WMU 936 - Cooking Lake Blackfoot Recreation Area
 

Hello,

I am new to Edmonton and looking to get a whitetail this season. From what I have read, Cooking Lake Blackfoot is a great place to start! I was wondering if I could get some advice on where good spots are to hunt whitetail there, and what the best technique is (sit and call or walk the trails). Thanks and good luck this season!

Liam

Well Im not sure if it is a really good place to start. There is plenty of crown land north of Edmonton which may offer some better opportunities to a first time hunter. However, if you have your heart set on the blackfoot, read the regs on the hunt and understand the special regulations involved with hunting in the Blackfoot. Then pull out a pair of comfy boots or your mountain bike and start burning trail... scout scout scout... then when the season starts you will know where to look or know where to set up and call.

also on the main HUNTING page of the forum, there is a search feature in the upper right hand corner, use that to search the blackfoot. There have been many threads on the subject in the past.

Welcome and all good advice given.

For a first time hunter I would look north or west, your success rates will be WAY higher and retrieval will also be almost certainly easier, I hunt 936 extensively and it's definitely not a beginners spot or very good for WT's when compared to an hour north or west.

Elk
 

Thanks for the advice! I was reading some older posts and I am under the impression that there is a decent number of elk there. They were posts from a while ago though. Is the Elk population still not too bad? i put in for a draw on elk. and to clarify i'm not a first time hunter, just new to the edmonton area!

This is an awesome forum!

If your not NEW to hunting then I suggest doing like we've all done and scout hard. And scout harder!find the area that looks like it holds elk and giver! Google is your friend an so are maps of the area. I'd never ever expect anyone to give up anything that they worked their ass off for?!!

i have hunted blackfoot many times and it is a very unique area. i suggest you go there ahead of time and walk some of the trails or better yet bring your mountain bike. do your research as special rules apply in that area. you will have to get a special discharge permit and attend an orientation seminar.
keep in mind that no vehicles or off road vehicles are allowed and if you do harvest a big game animal you will probably have one heck of a time bringing it back to staging area.
good luck.

I've harvested a few animals in Blackfoot. I don't hunt there much anymore, but really miss it. It's a wonderful place, especially when you get comfortable and familiar with the area.

-Craig

I hunted 936 for ducks, geese, grouse & WT deer for some years until 2003 & then stopped. In the mid 90's I bagged a few deer from there & saw some fine bucks in there. I was never able to get a shot off at some nice bucks I saw, but they were there. Mt favourite hunting spots were in the Islet staging area. I saw elk & moose in that area too.

However you do need to work to get your animal out. If I could handle 936 you could too.

I have spent many hours in 936 and am also doing my homework now for a future elk hunt in 2015 or 2016 once I have the area and its elk figured out. One thing I find very odd is that I rarely see a deer in there. Must be just me.
kidd

I have hunted Elk in there also a couple of times and only seen a handful of whitetails in about 8 days of hunting.

Times change since I hunted there. Sometimes I had Islet Lake staging area to myself when I was hunting WT Deer in those days. I saw 2 does that day (the last day of hunting season) & one stopped & gave me a nice shot. I don't stay on the trails I went into the woods & scared them up. The deer I took out of the Islet Staging area were in the bush off of "Highline trail" or the bush off of "Moose Link". The 1st bush in the next staging area (Central) off of "Moose Link" was were I saw 6 cow Elk after a shot went off in that area & they ran out of that bush into Corral Alley I believe it is called.

I have no clue now about 936. I was thinking of doing some biking in there on a weekend for old time sake. I stopped hunting 936 & on some private land in 242 in 2003 & never went back.

Its a little slice of heaven if you do your homework , have a bike, and put in the time.

I have hunted the Blackfoot lots. Probably close to 30 days if you add up all the days from different years and I can count on one hand how many whitetails I have seen. I wouldn't waste my time for whitetails in 936. On the other hand there are some great numbers and quality in both moose and elk.

Blackfoot
 

Elk, yes. Moose, yes. Deer, no.

I happened to bump into the host for the recreation area yesterday. He told me that there are roughly 200 elk, 100 moose and 100 deer in there.
kidd

I go there x-c skiing lots in winter and in 10 years I only got a glimpse of maybe 2 deer....but seen lots of moose, well not exactly... Lots of sightings of the same animals.... I mean...

Spent yesterday there. Did a 23 KM loop on the bikes. Too hot for anything to be moving however....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ps06d63066.jpg

1899b, I saw your wheels there yesterday. I got there at 11 and you had one of the only shaded parking spots. Was glad for the breeze out hiking.
kidd

Nice!! It was a little too warm yesterday but glad we made it out.... :)

Whats the best staging area to take off from if you're looking for some chickens? or are they all pretty standard?

They're all pretty standard. The less crowds, the better your hunting will be, though.