I may have an opportunity to hunt deer during the late season in central Washington -- don't have my reg. book handy but I believe the season last year was about Nov. 5-15 for several draw hunts in the 240-series GMUs.

Anyone who hunts or has hunted there ... what kind of animals and conditions can be expected? Temperatures, precipitation, hunting methods? Do you usually have to backpack out the meat?

Just trying to anticipate my equipment needs.

JF

I have been on Lake Chelan a couple of times recently but have seen no deer. There was a big fire up there about 6 years ago. I would think that by now there would be some good deer habitat grown up.

Customstox has a cabin on the lake and knows the area well. I suspect he will be chiming in here.

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Howard
Moses Lake WA
hhomes@homesley.com

John-I am vary familiar with WA State hunting. 240 series is from Hwy 2 north to the Canadian border and has lots of units within. Specifically Lake Chelan area(#243) has some Huge mulies. But like any other good hunting..work. The area about halfway up the lake on the north side around Prince Creek is very, very good. It is also extreme country, very high elevaton and I doubt you will get in there in Nov.
I'd almost bet on it. It is more typical of an early hunt Sept-early Oct. The five areas just north of #243(Monson) are pretty good Mulie hunting, but you have to work at it pretty good. They have had 3pt min for last couple of years. Whitetails in a lot of the areas like Alta, Chilliwist, Pogue, etc. Some danged big ones too. Most DRAW hunts are for 'any buck', so BIG Whitey's are fair game.
Conditions: Expect anything from mid 60's to well below freezing and it can change any moment. Typically that time of the year it is in the 20' at night and days are ususally bright and sunny (guess thats why they call it "SUNNY OKANOGAN") Can be snow, mostly above 5,000 feet, lowlands and valleys, usually not until around Thanksgiving. Advise...be prepared for anything, as usual in most hunting areas. Lots of National Forest and they get their fair share of pressure, but mainly on the logging roads. Glass, spot-em, go get em' and good luck. I've taken some real good bucks in this State, but I've seen better times..I go to Montana whenever I can.

i posted this on another site for John but the areas from 8 miles north of Prince creek then 25 miles down lake and 10 miles past Safety Harbor burned in the fires last year. Typically it burned from the lake all the way to the top of the ridge. My in laws had an orchard at Manson (unit 243) and I used to hunt it often. It is tough country and the big deer are few and far between. It gets a lot of pressure from the beginning of the season and I doubt if it will be worth hunting this year. The draw is very difficult too.

Chic Worthing

customstox..I know about the fires, was a heck of a fire. The real good area I am referring to in the Prince Creek area is VERY HIGH country and was less effected by the burn. The area Im refer to is one you have to take the Lake boat and have them drop you off at Prince Creek and then a helluva walk in..or you can go in horseback from the Manson side. All this is mute, cause the time of year he is going you can't get into Prince Creek anyway..least not the better high areas where the bigguns are. Tough country as you say, but some nice deer in there and no roads so it's either afoot or horseback (good thing I have the horses). I think this is a general open area..maybe some doe permits for draw, not sure without checking the regs. Other than that, open for gen buck, but you gotta go early. Swakane had two burns in recent years and actually I think it improved the hunting. My favorite area is 100 units, just for info.

Slipknot, actually the fire did some damage all the way to the top in most areas. Some of the draws were unscathed but not many. I have a cabin across the lake from Prince Creek and uplake about 3 miles (Lucerne) and was up there a couple of times while it was burning. In mid November in most years you can still get in there and hike to the top, but you could easily get dumped on. I would imagine that if the grasses come back fast the hunting could be good this year. If they don't then the Alta unit will have a larger supply of big guys. There still arent enough in that area to hold my interest. Beautiful country though.

Well I'd say your in a pretty good spot to take advantage of the Entiat area (slide ridge,etc.). Used to like Glacier Peak area but too many bunny huggers anymore. Things have sure changed in this State, but some good huting left in small spots me thinks. Wish the F&G would quit managing people and start managing the resources a bit more. 10 or more years ago I asked the local biologist out of deer park what the buck doe ration was on whitetails in the area north of Kettle River and he told me 100 to 1...IF that was a true statement, something is drastically wrong. I sent a email to the Game Dept a couple of months back and asked the same question...twice and never received an answer back. If you don't already, you might go to their website and look at the "projects"..butterflies!!!! Caribou in Washington (I know they are here..seen em in the Salmo area-very NE part of the State and think they just wandered in from Canada) Hate to be so negative about all this but it just makes me mad and sad..guess thats why I spend most of my time in Montana when I can (ususally every year or so). Good Hunting!

Thanks for all the replies. If I'm reading rightly in the VERY confusing reg book from last year, an Eastern Washington firearms (EF) elk tag also allowed elk hunting through Nov. 15 -- which spices it up a bit even if I don't draw a deer tag. Have I got that right?

John..according to my 2001 regs the EF for 'modern firearms' ends Nov 4th. This is GENERAL SEASON, but some draws may change that. Muzzleloader and Archery will of course be different, but may overlap..and the areas you said you wanted to hunt deer in, do have FEW ELK. Better areas for ELK are Central Wash, and SE WASH, the latter IMHO, being the better (Blue Mountain areas) Personally, I would not recommend Washington State as a good Elk hunt. Just my opinion. The only exception to that statement regards a draw for cow or some of the late muzzleloader areas. This is a 'choose your weapon before you lay down your money' system. Really sucks!

John..one other thing. If you buy a license far enough in advance, and you want to hunt elk in one of the better areas, I highly recommend you put in for a cow tag-if you want some tasty meat for the winter. Maybe CUSTOMSTOX has more input for you.

John..sorry, but I left this out too! I see you mention a "draw". Washington has over the counter (and over the phone or website)license for Non-residents. I assume you are going to put in for a draw(doe tag)?????

Slipknot,
You have a pretty good grasp of the situation here. I go to Idaho for my serious hunting. I do have a place in Douglas County where I can usually get a buck on opening day but spots like that are hard to find and harder to hold onto.

I remember seeing something about the caribou in the game pamphlet about 5 years ago. I believe they are woodland caribou and were imported and of course protected, along with the ptarmigan they brought in.

I would rather see a draw for areas and not even be able to hunt here if that would increase our hunting quality.

I do know one guy who teaches in Wenatchee who takes some enormous mule deer each year. He spends most weekends watching deer and knows where they are by the time the season rolls around. He is also no longer married as a result. But like you said there are some there.

Maybe between the two of us we can get John at least the best information available. I have some meetings scheduled with our local fisheries biologist over some storm water issues and will talk with the local manager (who they are talking of doing away with, as well as our local office).

Take care

Chic Worthing