Any GMU 356 elk success?

[sboada]

Just came back from bumping lake area empty handed and wondering if anyone has had any success out there.  Had a few bugles and contact early on but was pretty quiet where I was for the past couple of days.

[lee]

sboada  PM sent

[northcoast]

Pretty quiet in the SE corner of the unit too.  Todd_ID got a spike there but I haven't seen any others.  Headed back up tomorrow night for the rest of the season to see if we can knock one down.

[Marcopolo]

Paul dropped us for a week hunt up around blankmanship lakes. Was my first drop camp and first bull tag draw after putting in for 7 years. We got to the parking lot end of bumping lake road and it looked like the spokane north town mall parking lot with horse trailers. I knew it wouldn't be good. We saw more footprints than sign, and more human scat than elk crap. Only bugles we heard were other hunters. Some camps had fires going on and one even had a dog on site. Others had all their horses in a fenced in pen in the middle of a meadow. Won't be doing that area ever again. About 5-6 cows were taken and one spike, someone found 5x5 sheds.
Locals were saying the rut starts in October and the rifle hunters got more political swing to get the rut. Paul and his crew were very professional and the overall in and out was great.

[romaknows]

  Marcopolo,I was planing on heading up that way(hunted that spot a couple years ago) for my muzzleloader cow tag and unfortunately have not had the scouting time this summer to find another a good spot (for a backup plan)within the bumping unit for my tag.
If anyone would like to send me a few pointers on my best chance of filling a couple of cow tags for me and my dad it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[northcoast]

Update...

Our group ended up with a spike and a 5x5. Spent all morning Sunday teasing two big bulls and watching them fight over us "cows".  I personally never saw a single cow all season only bulls. 

My cousin did run into some cows a few miles into the WOD but didn't take a shot because they were working on the bull tags.

[Yankee]

Bummer. 

[kirkl]

Lol, rifle hunters get the rut? Come on man. ML have the best season
Far as rut goes. There not rutting during
Rifle season.

[whack em]

It was real quiet, without a lot of action for us as well in the Bumping.  Between the dry hot weather, the full moon, and the bees, it was tough hunting for sure.

[Marcopolo]

Archery? Shoot. Yeah, too bad your friend didn't get the 8x8 he always wanted. Shucks. This year, too much heat, human fecal matter and hunters calling hunters. Some cows and a spike were packed out by chinook. Most the camps were gone by Friday. Saw two hunters that hiked in and were really enjoying the heat. I don't know about the other private parties outside of drop camps. IMHO the Nile pushes them up to the bumping and southern Nile pushes up to the corner of 410 where no one has the balls to hike down the steepness at the pass. Again, no rut going on, even the young hunters running whistling gas station said hardly any bulls have been coming through. For those that got anything grats. I would rather enjoy solitary woods and a cow and or spike

[kirkl]

Better switch to rifle cause its prime rut 

[Bucks2Ducks]

Just got back from 9 days around there. Blakmanship was a zoo! Sorry you were up there with your bull tag, at least it's beautiful. From what I saw the bulls were really tearing stuff up and rutting good from the middle of the season on, just have to find where the cows go when those meadows get pressure. Sadly we don't have enough wilderness areas in WA with elk to escape the crowds of hunters that flock to them every season after reading magazines and watching hunting shows and think it sounds easy.

[Marcopolo]

We were @ apple from the 5th to the 12th, another camp was at pear already the meadows south of Indian trail was full of four star hotel tents. Funnest we had was taking the 14 mile loop behind pear lake to the rattle snake by strawberry meadows and back down the rattlesnake through the meadows, that's where we saw the 7 horse corral.. Your right about wa. My dad was telling me montana is where it's at. Wa. Has become saturated. Yeah those hunting vids. Primos...

[DRENALINJUNKIE]

We didn't see any other hunters in the woods. Only made it up for the last 4 days. Had bulls bugling everyday. We also got a big spike. We hunted hard and it paid off for us.

[Marcopolo]

Grats, mid day down by strawberry meadows? Nice rack and pic.