Century.

How bad were things early on?  Consider this news report from the L’abeille de la Nouvelle-Orleans newspaper on January 17, 1911:

Wolves are destroying scores of sheep and cattle in the southern part of the state, according to James J. Gordon, an Orryhee county rancher, who is in Boise for a few days.  The animals are said to be particularly ferocious this year, for the early season, and many of the ranchers are taking special precaution in the hiring of extra ranch hands to ward off the attacks of the ravenous animals.

“It is the most remarkable early winter I have ever seen,” said Mr. Gordon, “in the number of wolves which are infesting the country.  Not only sheep, but many cattle are being destroyed by the animals, which are traveling in packs over the country.  Even the coyotes are doing more damage than usual this year, but the greatest danger to the stockman is the number of wolves.

“The animals are apparently ravenous, which is an unusual condition at this season of the year, and much trouble is anticipated when the winter really sets in severely.  Many ranchers have had trouble with them, running in the very barnyards.

“Wolves are decidedly on the increase in the southern part of the state, and more have been killed there in the past month than in former years.

“In the event that the trouble is not abated, it is extremely probable that united efforts will be made by the stockman, and hunting parties will be organized as part of a systematic crusade against them.

“Another means, which has been suggested as an aid in their extermination, is an added reward to the bounty given by the state, which would be offered by the stockmen.

“Large bands of sheep have been removed from northern Utah and it is generally believed that this has been responsible for a large number of wolves which have come into the southern part of this state, for they have been forced out of Utah, because of lack of food.

A couple of points to take away.  First, I find it interesting that they saw a connection between the removal of sheep from N. Utah and the migration of the wolves to find a new food source.  Sounds pretty common sensical to me.  But I think that bears some pondering, and what it might mean for the current wolf situation.

The second point is that ranchers had enough with it, and set up a bounty system.  Did it work?  Consider the answer that is found in the August 18, 1930 edition of the Lewiston Morning Tribune:

Boise, Aug 17, 1930 (UP)- Although for many years a bounty on wolves has been awaiting the successful wolf hunter in Idaho, only one wolf has been killed in the last three years’ records of the predatory animal funds of the state disclose.  This does not include coyotes.

Three years ago the biological survey reported there were only two wolves in Idaho.  Within a month one of these was killed, a female, leaving the lonely male wandering around in the timber by himself.  What became of him or exactly how accurate the count was could not be known.

But the last report stated there were 17 wolves.  Of course they had drifted in from British Columbia or Montana – or even possibly escaped the earlier enumeration.  Yet in the several months since this report was out, no claims have come in for wolf bounties.  July claims called for bounties on 198 coyotes, nine wild cats and 12 cougars.

Incidentally, this will be about the last of the cougar claims paid by the state predatory animal board as the bounty was discontinued due to the disagreement with trappers over surrender of the pelts.

In about 20 years time, the bounties had worked well enough to reduce Idaho's wolf population from infestation status to virtually zero. 

How many sportsman would bicker with a proposed bounty on wolves?

If the Montana and Idaho game commissions are displeased with the lack of harvested wolves this past season, perhaps they should offer some additional incentive to hunters and trappers.  Non-residents would jump more readily at the idea of a bounty hunt, helping IF&G coffers, and really - who wouldn't be spending more time afield?

But let me add one caveat.  Perhaps the ranchers of today would do well to remember something else their grandfathers did - help pay for the bounties.  Rather than putting this on the shoulder of the general tax payers, ranching organizations and individual ranchers were opening their pocketbooks first.

Would bounties really be that much more politically incorrect than gunning wolves down from helicopters?  

~ J. Bunch

Read More

War On Wolves Moves To The Sky & Wolf Harvest Update 12/7/11

If you decide to pack way into the middle of the Lolo Zone in the quest to fill your wolf tag, you might want to inform the IF&G of your exact location.  Wouldn't want any friendly fire in the War On Wolves.

IF&G recently announced two things.  One, they are disappointed that hunting and trapping efforts have not substantially reduced the wolf numbers in the Lolo Zone.  Two, they're going to use helicopter gunning as a consequence.

They want to do this ASAP in order to help the Lolo Zone elk herd rebound, which has crashed down to about 2,000 elk from numbers that once were around 16,000 before wolves were introduced.  This action will likely come later this winter, when snow cover will be sufficient for causing the wolves to stick out like sore thumbs and easy targets.  Use of helicopters is not cheap; it's best to wait for optimum conditions.  You can read all the details here.

One thing we know for sure - wolf advocates will not like this move.  Prepare to hear about it.  IF&G's stance is that they want to kill as many wolves as possible, but leave just enough to prevent them ever being considered as an endangered species.  150 wolves need to be maintained statewide to prevent federal review.

The latest IF&G wolf harvest update shows that 1 more wolf was killed in the Lolo Zone.  2 more in the Dworshak/Elk City Zone.  3 more in the Salmon Zone.  And 1 more in the South Mountains Zone.  Only 1 wolf has been harvested by trapping, and that was in the Dworshak/Elk City Zone.

