I have been eagerly anticipating my trip over to far NW Montana in search of the elusive forest grouse. We have three species here in Montana (spruce {or Franklins}, blue, and ruffed) and it seems the Yaak area is good for spruce grouse. The other two are more easily found throughout the state. I left Saturday with the plan of hunting Saturday evening, then all day Sunday and Monday and returning on Tuesday. After backing into a tree and setting up my camp, I headed out Saturday afternoon. What I found wasn't what I had expected. It was all dark, thick forest that you really couldn't even walk though. I was bummed, to say the least. Then it rained all night Saturday, which made everything in the forest hold water. I quickly got drenched from head to toe on Sunday. I did see a few grouse on the roads, but none were brought to bag. Between the lack of good hunting, and the rain, I quit on Sunday after about a day and headed back home. Back to the prairies for me. The forest grouse are still on my list, but I need to find better spots. Maybe next year...
I thought this old burn looked good, but nada...
Some of the roads I tried to hunt.
I found this spruce grouse driving in Sunday morning. I thought it was a good omen, but not so much.
At least I had a nice camp site
Driving over Lake Koocanusa
1 comment:
Sounds about like my grouse hunting trip last weekend! Lots of miles, sweat, and no grouse!
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