Grizzly Island Period 9 Antlerless

[jhill528]

So I got lucky after 4 years and drew the Period 9 Antlerless tag. I live 7 hours away so I wont have much chance to scout, but I have been reading about this hunt for several years now and it seems vey straight forward in terms of finding the elk. The hunt looks to be 4 days, but most seem to tag out the first day. Should I plan on staying at least 2 full days or it is reasonable to plan on it ending on the first day? Also, I hear a lot of talk about bringing ladders put in the bed of my truck to scout from, is that really needed and do people really do it, or will it just become one more giant piece of equipment taking up room in the bed of my truck for no reason. Any other tips would be appreciated or if there is anyone else headed up there for the period 9 hunt and wanna chat, let's talk. Thank you.

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

I have never hunted elk on Grizzly Island but I know a few who have. I am also reasonably familiar with some of the habitat.

You will do better at finding the elk if you can get higher so you can see them bedded in the tall grass. A ladder is not a "have to" but it can help. I see people standing on planks on top of the ladder racks in their trucks. The guides looking for trophy bulls use ladders or so I have been told. If you get out early enough before they bed down they are easy to find. If you get a late start and they are bedded some hunters have difficulty finding them.

I don't know how long you should plan on staying but I think I would plan on at least a couple of nights in the area. They are not in a pen and it might take a couple of days to locate the herds.

 

[jhill528]

Thank you for the insight. Since I don't have a ladder rack on my truck, I guess I will have to find a good way to strap my little giant into the bed of my truck. Or perhaps its time to get out the welder and build a fold up High Rack system. I've always wanted to build one that would fold down into my bed, then fold up, I guess now's the time.

 

[slowpoke]

Congratulations. I would plan on staying on 4 days, but expect to leave early. The ladder can be helpful but a plank a crossed the bed rails can get you pretty high too. Some of the grasses are tall out there. They used to let you look around the evening before, after the orientation. Bring Mosquito repellant if you are going to camp on site! Get familiar with the area on google earth The elk biologist was a pleasure and a true treat to meet.

 

[norcaljc]

Congrats on the draw! Grizzly Island is a pretty straight forward hunt, especially for the antlerless hunts where your not trying to go for the best bull still out there. The herd is thriving on the island and their numbers appear to be growing each year (or maybe I just notice them more easily now.) I have never been a part of an elk hunt out there, but I am about a 15 minute drive from the herd. Feel free to hit me up if you would like to meet when you come down to scout or hunt. Schedules permitting, I would be more than happy to show you around the hunt area, help you scout, give you info on local lodging, or any thing else i can help with.

 

[huntingcali]

Solid support guys! This is what keeps me coming back to this sight. :JHO rocks:

 

[jhill528]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. This is my first ever elk hunt and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. Thanks for all the advice, I especially liked the idea of putting planks across my truck bed. That’s a lot cheaper than building or buying a ladder rack. I wish I had time to scout in person, but I guess lots of map work will help get me started. As for everyone that offered I could contact you for advice, I definitely will as the dates get closer. I wish i could bring more than just one person because this should be an awesome experience. Thanks again.

 

[slowpoke]

It is a good time for sure. I am not sure if Joe is still the biologist that handles the hunt, but he I seamed like a really pro hunter good guy. I believe he is DFGElk here on JHO. When I did the hunt he came out with a quad and trailer to recover the elk after I shot. I used a cow call in a tall field of grass to get an elk I hadn't seen to stand up.

 

[jhill528]

ok that's something I hadn't thought of Slowpoke, even though I am there for a cow hunt, should I plan on bringing a cow call incase I need them to stand up?

 

[Jake F]

Nice! You should be in for an awesome hunt. Congrats!

 

[Calif_Mike]

My dad had the bull tag in 2015. Look up my story about the hunt on here, I put a lot of detail in the story about how we did things. I placed a half sheet of plywood across the bed and would stand on that to look for elk, very helpful. You could probably be done in the first day but I would caution you against it for a couple reasons. 1) The cow hunt can be a bit of a mad house with everyone running around trying to get their elk. The animals get pretty stirred up. If you just let everyone take their animal you can then hunt unpressured animals. 2) This will be the one time in your life you will have the opportunity to be around this many animals, take your time and enjoy it.

 

[Bigolwiggler]

All good info posted here . My father was he DFG biologist for the Elk herd back when is was just getting started there . 1980. I drew a spike tag back I the 90s .
The ladder is a big help when used with a spotting scope . You just need to get up higher than the abundant tules out there The land is as flat as a pancake with no high points to view from.
Like someone said... plan for all 4 days but you ill likely not need it . Things can go wrong so plan on 4 .

BOW

 

[slowpoke]

I would have a hoochie mama or some sort of call. The cover I was going through was tall enough you wouldn't see a bedded elk at all. Do you have your hunt area map yet? if not I will try to find mine and send it to you. What Calif_Mike said is dead on... I was frustrated by some (2) of the people and got impatient. I was amazed it felt frantic to me with so few tags. I had planned on using my bow... that lasted the first 2 hours of the hunt

 

[Mel Carter]

I’m close to grizzly island as well. Willing to lend another hand if needed. Say it and I’ll be there