I got the moose I wanted and I have to tell you about the great time I had hunting for him. I'm Doug Jaeger and I've hunted Way North for six years and I'm returning again this fall. I was the only moose hunter at Way North until last fall, so you know the moose haven't been pressured and have had a chance to grow huge racks and die of old age.

The first three years were difficult hunting as we learned the area, scouted for better hunting locations, and learned to call. However, the past three years have been outstanding. During these six years, new camps were constructed 15 to 35 miles away from the fishing lodge in areas that see no hunting or fishing pressure. The moose freely roam large areas of forest so there are new bulls coming into these areas all the time and there is no other hunting pressure for many miles around our camps. Truly this is hunting in an untouched wilderness area. The one camp I particularly like was hunted a few days eight years ago and I've only been there 3 to 5 days each of the past three year. But that's it. No-one else goes there except for one rusty trapper's wire snare we found the first year. The small lake a mile down the creek south of mine was opened last fall and they saw several moose and got one. That lake had also never been hunted previously. These small lakes have lots of bays, small creeks and drainages surrounded by swamps and bogs that hold and feed the moose. In addition, there are old burns that produce winter feed.

This is a fun, relaxing, hunt from tent camps set on the shore of these remote lakes which are accessible only by float plane. The camps are comfortable though simple - cots, wood stove for heat, Coleman stove for cooking delicious meals, aluminum boats and reliable outboard motors. The guides are always great and cooperative. Temperatures tend to range from highs of 50 to 60F during the afternoon to 20F at daybreak so bring a warm sleeping bag. We call from stands strategically located for both a good view and proper wind direction, mornings from daylight until 11:00 or so and again in the late afternoon until dark. Afternoons are spent paddling and calling from a canoe, exploring, or fishing for the abundant walleyes and northerns. Those walleyes are outstanding by the way - deep golden colored and really tasty - typically running 18 to 22 inches. At night the skies are filled with noisily migrating geese and there are always beaver, ducks and eagles on these lakes. The Northern lights and Orion, the hunter, keep watch over the night sky. Occasionally a passing wolf pack will howl and the sense of deep wilderness will stir every fiber in your body.

We hunt moose during the rut and there are many bulls and cows in the area so you or your guide has to be able to call the bulls in with the wailing sound of a cow in heat intermixed with deep-throated bull grunts and other moose-like noises. Learning to call is easy and every hunter should try it. Get a couple calls and some tapes and practice. This is wilderness and the moose are not concentrated but they can hear calls over several miles, so calling, waiting and watching is the strategy for this far north hunt.

There are lots of trophy moose in this area with 45 to 55 inch spreads and someone missed a 60 inch rack a few years ago. The virgin forest is very dense and it is common to hear the characteristic grunt of large bulls less than a hundred yards away and yet be unable to see them. Most shots occur when the bulls come out of the dense brush at the edge of the water to look for the bellowing cow-in-heat. A 30.06 is adequate and the shot will often be across bays at 300 yards.

Three years ago I took a small bull and last fall I got, for me, the perfect 40 inch rack that was heavily-broomed and the veteran of many battles. I said perfect sized rack as it fits perfectly on my short family room wall and the brooming adds character that you don't see in "perfect" racks. Three years ago I saw two cows, three caves, and heard at least four different adult bulls during the five days I hunted this lake. Two years ago there were at least six moose in the area that we saw or heard during our five days in the field but I was unable to get a clear shot. One was a dandy that we saw only briefly as he came in, and then he hung in dense brush at 50 to 100 feet (not yards) for 1 1/2 hours until darkness ended our hunt. Every time he tried to leave, I gave another call and back he came, crashing brush, splashing through the swamp, and grunting - looking for the cow that he could hear and smell but could not see. That was exciting. Last fall, I took my old bull the second day of the hunt though sometimes I wish I could have extended the hunt longer. He came grunting and crashing to the water's edge and was obviously set to swim to my stand 285 yards across the bay. If you want larger racks I know they are out there as we have seen them.

At Way North Lodge bull tags are easy to get unlike areas further south. Also, I prefer to get back to the fishing lodge for a hot shower and a couple days of lake trout fishing each year. The lake trout are always up shallow by then and the action can be furious.

So, if you want a fun trip, the opportunity to take a large moose, the opportunity to fill your freezer with 500 pounds of delicious meat, the chance to catch lots of walleyes and lake trout on the surface and minimum hassle in getting a bull tag, this is the place to go.

The planes are good, the guides and pilots are great people to be with in the wilderness and the hunting is as good as it gets. I'll see you up there as I've decided to find a really large rack for my outdoor porch.

Doug