Whidbey (I know... I know).

[ckr117]

I have seen questions about Whidbey posted many times here, but this is a bit of a Hail Mary for me. I'm in the Navy, and leaving WA in a few months, so this is my last deer season here for a while. I've been trying to get a blacktail before I leave, with no luck. I've hunted the small bits of public land extremely hard, and as we all know, private is where its at here. All of my attempts to gain permission for private land have been unsuccessful this far. That being said, I'm not asking for secret spots, but is anyone aware of any public land that may yield better results than the kettles, trillium, or greenbank farms? Or even any companies that have pay to play situations? I'm not giving up on finding private land, but I've been looking since this summer, and here we are halfway through December with no luck there. If there are any locals that might have some helpful tips, I'd appreciate it a bunch. If I end up tagging out, I wouldn't mind sharing some backstraps 

[fishnfur]

I assume you checked with the base for hunting opportunities.  They used to allow some active duty hunting.  That base area just north and south of Ault Field Rd. where it meets HWY 20 looked like a great spot to me.  If you could get access in there, I think you'd do well.    Otherwise, I'd get on the assessor's website and use GIS parcel mapping (or OnXmaps) to determine whom owns the big parcels of land that you're interested in hunting - then knock, write, or call to ask permission. 

Good luck.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Seaplane base used to have archery hunting, and some really nice bucks. It’s up to the base commander though.

[ckr117]

Thanks for the reply guys, I have base access, but it’s kind of watered down. There’s only a few areas, and you have To sign up for which area you want each day. Problem is you can only hunt weekends, and I work most weekends. I do have OnX and went “door to door” earlier this year to try and get permission ahead of time but my luck would have it they either didn’t allow hunters or already had others that hunt their land. Gotta do what you can with what you got I guess!

[fishnfur]

Sad, sad.  You could always go off-island.  Fidalgo has a thriving population I hear, but similar problems with access. Better areas east of I-5, but more of a drive.

 Thanks for your service.  Where are you shipping out to?

[ckr117]

I’m not opposed to going off Island. Although I don’t do much,  I appreciate it man! I’m heading to San Antonio for a few months.

[fishnfur]

I forgot - there is a 20 acre parcel of DNR timberland on Guemes Is.  The season may be closed there though- check the regs. 

Enjoy San Antonio.  Good time of year to do some TDY.

[fish vacuum]

Better areas east of I-5, but more of a drive.

Seasons ended last week.

[Skyvalhunter]

So the hunting came to an end out there?

[ckr117]

Skyval I think he’s just referring to the area near I-5. Whidbey is good until the 31st.

[fish vacuum]

Units east of I-5 are closed.

[X-Force]

Units east of I-5 are closed.

East of highway 9 are closed. Up here I5 isn't a unit boundary.

[fish vacuum]

I stand corrected. The units entirely east of I-5 are closed.

[swilliams921]

I’m in the same boat here. I’m deploying and PCS’ing prior to the next season. I guess I’m going to give up. I managed to get permission on private land owned by a retired Navy Capt who doesn’t even live here but I think the area is not suitable for late season. It has an area where every tree has the bark rubbed off with one tree pretty fresh but I’m assuming whoever did it is somewhere else on the island chasing does because I haven’t seen anything new the past few weeks.

I’m gonna have call it a loss for my first season bow hunting and just continue to study up on whitetail for when I can hopefully move back east. I may give the last day a try but I’m feeling like I don’t have much of a chance with all the noise. There is little chance of seeing anything during the day. I can hear a gun range the whole time I’m in the tree stand.


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[fish vacuum]

They're probably done chasing does for the year, so you won't find new rubs. And the gun noise won't bother them one bit if it's a normal part of their environment. I've been at a trap shoot when shooters had to take a break for a doe wandering onto the range.