GMU 239/224/231 - Methow/Twisp

[syndac]

It's been 10+ years since I've been hunting and this'll be the first time by myself. I went and scouted out around Mt. Leecher, SE of Twisp. I spent about 4 hours hiking around and found absolutely no sign of deer...just cattle. Is this a poor area to hunt or is it normally difficult to find sign this time of year? I also didn't see any archery hunters while I was out there. I saw a ton up Hart's pass though.

Should I look elsewhere than the Mt. Leecher area?

[cooltimber]

I used to hunt elbow coulee off the twisp river road. However Outdoor Life mag had a article talking about elbow coulee. Haven't been there in 17 yr's .
   save yourself the misery of the pumpkin patch on every easy access hill side and hunt Blacktail's

[boneaddict]

The valleys deer population is at the lowest I have seen it in My lifetime.   I think it's even worse than after a couple of the big winters.  There is an illusion of an abundance of local deer, but even they are down if compared to historic levels.   You'll hear from a couple that say, oh I see lots.  Ok.   I've been at this a long time, and it's pitiful.  No games, just an honest report.   You can still get lucky, but good luck.

[syndac]

   save yourself the misery of the pumpkin patch on every easy access hill side and hunt Blacktail's

I'd love to, but with blacktail primarily being on the westide (based off a little research, no experience), I worry about the increase in number of hunters.

The valleys deer population is at the lowest I have seen it in My lifetime.   I think it's even worse than after a couple of the big winters.

Bummer. Thanks for the info. Any idea what other general areas/GMUs I should look into? I'd imagine these are fairly closely-guarded, so I'm not looking for specifics. Just trying to figure out how to get started.

[wsmnut]

I just got back from a week in 239.
Scary.  I'm not Boneaddict but there has been a huge drop in the number of deer since last year.  I have a few spots that always yield a few does.  This time zilch.
Some talk in the neighborhood of wolves up Benson Creek and up by Wenner Lakes?
Not sure.  Lots of coyote and bear sign, but darn little deer.
     I still think the extra couple days of hunting last year and this year are a mistake.
     And I also saw fractions of the usual amount of "local" deer in the alfalfa fields in the valley.

Good Luck!

[syndac]

I just got back from a week in 239.
Not sure.  Lots of coyote and bear sign, but darn little deer.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I need to scout out a different GMU.

[cooltimber]

what city are you near, doesn't say in your summary. Have you looked into 209.

[syndac]

what city are you near, doesn't say in your summary. Have you looked into 209.

I'm near Seattle. I looked at 209 for the WDFW statistics from last year, but it's a bit too far away. I'm shooting for a 3-4 hour drive.

[MADMAX]

saw the same after bowhunting a week
waaaaay down

[eliandsky]

Last year was a bumper crop. Imagine it has an affect on the general population of deer in the Methow. 


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[Boss .300 winmag]

Terrible deer numbers over on the east side, not even worth going anymore.

[OutHouse]

The valleys deer population is at the lowest I have seen it in My lifetime.   I think it's even worse than after a couple of the big winters.  There is an illusion of an abundance of local deer, but even they are down if compared to historic levels.   You'll hear from a couple that say, oh I see lots.  Ok.   I've been at this a long time, and it's pitiful.  No games, just an honest report.   You can still get lucky, but good luck.

I think you are right. I have a place up in 231. I have been seeing some nice white tail bucks but mule numbers are down for sure. Normally I have about 10 big white tail bucks around, and this year there are three. And they are just your average three pointers with eye guards but nothing massive. Well I take it back there was one toad but I think he left. I think there are still a lot of valley deer in Mazama but up on the ridges it looks scarce.

[PastorJoel]

Pardon my ignorance.  Why are the numbers down?  Because of the fires?  Bad winters?  Probably the combo of those two, right?

[MtnMuley]

Primarily because of the season dates last year and the huge numbers of mature bucks killed. 2 major fire years took away much of the winter range as well. Big snow year last year pretty much rounded it out. All that and the biggest waste of air bio in the history of mule deer and you have it in a nutshell why it's pathetic.

[samsqatch]

Pretty spot on mnt muley. Makes me sick to read a sign that was put up there in the early 90s talking about how proud the fish and game were with a herd of 25,000 plus deer and to read here recently that our bio thinks that the herd is currently at 14,000 and healthy? Of coarse that was put out before the season last year in where the fire around omak and conconully area shoved a lot of deer into the methow and with the later season we witnessed a mass shooting. Add that to the complex fire the year before and our fish and game allowing hundreds of does to be killed rather then want to feed them and we now have pretty much nothing left. Any one that has hunted that country both high and the low the past 30 years would know its all about the cash and the best intrest in the animals is not a concern.
 Sorry for my rant but its wrong and I cant help but be pissed.
 p.s If any one would like to read or see the sign it located at the crossover from Beaver creek to Bear creek and needs to be taken down due to it no longer being any truth to what it says.