Need advice, opinions from guys that have some experience.

Cougar season starts Dec 1 and runs to Feb 28. I got a late cow elk draw that runs from Nov 25 to Dec 20, so I sorta thought I'd pick up a Cougar tag, "just in case".

What kinda odds you say a guy has of do-it-yourself Cougar; no dogs, just driving roads, cutting track and being able to get a cat.
Also, assuming the Cougar quota gets filled in a particular WMU, will Fish & Wildlife then notify anybody with tags, that the season is done.

FYI, in Alberta, there is a Cougar quota in every WMU and if it is met then F & W shut down the season at that point.

Logically not much, but people do win at lotteries. The ones that kill a cat without dogs, seem to be mostly accidental and out of necessity. I know a couple of guys who have been stalked by cats, while calling elk. As for closing the WMUs, there is a number you are supposed to call, before you hunt, advising where the quota has been filled.
Grizz

Demonical,

As one who has tried and will try again, I can tell you that chances of getting a cougar by deliberately tracking it are very very slim.

First of all you need the ideal weather, preferably a good 4" of snow late at night, so you can go out early and look for fresh tracks, which by the way is best accomplished by driving the back roads, best done with some bright spotting lights and best done with a buddy to actually look for tracks while you keep the vehicle on the road.

Then you'd need an area that isn't hit hard by outfitters. I know some areas where I've seen tracks, and once even a cat, that are frequented by fellows with dogs. They send someone out to scout for tracks as early as 3 or 4 am; several times I've driven in before first light, only to see their truck come out. You know you're not going to find any tracks on the road that day.

You can try circling an area on foot, which is very entertaining, but not very efficient. How much land can you cover in a morning? There is no real use to keep looking into the afternoon, because you won't have enough time to follow it. I've hiked both sides of a deep wooded creek bed several times; two miles up one way, through the creek, up the other side, two miles back, and through the creek again, and came up empty.

There are not that many cougars in Alberta. Look it up, I think it is about 900 or so, or was last time I checked a few years ago when I was researching for an article. Nine hundred spread out over how many square miles? Nope, chances aren't that high.

Of course you can offer up yourself as bait, and try some distress calling. I've tried that to without results, but will try again. Best done in a spot where you can be sure you can't be approached from the back, or better, with a partner to cover your behind.

Of course you know that if you don't buy that tag now, you're going to see one, don't you? ;-)

Oh, the fish cops won't call you, but will be happy to charge you if you have shot one after they have closed the zone. Grizz is right, there is a number you need to call at night. BTW, the cougar management zones are not the same as the WMUs; there is an option to listen to a list of which WMU belong to which cougar management zone. I need to listen to that list several times a year because I always lose my notes.

Good luck! Find a big one.

Frans

Wasn't the Alberta cougar record broken last winter by a guy who had a tag in his pocket at tyhe right time? I forget the details-but it didn't involve dogs.

good luck

Interesting, just got back from the butcher; took in some XS moose meat to get some pepperoni made.
On the bulletin board at the butcher shop there's a photo of a big tom cougar. The pic was taken about 8-10 miles from here.
Some guys that were baiting bear, had the cat come into their bait site and the pic was from their trail camera.

Jogging or riding a bike in cougar country seems to attract them.

Then, there's the type whose lair seems to be seedy downtown bars where male university students hang out...

The outfitter that I used to take my cougar told me that he had seen two cougars in the wild in over 30 years,that weren't being chased by dogs.Considering that he is constantly looking for them,your odds are very slim.

Well if you don't buy the cougar tag it'll probably quarantee that you see one.

People on the drive to work at our gas plant see cougars a few times each year, always crossing the road by a certain creek. I certainly know there are cougars that travel through that particular valley, on a regular basis.
It's a starting point.

I have read of a guy that managed to track up a couple cougar on foot. The odds of pulling it off are pretty slim but it can be done.

I have personally rattled in a cougar while whitetail hunting. Otherwise in 15 years of working in the field as a forester in cat country, I only saw one other cat that wasn't treed by dogs.

A few of our forestry workers have encountered them, and have even been stalked by them. One of my best buddies, who is a well known expert houndsman had to kill a cat that was hunting him while he was mule deer hunting.

Some of you guys may remember a picture that went around of a really big cat that was killed in Washington (the pic was taken in a garage, with a dark haired fellow holding a huge lion). That one was killed by a friend of mine (and poster on this forum), without dogs. They tracked it and used a predator call.

I also know of a few others killed by predator calling.

Overall though, the chances of a chance encounter are slim, and the chances of deliberately tracking one are only a little less slim. Tracking and calling may increase your odds, but the odds of not filling your tag are probably still many times greater.

If you don't buy a tag though, your odds are ZERO!

Cheers,
Canuck

Demonical,
You have to call every morning and night because they sometimes do not update until the am. The zones have a male and a female quota. That is, they may have a quota of 3 males and 1 female for a certain zone. If the female is shot, the zone is closed regardless of males left over. Also the F&W factor in any problem animals that are shot throught the year so a zone may be closed on day one of the season before any animals are hunted.

Where I work in western AB I see cougars at least 2 to 3 times a month. SOmetimes on the leases in the night, but there is no regular pattern to when you may see them.

I haven't bought a cougar tag as yet. I intend to talk to the local F&W officer(s) to get an idea (if they will help) as to best areas and such. I do know the cats are out there, but it would be the proverbial needle-in-a-haystick thing, especially without: 1) Expertise 2) Dogs.

For now I've just got my deer tags and antlerless elk tag; I still think I'm going to get the cougar tag though.