Here's the latest update:

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Soda Springs Man Busted For Guiding/Outfitting

If you thought poaching would get you into big trouble with IF&G, just look at how deep you can get by guiding and outfitting illegally in Idaho.  The Idaho Outfitters & Guides Licensing Board, a stand alone Idaho state agency (if you could call it that), licenses and regulates outfitters and guides in Idaho.  And if you don't follow the law, the legal punishments are steep.

One Idaho man found that out yesterday in court, where the judge sentenced Sydney Davis, 46, of Soda Springs, to 30 months in prison for taking some Nevadan good ol' boys on a guided mule deer hunt in Idaho.  He also may not hunt, fish, guide, or outfit anywhere in the world for 3 years after he's released.  Not sure how a federal judge could prohibit him from doing so anywhere in the world, but there you go.

This is the same guy who once claimed that Karl Malone tried to pay him $25,000 in exchange for covering Malone's back regarding an illegal hunt that allegedly occurred in 1998.  That case was thrown out in an Idaho court.

It is important to remember that it is illegal for you to take compensation for guiding if you are not licensed.  Even if someone offers you a dozen ears of sweet corn in exchange for a little guidance to fill your tag, you better know what you're doing exactly by getting to know Idaho's tough guiding/outfitting laws.

More details on the news story here.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Place: Bellevue, Idaho

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Cougars Facing Threats

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports:

A big threat to cougars now may be wolves. Since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park, there are fewer cougar kittens. From 2004 to 2008, out of the four to six females tracked near Jackson, Wyo., only one litter was produced, Quigley said. It’s not yet clear whether wolves directly kill kittens or disrupt cougar females’ behavior.

So, we have been told, the wolves were the "missing link" in the Intermountain West ecology.  Turns out we don't have any idea of all of the effects of our presumptions.  Did the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service do a full environmental & ecological impact study that included how the introduction of wolves might relate to the survival of cougars?

Doubt it.  Poor kitty cats.

So let's see.  We first rescued the big cats by listing them as big game (where they can be managed reasonably) from predators (where they were being baited to death).  Then we list the grizzlies as endangered.  Then we introduce wolves, which appear to be harming the cougar population one way or another, and present a threat to our 3 caribou, who we want to protect as well.  And the grizzlies like caribou meat too.  This sort of mish-mash could go on and on.

So what do we have?  We have a bunch of folks in power, with too much money, who like to play zoo.

For the full article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, click here.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Lake Lowell Mule Deer Hunt, A Possibility

It sounds like farmers around Lake Lowell may get some relief from the depredation caused by mule deer.  A proposed controlled hunt at Lake Lowell (short range weapons only) is on the table.  You of course, can comment to the folks in charge at your convenience.

From the Idaho Statesman:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comments on a Draft Mule Deer Hunt Plan, Environmental Assessment and compatibility determination for Deer Flat National Wildlife Wildlife Refuge’s Lake Lowell Unit in Canyon County. The agency examined the impacts of opening both a controlled mule deer hunt season and a depredation hunt season on portions of the Lake Lowell Unit. Short-range weapons would be used for both seasons, the agency said in a news release Wednesday morning. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and other stakeholders identified important mule deer issues, including managing the refuge’s mule deer population, providing mule deer hunting opportunities and controlling agricultural depredation by mule deer, during initial planning for the refuge’s comprehensive conservation plan. In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service examined these issues under a separate planning process to expedite development of the Draft Hunt Plan and associated documents. Those draft documents are available for public review and comment on the refuge’s website. Printed copies are available at the refuge visitor center, 13751 Upper Embankment Road, Nampa. Public comments on the Draft Hunt Plan and associated documents are due: Jan. 5, 2012. Email comments to Eric_anderson@fws.gov or mail them to US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, attn: Eric Anderson PVST, 911 NE 11th Ave. Portland, Ore. 97232-4181

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Round 1: Snake River Elk Zone vs. Palisades Elk Zone

This is the second installment on a series of posts comparing Idaho's any-weapon, antlered, general season elk hunts. For an intro to this series, go here.

For the first post in this series, read Dworshak Elk Zone vs. Bear River Elk Zone.

Snake River Elk Zone

The Hunt

The any-weapon, antlered, general season elk hunt for the Snake River Zone took place from August 1, 2011 - August 31, 2011. The antlered hunt for this zone is on the A-Tag, and is only good for Unit 63, so we'll just be looking at Unit 63 in this post. There is no capped limit of tags for this hunt. On Mud Lake WMA, only short range weapons are allowed.

This is an early season hunt, and an anterless elk hunt follows this one for Unit 63 that runs from September 1 - December 31. Basically, IF&G really wants you to get your elk in this zone, and plenty of hunts are available, especially anterless ones, but more on that later.

