They haven't been back since; tried fox pro one afternoon, no luck.

Very cool..we've yet to get a wolf on a trailcam!!

I have gotten pictures of wolves on the trail cam here I Wis over the years. From the pictures I seen other places it is becoming common here.

But then we have a lot of people putting cams out.

They have closed most of are wolf zones as the take has meet the quota. in only two weeks.

Most the wolves around here tend to follow the caribou migration, (grizzly bear too follow the bou), then there are some that travel big 100-150 mile circles, show up every month or so. So if I bait near cam, sooner or later, I have wolves running down my wood lot trail from the mountains toward my house and get a pict or two. No other picts since 17 Oct, and I have a caribou head wired in tree, stinky salmon under brush, and bou hides for them to drag around. Will probably get lynx & fox picts before wolves.

Soon as we get snow, I'll see much more travel further back in on snowmachine and hopefully call something in with fox pro.

We live outside of Eagle, where the Yukon comes in from Canada. We got wolves around. Had them in my garbage cans a couple years back, 3 am. Neighbor had to shoot one killing his dog off his porch steps, sprayed blood everywhere which lasted all winter, kinda cool for visitors to see.

Can't wait to get a good snow to fill in the moose trail.

Buddy got this one last weekend up haul road, he does pretty good, hunts hard. Figured you'd like to see an adult for once as all I ever see are the dumb young ones ha ha. I saw those two young ones again other morning, 6:30 am; ran along side truck in ditch for 200 yards like it liked the head lights, nutty half grown pups. I have been out with fox pro, no luck. Them wolves cover some country. We finally got a couple inches of snow, was out on 4 wheeler looking for tracks, time to drag out the skandic I guess.

What does the one on the left weigh--40 pounds max?

Most yearlings I have seen were between 60-80 lbs. I always see the young ones more than the older ones which are quite smart about people. Yet, I have had adult wolves in my garbage cans at 3 am too. My plott hounds woke me up going crazy inside the cabin. All the tracks, 10 feet from my front door too come morning.

The wolves up here are outta control where we call home, without ariel wolf control, our moose will go extinct; it's actually that bad.

Wolves travel my wood lot trails from the mnts 5 miles behind my place, they haven't been thick back there for almost 40 years; and you really notice the declining moose numbers.

Kinda has become everybody's patriotic duty to kill those moose killing machines, just like grizzly bear actually. We still like hearing them from time to time, just want their explosive numbers controlled and don't want wolves eating all our dogs or dragging off our young kids.

Cool pictures! I've got one wolf on a trail cam at at bear bait. It was actually howling at the time of the picture!

quote:

Originally posted by Zhurh:
The wolves up here are outta control where we call home, without ariel wolf control, our moose will go extinct; it's actually that bad.

If wolves (and bears) could drive moose to extinction there would be no moose in Denali National Park where predator control has not occurred since the 1920s. And, there would have been no moose in the country when people first showed up in Alaska after thousands of years of predation on moose by wolves and bears.

Wolves dragging off young kids? When has that ever happened? The kid at Icy Bay was nipped in the butt, not dragged off.

I won't argue the balance of nature with ya, we live around wolves and see how they devastate our local moose. Nobody wants to see the wolves all gone, just less of them. I'd be happy if they'd take half our wolves up here and release them in your back yard Mr.V; then you'd see for yourself, no joke.

Northway, My boy had one come into bear stand also a few Springs back while he was in stand. He had bow and when he moved the wolf heard the stand and took off. Nx day, the wolf kept circlin the barrel but like 75 yards out, never came in any closer.

I've been looking for tracks in the new snow, nothing yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Zhurh:
I won't argue the balance of nature with ya...

It's not a balance of nature argument. Your claim was that wolves will drive moose to extinction. That has not happened at Denali where wolves and bears have not been hunted for decades. Can you argue against that?

The truth is that moose numbers rise and fall in response to bad winters, food supply, and hunting--as well as predation. It ain't just wolves.

Poaching moose in remote areas has been a serious problem. That's a secret that some locals want to conceal.

I'd wager moore moose fatalities are incurred by auto's than poachers. Ban cars on roads! What, 400 something every year in Anchorage and an equal number down Kenai?

Zhurh, if you want to get serious about wolf or predator control, get your boy to take a rifle to the tree stand. Bemoaning wolves killing moose and then telling us about the one you couldn't get because it wouldn't hold still for the bow is nuts.

Whether predator control is right or wrong aside, waiting and hoping and praying that the fish and game will do something is positively wrong.

As to the goings on in remote areas, I believe the locally advocated moratorium of moose hunting a few years ago in the Bethel area has resulted in an explosion in the moose population and now they have really good hunting.

