Wanted to do this hunt a couple years ago but guys on this forum cautioned against it because of the tough winters , so any word on what to expect in 2016.
Thanks......Sarge

Considering they probably have until April for spring conditions to arive its a touch early to say for sure and even if winter is short and mild one winter won't return us to our heyday but it will help.

Thanks it has been about 2 years since I inquired, just weighing my options Thanks again ......Sarge

Wow, winter hasn't even started in Northern Saskatchewan. Daytime temperatures have been above above freezing for the most part.

We have a cabin at Candle Lake within a game preserve and the deer numbers have been low for the past 3 years. PM me in June if we are seeing any number of fawns will be a good indicator of how the winter was.

Flyer

Sarge, last winter was a pretty darn good one here in Sask. This year is shaping up to be a real gem. It's just what the doctor ordered for our ungulate friends. This weather is supposed to hold till the 3rd week in Dec. The deer haven't been stressed at all yet. This particular sub species are extremely resilient and are hard wired for 5-6 months of winter. This year is shaping up to be a 3-4 month winter.
Yes, another year or two like this is needed to get numbers up to historical averages but there are some real hogs being shot across the province this year. Next year will be good.
We had 5 returning fellows from PA come up and hunt in the second week of Nov. They all shot pretty decent deer.


Hope this helps.

I'd wait for a few more years, and hope for more mild winters. There are a few pockets with decent populations, and vast areas where you're lucky to even see a deer. A few nice deer get taken by a lucky few. This guy likes walking around the farm at night.

Some areas have good numbers, but not everywhere. Like others wrote, so far this winter is mild. but it is too early to tell how they'll do/

I went this year and FWIW - I saw a crap ton of deer compared to last year. Saw 13 bucks in one day, mostly 2.5y old deer with a lot of potential. Where I go is very far west, almost in Alberta.

I saw more sets of twin fawns than I've ever seen in my life this year. I saw two sets of triplets. If this winter continues to be mild, it could be pretty good next year. I'm going back - even a bad year there is much better than a good year at home.

I posted my hunt story in Deer hunting if you are interested.

Thanks to all who added to this thread your comments will help me determine at what time to book a hunt.
The winter down here in the states seems to be one that will be quite mild. Hope it is the same north of the border.
thanks......Sarge

Here are a couple pics from our "horn" measuring at the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation club in our small village in central Sask. There were a few pretty nice deer taken this year, and a smattering of elk, moose, etc. The second pic is of the best local WT buck. It came from my brother's land, shot by a friend who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The third pic is the eatin' size buck I shot this year, the last pic is of a buck that my son shot, antlers not so big but well over 300 lbs live wt. So have hope for next year, it's getting better as we continue to recover from those bad winters!

Glad to see a little more bone there this year!
I recall last year was a little light.

Now that its February its safe to say that the whitetail have wintered well. The weather could still turn but realistically it can't get bad enough long enough to do much damage. Numbers still aren't great anywhere, but it will jump up the age structure on the bucks that there are.

Yeah buddy, looks like you all had a good trip.

Saskatchewan could be a hoot, I've always thought I'd like to hunt Alberta. I should look into it more.

Congratulations.

Still early but anyone herd or seen any upswing in antler size or population increase ?
Thanks.....Sarge

Fawn crop looks good. My main area was one of the little pockets that weren't affected too badly during the brutal years due to winter feeding. Age structure is improving. Last winter was mild, and weather would have taken few. Wolf activity is fairly high, and that isn't doing any ungulates in the forest fringe any favors. Hudson Bay area seems pretty light for deer when I was out for moose last week.

I hasn't paid much attention to my bait cameras, but it seems like the bison are liking them.

There was an early snow fall that melted in the south and east, but is beginning to look like its going to stay in thecentral forest fringe. A lot of crops are going to stay out. Good for survival, not so good for guided hunters who are primarily working off of bait.

Thanks Model70Guy , anyone else ?

We saw more Bucks then Does with Fawns at Candle Lake this summer. Population seems to have improved somewhat.

This fellow was hanging around eating my wifes roses, begging for apples.

He's only about 15 feet from the grill in these pics....

Nice, wouldn't have to drag him that far.

Beautiful property.

DF