Location

Unit 63's border within the Snake River Zone starts at Blackfoot, ID, travels north along I-15, all the way to Dubois. From Dubois, it follows HWY 22 west until it intersects with HWY 33. It then continues south and west until it hits HWY 20/26, just east of Butte City. Then it jogs back to the east and south on HWY 20/26 until HWY 20 breaks off. The border continues to follow HWY 26 back to Blackfoot and I-15.

Terrain/Land Ownership

An aerial view of Unit 63 will tell you a lot. If there's any trees in the unit, they are some experimental ones deep underground in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This is a dry, high Idaho desert. It is all pretty much sitting at 5,000 ft. in elevation, except for the occasional bare butte. Get on one of the buttes, and you can see for an eternity.

For the most part, this is horrible elk habitat. But once you throw in enough wildfires that replace sagebrush with native grasses, and you provide enough hay fields... well, enough said. Hay fields. And that is the key to this whole place for elk hunting.

The State of Idaho owns 8% of the land. BLM - 54%. Private - 36%. And the remaining little bit belongs to Dept. of Energy and other public landowners. Needless to say, there's plenty of public ground on it to hunt.

The terrain, besides not changing much in elevation, consists of 60% rangeland (desert), 29% irrigated agriculture, 8% Rock (lava), and about 3% of other stuff, including dry land agriculture. Unit 63 consists of 1,285,491 acres, or 2,009 square miles.

Herd Health/Stats

The herd is healthy. Too healthy for the farmers in the area. There are vast stretches of rangeland/desert, but I doubt many elk are prancing around in those parts. Crop depredation has been horrible here, and I suspect most of the elk stay within a day's walking distance of the irrigated fields of plenty. Wouldn't you? In fact, it is known that elk take refuge on INL ground during the day, and they invade the plush fields at night. "Night marauding S.O.B.'s!" is a common curse by farmers in reference to the elk of the area.

The conditions have been so good for the elk, that the population has been maintaining itself well above IF&G's objectives. Plenty of hunting opportunities, both for antlered and anterless elk have not done the trick. IF&G wants to see 25-35 cows in the whole Zone (which also includes Units 53, 63A, and 68A), and 5-10 bulls (including 1-5 mature bulls).

This Zone, which once used to be a big buffalo feeding ground, now holds 200 cows, and 100 bulls (50 of which are mature bulls), and many, if not most, are found in Unit 63.

Statistics are only available for Unit 63's hunts with the A-Tag. Which means when it comes to the stats, some guesswork has to be done as to how many hunters went after bulls, and how many went after cows. With the A-Tag, hunters can hunt for bulls in Unit 63 from 8/1 to 8/31, and then if they don't fill their tag, they can hunt for cows from 9/1 - 12/31. Some educated guesses had to come into play with some of these statistics (query me for further info), but here we go:

Elk per Square Mile: 0.15

Hunters per Square Mile: 0.29

Bulls per Square Mile: 0.05

Average Hunter Days: 6.4

Bull Harvest Percentage: 10%

Percent Spikes Harvested: 19%

Percent 6+ points Harvested: 30%

Notes

The elk/square mile is a little deceiving. As I said before, I think much of Unit 63 is not inhabited by elk. Could be wrong about that, but I don't think so. No, the elk here are close to irrigated agriculture, which means near the Mud Lake/Dubois area, and the hay, wheat, and barley fields north of I-15, stretching from Blackfoot onto Idaho Falls. Likewise, the hunters are probably more concentrated in those areas where the elk are.

30% of the bulls harvested were 6 points or better. Not bad, but on the whole, the 10% success rate for bulls in general should be considered along with that. No actual IF&G surveys are conducted here, so their numbers and objectives are gathered in other ways. But they do figure that about half the bulls are mature bulls. In conclusion, I would say that the chances of harvesting a mature bull are decent.

But the key is to be where the elk are. Ambushing them as they come out of the fields in the early morning is a popular and practical way of hunting the deserts. In most cases, BLM ground sits adjacent to the private ground where the elk are likely to be.

Now for the Palisades Zone

The Hunt

The Palisades Zone consists of Unit 64 & Unit 67. The B-Tag is the antlered hunt that ran from October 15 - October 24. It is preceded by an archery hunt from August 30 - September 30. The A-Tag is an anterless hunt that follows the antlered hunt from October 22 - November 15. There is no capped limit of tags for this Zone.

Location

The Palisades Zone consists of the Snake River Range of mountains that jet out of Wyoming, north of the section of HWY 26 that runs from Ririe, through Swan Valley, and to Alpine, WY. The south border is the South Fork of the Snake River. The west side of the Zone extends down into the agricultural area around Rexburg and St. Anthony. The north border bumps up to Newdale, then plops on down through the mountains, so some watershed, range, and map knowledge is imperative.

