idaho unit 61

T

tufcntry

Guest
hey idaho guys i was wonderin if anybody hunted spikes in the unit and saw any elk numbers or bulls i have been riding my horses into the back of the unit and haven;t seen jack but bears and wolves i have had good luck here in the past but haven't seen much this year. any help would be nice i am going to stick to my guns but a couple of ideas for hard times would be nice i would appreciate any help thanks
 
I archery hunted in the area for 20 days, and spike hunted with a rifle for 2 days. I did shoot a spike, but it was the only one I saw the entire season. There are grizzly tracks all over the place. Until the elk slaughter facility in Unit 61 stops dumping its gut piles out for the bears, we are going to continue to have problems. For those that don't know, there is a high fence elk shooting place that is located a few miles from the Yellowstone Park border. Idaho F&G trapped and collared 9 grizzlies in this area in a 2 week period in August. One died, and the other 8 are all hanging around the fence of the shooter operation. My cabin is in the vicinity, and we have tracks around the place nearly every weekend.

So, the hunting in this unit is tough, and getting worse. I won't even get started on the wolves.
 
Bullelk1,
Are you talking about the high fence elk hunt on meadow creek rd. Just wondering as we have a place on Targhee pass. Not to far away. Did you hunt at all around the pass/border area? My wife had a 61 moose tag in 2004 and we would drive by that high fence and watch some of those bulls. I heard $15 grand plus for the big boys.
 
Yes, it that is the one. They kill in the range of 150 elk in there every fall. They were dumping the guts outside the fence and it became a major griz bait station. Idaho F&G won't regulate it since Idaho law requires thatthese elk are treated as domestic animals (like cattle) and this is regulated by the State Department of Agriculture. The operation has posters on its property warningg IDFG to stay out.

I still can't believe these guys get away with the operation right in the center of an area that is deemed a grizzly bear recovery area. We are not even allowed to bait for bears or run hounds in Unit 61 for this reason.
 
I was wondering the same thing and I'm assuming your probably headed there for the 1-10 NOV hunt. I've done some pretty good scouting and only came up with a cow, but alot of sign in the thick dark stuff, along with some rub. Nothing too significant. I've heard that the bow hunt was good from a local at one of the opal stores off I-15, but not much else. The other opinions have not been that positive, but that they are in there.

If you're off to hunt this weekend, good luck.
 
Bullelk1,
Do you know where the "big" gut piles are dumped. My Dad who lives in West Yellowstone is a photogragher and I thought maybe he might get a picture of a griz. We know where to high fence farm is. Just woundering if you know where the dumping/trapping was taken place. This trapping operation must of been low key as the locals had not heard of this. I would not be supprised if most of the transplanted bears come back to this area.
Any info. would be great.
Did you do any bowhunting on the border (targhee crk. area)?
Thanks.
 
If your dad visits the Meadow Creek road area he will definitely see the bear tracks. They dump the guts outside their fence, but it is on posted land. The bears cruise all over the area.

Fish and Game had an article in the paper about trapping the bears. They actually trapped 11, and collared nine of them. Two died after being released; the speculation is that they did not survive the trauma of being tranquilized. I just got back from Island Park this evening. The local paper had an article that said there were seven grizzly sightings in the Mack's Inn area this week. Three of the bears were collared. I think what happens is the elk operation slows down, and the bears suddenly don't have their food supply, so they go looking.

I did hunt Targhee creek some this year. There were a few elk in there but it is a LONG way into where they were. It gets hit fairly hard within the first couple miles from the trail head.
 
I have not hunted 61 this year but in the past I have found elk around keg springs, there were wolves and grizz around the springs all last Sept. and fewer elk
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There was also a fire in the Keg Springs area that burned from mid-July until the end of September. Much of the WIllow Creek area was burned.
 

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