Free: Contests & Raffles.
If you want to fill your freezer on the west side of the state, the easiest way is road kill salvage. Not joking. I've gotten quite a few. Just follow the rules to report.
As Bone said, no huntable whitetails west of the Cascade crest. As you noted, Washington is quite populated, with less public ground per capita than any other western state, hence the reason for such limited seasons. If you've hunted all the states that you've lived in, Washington is going to be frustrating for you. There's a reason so many Washington hunters go out of state every year. I'm not far from your area, just a little south down I5. There is a lot of opportunity within an hour or so of Camano Island. Camano itself has virtually no public ground to hunt, but if you find a landowner that doesn't mind, you have a high probability of success. You have a higher probability though by just driving the island daily and keeping an eye out for roadkill. Could easily fill your freezer out there annually picking them up. DNR ground in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish county is going to be your best bet for public access. Acme was suggested because it's kind of the central hub of a large area of DNR ground in that area. People are pretty tight lipped about specifics though. The best advice I can give you is find closed roads with 3-7 year old clear cuts a couple miles behind the closure and hike in and glass those at first and last light. Towards the end of October, the rut for Blacktails begins to really kick in, especially if we get some crappy fall storms. They'll be out and about all day. Stick and stay and make those cuts pay.
go to wdfw harvest reports to see for yourself what might suit your alloted time frame.
Quote from: PastorJoel on October 10, 2019, 10:32:05 AMIf you want to fill your freezer on the west side of the state, the easiest way is road kill salvage. Not joking. I've gotten quite a few. Just follow the rules to report. Quote from: 7mmfan on October 10, 2019, 10:34:48 AMAs Bone said, no huntable whitetails west of the Cascade crest. As you noted, Washington is quite populated, with less public ground per capita than any other western state, hence the reason for such limited seasons. If you've hunted all the states that you've lived in, Washington is going to be frustrating for you. There's a reason so many Washington hunters go out of state every year. I'm not far from your area, just a little south down I5. There is a lot of opportunity within an hour or so of Camano Island. Camano itself has virtually no public ground to hunt, but if you find a landowner that doesn't mind, you have a high probability of success. You have a higher probability though by just driving the island daily and keeping an eye out for roadkill. Could easily fill your freezer out there annually picking them up. DNR ground in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish county is going to be your best bet for public access. Acme was suggested because it's kind of the central hub of a large area of DNR ground in that area. People are pretty tight lipped about specifics though. The best advice I can give you is find closed roads with 3-7 year old clear cuts a couple miles behind the closure and hike in and glass those at first and last light. Towards the end of October, the rut for Blacktails begins to really kick in, especially if we get some crappy fall storms. They'll be out and about all day. Stick and stay and make those cuts pay.I did find out you can hunt Camano Ridge....but the firearms are too restrictive for me to consider it :sigh: I did read, in passing, that roadkill harvest was acceptable, so thanks!! I'll definitely look into that more. I totally understand the tightlipped-ness too though, I was that way in WI when I had a stand I hunted for years. So I think this year I won't push it so hard, since I'm clearly a lot less prepared than I thought I was. Im expecting it to snow soon, since the rest of the north country of the US has already received snow. Thanks very much for the useful information, I'll do my best!! Good luck this year if you're going out!Quote from: buckfvr on October 10, 2019, 11:39:12 AMgo to wdfw harvest reports to see for yourself what might suit your alloted time frame. I have, I've read most of the reports just to get a feel for the general status. Thanks though.