The Teton Zone is on the north, and I've seen elk here right on the line of these two Zones, where it would have been easy to tag an elk in, just barely, the wrong Zone. Game Wardens won't understand, so you need to understand where you're at, and where the elk are at. Exactly. The north border gets easier once it intersects with HWY 31, which runs north-south, connecting the two towns of Swan Valley and Victor. From there, the border follows the highway to Victor, and then goes east along the highway from Victor to the Wyoming border. The east border is the Wyoming-Idaho state line. Geez, just look at the map. It's confusing to explain.

There is a total of 493,184 acres, or 770 square miles to hunt in this zone.

Terrain/Land Ownership

Most of the huntable area lies within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. 51% of the ground belongs to the USFS. Private - 41%. State of Idaho - 4%. BLM - 2%. And the remaining belongs to other minor bureaus. There is plenty of public ground to hunt. But there are not a lot of open roads here. This is considered a "semi-backcountry" area.

Let me explain that a little bit. The area is rife with trails of one sort or another. Depending on the weather, you may run into mountain bikers, dog walkers, dirt bikes, atv's, snowmobiles, and who knows, maybe even skateboarders. Some trails are open to small motorized vehicles (atv's, dirtbikes), and others are open to only non-motorized modes of travel (horses, mountain bikes). Maps are available from the USFS that detail which trails are for what.

With that said, it is fairly easy to get away from the recreational crowds. This is some steep country to hunt. Most advise that if you try to hunt this Zone without horses, you're insane. I can vouch for that. I had to pack out my dad's 5 point a couple of years ago in this Zone - a 6.85 mile round trip - on my back. Wish I'd had a horse.

Anyway, once you get off of the trail system, where the recreational folks are at, you can get away from it all, and into elk. Actually, my dad's elk was shot from a horse trail, and a couple of mountain bikers pedaled on by in their spandex as he was gutting it out. So you don't even have to leave the trails to find elk.

Most of the private property will be on the outside edges of the Zone, and while in some cases it might be a plus to have permission to hunt somewhere, most of the elk will still be pretty high that time of the year, and in the forest.

Parts of the Zone are heavily timbered, and other areas consist of pockets of aspen, pockets of timber, and open sagebrush areas. And did I mention this is a steep area? You'll pull out of Swan Valley at around 5,000 ft. in elevation, make camp at 6,500 ft, hunt up to 8,000 ft., and then probably shoot your elk down in the canyon on the other side at 7,000 ft. Be in good shape, or bring horses.

Herd Health/Stats

The herd here is in good shape, but it hasn't always been that way. Up to the '70's, the herd was over-hunted. It has recovered, but since that time it has faced other challenges. The implementation of Palisades Reservoir on the South Fork took a big bite out of elk wintering grounds. That, combined with expanding agriculture and development, has left the elk wondering where to go. The IF&G won't let them mingle too close to the wintering grounds where cattle are for fear of disease transmission. And the private domestic elk ranches on the west end are off limits too. Up to 2005, IF&G had been baiting the herds away from the disease threats, and attempts were made to get the elk to winter elsewhere. Snowmobiling has also scared the elk away from some traditional wintering grounds on the north side of the Zone. These are still challenges for the IF&G, but they are hoping the herds will find ways to sustain themselves away from threats.

Other than those concerns, the herd is doing quite nicely, number-wise. The cows and bulls are above objective, according to the 2009 population survey. And mature bulls are well above objective. Objectives are 400-600 cows, and 461 cows counted. Objectives for bulls are 125-200, of which they want 75-125 mature bulls. The survey counted 195 bulls, of which 153 were mature. I like that.

Again, the stats required a little guesswork, but I think I'm probably being overly-conservative:

Elk per Square Mile: 0.85

Hunters per Square Mile: 0.85

Bulls per Square Mile: 0.25

Average Hunter Days: 6.35

Bull Harvest Percentage: 7%

Percentage Spikes Harvested: 11%

Percentage 6+ points Harvested: 39%

Analysis

Well, another tough one. This is basically the flat, open desert vs. the steep, timbered mountains. Beauty-wise, there is no comparison. Palisades takes the cake with its typical Rocky Mountain aspen stands, its sagebrush openings, and its deep, dark timber. Plus, you're likely to watch the sun rise over the Tetons. Unless you really prefer hunting the stale desert between Blackfoot and Mud Lake, I'd recommend Palisades for the hunting experience.

But that isn't what this is about. This is about the best chance for harvesting a bull elk. The Snake River Zone says you're 10% likely to harvest a bull; 7% at Palisades. Of that percentage, you have a 30% chance of harvesting a 6 point or better in the Snake River Zone; that raises to 39% in Palisades.

The elk in Palisades are going to be more spread out, and thus your chance of running into other hunters will be less (if you stay off the trails). The elk in the Snake River Zone are not as dispersed, and will be in a predictable pattern of visiting the green hay fields. The hunters that hunt that zone know that, and so do you now. So if you decide to go there, you'll probably meet them. Not a big deal, both zones are big enough. But if you're in shape like a mountain goat, you're likely to get plenty away from other hunters in the Palisade Zone, and that's where the elk are anyway. In the Snake River Zone, who knows.

