Late Season

[floatinghat]

Other than staying warm and a dry riding around in truck what techniques are effective during the late season (AR or Muzzy) west side?   I get a couple of days to spend in the woods this late season.  While warm and dry is nice, I usually go back well behind the gate and expect to be damp.  So given terrain that has cuts to glass, reprod and timber (dense or older).  Usually I glass the cuts/edges and more open reprod and will slow cover timber mid day.  Howwver, I haven't been succesful late season. 

I know some areas that have held sign, not sure how well I age elk poop when it's wet out for weeks.  However, I believe elk are around. 

[1000rrelkman]

"not sure how well I age elk poop when it's wet out for weeks.  However, I believe elk are around."

If you pick up a piece and it melts in your mouth it's less then an hour old.  If it's like a raisinet it's within a day.   If you can't chew it without feeling like your teeth are going to break, it's old. 


Couldn't resist.  Unfortunately the multi season curse had me pass on some early bulls, so I'll be trying late season in WA for the first time also.

 

[Bill W]

and when it's whitish like old chocolate, it's last years.

[floatinghat]

I have used pellets as ear plugs in the Blues.

Ok other than aging POO nobody has any technics for the late season?

[pd]

I am no expert on this, and I hope others will chime into this topic.  My experience last year (mid-December, SW WA) was in the middle of waves of rain, which lasted several days.  We never saw elk when it was really coming down, and we were out from dawn to dusk.  Finally, on the third day (last day of the season), the weather broke.  We found a herd of 20+ cows & calves (no bulls) on a ridge road, sunning themselves midday.  But that was the only group of animals we saw the entire long weekend.

Given that late muzzleloader and late archery mostly overlap in western Washington, and given that rain is the predominant weather pattern, I would say: "Look for open areas (grassy knobs, recent clearcuts, <3 year old trees), and wait for very light rain or dry opportunities."  In my experience, very windy and/or very rainy days are not productive for late season elk.

Anybody know better than this??