Any good grouse hunting around Craig, Co

[lchunter]

Heading out this Wednesday to Craig to visit friends and try and get after some grouse. Had some buddies go out last year and they didn't do so hot. Hoping to do better. Taking my english pointer, who to my knowledge. hasn't seen a grouse in her life. Just seeing what you guys thought? Any advice is welcome.

 

[blueweim]

Routt national forest is supposed to be the best place in colorado. Not far from Craig.
good luck

 

[lchunter]

Well its sounds like that is where we are headed

 

[cedahm]

Well its sounds like that is where we are headed

Granted, the Routt NF is a huge area, but just FYI - we had a harder time than normal the last 2 weekends in our normal early season grouse honeyholes (this is well NE of Craig). We got 8 birds (3 guys/1 dog) in HARD walking opening day/day 2. Would guess that we walked 20 miles those 2 days. Normally, that spot is a pretty standard 3-man limit on the opener.

Last weekend, we got 3 birds and missed the only other one we saw between 3 guys in 2 days in a spot that if not a limit-machine, at least I would have expected to see 2X-3X that many birds in the ground we covered.

We had 2 theories:

1: I think the deep/late snowpack may have adversely impacted the hatches, to where they were late or unsuccessful or heavily depredated. Two of the opening day birds were tiny. About the size of Huns.

2: They may still have been quite a ways lower down near the Aspens (particularly if the hatches were late). Didn't see much in that kind of country, either (though we didn't spend a lot of time that low), but the cool nights since then may be starting to move them uphill.

Good luck! Report back...