# Diamond fork for cow elk?



## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

Who can tell me how the diamond fork unit was this past season for cow elk? Im pretty sure thats the tag I want. I know the alpine elk herd pretty well but with that herd its hard to find them in a spot where you can legally shoot, I am not very familiar with the diamond fork area yet but if figure with that tag l will probably be hunting the same herd that hangs out in the water ridges during the regular season.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

90redryder said:


> I know the alpine elk herd pretty well but with that herd its hard to find them in a spot where you can legally shoot


If you havent been up there recently, you will be blown away by how much ground is now posted NO TRESPASSING, and owners are watching like hawks, calling the cops on people who ignore them. Alot of the access roads are now closed off.

-DallanC


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

I think the woofs chased all the elk out of Diamond Fork. Good luck in your hunt.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I spent Sunday and Monday on Strawberry ridge, glassing into the waters, To Diamond.
A few elk still in there, BUT NOTHING like it was from 1995 thru 2008 ....

2009 is when I saw the first BIG changes in herd size and behavior ..

Antler less success rates have fallen DRAMATICLY the last 3 years ..
I know of several tag holders that hunted hard last year, never saw a single cow ..

In-fact , there's a few on this forum that has had that tag recently..
They might chime in ..


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## tbone (Jul 23, 2009)

I had early cow hunt Diamond Fork tag last year, along with my Dad and my Brother. We hunted a total of eight days, ranging from weekends, to mid week and it was horrible. We saw one large bull and five cows moving through a pass that we were unable to get a shot off at and that was it. 

We hiked for miles, road nearly every ATV trail on the unit, hunted the roads, glassed and glassed and only saw the five. I had a friend who lives at the mouth of the canyon and was doing some scouting even though he didn't have a tag, and he only saw one small heard (7 or so) with a little bull, near the top of one of the mountains, and according to him wasn't even worth trying to hike. 

We saw a number of other people hunting and only heard of one elk being taken. Supposedly the hunters were right on the boundary line and the cow literally walked across the road from one area into another and it was shot right after it stepped foot into the Diamond Fork area. 

There were a few deer here and there, but no elk. I was extremely disappointed. We hunted Diamond Fork on the muzzleloader deer two years ago and elk were literally everywhere, last year, nothing. 

Near the end of our hunt, the Forest Service also closed all the roads, ATV and car, so the huntable area was extremely hard to access. If you put in for the late tag, you will have extremely limited access, unless you have snow on the ground and a snowmobile. 

My two cents, is find a different tag to put in for. I know we are going too.


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## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

Good posts... If anyone on this forum had any luck on that cow elk hunt id like to hear about it, im quickly changing my mind about diamond fork.


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## izzydog (Jan 18, 2008)

:shock: Crap!!!!! I put in for that tag! Hopefully I don't draw.


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

I saw about 700 head in about a half an hour from the bottom of sixth water a month or so ago.


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## telston78 (Dec 5, 2009)

I drew this tag a few years ago. Only saw one dead cow and eight big bulls the entire time. I would put in for the late tag, seems like you will have a better chance once the snow is on the ground. I wonder if that deer fence or DWR issuing to many tags caused this unit to crash. Good luck anyways!


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

i had this tag last year. killed on my 2nd day of hunting. it was all luck, found a heard of about 30 right off the road. i saw a few smaller herds throughout the winter, but not the numbers that i use to see. i applied for this tag again this year due to the fact that hardly any cows were killed or even seen last year. hope it discouraged people from applying for this unit. sounds like my plan is working


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I've been doing a little research on success rates for antler less hunts ..

Fact , the Wasatch west unit , that includes Diamond fork , dropped from 882 harvested
in 2009 to 408 cows harvested in 2010 ... OVER 50% decline in success rate in 1 year ...

Looking further into to Diamond for unit specifically, success rates fell even further ..

The early (November) Diamond hunt for 3 years now has had a LESS THAN 15% success rate!!
Unbelievably poor stats!!.......


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## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

Thanks for all the info. ill be looking into a different unit


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## Mike Honcho (Oct 15, 2008)

Statistics for the Wasatch Mountains, West Antlerless Elk Unit from the "Utah Big Game Annual Report 2010":

Number of Antlerless Elk Harvested

2009: 882
2010: 408

Number of Antlerless Elk Hunters

2009: 1244
2010: 552

2010 Antlerless Elk Success Rate for Wasatch Mountains, Diamond Fork:

Hunt 1: 50%
Hunt 2: 88.9%


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Here's the kicker on the percentages ...

Diamond fork , Hunt 1 , 2009 ..
There were 80 permits issued ,, success rate was 13.6% .... 7 cows and 3 caves harvested .

Diamond fork , hunt 1 , 2010 ..
There were 20 permits issued ,, success rate was 50% ... 7 cows and 3 calves harvested .

EXACT same number of elk harvested ... The percentage on success rates there are deceiving.


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Any chance that weather had something to do with it? Too much snow one year making animals difficult to reach. Too little snow the next creating the same problem? How many people do you know that'll hike or sled 10 miles in to get to animals or even have the capacity?

Just a few questions.

I don't know what it means to anyone else, but the DWR actually counted most of the elk on the entire wasatch unit from the air with great sight-ability last year. The plus or minus factor was very small.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

IMHO it's not as much to do with the weather , OR lack of elk on the Wasatch unit ..

It has to do with the elk habits and behavioral changes that have effected the
Diamond fork unit .....

The large elk herds that used to winter on Teat mountain , Billies mnt , Hwy 6 side ,
Have changed dramatically .......

I first noticed in 2009 the elk herds that normally wintered there went north and east...
INSTEAD of south and west ......

On top of that Tree, next time your in the Sheep creek / Tie fork area , look at the FS boards.
They ( the forest service ) have closed ALL motorized travel during winter on the south end ..
Including snowmobiles! sleds are restricted to the Sheep Creek corridor only !!

There is NO LONGER any winter motorized access from Billies mnt to Soldier Summit ..
Check out the new winter travel maps on the FS boards ... Better buy snowshoes or a horse!!


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