North Saskatchewan river hunt

[graymatter]

I was wondering if anyone has floated from Abraham lake to say Rocky Mountain house on the North Saskatchewan River.looks like a fairly secluded piece of bush along the river, must be some reasonably descent hunting ?

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by graymatter

I was wondering if anyone has floated from Abraham lake to say Rocky Mountain house on the North Saskatchewan River.looks like a fairly secluded piece of bush along the river, must be some reasonably descent hunting ?

This is an excerpt from NS river info.

• Nordegg to Rocky Mountain House - One of the most popular paddling stretches of the North Saskatchewan, this 131 kilometre route through the Rocky Mountain foothills provides almost continuous whitewater. A series of Class II - III rapids includes Devil's Elbow, close to the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site. Camp on river islands or at local campgrounds and plan to spend 3 - 4 days on the river.

• Rocky Mountain House to Drayton Valley - Another intermediate level fast water stretch, with Class I - III rapids, heads east toward the prairie. Count on 3- 4 days to cover 133 kilometres.



The hunting along the river might be good but you wouldn't really be drifting, you would be engaged in reading the water so as to stay afloat. From Rocky to Drayton is still pretty fast too. Excellent country for a hunt. I am not saying it can't be done, but merely suggesting a 'drift hunt' on fast water would be hard.

A better section of the river would be from Drayton to Devon. There are some areas that are crown land along the river. Anyone can hunt this crown land but I will bet no one does. i have seen elk, moose, bears and deer along this stretch almost everytime I have canoed this part.

[fatboyz]

the stretch from the Dam to the trunk road is very braded and lots of sweepers. Not much tme to be gawking and looking for game. Also it's draw for everything except whitetail. The section from the trunk rd to Rocky would be better, 3 days paddling for that stretch. There is some decent rapids there too. If you're a real novice paddler trying it during the fall in cool weather might not be the greatest idea.

[duffy4]

The river does get some jet-boat traffic. However using the river to get you into some wild areas to get out and foot hut and/or call would be possible.

Island hopping is also a possibility. (one guy gets out at the upstream end or the island and the other floats down to the downstream end. One still hunts towards the other depending on wind directions and such)