530 Bull Moose

Positrac · #1 08-22-2017, 09:21 PM

I took the jet boat out for a rip today to check out some trail cams I have set up and came across this guy a little walk in from the river. He wasn't too happy I was there but did stand around long enough for me to get a few pictures of him. Most came out blurry as I tried to zoom in on him.

I have a late season undersubscribed draw for the area but by November most years the river is pretty froze up and it will be a quad show.

Anyways, I haven't posted pictures since Photobucket crapped the bed but PostImage seems to work ok.

Positrac · #2 08-23-2017, 01:36 PM

I might still get in on an early season 530 hunt for Mr. BullWinkle. Just found out that an old work-mate has a draw so if one of us can get some time off work we might be able to make it happen. Right now our days off don't line up all that well for during the moose rut though.

wildwoods · #3 08-23-2017, 01:41 PM

Nice pic! Hope you tag out

Positrac · #4 08-23-2017, 02:28 PM

Thanks Wildwoods.

Pretty good odds of finding a bull in early season 518/530, but not quite as easy come the late season. Plus, by that time we're getting into deer season and the two are not easily found in the same areas once north of town.

catnthehat · #5 08-23-2017, 02:34 PM

Nice! Hopefully we will meet up on the river!
Cat

Positrac · #6 08-23-2017, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Nice! Hopefully we will meet up on the river!
Cat

Hey Cat. Been south of town quite a bit. The "spot" really hasn't been producing all that good. Some fish no doubt, but a small percentage of what we usually get. And no hogs... You could probably count on both hands the number of legal Walleyes we've caught this season. Lots of Burbot though, which is different. Should start getting better in the next month...

Took a good walk one day at the "deer" spot. The place is pretty burnt and not holding any animals. Saw one set of old deer tracks in about 4 hours walking. Put up a trail camera on an old trail but when I went back 3 weeks later a bear got it. Pretty chewed up.

I thought the fires might help things seeing as how there is lots of grass growing in the burnt areas, but so far I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that to be true.

Maybe too much burnt area so they are spread out? Who knows? It's like learning a new area all over again...

catnthehat · #7 08-23-2017, 02:49 PM

The river has been unusually high, as soon as it drops more it will light up with the big ones, same thing every year!

As far as " the spot" goes, it is deceiving , we took three out of there last fall in fact!
Cat

Positrac · #8 08-23-2017, 02:56 PM

Any size?

catnthehat · #9 08-24-2017, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Positrac

Any size?

Antlers or body?
I don't hunt for antlers , just to fill the freezer .

I have seen a couple of big antlered bucks there when I wasn't hunting however .
Cat

Positrac · #10 08-24-2017, 10:07 PM

Bahahaha! When you said "the spot", I thought you meant fishing "the spot". Lol. Even I was confused with all this secrecy.

I have seen a few deer right at the Falls this year. That's about the end of the burn also. After that it greens up quit a bit. I jumped it back in early June and went for a bit of a run. It was late in the day or we would have kept going. Wish I could get by there come September as I've seen a lot of Moose and deer past there but in low water my gonads aren't big enough. That or maybe I'm just getting a bit wiser in my old age...

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Antlers or body?
I don't hunt for antlers , just to fill the freezer .

I have seen a couple of big antlered bucks there when I wasn't hunting however .
Cat

Positrac · #11 08-31-2017, 12:56 AM

I've got the next 7 days off so I think I'll hit the river for a few of them. A little fishing is in order. I've talked to a couple buddies that don't hunt but do run the rivers quite a bit and they've spotted some decent Whitetails from the boat this year. Maybe a boat ride with a few walks to start the season off may be in order.

I made it about 10k up the Christina a month ago before we were getting low on fuel and decided to turn around and head back down. Beautiful area but the water has been dropping the last few weeks pretty quick so it may get a bit rocky up the canyon now. It looked like nice deer country though.

Anyone have an early season 530 Bull Moose draw and want to go for a ride? That little guy I saw a week ago should still be around.

PhatBoy07 · #12 09-28-2017, 02:45 PM

Not sure if the offer is still up for grabs but I have an early season tag for 530and I am trying to get out as much as possible, going for my first ever moose. I own my own jet boat and know my way around the Clearwater up to Misseutin camp ground no problem. (Don't know the Athabasca going North to well yet) Not looking for anyone's special honey hole just my first moose...If anyone has any tips or help it would be greatly appreciated. I am not opposed to free jet boat rides in my boat or celebratory moose meat for help lol.

As far as fishing goes what do you guys find is working well this time of year?

Cgnpipeliner · #13 10-07-2017, 12:33 PM

IF anyone with area experience wants in on the November season shoot me a message! I need a partner and with elk in the freezer I don’t need a whole moose.

Cheers.

Positrac · #14 10-07-2017, 04:05 PM

The bulls are on the move. We watched one swim across the Athabasca last weekend.

