Montana Elk, Eureka area

[ntodwild]

Looking for some basic "eyewitness" accounts of the area in and around Eureka Montana. I have a friend with property near Eureka. I would be coming from out of state so I don't know the area. Is there anyone on the forum who has hunted Elk around Eureka Montana?

I am not looking for someone to give up their hunting area or even detailed info. I am confident enough about my e-scouting and been hunting for decades. I am primarily looking for people who can say "Yes" it's a good elk area and "yes" it would be worth a trip from out of state given some research and planning.

Any info on other game would be helpful as well. Deer, bear, Yotes, Cats, Wolf?

If you have hunted within a 50mile radius of Eureka it would be nice to have some basic feedback.

Thanks in advance: Joe

 

[belly-deep]

For the price of a non resident tag I’d keep driving. For quite a while.

 

[ntodwild]

That is pretty funny! It is the kind of basic feedback I am looking for though. I asked.......

Aside from the price of a nonresident tag, is there anything else you can offer. Have you personally hunted in the area?

 

[Bulldog0156]

I wouldn't suggest NW Montana to anyone looking to have a successful elk hunt.

 

[Rackmastr]

I've hunted within a 50 mile radius, and although a lot of elk winter on the Canadian side down low, its not what I'd call prime area for elk if I was choosing.

 

[belly-deep]

That is pretty funny! It is the kind of basic feedback I am looking for though. I asked.......

Aside from the price of a nonresident tag, is there anything else you can offer. Have you personally hunted in the area?

I have personally hunted the area but not for several years. The public land is thick, steep country that doesn’t support large numbers of animals. The elk hang out down low on the private.

Like I said, don’t waste your time or money.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Good whitetail and black bear country. Not known to be a destination elk area.

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

I have personally hunted the area but not for several years. The public land is thick, steep country that doesn’t support large numbers of animals. The elk hang out down low on the private.

Like I said, don’t waste your time or money.

Took a two week vacation to Yaak a few years back, and this and the others' comments are spot on.

 

[dihardhunter]

Solid whitetail and bear area, I'd look elsewhere for elk though.

 

[Sytes]

Elk #'s been on the decline for a good while. The resident herds have reduced and are challenging to locate, scout, etc due to extremely limited glassing ability. Very few parks and of those they are a piss puddle size and distant from each other in comparison to Bozeman / Dillon areas.
The migratory elk herds route into the U.S. after rifle season ends with a few initial elk wandering ahead. The annual pumpkin patch couple areas along the border keep them at bay until the shooting subsides.
The wolf packs are very effective. They cover from Ten Lakes - through Kansaka / Stahl down past Marston and Sunday Creek area (speaking of accessibility from Eureka area drive time). Black bears are frequent as well as grizzly and mtn lions. They've been there ever since however the wolves have reclaimed their prior stomping grounds and are the changing factor within the predators of elk and moose for the area.
Whitetail are plentiful. Black bear are good.

For a non resident elk tag w/o the local years of knowledge / boots on the ground and lack of scouting / glassing areas... To fill that tag will likely be the most challenging of MT elk hunt areas. You can run over to the Yaak area. Other wolf packs separated by Koocanusa lake roam that area though there are more glassing opportunities though still far from other MT areas. Eureka accessible areas are simply the thick of the thick - forest speaking

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Your friend with property in the area- what is he seeing for elk? Does he hunt?

 

[ntodwild]

Your friend with property in the area- what is he seeing for elk? Does he hunt?

He doesn't hunt and He and his family do not reside on the property. It's a vacation property so they are only there during summer months. He is not a reliable source unfortunately.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sounds like a great place for spring bear as a starter trip. You'll be able to see it first hand and have far more reasonalbe chance at filling a tag than making an elk hunt your first trip.

 

[MTGomer]

The low wolf population and abundance of logging has made for a booming elk population I hear.

 

[Sytes]

The history of Lincoln County is very interesting, for those driven by historical curiosity.

Touching on the timber and logging - a good read.

http://www.libbymt.com/news/2005/01/Eurekalumbermillclos.htm

He said the U.S. Forest Service is "dysfunctional and leaderless," responding mostly to the threat of lawsuits from environmental groups rather than the needs of rural communities that have historically relied on national forest lands.

"It used to be a good thing to be surrounded by national forest," he said. "But not anymore."

Kootenai National Forest Supervisor Bob Castaneda acknowledged the problem.

"They are entirely right. The ideal situation is for us to be able to provide a steady amount of timber," he said. "We can do our part on that, but if [timber sales are] held up by litigation, then it's out of our control and it's in the courts' hands."

For those curious of the elk checked through the only hwy from Eureka down to the Flathead valley for 2018:
A total of 6 elk routed through the Olney mandatory Check Station. http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/hunting/nr_2865.html
Btw: Eureka total population = 1,100 (2017 statistic). 2600 vehicles were inspected at this check station.

Regarding the benefits of forest thinning, etc have for elk, RMEF's take on it is the following:

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation maintains that active forest management via prescribed burns, forest thinning and other actions is beneficial for elk and other wildlife as well as overall forest health.

https://elknetwork.com/forest-thinning-vital-wildlife-management/

 

[ntodwild]

Super good info. Thanks everyone, specially Sytes who seems to possibly be a geologist or state wild life worker?????? At very least, well read and seems to know a bit about Montana hunting.

Thanks again

 

[Goosebrooke]

I was in there 2017 with the NR Combo license. Seen lots of Elk sign new and old, bear sign and wolf sign but never saw an elk. Everything is thick and not glassable. I've chatted with an outfitter who is a bit south of Libby and Eureka and he said it was a rough season and it's always tough hunting. That being said I was able to bust a white tail.

If I was to go back, I would likely go closer to the end of September rather than the beginning. Also maybe bring a shotgun and just go grouse hunting.

 

[ntodwild]

I was in there 2017 with the NR Combo license. Seen lots of Elk sign new and old, bear sign and wolf sign but never saw an elk. Everything is thick and not glassable. I've chatted with an outfitter who is a bit south of Libby and Eureka and he said it was a rough season and it's always tough hunting. That being said I was able to bust a white tail.

If I was to go back, I would likely go closer to the end of September rather than the beginning. Also maybe bring a shotgun and just go grouse hunting.

Given the invite to use the property on Lick Lake I will most likely spend 7 days or so this year or next just to toodle around and "scout". I surely wouldn't hunt around the lick lake area if I did choose to go down there. Via some google earth poking I would certainly stay south of the area.