There are unique challenges to each Zone. Snake River is a challenge because first you have to locate elk, then figure out a way to ambush them on their patterns. It's wide open desert hunting. Palisades, on the other hand, provides more of a traditional hunting opportunity: go into the mountains, find an elk, and then shoot it.

The Winner

Palisades. I guess. I'd like to try the Snake River hunt, and it sure sounds like there's a lot of elk there. But there's also a good chance that you may not be at the right place at the right time there, and you could very well go home without seeing a thing. Palisades has a lot of elk too, and you're likely to see them, at the very least if you have a decent pair of binoculars. Then it's a matter of getting to them. But that's up to you, and what kind of shape you're in.

In the end, if you start your stair stepping workouts in January, I think you're more likely to harvest a bull (and a mature one, at that) in the Palisades Zone.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Guest Post - 2011 Thanksgiving: A Trout Fishing Excursion To Remember

What happens when your wife and kids leave you alone for Thanksgiving?  Sit on the couch watching football, getting fat on cardboard pizza all weekend?  Guest Poster Bryan Jones, from Moscow, decided that the most respectful thing to do was to head over to the most beautiful fishing spots in the state, and make good use of the free time.  Bryan originally posted this over at Big Fish Tackle.  Thanks Bryan for sharing. ~ J. Bunch

Last week the wife and kids went to visit the grandparents in Ohio. As a consequence I was left unsupervised for the entire week of Thanksgiving so I did what any self-respecting BFT'er would do - I fished!

After dropping the family off at the airport on Monday in Spokane, I made a quick stop at Cabela's to gear up, and Petco to stock up on Meal worms. I then shot over to my favorite pike spot (where my buddy had just caught a 15 pounder the week before) with high hopes, only to find it covered with one inch of crappy ice. That was a bust. I drove home to Moscow and frantically packed and got out of dodge by about 5:00 or 6:00 pm.

I made it over Lolo just fine, then found a church parking lot in Missoula, and slept in my car for the night (which isn't as fun as it sounds considering I drive a Toyota Camry and I'm not a petite fellow). I woke up at about 05:00 and continued on. I got to Henry's Lake at around 10:00 or 11:00 hoping the morning bite would continue a little longer.

Not really knowing too many access points at the lake, I decided to explore. I found what looked like a spot where my car wouldn't get stuck, and it wasn't even too crowded, so I decided to give it a try. I got my holes drilled and my jigger totters set up and started fishing in about 5 or 6 feet of water, and sure enough it wasn't long before the bite was on!

I caught probably around 20 or so before the bite slowed way down in the afternoon, so I decided to pack it up and do some exploring. I checked out the Fromme (sp?) boat docks to see what all the hubub was about. The ice was a little more sketchy there, only about 4 inches, but I continued on gingerly. I didn't even bring my auger onto the ice, I just walked around to old holes other people had left. I pulled two quick fish out of one hole, then decided to walk around some more. I found a spot where there was a few inches of water on top of perfectly clear ice. It was like fishing in a three foot deep aquarium. Apparently there are sea monsters in that aquarium because a giant swam by. of course he didn't even notice my jig. Pretty soon a big brookie was eyeing the jig so I tried to act cool. I twitched it a couple of times and managed not to jump the gun when she bit. 

I called it a day after that fish, and headed down the hill to St. Anthony to stay with some friends. The big fish for the day were a 19 inch brook and a 20 inch cut with a total of 24 fish.

Bright and early the next morning I was back at it catching more fish. I iced 29 fish that day but they seemed to have a maximum size, and try as I might I couldn't beat my big fish from the day before, though there were a couple of interesting catches. This guy for example came up with a sculpin in his mouth and he had what appeared to be some sort of fishy tattoo of an X on his shoulder.



And this one was one of the the prettiest Yellowstone cutthroats I've ever seen.





The next day (Thanksgiving) I couldn't ignore the Henry's Fork calling my name any longer, so I hit some of my old favorite spots around St. Anthony. I went to Del Rio first thing, but all I caught was a bunch of ice in my guides. I headed down stream to the next spot and started stripping small wooly buggers and started hammering fish! This picture is of my first brown trout in one year, 11 months, and two weeks. I was starting to develop a twitch it had been so long!



He wasn't big but to me he was beautiful.
For the rest of the morning I don't think I went three casts without a bite! This pretty 17 inch fish was the biggest of the morning:



At noon I headed back to the house for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. The bad news though was that their dining room table is right next to a big bay window overlooking one of my all time favorite fishing spots. She kept calling to me. Being the good guest that I am, I helped clean up and do dishes and such, all the while glancing over at the river, which was still calling my name.

At four-thirty I couldn't take it any more. I slipped my waders back on and slipped out the door. I only had about a half hour of daylight left, but it was better than nothing. I Soon caught another little guy. Then I made one of the few really good casts of the trip. I used a reach cast and put the little streamer about two or three inches from the bank and it drifted under a bush in a little eddy on the side of an island. Sure enough, the fly stopped dead. I set the hook and the fish didn't move! I was pretty ginger in fighting him since I was using 5X tippet. After our brief tug of war I pulled him up onto the grass. While he wasn't the two footer I had hoped for he was 19 inches of angry brown trout. I couldn't have been happier.



