Moose Unit 5

[CGS371]

I drew Unit 5! Pretty excited about this. I just found out and yes, I will do all my homework, but this is part of it. I would appreciate any advice available.

When is the best time to be there? There is limited public land in this unit - where would you recommend focusing? Do I need to consider private land? What are trespass fees like? Any other ideas? Where should I stay? Camp out?

I drew off of statistics and articles I have read. So I know I have a lot to learn. But learning is part of the fun for me.

Feel free to PM - I promise to be better at checking that inbox.

 

[CGS371]

First, thank you to those that sent me a PM.

I wanted to add a little about homework. I have spoken with two Game and Fish offices, a state biologist, the National Forest Office, and the Couer d'Alene tribe's fish and game department. I have several maps. I think I just keep getting more excited. I have a few more calls to make, and still plenty to learn.

I think I'll aim for a rut hunt with a bow and backstop with a late November hunt with a rifle. Thinking about buying an Elk tag, if I'll be there the last week of Sep.

 

[Jeffpg]

Hey, it appears you have it all goin' your way... I drew in '08 and had a great hunt. I did let another trip prevent me from hunting the rut, which I knew was a mistake when I did it, but ya gotta choose yer battles, ya know. Keep following through with the contacts. Don't even think about paying tresspass fees as all the moose you could ever want to see are on public land or indian reservation land, which is just pocket change to access. Just be prepared to cover LOTS of ground searching the cutovers for animals thru the morning hours, mostly. Afternoons can certainly bring sightings, and I saw some decent bulls then, but the most action will come from daylight thru mid-morning. I saw up to 26 moose per morning.
I also picked up the elk and deer tags, which is a good idea especially if you are going early. I got there on Halloween day, and hunted for over 4 weeks straight. The elk had been pounded into oblivion, and the previous winter had put a hurtin' on the deer, but I still saw some decent whitetails, albeit not many. There were more moose than deer.
I really got to know the area pretty well. You could stay at the Plummer hotel and be kind of centrally located, but if you are going early, I would make a portable camp. By this I mean that you can spend lots of time traveling from one area to another, so if you find something you really want to sit down on you can move your camp closer.
Congratulations on a great Moose tag, brother, and I wish you luck on your hunt. I traveled from Mississippi to do it, and would do so again in a minute if possible. I chose to hunt with a handgun and took a respectable 40 inch bull after a couple weeks of hard searching while passing up some lesser and some about as good bulls. I just went too late to easily find the big buggers that do indeed live there. If you want a really good 'un, then go early, hunt hard and hold out for what you want. Ask anyone and everyone you run into where HE lives, and you may get put onto the right one. Watch out for wild moose chases tho, as some people just want the attention they will undoubtably get when they mention that 58 incher that they know about.
The 2 most reliable sources of information for you are the 2 guys that you mentioned, the state's biologist, and the director for moose studies on the reservation. Go with what they tell you, plus your gut feeling, and you can't do wrong.