Middle Fork September Elk/Deer hunt

[DAOutfitters208]

morning hike off of the middle fork. I only got to the top of the guard ridge above the river, not the top of the mountain. long, long ways off.

That puts it into perspective, I can justify hunting sheep in there, but elk Ill pass!

 

[BAKPAKR]

If you are driving to a trailhead and the weather forecast in the nearest town is rain, be careful where you park. This was around September 16.

 

[Justdecent]

The biologists know little to nothing about those units, it’s so remote and they are rarely in the field. They will tell you this personally. The last 10 or 15 posts on this topic will start you off in the right direction, as there has been about 3-5 separate ones every year.

Edit* That May have been a little steep saying that the biologists know little to nothing. But I do stand by the statement I made about it being remote and them not spending a ton of time in there. This was told directly to me from the biologists in 27. Point being, I think this thread as well as the previous threads are your best bet for preparing for the hunt. Good luck to you.

 

[idahohikker]

Haha you’re right. The bios do fly it in the winter every few years and one flies into the strips most years in November and checks things out during the hottest times for the strips. None of them hunt it regularly but some F&G guys in the Boise office do.

The pilots who fly back there know what’s up and the guys who’ve hunted it a few years +.

 

[Justdecent]

Haha you’re right. The bios do fly it in the winter every few years and one flies into the strips most years in November and checks things out during the hottest times for the strips. None of them hunt it regularly but some F&G guys in the Boise office do.

The pilots who fly back there know what’s up and the guys who’ve hunted it a few years +.

Absolutely. The pilots probably know more than anyone. However they’re likely not going to just feed info to every Tom, Dick and Harry.

 

[idahohikker]

Absolutely. The pilots probably know more than anyone. However they’re likely not going to just feed info to every Tom, Dick and Harry.

They want your business and they want you to have a good experience which means not leaving you at the worst strips. You’d be surprised.

 

[Justdecent]

They want your business and they want you to have a good experience which means not leaving you at the worst strips. You’d be surprised.

I understand that. I’m saying if you’re spending money, they likely would be more than happy to help out. But it takes spending the money to get any insight.

 

[npm352]

I think it is neat and admirable to want to hunt elk in there, but from what I hear, it seems like a lot of guys have the same idea and use the same few airstrips, which kind of defeats the point to me. Maybe I am just a wuss. I'd chase sheep and goat in that stuff, and apply for one or the other every year, but the thought of packing a bull elk out of that makes me hurt all over.

 

[deerlick]

I remember pulling up to the top of a mountain at the unit boarder looking down a ginormous cliff and the 8000'feet up the othersude of the river and my hunting partner telling me not to ever even think about asking him hunt in there. I agreed.

 

[Justdecent]

It would be different if the units held large numbers of animals. They just don’t anymore. Odds are very good you would drop into that canyon, climb all the way to the top and back down the other side and not cut one track. A huge percentage of those areas can be completely void of game.

 

[BAKPAKR]

morning hike off of the middle fork. I only got to the top of the guard ridge above the river, not the top of the mountain. long, long ways off.

Contrary to what the photos posted by mtnbiker208 would suggest, it is not always sunny in the Frank

 

[whuppinstick]

It's doable but I will echo everything else said in this thread. I killed this bull 13.5 miles from an airstrip, first week of October 2011. It took me 4.5 days of about 16 hours/day packing to get him back. And honestly, I got really lucky. He was with ten cows and they were the only elk in the country. I cut two other tracks on the 13 miles back to the airstrip.

 

[mtnbiker208]

Contrary to what the photos posted by mtnbiker208 would suggest, it is not always sunny in the Frank

View attachment 172446

you are correct, i sat at an airstrip for 5 extra days, due to the pilot not being able to fly. a 10 day trip turned into a 15 day trip. that was in november of 2007.

 

[ELK_Dre@mer]

That was our concern with driving that far and hunting right next to someone else. The biologist said at 3 miles in we would be alone, and at 5 miles from a road, we would find elk. The said most of the pressure is within a mile of a road. Our plan either flying in or driving is to go in about 5 miles for camp and hunt from there.

I am looking to go in mid october. Can I please get the number of the biologist you talked to? Much appreciated.

 

[Aginor]

Most of the country is too big for calling to do much good. It's not your typical call into a drainage and hear a bull answer and dive in. I watched a group of bulls bugling and chasing cows in there one day and never heard a single bugle and they were on the opposite side of the draw from me, what that meant for us was 4 miles the way a crow flys with over 8000 feet of elevation in really crappy cross country walking. We found a different route that was 5 miles one way and about 5000 feet of elevation, we made it halfway there through some super nasty terrain and it started snowing on us. We continued for a bit until we got to where we could see the elk again, about 2 miles left to go, it was already late afternoon and now we were watching them between snow flurries, we decided if we did get to the elk and fill even one tag we would spend several days packing out. We decided to turn back and didn't want to try to traverse the unknown nasty country in the snow, we arrived back at the trailhead where our vehicles were at about 2 am totally exhausted and defeated with 6" of snow, the drive was sketchy going back to camp.

Those elk ended up being in that spot a couple of days later as well and happened to be the only elk we saw the entire trip. We never made it across to them and ended up pulling camp early. We were not prepared for the challenges out there, the size of the country and the amount of deadfall and thick brush we were moving through. We saw wolves every single day and even had a pack of about 8 in our camp one night. If I were to ever go back I would take my floorless shelter and hunt off of my back and make sure I had time to pack out whatever we killed. Someday I would like to go back, it is beautiful country, it really makes you realize how small you are and humbles you very quickly. Every time we made a plan to make a hunt it ended up being more than we could chew, that country is very unforgiving and slow going. I still have never seen such great habitat and such a luscious place so void of game in my life, it was almost like something out of a scary movie. There was a ton of historical rubs and beds in the mountain but zero fresh sign, seeing and hearing wolves daily was cool but I feel like they totally decimated a once game-rich environment where we were at.

We went the third week of September and dealt with snow on several occasions. To be successful in there you not only have to be physically tough but you will have to be just as mentally tough as well!! Definitely buy a wolf tag, if you see one shoot it and skin it.

Personally I would find another unit to hunt, ID has some great opportunities, there is a reason having an OTC rifle rut hunt seems too good to be true.

> I still have never seen such great habitat and such a luscious place so void of game in my life,

The most accurate description of the Frank

 

[Aginor]

It should be Shawn Shrouf out of Challis office

I am looking to go in mid october. Can I please get the number of the biologist you talked to? Much appreciated.

 

[HilltopHitman]

Went on a fishing trip with Clay at Mile High Outfitters… They guide in parts of that country and they’ve spent months trying to eliminate some wolves to help the elk/deer herds. Like everyone said, whatever shape you think you need to be in… Add 30lbs and 3 more miles to whatever training regiment you do.