Nelchina Caribou

[gulolupis]

Any word on the location of the heard for the 10/21 opening?

[GreginAlaska]

Call 907-267-2304, the AF&G have a recording on the locations. I think they said there are small groups from Eureka to Lake Luoise and a few along the Richardson Highway south of Byers Lake. Hardly any along the Denali now. They said the herd is concentrated in an area I didn't recognize.

[GreginAlaska]

I called that number again and it said, as of the 17th, the herd is concentrated around big bones ridge, upper tyone creek and curtis lake to the east. That would put them west of Lake Louise if I'm reading the map right.

[ak_reelman]

Bad weather

Took the wife to Fielding lake and thought we would catch up to some caribou. The snow and winds came in on us and there was no way we could see anything in the hills. Next time we go it will be on snowmachines. Lots of moose roaming around and lots of ducks still on the lake. Has anyone had any luck the second go around for Nelchina bou and where?

[GreginAlaska]

Just talked to my wife on the cell phone, she's up at Lake louise and I'm at work. They just got there today and hunted a little bit. They've seen quite a bit of tracks and several people who have taken animals.

[Snowwolfe]

Is there any snow at Lake Lousie? If we go should we take atv's or sleds?

[GreginAlaska]

She didn't say anything about snow but they are on 4 wheelers and have been riding the trails.

on edit, just called her, she said there is a few inches of snow but no problems getting around with the 4 wheelers. She also told me to quit calling her so she could get some sleep. ;-)

[Brian M]

Just got back from Lake Louise. I had already filled my tag in September, but both of my parents took bulls today. On our drive in towards the lake we saw LOTS of traffic and a couple of caribou down within sight of the road - mostly cows, from what I could see. We didn't actually see any animals until we were right up by the lake. Small groups kept running along the road about 100 yards out, so we hiked out to meet them. They got one, then when we were about to start cleaning it another came out of the woods. All told, there were about 40 that kept running in and out of the woods right there. Another fellow came out towards us and ended up taking one just past where ours lay.

I would say that its worth taking a trip. Not everyone we saw was successful, but there were a lot taken. Most of them were small bulls along with a few cows. There was about 4 inches of snow, and it warmed up to 30 degrees by late afternoon. Not a bad day at all!

-Brian

[GreginAlaska]

Hi Brian, I filled my permit in September too...but I would sure like to be at Lake Louise right now...working for a living really sucks sometimes! ;-)

[GreginAlaska]

Well my wife shot a bull today. She said they saw a few small groups.

[Snowwolfe]

I am going to head up on Sunday.....Where do you folks recommend for parking and such? We will be taking the rv and atvs

[GreginAlaska]

I'm not sure where my wife was parking but she said the same thing Brian did...the caribou seem to be down closer to the lake.

[Brian M]

Where we were at (mi. 17-18) there were a few pullouts with enough room to park. They might be full if you're there on the weekend, but you can probably find a place to park. As for the ATVs, the people I saw who had them were only using them to drag their caribou back to the road. I'm sure there were a few people who were riding down the trails off the road, but most were just hunting from/near the road. We were near the road, but got them when we hiked out ~200 yards down a swamp that ended at a lake. We knew there were caribou in the area as we saw them from the road, but they were moving so fast that going in on foot seemed like a better approach. We got much clearer shots, and from much closer, than those who stuck strictly to the road. Good luck to you.

-Brian

[Snowwolfe]

B_M,
Thanks for the tips. Weather permitting we are heading out on Sunday evening.
I want to avoid shooting a bull in the rut. When do the bulls in this herd start to rut?

[Brian M]

I could be wrong, but I think the rut is over. That is the reason that they close it down for a month from mid-Sept to mid-Oct. The bulls my parents shot had a very slight scent to them, but the meat seems fine. They'll probably grind it up themselves with some spices, but it certainly wasn't really rutty. You'd probably be safer with a small bull, but the large ones seem OK as well.

-Brian