Hunting washougal unit

[HunterofWA]

Hey everyone, so I have been looking around on several map sites, such as Gohunt, Google Earth, and Clark county GIS, and I noticed a lot of good cuts just outside of battle ground west of the river and I am wondering if anyone here has hunted that general area?

I am not looking for any "secret spots", it is mostly state owned so I am guessing there's probably a lot of hunters, but I am interested in hunting it for deer sometime in the future. Does anybody have some pointers they're willing to share? I know that this area is real big so scouting it would be a real pain but I am considering doing a 3-4 day scouting mission sometime this summer to get to know the area better and get an idea of where the deer are.

One more thing, this is kinda off topic but... I have searched the web and WDFW regarding camping on state land and pretty much all I could come up with was that anybody who camps outside of a designated campground must camp in such a way as to leave no trace. Somewhere I saw it say that I could camp with a fire as long as there isn't a burn ban and other places say you can't burn outside of a campground fire pit. I am a bit confused so If someone could help me out on this that would be greatly appreciated.

(Just to clarify what my plan is for scouting) I want to pitch a one person tent somewhere off the beaten path, use a small backpacking propane fire stove for cooking and just scout all throughout the days that I am there. I would possible make a fire only if it got chilly at night but my overall intentions would be to not do a fire. I geuss what I am asking is can you even camp on state land?

Well anyway, thanks for your imput

[tritt007]

I live about 10 minutes from the correctional facility.  I'm not exactly sure where you mean but I have a general idea . I've seen plenty of spikes and forky's in a lot of the clear-cuts along the roads around morning and dusk but there's usually a TON of road hunters and people parked and glassing from there pickups . Best advice I can give is get off the roads and maybe Hunt the areas up behind the cuts and anywhere you think road hunters can't see from the road . If you find a gated road nobody's at take advantage of it . I've been down almost every road down this area and there's generally a good number of clear-cut behind all the gates . So grab you binoculars and rifle and start walking . I like to glass the cuts as I go and generally spend dusk watching the furthest one in on the road that I can find . And as for the camping , cold Creek and rock Creek campground are right near the end of the l1000 road before it goes down dole Valley, get there early and set up a camp there unless you want to head further north and stay on national forest land .I don't believe you can camp in state land unless it's in a designated campsite like I mentioned above . Good luck and feel free to pm me if you have any more questions pertaining to certain areas !

[HunterofWA]

I live about 10 minutes from the correctional facility.  I'm not exactly sure where you mean but I have a general idea . I've seen plenty of spikes and forky's in a lot of the clear-cuts along the roads around morning and dusk but there's usually a TON of road hunters and people parked and glassing from there pickups . Best advice I can give is get off the roads and maybe Hunt the areas up behind the cuts and anywhere you think road hunters can't see from the road . If you find a gated road nobody's at take advantage of it . I've been down almost every road down this area and there's generally a good number of clear-cut behind all the gates . So grab you binoculars and rifle and start walking . I like to glass the cuts as I go and generally spend dusk watching the furthest one in on the road that I can find . And as for the camping , cold Creek and rock Creek campground are right near the end of the l1000 road before it goes down dole Valley, get there early and set up a camp there unless you want to head further north and stay on national forest land .I don't believe you can camp in state land unless it's in a designated campsite like I mentioned above . Good luck and feel free to pm me if you have any more questions pertaining to certain areas !

thanks a lot for the info, the area I am looking at is pretty close past a locked gate so there should be less hunters.

[pianoman9701]

I know a guy who shoots a 6-7 pt. bull every year above Washougal and Camas. They're up there for sure. I don't hunt the area so I can't be much help. However, contact the bio at the Region 5 WDFW office and get some inside scoop on it.

[HunterofWA]

I know a guy who shoots a 6-7 pt. bull every year above Washougal and Camas. They're up there for sure. I don't hunt the area so I can't be much help. However, contact the bio at the Region 5 WDFW office and get some inside scoop on it.

How would I contact Region 5 WDFW?

[pd]

I know a guy who shoots a 6-7 pt. bull every year above Washougal and Camas. They're up there for sure. I don't hunt the area so I can't be much help. However, contact the bio at the Region 5 WDFW office and get some inside scoop on it.

How would I contact Region 5 WDFW?

Ask for the big game biologist who overseas the Battle Ground area.  Good luck!

2108 Grand Boulevard
Vancouver, WA 98661

Office Hours: Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
excluding legal holidays

Telephone (360) 696-6211
Fax (360) 906-6776
TeamVancouver@dfw.wa.gov

[HunterofWA]

So I contacted the WDFW office and they said that camping is legal on DNR land as long as you don't camp in the same spot for more than a week, use the area in a respectable manner so as to "leave no trace", and don't use a campfire.

I thought I would just let you guys just in case some of you were wondering like I was.

[pianoman9701]

did you ask to speak with a bio? That's where some of the best info comes from.

[HunterofWA]

I did, just kinda asked for some pointers and such. We'll see what he has to say sometime in the next few days.

[fish vacuum]

I don't know that area. But with the way access is now on DNR land, a mountain bike is your best scouting tool.

[HunterofWA]

For that specific area it looks like the roads are closed so I am glad I have a good bike, but one thing I don't get is how people manage to get their deer out...

[JakeLand]

For that specific area it looks like the roads are closed so I am glad I have a good bike, but one thing I don't get is how people manage to get their deer out...

A good cart !

[Skyvalhunter]

And a nice flat road!!

[JakeLand]

And a nice flat road!!

You probably know where that pic is taken and the hill you gotta go up and down ! That part right there is the easiest part of that trip ! It's better to have a bike with  disc brakes 

[fish vacuum]

I bought a used child trailer for cheap. I haven't taken a deer out with it yet, but it's rated for 100lbs, which is enough for a pack full of boned out meat.
The one deer I've taken out on a bike was boned out, put into my pack, and the pack straps were strapped to the right side of the bike frame. Then I was able to walk/coast out on the left side of the bike.

[HunterofWA]

  that looks fun! 

[pianoman9701]

I got an attachment online to pull my Cabelas super mag hauler behind my bike.

[tritt007]

Sorry couldent send in a pm lol . Anyways this general area . anywhere up behind alot of these cuts around here are good areas . You will find alot of the cuts along the roads have smaller cuts up behind them that the road hunters dont get out and walk to and cant glass from the roads and they hold lots of deer that get pressured out of the cuts during season

[HunterofWA]

Good to know, I found a couple of those more secluded types of cuts a little north of that picture

[HunterofWA]

So I have been doing some more scouting with Gohunt and google earth and have found plenty of spots open for hunting.

My question is are there any decent elk spots in the Washougal unit? The Yacolt Burn is real close to home, and despite the fee it would be easy to access. Does that hold any elk? I am asking just for future reference in case the opportunity arises for hunting elk someday.

Also, could someone who's had experience bow hunting the areas aforementioned above in the previous posts give me an idea of what archery hunting is like out in that area? Is it worth it? I know you can harvest any deer for the early season at least, but I only really want to hunt this area with an archery tag if there's a decent chance at harvesting a spike or better.

I am well equipped both ways as far as modern firearm and archery equipment goes now so it doesn't matter to much which one I choose. I am interested in archery mainly for the lengthy seasons and fewer hunters.

Thanks again for your insight on this!

[Voabb]

And a nice flat road!!

You probably know where that pic is taken and the hill you gotta go up and down ! That part right there is the easiest part of that trip ! It's better to have a bike with  disc brakes 

Cool way to transport your deer on the cart with the bicycle. Next season, finally I could deliver a dolar to my SUV without any problems. 

[BUTTER]

There's elk there