Friday brought more of the same, though I didn't catch quite as many. I rounded out the day with 7 fish landed.

Saturday I arranged to meet a buddy and float from Warm River to Ashton. I got there early so I could nymph another favorite spot. Unfortunately the slush monster was out in force that day. But not being one to give up that easily I fished between the slush-bergs, and lo and behold the fish were still there!



The slush monster was nice enough to give up 5 fish but they were all pretty small. When my buddy got there with his boat we debated whether or not to go through with our plan since there was so much slush. We decided to float it anyway.

I threw bigger streamers all day trying for something a little bigger. The slush subsided about 45 minutes into the float, which made things much easier. I only caught two fish but they were both really pretty. One was a 16 inch cut-bow, and the other was a 20 inch brown with the brightest orange spots I've seen!





Having broken the 20 inch mark, I was pretty happy, but we kept on fishing. Just above the Hwy. 20 bridge I set the hook into a solid fish. He immediately surfaced and shook his head, I think to show us how big and bad he was, and in doing so promptly spit the hook. I cried a little. We guessed that he was at least 22 or 23 inches - what the heck, this is my story - we guessed he that he was at least 26 or 27 inches - ya that sounds better.  At any rate I ended the day having caught 7 fish again.

That brings us to Sunday morning. I had to ice fish one more time before heading home. I got to the lake before sunrise and the temperature was some obscene figure like -11 or something like that, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do right?

I was very happy with the results of my trip so far. I had caught some really cool fish, and quite a few to boot, but in the back of my mind there was still that tiny twinge of disappointment that I hadn't got anything big from Henry's Lake (and I was still a little upset from losing that 29 incher on the Henry's Fork the day before).

I decided to walk a little ways to try to fish a little bit deeper and find fish that hadn't been fished so heavily. This was a decision that paid off nicely. The ice was noticeably thicker by this point. I was getting a work out drilling holes with my crappy hand auger, and setting up rods as I got holes drilled. By the time I was on my fourth hole, I had "jigger-tottered" up three fish including another 19 inch brookie. Then the rod in the hole closest to me dipped once then stopped. I walked over and watched it - nothing. I picked it up and jigged it a little and right away a truck hit it! My jig started out seven feet down so the fish had a little bit of room to get his tail behind him and fight properly. It was obvious that this was a different caliber of fish. I caught a glimpse of the tail as it passed under my hole and I saw that it was a big hybrid! He made several runs, and shook his head for what seemed like forever, which prevented me from pulling him through the hole.

I finally got him up in the hole and tried to grab him, but I missed and he sank back down and we started over. On the third time up in the hole I managed to get a finger under his gill plate and slide him up onto the ice! I did a little back flip in my mind and tried to celebrate in a calm, manly way, just in case somebody was watching. He ended up stretching the tape to 25 inches, which was confirmed by the Fish and Game creel surveyor who measured it too.

I caught a couple more before packing it up at 11:00, for a total of 7 fish for the day again. That made a trip total of 6 days fished, 97 fish landed, and probably 9 or 10 fish 20 inches long, and one much bigger! But I couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending to my trip than getting a beautiful Henry's Lake hybrid.


- Thanks goes to Hookedlikeu and gang for taking my picture and sharing advice. 

~ Bryan Jones

Read More

Wolf Harvest Update 11/30/2011

18 more wolves have been harvested since I last reported on November 18, 2011.

4 more were shot in the Panhandle, 3 more in Dworshak-Elk City, 2 more in Selway, 1 more in Middle Fork, 2 more in Salmon, 1 more in Sawtooth, and 5 more in the Southern Mountains.  Still nothing for Southern Idaho.  No areas with quotas have been filled yet.  Biggest surprise is that only 10 wolves have been killed in Island Park (9) and Beaverhead (1), an area where ranchers have been crying wolf the loudest.

Read More

Round 1: Dworshak Elk Zone vs. Bear River Elk Zone

This is the first installment of a series of posts comparing the best Idaho has to offer for general season, rifle, antlered elk tags. For more explanation on the general elk season comparisons, read the intro here.

First, let's start off with the Dworshak Zone in North Idaho.  

The Hunt

In 2011, the Dworshak Zone had an antlered, any-weapon hunt (B-Tag) that ran from Oct. 10 - Nov. 3 (25 days).  Archery hunts preceded the any-weapon hunt from August 30 - September 30.  Only 2,380 B-Tags were available for purchase, first come, first served.  The tags were available to non-residents starting on Dec. 1, 2010, and to residents on July 10, 2011.

