Hunting Lake Chelan

[t6]

Anybody ever hunt / hike the Lake Chelan area?  I was thinking of loading up the boat and going out to one of the secluded areas to look for deer and a cougar this year. 

Any ideas or areas? 

T6

[boonerboy]

spend alot of time on the lake, could be a fun hunt but good luck with the secluded part.

[link]

How big of a boat are you planning to take. I would not recommend you go up past 25 mile in a small boat if the weather is questionable. We went up about 15 miles past 25 mile in a 14 foot bayliner type boat,...bad idea. The wind was blowing so hard up the lake, we barely made it back. We ran into a guy in a 12 foot aluminum job up the lake. He was camped and was unable to make it back until the wind died down. He said he'd been there 2-3 days longer than he had planned.
One rough SOB in the wind.

[t6]

20 ft Northriver with a 150 Honda.  Had it out on the Columbia a few days back and it love every gust of wind and every wave. 

Just trying to figure out if its a good idea and if I can expect to find a good deer and possibly a cougar. 

[UBA]

Better be in good shape. Steep is an under statement.

[t6]

Im getting surgery on a foot but should be good to go by June or July.  Unfortunately I also have RA that is rapidly progressing so the next couple years may be my only opportunity to take on challenging hunts. 

I'd like to score a good size Muely, a cougar, and a bear before I become a road hunter. 

[link]

Better be in good shape. Steep is an under statement.

Think of the longest, steepest, deepest, rocky ass canyon you can. Then fill it up half way with water.
We've had pretty good luck with bear, at least spotting them, from the lake. If its fairly calm, you can just glass the hillsides from the boat, then plan a stalk ( ha, hahahaha, ha). 
We have been successful killing a bear a couple of times like that. A couple out of many.
Oh yea, bring lots of fuel.

[jstone]

Ya i have a 21.6 footer and i was thinking of doing the same thing this year. Maybe in September for early archery deer. Been wanting to do it for a long time. Maybe this year

[Skillet]

We were thinking about doing that from the lake - going up into a canyon from a campground and spiking out for a couple of days for mulies this year.  I was warned from a lake resident - don't do that unless you can guarantee anything in your boat you value can't be unbolted/unscrewed/cut loose/otherwise removed quickly and sold.  There has been a bit of a rash of trolling motors and electronics dissappearing from boats left unattended at the boat-in campgrounds.  Just reporting what I've heard on that front.
Might want to consider riding the Lady of the Lake up to a dropoff and back.  They'll allow you to bring back boned-out meat on the return trip, if I recall correctly...

[Shed Stud]

Real nice up lake, But not a easy hunt. Boat in, backpack up and then up some more. Make sure and study maps good as to not get cliffed out. And remember the temp can and will go from 80 to 30 in 12 hours. Tough hunt, it sure would be cool to be able to shoot a nice buck close to the boat though.

[Halo]

I dont think I would do it again on a 20' boat. I almost sank a 20' boat doing that years ago. I have seen a lot of rough water but that lake from 25 mile up can be incredibly brutal.

[Skyvalhunter]

Don't go into it thinking you will be the only one hunting that way. Prepare to be surprised. Don't ever under estimate how rough Lake Chelan can get or think that maybe it won't blow one day. Whitecaps are very common. So prepare accordingly.

[DOUBLELUNG]

I've been safe, if not comfortable, on LC during rough conditions in a gov't. 22' or larger boat.  I have never considered taking my personal 18' boat above 25 mile creek.  I think a 20' boat is an absolute minimum.

[jackelope]

We had waves breaking over the bow of a 20' Luxor on Lake Union the other day.  I would hate to be on Chelan in that boat when it is blowing like it was on Lake Wa on sunday.

[KillerMiller]

I've hunted Lake Chelan up from 25 mile on the N. shore.  Some pretty good bear hunting and some very nice areas to hike from the lake.  Travel in the morning before the evening winds rip through the Narrows.

[MtnMuley]

Travel in the morning before the evening winds rip through the Narrows.

