Ken Barrett's Fast Facts
For The TRCP's Life in the Open

Colorado Elk Fast Facts

Location: Hayden, Colorado – Hayden is located about twenty-five miles west of Steamboat Springs. There’s an airport in Hayden (Yampa Valley Regional Airport) with connections from various major airports depending upon the time of year. Check the Net or with your local travel agent.

Access: We hunted on Cross Mountain Ranch. It’s a private ranch that participates in the state’s Ranching for Wildlife Program. State residents are afforded an opportunity to hunt the ranch through a lottery application system; non-residents must purchase a landowner license. (Please see Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources at www.dnr.state.co.us/ for more information).

Best time to go: Under Ranching for Wildlife Rules landowners have the right to pick and choose specific hunting dates from a period extending from early September through late December. We were able to rifle hunt during the rut. If you go as a non-resident, as I did, I recommend going in mid-to-late September. The weather is idyllic, the elk are bugling and the aspens are beautiful. It’s, in my opinion, the ideal time to hunt elk in the high country.

License availability: Non-residents can purchase a license through the landowner-outfitter, on a first come first serve basis, usually combined with an outfitted hunt. You can visit www.crossmountainranch.com for more information.  If you’re a Colorado resident and want to enter you name in the draw, check with www.dnr.state.co. us/ for application information. My understanding is that most first year applicants can pull a cow tag; getting a bull tag usually takes two or three tries.

Recommended equipment: Clothing choices depend on when you go to hunt; bring light gear for September and long-johns and heavy clothing for later in the fall. Either way, think layering. Bring good hiking boots and binoculars. Hunter orange is mandatory in Colorado. Elk are big tough critters, so I favor .30 caliber rifles and 180-grain premium bullets, though many prefer their .270s. Be prepared to take shots as close as 50 yards and as long as 300 plus yards.

Costs: The cost of a hunt at Cross Mountain or any other of the properties participating in the Ranching for Wildlife Program varies greatly. If you’re a Colorado resident, draw a tag, drive from home and camp or stay at a local motel your costs can be as little as a couple of hundred dollars. If you purchase a license and an outfitted hunt complete with a guide and lodging, your hunt will run between $4,000 and $7,00, and that’s before you drive or fly in.

Tips & Commentary: I’ve been hunting elk, mostly on public lands in Montana, for 25 years, and I have never seen as many elk as I saw at Cross Mountain Ranch. Big bulls, like on all public lands are rare, because the elk herd in this area is subject to public hunting pressure, but if you want to see lots of elk, have many encounters and just revel in a sort of elk heaven, this is the place for you. Everybody in camp, archers and rifle hunters alike, tagged out. While it is not an inexpensive proposition for the non-resident, it costs less than half as much as many elk hunts being offered in the west today. If you want to see beautiful country, stay in a comfortable lodge, eat good food, hunt with a knowledgeable guide and see lots of elk, I highly recommend Cross Mountain Ranch. And if you’re lucky enough to be a Colorado resident, I’d start applying for a CMR hunt right away.

Special thanks go to:

CC. Filson Co.
Beretta
Winchester Ammunition
Swarovski Optik
Cabelas

South Carolina Redfish Fast Facts

Location:  The ACE Basin is near Green Pond, South Carolina, approximately half way between Charleston and Beaufort. The ACE takes its name from the three rivers that drain this low country area: the Ashepoo, the Combahee, and the Edisto. Its 350,000 acres comprises one of the richest estuaries on the Atlantic seaboard.  It’s about an hour drive from Charleston and Beaufort.

Access: Though some of the area is private (we fished on a private plantation at the owner’s invitation) there are huge expanses of public waters, where we also caught a number of big redfish. There are a number of publicly accessible boat launches in the area. For more information on these areas please call 843-844-8957.

Best time to go: Though redfish are available year-round, most consider the fall the best time to go. The weather is more comfortable (temps in the 60s and 70s), there are less boats and anglers on the water and the fish are usually on the bite.

License availability: Non-residents can buy licenses over-the-counter; they’re $35. For more information go to www.dnr.sc.gov 

Recommended Equipment: If you use spinning gear, I’d go with a 6’, light/medium or medium action rod and a reel loaded with 8 to 12 pound test. If you’re a fly fisherman, a 7 or 8 weight rod is ideal, though anything from a 6 weight right on up to a 9 weight will work just fine. I used both floating and sinking-tip lines. Regardless, have a reel with 100-150 yards of backing, a big redfish is a powerful critter and can take off on a prolonged run. Rain gear is always good to have along, as well as a pair of binoculars to watch for feeding fish and or birds (if you’re interested). Clouser’s are a good bet as are many other standard fly patterns. Check with local shops for the best spinning lures and flies to use.

Costs: If you are willing to camp and cook for yourself, this can be a relatively inexpensive trip. We cooked up a storm and enjoyed the wild bounty of this great country. We ate a bunch of redfish and flounder, bought lots of fresh shrimp and shellfish for a modest price and lived off the fat of the land.

Tips and Commentary: America is not a homogeneous country; it’s made up of many different places and cultures. Sportsmen will find the low country of South Carolina both fascinating and enticing. It’s filled with great people, great land and water and great hunting and fishing opportunities. I love this place; it’s nothing short of exotic for a guy who does so much of his hunting in the snow and fishing through the ice.  Mix me up another mint julep, serve me another helping of fried redfish and flounder and let me watch the wood storks and egrets fly by the Spanish moss covered live oaks on the banks of the Ashepoo River. Go give it a try; you’ll love it.

Special thanks go to:

Dean Harrigal
John Frampton
Nemours’ Wildlife Foundation