Opening day

ribo451

Member
Jun 4, 2013
274
Just wondering what everyone is thinking for opening day.

It's been so hot and dry here in North Idaho that unless something changes I will be sitting in a treestand I have on a wallow 4 miles from a locked gate. There are a couple other spots I want to go to as well but with no rain in the long range forecast and dry, loud conditions in the woods I think sitting over water will be my best bet.

I might as well quit working now because my mind has been on nothing but elk for weeks and it's getting worse.
 
ribo451, I'm glad I'm not suffering with my affliction alone! Your symptoms sound identical to mine. I have the same game plan as you. I have some stands over very active wallows and springs. I've got some great bulls making regular appearances in front of my trail cameras, so I figure if I spend enough time in the tree, our paths will cross. I can't wait for opening day!
 
the advantage of hot weather is you know were they will be, by water in the thick trees north side of the Mountain
 
Sitting treestands isn't my favorite thing to do but if the weather doesn't change I guess that's what I will be doing unless they close the area and I can't drive to the trail head.

I have several areas I want to hunt and none of them are currently being affected by fire but there is a thunder storm possible this Friday and there is a lot of talk about road and trail closures.

At least three places I know of can be accessed from roads that people live on so I should be able to access those areas unless there is an active fire in that area.
 
lurking near water, in north slope, hidey holes. hunkering down on the edge of a hanging basin.  finding a good used wallow and sitting it thru the day.  Coming out after dark.  That's my plan for opening day.
 
I'm with you guys...headed close to water.  Do you think by the first of Sept bulls will be lurking near wallows or will that come on later in the month? I found a great little wallow that I'm hoping a bull will want to hang out in sooner than later!
 
Thanks to Google Earth, I think I could walk into our bivy area with my eyes closed this year. We're heading up high early in the season, hoping to catch some bigger bulls before they come down to look for the cows. We're less than 2 weeks away!!!
 

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I've been doing my scouting and have patterned some decent bulls.  I think I will get at least one or two decent ambush opportunities before they receive any pressure. 


Other than that, we have actually had a ton of precipitation in CO this year, water and feed is abundant.  I'll be looking for cool North facing slopes with high benches in the middle of steep topo lines.
 
My opening day spot is closed because of the fire activity in Idaho so my backup spots will consist of wet, cool areas where we have found elk in the past.
 
Checking trial cams this week for a final time. Whatever one is producing the most patterned elk is what will determine the game plan
 
Yep water will be key this year, I just can't sit to long , so I will bounce around checking different areas that we know have water. And yes I hope the fires are out in our hunt area.
 
A ton of the areas I hunt are being closed due to fires and concern for fire. The place I want to go opening day isn't one of them but with so many areas being closed I may set up camp at the trail head Friday. Two days before our opener.
 
I'm see lots of great bulls down low where water and food is plentiful. I'm going after a big one that hopefully is leaving private property and I can get on him. It's ambush techniques this weekend for me.
 
well i had a game plan i have been workign on for months and just last week i found the rancher in the area turned out cattle in the main canyon i was going to hunt. so i got one weekend to get up there and scout and see what direction the elk i had in the area have taken to get away from the cattle.
 

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