Zhurh, great wolf photos especially in the winter snow. You sir seem to be a strait shooter when it comes to the facts in your area regarding moose population or rather the lack of. If your like me, you know the areas you hunt intimately, and you see first hand the effects that wolves have on ungulate populations period.

Good on you for trying to promote a healthy balance in your area, after all wolves and predators in general will if left un checked eat until there's nothing left and then die of starvation and mange!

Thanks for sharing your area with us all and best of luck!!

quote:

As to the goings on in remote areas, I believe the locally advocated moratorium of moose hunting a few years ago in the Bethel area has resulted in an explosion in the moose population and now they have really good hunting.

That is right.

In McGrath, the only place in the Interior where actual data were available, about half the total moose harvest was illegally taken or unreported.

It ain't just wolves.

Scott, Ive been out with fox pro last few days, no luck yet and no new tracks; we are suppose to get some snow pretty quick though. Most the guys around here only get a few wolves with snares. One guy has cub and he gets more, you know how expensive fuel is out here. Couple years back they got seventy some in three days ariel F&G but even then no new snow and wolves wised right up; but F&G was most effective I believe. Ya know a couple years back we had wolves in our garbage cans after old salmon (wifey cleaned out one freezer). Same year wolf grabbed two of the neighbors dogs, he ran out with shotgun sprayed blood over the snow. Wolf wouldn't leave go of his dog with the neighbor hollarin up a storm; neighbor had always been a wolf luver of sorts up until then. That's when I started wondering if just maybe we were getting too many wolves around? I think we have too many.

AR Man, ya I see you understand how the real balance of nature works, boom & bust. Honestly, regardless of how the local Indians see game management as being not of Man's Domain, I prefer having high moose numbers so most everybody can get their winter meat out this way. If that means a few less wolves from wolf control, so be it. Wolf control is the easiest way to increase moose numbers as they eat more moose than any of the user groups. One thing for sure, if the moose numbers drop too low, maybe have right now, they will restrict all but subsistence hunters in an area, and only a minority of locals want that to occur. Our local Indians hunt 24/7, but if entire village shoots over 6 moose a year, I'd be shocked; they really don't take as many as the wolves or us White Guys do in hunting season; more of us out and about. I just wish I could get the Indians to stop shooting cows. Once ya get to know all the Indians you quickly realize they ain't the problem though.

We hunt with ARs out this way. I have .556s, 6.8s, a 338 fed, and last year got a 308 Scar. Killed a few caribou with her this past season and my nephew got a young sow grizz with the Scar (TTSXs & A-FRames were in the magazine.

quote:

Originally posted by vicvanb:

quote:

As to the goings on in remote areas, I believe the locally advocated moratorium of moose hunting a few years ago in the Bethel area has resulted in an explosion in the moose population and now they have really good hunting.

That is right.

In McGrath, the only place in the Interior where actual data were available, about half the total moose harvest was illegally taken or unreported.

It ain't just wolves.

As vague as can be.

Year? actual number to go with your actual data? Half the harvest is 2? 200? If half were un reported, how'd they get "actual data"? No report means no data.

Of course I'm not disagreeing with you and of course I'm not trying to suggest there isn't poaching in remote areas, but suggesting rural Alaskans incur widespread devastation to game populations isn't so. There just ain't enough of 'em to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:
As vague as can be.

Year? actual number to go with your actual data? Half the harvest is 2? 200? If half were un reported, how'd they get "actual data"? No report means no data.

Of course I'm not disagreeing with you and of course I'm not trying to suggest there isn't poaching in remote areas, but suggesting rural Alaskans incur widespread devastation to game populations isn't so. There just ain't enough of 'em to do it.

Data come from ADF&G Wildlife Conservation and Subsistence Divisions.

Moose harvest data were from 1983 to 2003. Reported harvests ranged from 28 to 98.

The illegal take was based on radio-collared moose for which the cause of death was known.

Subsistence interviews provided data on the unreported take (not reported by harvest tickets).

Conclusion: "The illegal and unreported harvest was nearly equal to the reported legal harvest."

Ten year old data?

I mean yeah ten years ago I drank more beer than I do today, lifted heavier weight and shot smaller rifles. This is 2013, recently 2012 and previously 2011.

Again, I'd not suggest there is no poaching in rural AK. I think some here have no qualms with shooting and not reporting moose, keeping too many kings, running and gunning ducks, etc,.

Based on your quote, annual harvest ranged between 28 and 98, (over ten years ago,) so double that was the actual take, 98 reported, 98 un reported, grand total 200 annual take.

Am I wrong? less than 1000 moose killed annually on Alaska highways but we cite ten year old data about 100 illegally taken moose?

I've never seen a road killed moose in rural AK.

Well yeah, there is a guy here that shot a cow last fall in the middle of Lake rd and got caught, I saw the big blood puddle in the middle of the road. Sort of "Road Kill", but only that one that I know of.

