What do you look for on satellite pics?

[bald9eagle]

image.jpeg (153.82 KiB) Viewed 5236 times

Where are you looking at on this image?

Highest elevation is about 12,500. Closest road is 2.5 miles to highest point and starts about 9,500. I can tell you that my startmyhunt.com map identified several hotspots on this image. I'm just curious as to how you would hunt this area.

[bald9eagle]

FYI...the highest point is at the bottom left and you can see a lake there.

[ak32]

what would you look for if you were an elk?

Food, shelter and water. Pretty simple. Now apply that to the map/satellite image and go out there to scout to find where they feeding, game trails, ect. Just because it looks good on a satellite view doesn't necessarily mean they'll be there. Nothing compares to boots on the ground, Just my 2 cents.

[WapitiTalk1]

Don't suppose you have a matching "topo" image to go with the SAT image? It helps to have a TOPO view to see land ownership, FS trails, roads, water, etc., when doing some remote scouting.

[longbowelk]

going along with ak32. I see a few things to look at. but not sure since I don't know where north is on that map.

[Swede]

At that resolution, I can see the roads and get a good idea how I want to access the area. I can see some saddles, feeding area and passage ways. All of these would require significant on the ground investigation. What a good topographic map could supply would be spring locations and nearby benches. These to would require more investigation. If I could enlarge the aerial photo, I might see some trails and water holes in meadows. With a larger photo I might see some potential camp locations too. Before I invest a lot of time and expense in the area, I would like to learn about the elk population and hunting pressure.

[Indian Summer]

Two questions... how man miles wide am I looking at there? What dates are you hunting?

I agree with Phantom... topo lines would be a huge help.

[bald9eagle]

image.jpeg (31.79 KiB) Viewed 5159 times

image.jpeg (31.79 KiB) Viewed 5159 times

Bottom left blue dot is lake.

[bald9eagle]

Sorry for no topo lines. Trying to be greedy with the location like I'm the only person in the world the knows where it is...lol. The lake is at 12k. Top is north.

[longbowelk]

I notice there are several streams in the drainage, I would look to find the head of them for water and wallows to spot elk. I would not focus on a lake unless it has alcoves where they can drink in peace. Again like swede I would look for the ways to get in and saddles for them to cross and also timber for them to rest in.

[Indian Summer]

I know that Start My Hunt is based on forage. There is obviously feed in the open areas. So the time of year plays a role too. If it was September things would be different because there is plenty of browse within the timber and at that time of year elk definitely take advantage of being able to feed in cover. Feed even in timber will be more available on south slopes.

The lake means nothing. Actually it can mean the presence of other people possibly. The area is by no means short on water and there is water in more places than is indicated on the map so that's not a deciding factor either.

The picture contains an area that isn't too big to hunt in a week. So I would say you just need to get boots on the ground and hunt ALL of it. But the post from longbowelk is where I'd start.

The other variable that you can't predict in any sat photo or topo map is the hunting pressure and the habits of the elk in that particular spot. Another boots on the ground situation unless you can talk to someone who has hunted it.

[bald9eagle]

I was using the lake as a reference point. The ridge runs almost E/W. From the lake it is about 2 miles to the openings at the top of the map. Is this a large enough are or should I be prepared to go deeper? FYI...The center of that peak marks the boundary to wilderness area.

[ak32]

The one fundamental flaw in the Start my hunt and just looking at a satellite photo is not knowing how much hunter pressure an area gets during each of the seasons. Unless you have actually been there during hunting season you have no idea how overrun or quiet it will be. Trust me, I've seen places miles from any road or trail somewhat crowded with hunters and also have seen drainages right off the road deserted. Hunter pressure changes everything. It may be a perfect habitat and spot to hunt elk, but if they get pushed they will be long gone, especially if there is adjacent private land.

[Indian Summer]

The other thing that comes to mind are the places I know that have great habitat including food, water, and cover... but the elk just aren't there. There have been many elkless elk hunts in beautiful elk country. Drives me crazy sometimes. Two miles away in identical habitat I find elk right away and see more every day. It can be almost like fishing. A guy down the bank can be slamming them when you're getting 1 to his 10 only 20 feet away. Only experience will teach you. Next time you'll be standing down where he was right? Maybe an hour before he gets there too!

I do think that is a big enough area for sure. Also in general I do like the ratio of timber to open country in your area. If there aren't too may hunters I think elk could move around in that much country without leaving it altogether. But that's if I picture it in the states I hunt. I can hunt elk a half mile from the truck in a few spots. One mile in can be great, and two miles in I might not see a soul.

[cohunter]

The Northern side of your sat pic looks pretty swampy in the open meadows. Water is probably plentiful. I would imagine there would be many active wallows in that area in Late august/early september. I also notice a couple of roads along the eastern side in the picture. The one just South of the open meadows appears to cut into the area quite a ways. If this is an OTC Colorado unit, I'm guessing that hunting pressure may be fairly high, but like Indian Summer says pressure can be hard to predict. One year I hunted an area and in a single day of hunting saw 11 other hunters and a handful of elk. We decided to hunt elsewhere. On the last day of the season we went back: not a soul at the trailhead, and not a single fresh boot track. Apparently we'd all made the same decision! There were fresh elk tracks everywhere One thing I will say is that the habitat is not very diverse. It all appears to be fairly thick fir/spruce timber with some clear meadows. It's classic elk habitat, but I've found in similar areas that I'll see many elk or none at all. I like to look for areas with a little bit of everything, from dark timber to quakies to oak brush. There I find if elk are not in the aspens, they're likely in one of the other two ecosystems and I'm not jumping in the car when I can't find elk sign. One more thing: Which season are you hunting? This looks good for the earlier seasons (archery, muzzleloader) but after the rut, many of the elk will move out to lower elevations (with the biggest cagiest bulls last to leave).

[buglebrush]

Not enough info to really say anything. However you are very likely to lose rather than gain by giving out anything more on a public place. I would make a very careful study of roads, trails, and other access. My knee-Jerk reaction would be to avoid the meadows unless you are confident access is dificult. Focus on the nasty holes within an hour or two hike of the meadows, but that is totally dependent on my expectation of hunting pressure.

[oldnovice]

If it is rifle season, snow will more or less dictate where to look. Elk don't like to come down from the high country until the snow gets too deep for them to adequately forage. They can take extreme cold. A CDW biologist told me that they don't really feel the cold until it gets -15 or so. If it is warm, look on the north sides of mountains where they can find shade.

[WapitiTalk1]

If it is rifle season, snow will more or less dictate where to look. Elk don't like to come down from the high country until the snow gets too deep for them to adequately forage. They can take extreme cold. A CDW biologist told me that they don't really feel the cold until it gets -15 or so. If it is warm, look on the north sides of mountains where they can find shade.

Yes sir, I've seen em up to their bellies in snow before they finally decide to transition downward.