How To Find Elk Hunting Hot Spots With Josh Boyd | SITKA

Описание: Hydrologist Josh Boyd shows how to find elk by e-scouting wallows, reading maps, and verifying ground clues before September.

Josh Boyd—hydrologist with 25 years working around streams, springs, and wetlands—demonstrates step-by-step e-scouting tactics for locating wallows, one of the most reliable indicators of rutting elk. Once you’ve chosen a fall hunting zone, open your mapping software and start searching topographic layers for blue head-water lines. Zoom to the very upper ends of these creeks, then shift to aerial imagery to pick out small side basins without stream markings. Lush, wet-green vegetation in benches where steep slopes flatten often signals a spring pushing groundwater to the surface—the raw material elk paw into wallows.

With several waypoints dropped, Josh hikes into a brand-new drainage to ground-truth the digital clues. At the break between a hillside and a flat terrace he finds saturated soil, slick terraces, and faint hoof prints—promising but not yet convincing. A few steps farther reveals last season’s wallow: spongy sediment, seep water feeding a shallow depression, and nearby Aspen trunks scarred with rubs. Fresh bright green vegetation contrasts sharply against the dry hillside, confirming moisture will likely persist through the dry weeks of September.

Josh notes that some spots visible on July imagery may dry before the rut; think of each side basin as a catchment that drains gradually downhill. Validate water presence and rut sign in person, and prioritize wallows backed by rubs for opening morning setups.

Put these scouting tips to work, then gear up for the season—explore SITKA’s elk hunting collection and be ready when the bulls return → https://www.sitkagear.com/pursuit/elk

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0:00 - Introduction - E-Scouting for Elk Wallows
0:38 - Map Reading - Finding Blue Lines and Terrain Features
1:14 - Understanding Wallow Locations and Spring Activity
2:42 - Field Validation - From Map to Ground Truth
4:30 - Identifying Active Wallows and Seasonal Patterns
5:54 - Reading Sign - Rubs and Rutting Activity Indicators