Or will admit to.

Thats a great picture. That pup is 40 lbs and about 6 months old the male is about 120lbs. Its good to see some pictures show up on here thats foresure. Good shooting.

Do you use your Plott hounds for hunting? If so what do your run with them.

Can you bait for wolves, if so get at it with 1000 road kill moose a year you should be able to aquire some for bait.
Don't shoot the first wolf that comes in on the bait. I know it is tough but if you can feed the pack for a while the get more relaxed.

One other tip is be the only one that approaches the bait. Your scent they will get used to, a new persons scent will scare them away.

Hillbilly, I talked to my buddy today at half time of first game. They have been doing the best driving up haul road, looking for tracks and also where they see food like rabbit tracks, caribou ect. They have called a few in, but mostly just glassing. Here on the Taylor when the caribou are around, wolves will stroll right down the road. I sit in truck bed on stool and shoot over cab; trks sitting along the road don't bother them wolves too much at a distance. My buddy thought he saw caribou single filing it towards the road, then realized they were wolves. They stopped trk ,got out and wolves crossed road 50 yards away from their truck, the hit three, but one got away. I once had a buddy hit a wolf with 30-378,blew leg off, bone chips & blood on road, wolf got away, no joke. tough buggers for sure. Snow is late this season, supposed to get some tonight, then use the skandic and start looking for tracks out my trails. I'm going out on 4 wheeler today to cut trees over trails before they get covered up, maybe some new picts on game cam. My buddy also got a wolverine that same day they got the wolves. Myself, I see 5-6 wolverines a year on the Yukon and on our dirt road. They hit kills also.

We came from Pennsylvania 20 years back, grew up with coon hounds, always had half a dozen at home. Had sled dogs for 15 years, but Indian neighbors were hiding a White relative out up here many years back and he had his plotts with him, He was going to shoot this pup and I took pup home, one of the best dogs we ever had, his dogs were cat dogs in Wash State. So when ole Duke got up in age, I bought another Plott pup. Ursus bloodlines from that guy in B.C.; good guy, great dogs. Never hunted her as we don't have roads around here and too thick, just feed the wolves if ya do hunt bear. Easier to bait barrel, get all the bear one would ever want. Anyway, the dog is a family dog and since kids are grown and gone, the dog has become the kid. I just sent her to the vet in fairbanks to get fat tumors removed, $1500, man, never spent money like that on any dog, but wifey didn't want me shooting her and I didn't want to anyway. So, I'm thinking about getting another plott pup sooner or later. Who has good plotts down there? Ya know, I've never had a plott with a mean streak like people claim. They don't stand for loud drunk people making a scene around the house, they always want to get a taste of those guys. Most of my Indian buddies, the plotts think they come to see them, not me; but most the local Indians are scared of my dogs for some reason. I'll post a pict of my two plotts in a day or so. We need to get another pup come Spring, April. You ever heard of that Ursus Guy? What do you think of his dogs? I wonder if he has any pups coming along? Let me know if ya can; thanks.


We can bait for anything we want too, I use caribou heads in trees, old hides, bones ect. The kills are cleaned up pretty quick. I've had wolves come to my bait barrel, but not repeat. Had them in my garbage cans a few years back. When I had sled dogs, them wolves would try killing them at night. I'd be out on porch with AR shooting into woods behind dog lot, then the wolves would leave and not come back. I have another older buddy who wants me to shoot a few old sled dogs for him, they work well for baitin wolves in.

quote:

Originally posted by chilcotin hillbilly:
Thats a great picture. That pup is 40 lbs and about 6 months old the male is about 120lbs. Its good to see some pictures show up on here thats foresure. Good shooting.

Do you use your Plott hounds for hunting? If so what do your run with them.

Can you bait for wolves, if so get at it with 1000 road kill moose a year you should be able to aquire some for bait.
Don't shoot the first wolf that comes in on the bait. I know it is tough but if you can feed the pack for a while the get more relaxed.

One other tip is be the only one that approaches the bait. Your scent they will get used to, a new persons scent will scare them away.

I am likely wrong, but I think we're not allowed to use dogs on big game. I also think road kill is considered the property of the state and so we can't help ourselves.

I don't trap, but I understand the local trappers like beaver carcasses, game bird scraps, and I think one guy likes raw moose hide.

Locally, I'm under the impression these trappers take more or less a dozen wolves a piece. Some get 2 or 6, some get 12 or 15. I've never heard of anyone taking two dozen.

Zhurh,
Those Plott dogs are from Steve Moore in Abbotsford, I believe. He is the ursus breeder.
I wouldn't own one for what I do but many people that hunt hounds like them. I have only seen his dogs on dvd's and I was not impressed.
I am sure they would make a great companion, and should keep a bear off your back if needed.