We were south of town anchored in one of my favorite fishing spots. There was a boat come up the river and pulled up to shore on the opposite side of the river and just downstream from where we were anchored. We were about 1/4 mile away. They were there for quite some time when we watched a bull moose walk out about 200 yards down river from where they were at. It stood there for probably 5 minutes before it started to swim across the river. We thought they must have seen it as from where we were at they looked very close together. There was no doubt the moose spotted them. We pulled anchor and went to take a better look. The river is quite wide in this spot and by the time we got up to the moose he was nearing the opposite shore from where he started out. We managed a short video before he was out of the river and up into the trees.

Heading back up to our anchor spot we slowed down next to where the other boat was parked and commented that it was pretty cool seeing that bull cross the river like that. Well, you could tell right away they hadn't seen it and from the look they were giving us you knew they had a tag. Sure enough, a 518 bull draw. That would have been an easy one.

Positrac · #15 10-07-2017, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhatBoy07

Not sure if the offer is still up for grabs but I have an early season tag for 530and I am trying to get out as much as possible, going for my first ever moose. I own my own jet boat and know my way around the Clearwater up to Misseutin camp ground no problem. (Don't know the Athabasca going North to well yet) Not looking for anyone's special honey hole just my first moose...If anyone has any tips or help it would be greatly appreciated. I am not opposed to free jet boat rides in my boat or celebratory moose meat for help lol.

As far as fishing goes what do you guys find is working well this time of year?

I wish I had spotted your post when you made it. I would have been happy to get you out my last set of days off. A trip up into the Firebag River for moose this time of the year is always fun and makes for a great trip.

With a late season 530 bull draw I decided to put my boat to bed for the winter before heading back into work. I work a 7x7 shift and I'm tied up my next days off and wouldn't have made it out in the boat so I figured I'd clean it up and move it out of the garage and into the back yard before winter hits. I seem to get caught each year and I hate putting it away damp inside.

I'm free from the 26th to the end of the month. If you haven't found one by close to then PM me. I could probably dig the boat back out for a few days hunting towards the end of the month if the river is still looking good.

PhatBoy07 · #16 10-08-2017, 09:40 AM

Right on thanks for the offer. I was up the Clearwater almost everyday this pasty week but unfortunately didn't see anything except for a few deer. I have mostly been sticking to one spot (decent sign at this spot) and calling from the boat but Im not sure if this is a good tactic or not. I see most boats just zipping up and down the river back and forth it seems lol. Are the moose receptive to calls at all in this area?

Positrac · #17 10-08-2017, 07:31 PM

They will come to a call for sure. I’ve had better luck towards the end of September though than once the first week of October is under way. But, what I know about moose could fit in a thimble.

I have a lot better luck finding one when I don’t have a tag. I’ve seen 4 bulls on the river since August but every one of them could’ve been chalked up to luck. Not bad considering I haven’t put any time in for them this year.

Last year I hunted over 10 days in 530 and didn’t see a bull. I gave up mid-October to start chasing deer and a buddy ended up with 2 in his boat and a third guy spotted in one day.

PhatBoy07 · #18 10-09-2017, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the advice Posi! Looks like its kind of the right place at the right time (if you don't already have a spot scouted out). I will keep at it and see what I can come up with.
Im assuming if I were to hit the Atha B that its a better chance to see animals north of the bridge to nowhere ? I probably wont go as Im not to familiar with the atha b north.

Positrac · #19 10-09-2017, 06:49 PM

Last year I spent a lot of time running from Barge landing up the Athabasca and into the Firebag river. We were in the right spot it just wasn’t our year. It was our first year up there and we learned a lot. If we get an early season draw next year I feel pretty confident we will be in the money.

Two more days of work and I’m off for a week. Unfortunately I’m child-minding while my wife is in Phoenix otherwise I’d be into getting out for a couple days. I’d have no issue taking you up north and showing you the Firebag area.

I would be careful up north in the Athabasca without a winch though. A little breeze on the big river and those sand bars lurking just under the surface sneak up on you.

Iceberg · #20 10-17-2017, 01:37 AM

Was hunting last week up the Clearwater, and it was like Jasper Avenue for jet boats. Had a bull grunting hard and coming in... but went silent once 2 or 6 boats went by. Thinking about getting way further upstream this week to try and beat the traffic. Lots of sign and a few deer though! Nice to see the life around the river thriving after the fire.

Positrac · #21 10-17-2017, 07:54 AM

I don’t hunt the Clearwater for that very reason. You also won’t be able to go far enough to get away from all the boats.

Still lots of disposable income up here which equates to lots of toys. My boat looks pretty sad next to some of the rigs on the river.

Iceberg · #22 10-17-2017, 04:30 PM

Yeah one might think they had missed a boat show upriver seeing all the expensive decked out rigs. I did see a few moose though coming back downstream strapped to boats, I don't know if it is just moose stepping out for a drink at the wrong time or what. I think this is our last year hunting the Clearwater sadly.

Flight01 · #23 10-17-2017, 07:37 PM

She gets busy. I’d hazard to guess 50% of early season moose hunters will travel that river and depending on the year some November trips will be made too. Great country, sad it burnt out . I’d imagine moose are easy to spot with the loss of cover.