Boat Deer Hunt

[Badhabit]

Lake Roosevelt, troll for trout, drift for ducks, geese and deer. Know of a few folks who go up there just to poke around early am for a deer. Just make sure you're not on the reservation.
We were steelhead fishing Heller Bar for the WA deer opener, saw more than one jet boat come back to the launch around noon with a few bucks on them.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Most all of my deer hunting in Alaska was by boat. We'd run to where we wanted to hunt and then head up to the peaks from sea level which would be anywhere from 1500 feet to close to 3,000 ft.

Basic things to remember, you want to find a safe place to leave your boat where it will be secure if the wind comes up. Either anchored well behind protection, or even beached if possible. We hunted from the ocean so had to deal with tides too. Then you want a safe way to get to the beach and back to the boat if you anchor out. I've been involved in a couple incidents when people went unexpectedly into the water. One time was just funny as it was about 2 feet of water. Another was very scary as he went in and disappeared in the dark hanging on to the bow of a small skiff as the tide was running hard. By the time I got the main boat going and the anchor pulled, I had thoughts that we had lot him, but he had managed to get in the skiff, but filled it half full of water and lost the oars.  He paddled by hand to the beach and I found him about a third of a mile away because he had the presence of mind to flick a lighter at me and let me know where he was. It was freezing that night, so he could have easily gotten hypothermic but I found him soon enough and got him warmed up.

Always take a flashlight no matter how you plan to be back to the boat before dark. Plans can be changed by circumstances. The night my friend took his scary plunge, an hour earlier we were dragging two deer apiece down the mountain when sunset caught us only a couple hundred yards from the beach. Not being able to see what obstacles were in our way created a lot of problems. The nice buck I had kept hooking his antlers on branches and brush and what should have taken us 10 minutes took closer to 45 minutes.

Radios are indispensable. If you get separated they help finding each other, and if someone gets down to the beach in the wrong spot, he can direct you to his location via radio. We usually just use walkabouts as they have good range over water. But Garmin Rinos work very good. I've had to find guys who came down close to 2 miles from the boat before. Was glad they had a radio to make locating them easier.

Usually, if you know the lay of the land and know you have a safe way down, if you get an animal, it's easier to bring it straight down to the water, then make for you boat without a load on your back. Come back in the boat to pick it up. We'll regularly end up two to three miles from the bot while hunting, but you may not be that far from the water, so this saves a lot of packing.

While hunting, be aware of where you are before shooting something. It's easy to get up high, then go over  ridge top and spot something down the other side. And if your first shot doesn't put it down, it may go farther down the other side. It's way easier to pack an animal down a ridge or peak than it is to pack it up the mountain or ridge first before you can head down.  The first buck I took on Kodiak  made that mistake. I hunted about two miles up a mountain and not seeing anything, started down a ways on the other side to glass. And damned if i didn't spot a nice 3 pt buck down in a gulley by a small stream. So down I went to get him as it was he only deer I saw that day.  When I hit him he slid 150 yards down a steep hill into the creek gully. I was alone that day, so I made him into a pack and had to get out of the gully, then pack him about a half mile back up to the top and down the other side.  I was dead tired when I got him out. Luckily I was about 26 and in pretty good shape so I made it. But I learned to set my limits on where I'd shoot an animal from that nasty pack.

[BULLBLASTER]

Lake Roosevelt, troll for trout, drift for ducks, geese and deer. Know of a few folks who go up there just to poke around early am for a deer. Just make sure you're not on the reservation.
We were steelhead fishing Heller Bar for the WA deer opener, saw more than one jet boat come back to the launch around noon with a few bucks on them.

I have done this quite a bit.... well only for Deer. We have had great success also.

[WSU]

I don't have much help on boat hunting, but your brother should be able to get permission to hunt some decent areas around Pullman.  There are tons of places to hunt and lots of deer.

[NRA4LIFE]

For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir. 

[rippinlips22]

For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.

 

[et1702]

For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.

Elk too!

ET

[CAMPMEAT]

For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.

Elk too!

ET

.............and wolves.

[MADMAX]

Hunted the snake twice
3x3's both times, one was a hybrid mulie whitail
Fun hunt
Lots of walking up from the boat to the wheat and rimrock.
When I did it it got crowded.
Even saw a nice 5x6 bull some idiots were shooting at thinking it was a big mulie, poor guy had his toungue hanging out
I launched one year at Wawawaii and one year at Central ferry, gave it up when gas got expensive and went to $2 a gallon in the jetboat
Worth trying, good luck

[MisplacedAlaskan]

Thanks for all the great info folks. I'm thinking that doing something on Lake Chelan sounds good. My first choice would be Idaho, but the non-resident license fees there for a deer aren't worth it. Maybe someday ill end up working at Dworshak and ill hunt that reservoir hard then. When I lived in SE AK most of our hunts started with a boat ride so I have a lot of nostalgic memories of boat hunts.

[splitshot]

    you will need good eyes that are patient and protected.    mike w

[coyotecrazy]

Heads up on th waterfowl hunting on lake Roosevelt. That's a no no. Only allowed in one area way north. Sounds like a fun hunt besides that.

[baldopepper]

I'm not aware of any waterfowl hunting restrictions on Lake Rossevelt, curious where you got that information.  You can't hunt on the reservation side, but I see hunters on the other side all the time.

[bhawley76]

I have always wanted to do the same hunt till I went to 25 mile creek just to see what the pressure was like, I didn't even put the boat in the water. But it is a big lake. I think the snake would be a better choice but lots of private ground. good luck

[Limhangerslayer]

I'm not aware of any waterfowl hunting restrictions on Lake Rossevelt, curious where you got that information.  You can't hunt on the reservation side, but I see hunters on the other side all the time.