Utah Elk Hunt Help

[MattGJJ]

Hi everyone.

After spending 8 days in the Idaho backcountry with only wolves and snow I wanted to start planning this year in Utah for otc Bull.

I have been researching and marking the southern slope/yellowstone/vernal on ONX and Google earth with info from Utah Game website but would like any information on where to start. Obviously I don't want any honey holes. Also any other units recommended. I prefer archery season.

I plan on doing a scouting trip out there so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[Dameon]

I hunted the South Slope and North Slope in 2016. The North Slope is easy terrain with a lot of roads and a lot of hunting pressure. The northern end of the South Slope is rough terrain with few roads and a lot lower pressure compared to the North Slope, but there are fewer elk. I was in the Murdoch Basin in the South Slope area. The road access required a 4x4 to get away from the highway, and I would recommend backpacking in to get to a good basin away from the main camps off the main road in. It’s thick timber followed by steep terrain. It’s not an easy area and neither area are easy hunts unless you work for it. I haven’t been down to the Vernal area of the South Slope, so I can’t help you there.


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[MattGJJ]

Thank you for your reply Dameon. Ill check it out

 

[mtnrunner260]

Getting away from roads will certainly help but with how warm it is during Utah's early season it would be good to have a plan on how to get an elk out.
I've hunted the NS for the past 8 years and starting to feel like I've got some things figured out but it's never going to be a great unit in terms of elk numbers or hunter pressure. So it's nice that its an OTC tag you can get every year but you likely wont have much success the first couple years. Don't want to discourage you though.

 

[idahohikker]

Only as a way of trying to help, I would caution Utah OTC seems like a bad idea. There are many on here that have agreed. I think the general opinion is that the quality and quantity is much lower than Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming general hunts.

My recommendation is to try another area in Idaho if you're confident the area you chose isn't good. It normally takes years to learn an area though. Hopping around just puts you in the difficult learning curve repeatedly.

 

[amp713]

Being a guy in that area i have alot of insight to lead to a simple answer...

I wouldn't do it. Especially not archery in an OTC as a non res. If you want more info shoot me a message but it'll all kinda lead up to that answer.

 

[MattGJJ]

Thanks for everyone's help. We took an guide in Idaho last year and it was super disheartening to not even hear an elk. Are there less wolfy units in Idaho anyone can recommend. We were in Unit 12 last year and saw about 20 wolves total.

 

[idahohikker]

That's a lot of wolves. The wolf issue seems to have stabilized in many areas with good elk numbers. The backcountry central zones-- Lolo, Selway, and Middle Fork all have many wolves. They're in many other zones also but to a lesser degree.

Check the wolf quota info which is broken down by Zone, the previous wolf management plans, and speak with biologists to verify.

In general, Weiser, McCall, Pioneer, Sawtooth, and Salmon, for example, are a few that you should be fine hunting without significant wolf interference. Mostly, it's the backcountry units, especially the deeper into the units you go, that have wolf infestations.