30 YEARS AGO • OCTOBER 8, 1981

HUNTERS SCORE WELL OPENING DAY

Weather was considered to be the key factor and Mother Nature cooperated as hoped, to make the opening day of the 1991 big game hunting season one of the more successful on record.

Although counts were overall not as high as recent opening days, the number of elk reported was nearly double that of last year and rumors were plentiful about downed animals and animals in hunting camps, which sprang up virtually wherever a tent could be pitched, or a camper parked.

With two consecutive nights of snow, conditions were ripe for a plentiful harvest, one which Biologist Bruce Sterling “felt was good for the animal population.”

Hunter numbers were also off from 1990, a statistic that Sterling attributed to the snow, which may have kept hunters at home, and also kept them in camps in the mountains.

In any case, the lack of hunters coming through the check station meant a higher success rate for those hunters passing through the check station opening day.

A perceived lack of hunters wasn’t apparent in the field, as numerous sportsmen commented they found “hunters everywhere” as they pursued their game. One out of the area hunter observed that it was as heavy as they had ever seen on opening day and maybe enough to make them want to go back home.

Another hunter from California said the cold and snow was “too much for me” and he said he was returning home as well.

In raw numbers, the game harvest showed 28 elk, three mule deer does and 33 whitetail animals were checked through during the hours of operation at the check station on opening day.

The elk total included nine bulls, four calves and 15 cows. Of the bulls, five were spikes, one was a 5x5 and three were 6x6’s.

All of the whitetails, 16 were does, eight were fawns and nine were bucks. Of the bucks, three were spikes, four were 3x3’s and two were 4x4’s.

The elk harvest was nearly double that of last year when 15 elk were checked through opening day. In 1989, the first time in several years that the check station was operated from the location just west of Thompson Falls, elk harvest counts showed 17 elk with eight bulls, six cows and three calves.

The number of hunters passing through Sunday totaled 649, down 137 from last year’s total of 786.

As of Monday night, 47 elk and 66 deer had been tallied at the check station with the Prospect Creek drainage being the most successful for elk and the Deep Creek drainage the best for deer. Eighteen elk were attributed to the Prospect Creek drainage while 19 deer were reported as coming from Deep Creek.

Second with most successful drainage for elk was Beaver Creek with 13, while Prospect Creek rated the second best for deer with 12.

Among the more interesting observations reported at the check station was a report of a grizzly bear track near Trout Creek. The hunter described the track in detail to Rick Barnett, who was helping Sterling at the check station, and from what he heard, Barnett said he felt confident the man knew what he was talking about.

The largest trophy kill of the two days was a 6x6 bull elk checked by Dale Peters of Thompson Falls. Sterling said that bull had a 55-inch main branch antler and was over 40 inches between the main points. He expected the rack to score about 370 by Boone and Crockett standards.

Several hunters reported deep snow encountered at the higher elevations, with two feet being common.

WAREHOUSE FOODS PLANS STORE EXPANSION

The area’s largest supermarket, Sanders County Warehouse Foods, is embarking on a major expansion, said store manager Fred Boon.

The addition to the store, located one mile east of Thompson Falls, will add 6,000 square feet of floor area, said Boon, and will add some new services to the operation.

“The area will mostly be used to expand our existing merchandise lines,” related Boon, “but we will also offer some new services.”

He explained that the store plans to add an in-store pharmacy as well as a full line deli.

Sanders County Warehouse Foods has been in operation in Thompson Falls since 1983 when it opened its doors as the largest food supermarket in the area.

Co-owner and developer Leonard Moody and partner Ralph Smith own four food supermarkets, with other stores in Polson, Ronan and St. Maries, Idaho.