Need wolf info in Idaho

[KRasmussen]

Due to the economy and the CA legislature we are leaving the Peoples Republik and will be relocating to Idaho. My wife has family in the Boise area so we will probably set up roots in that area. Being that I will be considered a non resident for the initial 6 months the cheapest hunting opportunity I will have will be predators. I would like to take advantage of a few wolves and maybe make a difference in the elk and deer herds in the area. My question is what areas have been impacted the most by the wolf? Is there anything special to hunting them? Is it similar to hunting coyote?

 

[ida homer]

I saw your post on MM as well. You seem pretty eager to get after them. Glad to hear! But to be honest man, your guess on "wheres" and "hows" is as good of a guess as anyone's, even some very seasoned Idaho residents.

I grew up here and have spent many of days in the back country hunting and mostly backpacking. I've never seen a wolf. Some of my friends that also grew up here, have only seen 1 or 2. They are as elusive as it gets. I would guess that the success rate for wolves is lower than the OTC archery elk hunts in the most popular units in Idaho. I would venture to say that 90% of the wolves that were killed last year were from farmers, ranch hands and people that were hunting other species and stumbled into one. One guy by the name of "Yoyak" on MM killed one, I think he hunted like 20 days to find one or something. He definitely put the effort in to find the most elusive trophy in Idaho.

They move so much, it's a shot in the dark. We went wolf hunting twice this winter, we found some fresh wolf chit that had been dropped that morning, it was practically still steaming. 4 of us split up and covered some serious ground glassing in a 1-2 mile radius around the area. No sightings, that wolf could easily have been 5-10 miles away by the time we were on scene. We were in the Garden Valley area.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage you, as we all need to do our part with predator control but the internet isn't gonna help you much. When you get here, I'd find the large populations of wintering elk and hunt around them. Try calling, spot and stalk and literally anything else that you might think bring in a coyote. Garden Valley area is a great place to start, around Lowman, McCall, East Mountain in Cascade, the entire Lolo Elk zone, anywhere up North would all be good starting places. If you get bored armed hiking try a spring bear hunt, that would also do great things for the elk calves and I personally think that our bear populations are out of control. But thanks for showing interest in helping to get the predators back in check.

 

[orion23]

i think the lolo zone was one that was hit the hardest. im not sure as of late with all the trapping and hunting and people taking the managment into their own hands if you know what i mean. right here out of boise in unit 39 will probably b your best bet. there are plenty of them there and it will be right in your back yard.

 

[ida homer]

right here out of boise in unit 39 will probably b your best bet. there are plenty of them there and it will be right in your back yard.

^^There was a pack roaming around Table Rock this last March. He makes a good point, maybe just play the numbers game and get out as much as you can close to Boise.

 

[KRasmussen]

I am really looking forward to getting relocated. The wolf and predator hunting will be the cheapest hunting for a non resident. It will also give me a chance to take a look at some new country and become familiar with the area. Its gonna be really hard on me not being able to hunt deer and elk for the first year I am there. But, its definitely better than having to deal with CA

 

[hedjam]

Best of luck with your hunt. I have spent about 40 days in the last 2 years hunting those critters, mostly in the sawtooth valley region. I have heard them, I have seen Mulies, Elk and Blackbear but not a wolf yet. The good news is you are moving to a great state. Some of the best country I have ever been in and great people. I will be back again this year concentrating on the Sawtooth Wilderness area then up to Salmon if no luck. I will probably be retired next year and will hunt the entire season and include Wyoming if necessary. As long as you enjoy being in spectacular country with few people and hiking with a rifle you will love wolf hunting.

Mike R.

 

[idelkhntr]

I live in the Island Park Zone and have personally seen nine wolves in the past 14 months. Unfortunately none while I had a valid tag in my possession. I saw one two weeks ago right off of the road while heading to Island Park. The problem I have is that whenever the season is open I can't find them. By the sound of things all I need to do is find a herd of sheep and I'm in. Locally last August we had 120 sheep killed in three days up by Humphrey. All of them were killed and not consumed. The sheep herders said it seemed like they were training their pups how to kill. In our area I think the moose population has been hindered more by wolf predation than the Elk have. Welcome to Idaho and good luck on your hunt.

 

[NoWiser]

I drew a tag in Minnesota last year and successfully called in and killed a 117 pound male. I'm not sure if this applies to Idaho, but my technique was to listen to them howl, and sneak in as close as possible while it was still pitch black. When it got light enough to shoot, I hit some fawn in distress calls. After a bit of this I threw in some coyote howls. It didn't take long before this guy came charging in looking to whoop some coyote butt! Before my hunt I talked to a few canadian friends and they mostly agreed that coyote calls were the most effective way to hunt them. I can't really argue with the results.

Good luck on your hunt!! It should be a fun adventure!

 

[spook12]

Wiser, what did you do with that Pelt? That thing's as pretty as any I've seen.

 

[HalfAce]

I haven't really hunted the Idaho units that are infested with wolves, but have spent considerable time in some units of Montana that do have wolves.

I love hiking and hunting on foot and do extremely little road hunting. I have seen wolves on 3 occasions. All 3 times I have seen them from my truck, while I have only seen tracks while out hiking. I think I would have to agree with most on here that the wolf can be in one place one minute and an hour later be 10 miles away. I would bet that covering a lot of ground by the means of a truck and some glass will give you more chances to see a few then to hike into a place and hope to stumble on one.

 

[NoWiser]

Spook,

I got an offer to do a full body mount on it for a real good price since it was one of the first shot in Minnesota and the taxidermist wanted it for advertising. Long story short, I got cold feet because of his inexperience. I called him to come pick up the pelt but he said it was half done. Funny thing was he wouldn't send me a picture to prove it was "halfway done" for 4 days. It was a 4 hour drive to check it out so I never made it up there. I've seen a few pictures of it, and although it doesn't look horrible, I'm definitely not impressed. A buddy of mine went and saw it (it's on display at a grocery store) and didn't sound too impressed either. I'm almost afraid to pick it up when it comes time. Who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. If it's too bad I'll find a way to make it into a rug. Worst case scenerio I draw another license and shoot the big pure white one we've now seen two years in a row up there!

Lesson learned....taxidermy isn't the place to save a few bucks! Expecially on a trophy as unique as a wolf.

 

[spook12]

I'm sorry to hear that. That thing looks as slick as a groomed Dog.
Good luck getting a chance at the White one.

 

[blueboy1959]

wolves in idaho

I hunt the east side of Idaho some say Island park is hot right now all the east units have a wolf problem come get them our elk herd's are hurting but I have only seen 1 wolf but they are here I have seen track every where in my unit and in unit 67 wolf wiped out over 100 sheep but welcome to Idaho

 

[RICKY AMEZCUA]

I moved from San Diego to boise 4yrs ago. I hunt mule deer, elk & coyotes in unit 39 around Idaho City area i have seen some wolves here but this year will be my first attempt to hunt wolves in this area tags are $11.50 & from what i've read you can have up to 4 tags per year. Hopefully i can fill a wolf tag my plan is to use predator calls, cow calls, bugles & doe in distress if i have no luck hopefully i can put the smack down on some coyotes in the mean time. Good luck on your hunts & welcom to Idaho.

 

[Steelhead]

IDFG has a great website:
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/hunt/?getPage=121