Winter 2000-2001 Newsletter
Joel and his Caribou |
It appears we paid for our wet summer with a warm dry fall and winter. Great for the animals but did make it harder for the winter wolf hunts.
Oct. 17th had me picking up a brand new Honda 5 speed with super low, 25 x 11 x
10 super mudder tires, the cross mounted 350 with red neck camo ( I’m sure you
needed to know all that) four wheeler for our late season snowmobile hunt. Joel
was taking the first one as I was making sure Lowell Davis, a former guide of
ours for many years, got married properly. Many of you who remember him will be
glad to know he found a great lady.
Joel took Jerri Eaton, two skidoos and the new four wheeler up. They used the
Honda the first day and picked up a nice caribou plus some snow so were able to
use the skidoos to recover the meat.
Joe Mirro and Donn then took over the cabin and after looking over many bulls,
the best of which were camped out on the tops took a nice bull leaving just as
Ken Wilson and I pulled in for the last hunt. Ken, who owns “Sportsman on Film”
wanted to market the video of the trip so I was elected to be camera man, Joel
the guide and Ken the great white hunter.
On the first evening we found a great bull but didn’t have time to climb to
where he was. The next day after a bit of fun, at least I think getting wet feet
is suppose to be fun, crossing one creek we just broke out into the open when
Joel spots a good bull and the stalk is on. A half hour later we are doing “take
one, take two’s etc” until we finally get the correct manner of approaching a
good bull down pat.
Oh yeah one other small problem occurred on another crossing. The river was
jamming up with ice and flooding so instead of 10 inches of water there was
three feet. Not wanting Ken to have to do the jet ski trick with a non jet
equipped Tundra, I shot across an ice burg, cutting it in have so it could float
down and jam across the opening creating a beautiful bridge. This is all on the
“HUNTING CARIBOU AND DALL SHEEP IN THE YUKON AND NWT” video now on sale in most
sporting good stores.
Now it is Joel’s turn as Ken needs more footage. The temperature drops so the
ice bridges are now solid. We find five good bulls and put on a great stalk to
within 50 yards but the best bull doesn’t give Joel a clear shot and they all
get away. Two hours later we try again. The five bulls have joined a large mixed
group so Joel has lots to pick from. I was proud of his one shot kill and that
he picked the oldest bull, well past prime and not the largest. Its been a great hunt, four bulls all over 360 points for four hunters plus we
saw several bigger bulls so the outlook for next year is “wow”. With the easy
winter these big boys should be there next year.
These late caribou hunts are booked for 2001 but I am opening the Dendale area
for a similar hunt this fall. These will be 9 day hunts and you will be not only
in a great caribou area but there are also lots of post rut moose waiting for
you. We hunt the area for sheep in August and have seen lots of moose and
caribou plus have flown late October game counts so know you will have a great
hunt. Be the first.
Trapline Adventures
In Dec we had Richard Welker come and spend eight days on the trap line. Many
lynx, martin and mink were taken, out of which Richard kept two lynx, a martin
and a mink for his collection.
For next year Lynx will be harder to come by but martin and mink will be no
problem. Otter are quite abundant and there sure were a lot of wolverine about
this year so next year should be great for these beautiful mounts.
Joel, Chelsea, Donn and Walter and Irene Gitzell joined us in Las Vegas for the
big SCI convention. It is a great show with hunters from all over the world so
of course you mix these with outfitters also from all over the world and the”
bull piles up” but it sure is fun. Ruth and I then went to Fort Washington and
meet more past hunters and friends. Winter Wolf 2001
 Dave Winship and Joel headed out on Feb 12th for eight days after wolves. The
weather was beautiful, clear cool mornings with gorgeous afternoons but made for
poor hunting. They did pick up a couple martin and a fisher while waiting for a
lone wolf which was hitting a bait every night. On the fifth morning they
decided to try a different approach and came racing up the river and scared the
wolf so bad she ran into a snare and now belongs to Dave. They also picked up a
big lynx on the way back to camp and snared a couple more wolves on the last
day.
Beautiful Wolverine taken for Cal Stukel |
Next up was Peter Frigge and Frank and Cal Stukel. The weather remained
beautiful but did dip down to – 39 one morning giving us a small taste of normal
winter. Donn and Peter went up to his cabin and had the thrill of catching a big
wolverine. Joel and Robbie guided Frank and Cal taking a couple martin, lynx and
a wolverine.
Last up was Randy Deeter from Alaska. With still very little snow and beautiful
days we worked hard, but the wolves would always leave before we got there. We
had one lone wolf working a bait but was to smart for us. The first day we found
her we came within 50 yards of getting her (a pure black ) but this just
educated her so after that we just would find fresh tracks. On the second day
Joel and Randy picked up a nice lynx and then on the second last day another
black wolf, the partner to the first hunters female. Randy decided to stay in
camp to watch me skin the wolf on the last day while Joel went to spring the
last snares in the only good hunting day of the winter (falling snow and wind to
deaden the sound of the snowmobiles) and picked up another wolf.
Looking to next winter we have openings for you. We will be hunting my trapline
which now has a high moose population as we have about eliminated the wolves so
new pairs will be moving in, plus the Rock (Joel just officially bought this
line) and Upper Coal during the regular trapping season and then will offer two
other hunts in the more open and deeper snow country of the Hyland valley in an
effort to help the moose there. Donn, Robbie and Joel are already planning the
attack. We have had three winters in a row with less then normal snow so
hopefully next year will have the right amount which makes the hunting so much
easier.
Fall of 2001
Following is a brief description of the hunts open for this fall.
Dall Sheep
In early August we can take you on a sheep hunt with goat, caribou and moose as
extra animals. You can choose between a horseback hunt (bigger sheep but
slightly lower success) with goats in the area or the Dendale area where you
hunt on foot with an ATV used for some transportation.
Mountain Caribou
We also have two openings on a horseback hunt going into the Caribou Flats area
which is home to some of our very best caribou. 100% success for years with well
over half making the B&C book. You can chose a 12 day hunt starting Aug 26th and
make it a hunt of a lifetime with goat and moose as add ons or a 7 day hunt
starting Aug 31st if just a big caribou is your dream.
Moose
If moose hunting is your thing we have 3 time periods to chose from.
Sept 15th to 21st which is the first hunt of the rut plus has you being the
first person to hunt this area for two years.
Oct 1st to 7th. These dates are the ones I recommend for bow hunters as the
moose are easily called in but the weather is a lot cooler than the earlier
dates.
The last hunt starts Oct 20th and goes into the Dendale area where we hunt sheep
and always see lots of moose. This will be by snowmobile or ATV and you will be
the first person to get to hunt in this area. We have flown it on caribou counts
and see the big bulls up in their post rutting areas. It will be a great hunt
with the potential for huge moose and caribou. It’s downside is the weather
could be cool and we will be in a tent camp but the trophy potential will make
it all worth it.
If you are interested in a hunt of a life time please contact us and we will
place you in our best camp to fulfill your dreams.
Terry and Ruth Wilkinson
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