Hello everyone!

A friend and I are going to hunt for deer in the bwca this year. I’m thinking of either hiking along moose river to big moose lake, or going the pow wow route to pose because the regenerating forest might be better to see deer. Anyone have experience?

I think the Pow Wow trail will be very difficult to see deer due to the stage or regeneration after the Pagami fire, trees are around 8-10+ feet tall and thick.
Hunting on the edge of a fire can lead to good results, the fuels/timber age and edges of transition area of the forest can have a wide species selection. I would think deer would like that area. Deer can head to the fire area for the Aspen buds and head out to a more open forest for easier walking when wanted.

There is alot of the fire transition area around Isabella Lake outside the BW, you could camp at Forest Center and hike the edges for a few days. The hike into Bog Lake has much of this edge, as well as many other forest roads and trails in the area between Bog Lake, comfort Lake and Section 29 Lake.

I can't speak to your other area.

The Pow Wow was devoid of deer sign last October, according to a party that hunted it while we hunted the east side of Isabella. The burnt area from the Pagami Creek Fire is hazardous to anything with a center of gravity higher than a raccoon. No deer wants to be in that situation.

Much of that area is like two deer per square mile. Not much around.

Where do you find this information (deer/sq mi)? I am going to do some deer hunting up here this fall, but have no idea where to target. If this information is published somewhere, I would love to see it. Thanks in advance!

ericinely: "Where do you find this information (deer/sq mi)? I am going to do some deer hunting up here this fall, but have no idea where to target. If this information is published somewhere, I would love to see it. Thanks in advance!
"

That is on the Mn DNR site-they probably have it now as 2-4 deer sq. mile at most now.
I will say being familiar with the area around Isabella lake there is some huge bucks in the area just on the edge of the BWCA. But numbers low.

If you have the time you could answer your own question the end of this week after all the snow were getting. You will be able to see if there are any concentrations of deer.
Even areas outside the BWCA in that area receive little pressure compared to the rest of the state.

To try to get a deer up there would be a very peaceful and quality hunt with low hunting pressure deer number low.


past years hunting results

Thanks! I can see where they have the harvest information, but not the population estimates...am I looking in the wrong place?

ericinely: "Thanks! I can see where they have the harvest information, but not the population estimates...am I looking in the wrong place?"

No it is close to there, but Rusch the DNR wildlife manager also said that when talking about moose.
Estimates should be on the same page. I will see if I can find them.

Not quite what I wanted but it will give you a idea.


Deer stats

I hunted deer just south of Isabella for 6-7n years in a row. I saw wolves there but not once did I see a deer. It's about the lowest deer density you can find in the entire state.

The area 117 deer harvest in much of the area is in a steep decline decline

So my strategy will be to still hunt as much areas as possible. What would your strategy be to hunt suck a low density area?

Such*

Steven h : "So my strategy will be to still hunt as much areas as possible. What would your strategy be to hunt suck a low density area?
"

I have been up in that area and found some huge scrapes in the past. I would keep going to I found those.

If your really interested in hunting up there I would be up there this weekend and with the snow present you will get a idea of if and where the deer are at present. What a opportunity with the snow present.

I am headed out Sat-Mon to do some late season duck hunting in the mornings and grouse/deer scouting in the afternoons/evenings. It should be easy to see where there are areas with active deer with the fresh snow, there's just no guarantee they will be in the same area(s) in two weeks. I can post an update next week

Much appreciated

FWIW I drove the road to the Isabella EP in early December 2018 with a few inches of snow in the ground, looking for tracks as prep for the 2019 hunt. No deer, just wolves and a moose or two.
Make sure you know where the Deer Permit Area boundary is between 117 and 131 - the latter is lottery only for antlerless this year for the firearms season!

When you say you're going to be hunting deer does that mean with a bow or rifle?

If I were to hunt in that area I'd be hoping for snow and I'd be still hunting different areas while slowing working my way through areas I think might hold some deer. I certainly wouldn't make it a traditional treestand hunt. Ideally you'd find some sort of vantage point overlooking some sort of relatively open terrain where you can let your eyes do the walking while you sit up high and use your binos to look for deer. If you can't find a spot that will allow that your best bet is to get on some tracks and see where they lead you. Maybe you'll find some sort of sign showing you were deer might be hanging out and it will give you a lead on a good place to set up.

You'll be looking for a needle in a very rugged haystack but it could be a really fun trip with or without a deer. If you do get lucky and tag a deer it will be a well earned deer.

I decided to hunt the near Angleworm Trail and do some camping also. Thanks for the input everyone!! Anyone ever seen a deer near Angleworm?

Steven h : "I decided to hunt the near Angleworm Trail and do some camping also. Thanks for the input everyone!! Anyone ever seen a deer near Angleworm?"

No, I haven't been there – but I gave that location a hard look at the end of the bear season when my Seagull plans fell through at the last minute. Let us know how it goes!

Scouted an area by South Farm last weekend. There were a few signs of deer in the fresh snow, but certainly not a whole lot-what I found was all probably 2-3 days old, nothing fresh. I don't think we are going to hunt that area, as the forest was so dense we struggled to find a spot that would be worth setting up a deer stand. I have a climbing stand, so I think wherever I go we will mix stalking with sitting. I too will be looking for elevated areas where I can get a good line of sight. With the fresh snow, we should be able to move quietly and cover a lot of ground without being too noisy. I might bring my binoculars, but that also might just weigh me down. Dont know if there are too many areas in the BWCA outside standing water and swamps where you can see more than 50 yards in front of you. I am planning on getting skunked, so if I see a deer or even get to take a shot I will be thrilled. Keeping my expectations low.