Hunting in Conklin Area / Winefred Lake Area

[Andreas]

How`s Hunting in that Area ? How cold is it there in November ? Lots of Game ? Snow ?
What would you prefer ? a Canvas hunting tent or a older Trailer to sleep.
If you use a Trailer where to park em ?
Thanks for your suggestions

[Andreas]

Nobody out there ??

[ForestDweller]

Hunting is good but like any area filled with oil patch you need to work a little harder at finding game. Plenty of deer, moose a little harder but there are pockets of them. Only hunted calling season there and have had success. You just have to set up and put some time.

[bbell]

There is a good amount of deer in the area. Some pretty good bucks as well. For deer you will need to concentrate your efforts on cutblocks. As for moose they are there but you will have to work a lot harder to find them. Moose are hit fairly hard by the locals so to find them you need to cover some serious miles and get off the beaten path.

Weatherwise your guess is as good as anyone. Temps in November can be anywhere from +10C to -30C. And snow anywhere from nothing to over a foot. I would suggest to prepare for the worse and hope for better then that.

[Andreas]

Thanks so a small trailer would fit better into that trip.
And my intention is I would like to get a Moose this year, had never one before.
So any suggestions are very welcome.

[Rackmastr]

Personally I wouldnt want to be in the Conklin area in a small trailer in November....

I've been up there in some -35 weather and a small trailer gets mighty chilly. For sleeping only it would be okay, but cooking would get really annoying with condensation and when you combine 2-3 feet of snow in places it can get quite cumbersome just getting around in the truck/quad and hunting...

Thats just me...but for late season November hunts way up north I would much rather spend a few extra bucks and have safety/security of a motel or a camp to rent a room in....

Good hunting...lots of bush and lots of country to cover....

[wolfcreek]

For my two bits worth.......it is a tough area to find moose. Lots of First Nations pressure, you got to get seriously back country. The deer in the cutblocks have taken a beating with two tough winters in a row. There are still some good bucks, but three years ago was much much better. Check with Christine at the Lac la Biche SRD office. She is the local Biologist there and she did some game count flying this year and last. She told me that this wasn't the best area for moose, but you may want to clarify that with her.
You might want to check out the Open Camps there in the area for accomodations. They won't be too busy in Nov. and they may even be able to tell you where some moose are hanging. Barr-Nonne operates a good camp right close there, they are out of Lac La Biche too. If you drive up the 881 to Conklin, you'll see their sign on the main road and head east about 22 (?) klicks to their camp. They'll almost certainly have a spot for you, or tell you what other camp can take you on. The weather is way too fickle that time of year, and while you are out hunting, you have to worry about who is rifling thru your camp while you are gone. Lots of people in this area travelling around!!
Best of Luck on your hunt, hope this helps.

[honda450]

I hunt up by Atabasca every Nov. with my trailer. Not too bad. With the furnace going full blast its manageable to about -20 Got a good sleeping bag and if it gets really cold I have an electric heater. Been out in it for 4 years now and again this year. I just camp out on crown land. Sure saves on fuel costs and then from camp I just use my quad. Sometimes I have moose walk right past my trailer. Its an older trailer that I have set up for hunting only. Did some fix ups on it. Got another one for play time.

[honda450]

As bbell states the weather is different from year to year. The snow one is 2006 no snow in 2007. Taken in the same spot but a year and 2 days apart. I actually like the 2006 season better. Last year the wind was not my friend.

[tbosch]

I worked up there for the last three years. The rifle season opens early and if you have the chance it's rewarding to get there then. I bagged a 160 whitetail there last year. My buddies also took two smaller whitetail bucks and a doe on the winefred lake road. As mentioned above it was cold and there was a ton of snow early last year. Access off of the main roads was pretty tough come later in ocober. But if its in the budget you could stay at the hotel conklin corner and there is a lot of game within a 20 minute drive in any direction from there....If you do get up there do me a favor and take a cruise up the tower road..its about 3km south on 881 from conklin then you turn west. I saw two bull moose(I didnt have a tag) and a phenomenal scrape line up there. I never saw the buck due to lack of light after work but I know by the size of the tracks and the scrapes that he was a big boy. Let me know how it goes.

[Duk Dog]

I hunt up by Atabasca every Nov. with my trailer. Not too bad. With the furnace going full blast its manageable to about -20 Got a good sleeping bag and if it gets really cold I have an electric heater. Been out in it for 4 years now and again this year. I just camp out on crown land. Sure saves on fuel costs and then from camp I just use my quad. Sometimes I have moose walk right past my trailer. Its an older trailer that I have set up for hunting only. Did some fix ups on it. Got another one for play time.

Either you are tough or I am wimpy. :lol: I've hunted up that way the last couple of years and it was far too cold for my liking to be in a trailer. Granted our trailer is a hybrid, so the tent ends get mighty cold. Heck the door on our hotel room froze up in 2006.

[honda450]

No not too bad Duk, except the wind last year. I guess thats why there was no snow. That photo with no snow looks as if it was a nice day but actualy was about -10, and the wind was giving er. I put those pieces of plywood in front of the furnace intake for the wind. Hate it when the wind blows the furnace out. Good huntin to ya there Duk.

[sirmike68]

A few years back there was an article in the "Alberta Game Warden" with reguards to "Operation Tamarac" which operated in the area you are talking about. If you can find it you would not waste your time in that area. It was stated that one of the substinace hunters (poacher) himself took the quota for the whole WMU for himself. Read it and you'll be shocked.