Idaho Moose

[CO_jakrabt]

We are desperate....We have been in the field for 6 days and haven't seen a single sign of a moose. Me and my buddy are up here in ID in unit 12-1. All we are seeing is bear and wolf sign so far. Does anyone have pointers or suggestions where to look. We've been on the West side for a couple days and the rest of the time in the Eastern part of the unit. We hear mixed reports from locals and biologist.

Any advice is appreciated. We are down at the Lochsa Lodge drying out and getting a fresh meal in.

 

[Zbowman1]

Keep trying. Its a little early and warm still but I would guess the bulls will start moving soon with the weather change. Cover as much ground every day as you can. My wife has a 10-1 tag so I drive though that unit to get to hers and I haven't seen much either but they are there.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Good luck man! Just keep at it and stay mentally strong, it just takes that one moment when you’re caught off guard by a bull. How much longer are you hunting? I’ll be up there in 10-3 with a moose tag in a couple weeks.

 

[tntrker]

Good Luck, hang in there!!

 

[Alpineelk]

Get on ur maps and look for water/marsh areas and go check them out that's how I've found moose I have found a few wallows and they get hit by about anything including moose

 

[tntrker]

We are desperate....We have been in the field for 6 days and haven't seen a single sign of a moose. Me and my buddy are up here in ID in unit 12-1. All we are seeing is bear and wolf sign so far. Does anyone have pointers or suggestions where to look. We've been on the West side for a couple days and the rest of the time in the Eastern part of the unit. We hear mixed reports from locals and biologist.

Any advice is appreciated. We are down at the Lochsa Lodge drying out and getting a fresh meal in.

How'd it work out?

 

[Selway]

That's probably the hardest moose tag to fill in the lower 48. There is a very realistic chance that there isn't a single moose in the unit at any given time.

The last bull I saw in that unit was on the 500 road near Cayuse Lake. That's probably your best bet.

 

[KClark]

I feel your pain. I had a moose tag in MT once and hunted 24 days for it. I asked for advice from just about everybody including biologists and they all directed me to swamps. I wound up spotting only one very small bull in a unit known to have good moose numbers. I ran across plenty when I was scouting during the summer and thought it would be a slam dunk.

Here's what I learned: In the summer they are down low in swampy, marshy, willow flat and creek areas but as fall and their rut comes along they move up into the woods. The bulls hangout higher on timbered finger ridges and small drainage's with water and willows/birch. Hunt for tracks and droppings to see if you are in the right area, spotting scope probably won't do you any good.

Good luck!

 

[GregB]

Not sure if you are still up there but I sent you a PM.

 

[IdahoClay]

We are desperate....We have been in the field for 6 days and haven't seen a single sign of a moose. Me and my buddy are up here in ID in unit 12-1. All we are seeing is bear and wolf sign so far. Does anyone have pointers or suggestions where to look. We've been on the West side for a couple days and the rest of the time in the Eastern part of the unit. We hear mixed reports from locals and biologist.

Any advice is appreciated. We are down at the Lochsa Lodge drying out and getting a fresh meal in.

Its a little early yet. The rut doesn't kick in until October for most areas of Idaho. Also, its been incredibly hot, but the rut is triggered by daylight more than anything.

Also, a good strategy is to pick a likely location and plan on spending 3-4 days calling in the same location. Moose are solitary animals and it takes bulls a bit of time to decide to come in. I sat in a drainage with limited sign in 2015 for 5 days calling consistently in one location and eventually I had a cow come in on day 3 and by day 5 I was surrounded by bulls. I followed the strategy that Wayne Kubat's strategy.

https://alaskaremote.com/my-3-day-strategy-for-moose-hunting-success

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Nice bull Clay, was this in a northern unit of ID? Just curious if your thoughts on 10-3 I’ll be up there October 4th-14th. Plan on hiking in to the remote lakes ways of the road and using the calling strategy like you mentioned...

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Nice bull Clay, was this in a northern unit of ID? Just curious if your thoughts on 10-3 I’ll be up there October 4th-14th. Plan on hiking in to the remote lakes ways of the road and using the calling strategy like you mentioned...

If we get a early snow like last October, I wouldn't waste your time hiking to those lakes.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Thanks for the tip, I’m told it’s steep in there

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Thanks for the tip, I’m told it’s steep in there

Very steep. Just don't bite off more than you can chew and bring some good buddies to help out get him out.

 

[CO_jakrabt]

Well we ended up leaving and are planning on goign back in October. Yes...we've spoke to everybody around, seems like it's a migration unit. Hopefully with the rut kicking in, we can call one in or run across one. Thanks for all the info

 

[JES]

Good luck, sounds like a good plan to back out and wait for the rut to increase your odds.

 

[Zbowman1]

You should check the weather for this weekend. Wheather.gov is saying 5-9" above 5100'. This should get the moose on there feet.

 

[Alpineelk]

Just curious if u guys got into moose yet

 

[Zbowman1]

Well we ended up leaving and are planning on goign back in October. Yes...we've spoke to everybody around, seems like it's a migration unit. Hopefully with the rut kicking in, we can call one in or run across one. Thanks for all the info

Just curious if you ever made it back? Rumor mill has it a pretty big bull got killed in 12-1 middle of October. I remembered this post and was wondering if you had anything to do with that