Hunters log harvest and complaints at check stations as elk season ends

The latest North Idaho elk hunting season was a mixed bag for hunters, and for biologists manning check stations in the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe drainages.

The two-week general rifle season that included a truncated cow elk season resulted in 16 elk, four mule deer and two whitetails checked at the Enaville station over the two weekends that the station was open.

Overall, 669 hunters stopped for a mandatory check at Enaville to report what they saw, or what they killed.

Fish and Game estimated that about half the number of hunters stopped at the station than in previous years.

“Conditions were hot and dry with highs in the mid-60s and sunny,” said Roger Phillips of Idaho Fish and Game.

The warm weather didn’t provide for optimal hunting conditions, Phillips said, and hunters throughout Unit 4 complained about wolves.

The number of hunters last weekend who stopped by the St. Maries check station increased by 40 percent compared with last year and success rates were about the same as last year — between 7 and 8 percent, Phillips said.

Harvest was relatively small, Phillips said, with a total of 31 elk, six mule deer and six whitetails coming through the check station.

Complaints about non-resident hunters, too many hunters and low grouse numbers were filed by the department, Phillips said.

Nicole Choquette of Rathdrum, who has hunted up the St. Joe for many seasons, also noticed the abundance of out-of-state hunters. Her party of three killed a spike bull and a cow in the 11 days they camped on their property near The Big Eddy.

“This season was great compared to last year,” when hunters were caught in a flash snowstorm, Choquette said. “We saw way more hunters than last year, almost all the usual camps were taken and new ones popped up.”

A few hunters didn’t see any elk at all, she said.

“We saw elk almost every day,” she said. “I guess it pays to get off the four-wheeler.”