Location

From Kamiah up to Orofino, and then up to Elk River, the Dworshak Zone spans east until it butts up to the Lolo Zone.  Dworshak Reservoir sits in the middle of the zone.  Or, maybe we should call it a rain forest.  This part of the state gets plenty of precipitation, both in rain and snow.  Typical of most of the North Idaho forests, there is a lot of undergrowth in the zone, and that's especially important since we'll be comparing it to a much different Southeast Idaho elk zone - Bear River.  The Dworshak Zone consists of only one Game Management Area - Unit 10A.

Terrain/Land Ownership

As for terrain, much of it is wooded.  48% is private ground, much of which is private timber company land.  The timber companies are pretty good about allowing hunters.  Some require a permission slip; others don't.  As long as you're not driving behind closed gates and cutting down good timber, you're usually okay to go.  23% of the land belongs to the State of Idaho, 25% to the Forest Service & BLM, and about 4% to the Corp of Engineers (land along Dworshak Reservoir) and Tribal Lands.  All of that is to say that this is mostly a big forest, scattered with typical woodland meadows, and plenty of clear cuts.  The entire zone encompasses 995,490 acres, or 1,555 square miles.

The logging activity can make elk visibility poor in the short term, but long term, the clear cuts provide excellent elk habitat.  A lot of folks hunt this zone because of the clear cuts.  Without the logging activity, hunting here would be a uniform deep timber wilderness hunt.  Access to Forest Service, state lands, and commercial timber property is easy.

The terrain gets pretty steep and mountainous in the Elk River area, and north of Dworshak Reservoir.  The southern portion of the zone isn't as steep-crazy, but there's still hills to climb and drainages to cross.  If you like getting your shins wet from ferns as you climb mountains, and finding yourself playing twister through vast deadfalls of trees, you might consider this zone.

But it's not all hard work.  People harvest plenty of elk out of this zone, and we also know that most of the "plenty" are pretty plenty lazy hunters.  Perhaps I've described this zone as pretty hard to maneuver in.  Well, don't kid yourself.  You know the big bulls will be in the hardest places to get to - the thick underbrush that's taller than you combined with thick timber and plenty of deadfalls.  Some prefer to hunt from the boat in Dworshak Reservoir.  Fish during the midday hours, and spot for elk.  Then wake up the next morning and stalk what you glassed.  Sounds like a great time to me.  There's lots of places to camp along the shore that are only accessible by boat, so this method can get you away from other people pretty effectively.  Just make sure that as you make plans to do this, you check the water levels of the reservoir.  In the fall, the water is usually down, making some destination points pretty inaccessible.  

Herd Health/Stats

The latest hard numbers are from the 2007 IF&G survey that counted 3,236 cows.  Objective numbers for the cows sits at 2,900 - 4,300.  All good there.  Bulls, on the other hand, are down.  The survey said there were 477, which is below the objective 600 - 900.  IF&G did their latest elk count in the Dworshak Zone in February of 2011.  I don't have the exact numbers now, but word is that cows are increasing, calves are holding steady, and bull numbers continue to drop.

Based on the numbers available at this time, here are the stats for 2010.

Elk per square mile: 2.39

Hunters per square mile: 1.4

Bulls per square mile: 0.31

Average hunter days: 8.12

Bull harvest percentage: 20%

Spikes harvested percentage: 42%

6+ points harvested percentage: 15%

Now, let's turn our attention to the Bear River Zone.

The Hunt

In 2011, the any-weapon, antlered-only hunt was sold as a B-Tag, and ran from Oct. 15 - Oct. 24 (10 days).  It was preceded by an archery elk hunt from Aug. 30 - Sep. 30.  There was no capped limit of tags for the Bear River Zone in 2011.

Location

The Bear River Zone consists of three Game Management Areas - Unit 75, Unit 77, and Unit 78.  From Soda Springs at the top, the zone border on the east angles southeast through the Nounan Valley, and then south down to Montpelier.  Then it heads west over to Ovid, and then shoots straight down to the Utah line.  The west border, from Soda Springs, heads south to the small town of Grace, then lolly-gags over to Preston, and then south to Utah.

Terrain/Land Ownership

Think of this zone as two valleys that run north and south, with a mountain range in between.  That mountain range is the northern end of the Wasatch Range that extends down into Utah.  The valleys sit between 5,000 and 6,000 ft. in elevation, and the mountains climb above 8,000 ft, with some of the peaks topping 9,000 ft.  The valleys are pretty much private wheat and barley fields, and some range land.  The foothills consist of sagebrush with aspen groves and mountain shrubs.  Further on up, firs start to cover the north facing slopes, and then it grades up to high alpine trees and meadows.

In many ways, the Bear River Zone is easier to maneuver in comparison to the Dworshak Zone, simply because you can choose to hunt open areas, which are much more readily available.  Still, as you get in the dark timber, the going is rough - just like anywhere else.  This is a typical high altitude, arid, Rocky Mountain elk hunting zone.

Basically, 48% of the land here is private, and 52% is public.  The private ground is in the valleys, the public ground is mostly forest service in the mountains.  Access to the public ground is easy.  There are tons of roads in the Bear River Zone, which in many peoples' minds is one of the disadvantages of this zone.  Some have said that you basically can't get any further than 2 miles from a road in one direction or the other.  While that's not quite true, the point is taken that this is a road-hunter's paradise.  The zone consists of 567,652 acres, or 887 square miles, and there are plenty of roads to wind through it.

Herd Health/Stats

The latest IF&G survey occurred in 2010.  606 cows were counted, exceeding the objective amount of 400 - 600.  98 bulls were counted, which places that number right in the middle of the objective 80 - 120.  The elk like to winter in the valleys, and depradation tags and feeding programs are typically utilized on a small scale.  Most of the elk in the zone are fairly well spread out in smaller herds.  The elk population has been stable recently.

The stats here aren't entirely scientific.  Because there are three units in this zone, some guesswork had to be done in regard to the number of hunters and days spent in the field for the antlered-only tag.  If you're interested in the specifics of how I came up with my numbers, I'll gladly explain.  But for now, here we go.

Elk per square mile: 0.79

Hunters per square mile: 1.47

Bulls per square mile: 0.11

Average hunter days: 4.4

Bull harvest percentage: 16%

Spikes harvested percentage: 20%

6+ points harvested percentage: 19%

Analysis 

Obviously, there are many other factors to consider, such as growing elk predation problems, and past years trending. At the same time, I think I've covered most of the bases. Here we go.

Dworshak has 3 times as many elk per square mile than does Bear River.  And the same ratio holds true for bulls per square mile.  While this seems like a no-brainer in favor of Dworshak, the terrain has to be considered.  The stats show that there is 1 bull for every 3 square miles in Dworshak, and 1 bull for every 10 square miles in Bear River.  But you can glass a lot of open land in Bear River.  In Dworshak, you're lucky to find a spot where you can see 100 yards of clearing in front of you.  I give the edge here to Dworshak, simply because the odds seem better.

Hunters per square mile is a wash between the two.  I think you're probably more likely to run into a hunter in the Bear River Zone than you are in the Dworshak Zone.  In Dworshak, it is much easier to get far away from any roads.  It's basically a big forest all the way until you get part way through Montana.  The edge here also goes to Dworshak.  If my concern is to get away from other hunters, I know I can do it here.

Harvest numbers also show that Dworshak does better than Bear River.  Dworshak has a very respectable 20% harvest rate for antlered elk, while Bear River checks in at 16%.  However, if you're looking for a bigger bull, Bear River has the edge.  42% of the bulls taken out of Dworshak in 2010 were spikes, and another 33% were raghorns of some sort.  Only 15% were 6 points or better.  However, in Bear River, only 20% were spikes, 61% were raghorns, and 19% were 6 points or better.  I think Bear River gets the edge here.  If I'm only 4% more likely to harvest something in Dworshak, I'll take my odds at getting something larger than a spike in Bear River.

The Winner

Dworshak.  But I had to give that a few moments of reflection before I decided.  If I was given the choice to hunt one or the other, I'd probably choose Bear River because I enjoy that terrain more, and it is a zone that presents unique challenges (such as finding places that hold elk that are as far away from roads as is possible).  However, if you told me that I was set up with a boat in Dworshak Reservoir, and could hunt and camp from it, that would be a hard offer to turn down.

In the end, you're more likely to harvest something (and that's what this is mostly about) in Dworshak.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

Rex Rammell Has Disappeared

In my previous post, I relayed a news release from the IF&G, who is seeking to track down the poacher east of Idaho Falls. Apparently somebody shot a spike elk in a cow only season. I was going to joke by replying, "Hmmm. Where's Rex Rammell?" But then I thought, nah - that's not fair to this poacher. I mean, it's not like this person was in the Middle Fork Zone, shooting a spike with a Tex Creek cow tag.

So then I thought I'd google for the latest news on Rex Rammell, something I do for kicks every now and then. Google: no news. Yahoo: no news. Bing: no news.

What? Did Rammell figure out a way to clear all of his news off of the internet? Hardly sounds like him. In fact, it may be his worst nightmare that he's not so popular anymore. Which means, I think, he'll be doing something stupid (and newsworthy) any day now.

~ J. Bunch

Read More

East Idaho Elk Poaching

From the IF&G:

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking help from the public regarding a poaching incident that occurred about three miles from the Kepps Crossing area east of Idaho Falls.

The incident involved a spike elk that was killed in the area of the Bulls Fork road about three miles from Kepps Crossing. The individuals involved killed four elk. Two cows, a calf and a spike. They recovered all the meat that was required, but the problem was that they killed a spike in a cow only hunt.

Evidence at the site indicates the incident probably occurred Friday November 25.

Anyone who might have information pertaining to this incident should contact the regional IDFG Office in Idaho Falls at 208-525-7290. To report other possible illegal activities concerned citizens can call the Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Callers can remain anonymous and rewards may be available.

~ J. Bunch

Read More