   Also, a lot of other good info has been mentioned.  Being in shape is a must.  There will be others in the general areas, but if you are willing to work (hike) beyond most, you should have some decent hunting for yourself.  Temps can and will vary drastically up there, so be prepared for the worst.  As for the cougars, I wouldn't expect to see any.  Actually, I'd bet you'd see a wolf before a cougar up there these days.  Good luck.

[Viszla]

Don't expect to find many, if any, deer up that way.  The chelan deer herd is just about non-existant, at least on the Manson side.

[ICEMAN]

Plan on scary unsafe water.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,4689.0.html

[jstone]

Whats up with the deer herd on the Manson side. Why they slim pickins?? Used to see some nice deer up there. Remote area. Big Canyons lots of places for them to hide.

[muleracks]

Tracker,  It would be an adventure to hunt the upper lake but if you go up early in the morning you can usually get there on calm water with a little tail wind.  Be careful coming back down lake in the afternoon and stay close to shore incase you need to beach.  For a General Season hunt Moore Point offers some easy country to hunt but probably no big bucks.  Riddle Creek will get you into the High Hunt and some good country.  Good Luck

[Co]

I think you should pick another spot for your less challenging hunt... The places we find them.. you need some serious climbing gear and a emergency beckon in case of emergency, sometimes very likely up there...  for injury and dangerous predicaments ..

[Kent Hunter]

We hunted the "Fish Creek" drainage for quite a few years. We did drop camps with a packer. It's on the Manson side. If you get in a few miles and head uphill you will get into big deer and plenty of bears. I shot the left antler off of a buck one year that would have gone right at 30". Here is a picture of one of the guys I used to hunt with with his buck from two years later.
 [smg id=7648]

[wsucowboy]

Better be in good shape. Steep is an under statement.

 

[tjgerm]

I wouldn't worry about the water I was out 32 miles off Lapush (Pacific Ocean), 20 ft seas in a 18 ft Silverstreak and your reading this. One boat met the bottom that day one guy dead but we made it so I think Chelan would be a walk in the park on the roughest of days.

[PolarBear]

Got my widest mulie buck by hunting from Horsehead Pass, down to Cub lake, down Prince Creek and out from there by boat.  And yep, you had better be in shape!

[bowhunterforever]

Got my widest mulie buck by hunting from Horsehead Pass, down to Cub lake, down Prince Creek and out from there by boat.  And yep, you had better be in shape!

Sounds like it was an awsome hunt! Any pics?

[PolarBear]

Somewhere in a box at my folks house.  That was well over 20 years ago.  It was a hell of a hunt, great country and some really nice bucks in the area.   Shot that buck above Cub Lake and had to drag the damn thing all the way down to Lake Chelan.  I didn't have a pack and wasn't going back up once I got to the lake.  I've always wanted to hunt it again but got hooked on whitetails and just haven't been back.  

[link]

I wouldn't worry about the water I was out 32 miles off Lapush (Pacific Ocean), 20 ft seas in a 18 ft Silverstreak and your reading this. One boat met the bottom that day one guy dead but we made it so I think Chelan would be a walk in the park on the roughest of days.

Yea, don't worry about the water. Great advice there bud.  

[ICEMAN]

I wouldn't worry about the water I was out 32 miles off Lapush (Pacific Ocean), 20 ft seas in a 18 ft Silverstreak and your reading this. One boat met the bottom that day one guy dead but we made it so I think Chelan would be a walk in the park on the roughest of days.

Don't kid yourself. Lose power on the lake during a wind event and you are toast. Vertical rocky shore, no harbors or safe calm water...  Chelan can generate 8 foot rogue waves on a previsouly calm day. Down lake winds are something to be concerned with. I would never recommend that anyone consider Chelan a "walk in the park". 

[PolarBear]

 

[PolarBear]

I wouldn't worry about the water I was out 32 miles off Lapush (Pacific Ocean), 20 ft seas in a 18 ft Silverstreak and your reading this. One boat met the bottom that day one guy dead but we made it so I think Chelan would be a walk in the park on the roughest of days.

You were lucky (and not too smart) but 20 foot rollers is a lot different then 10 foot swells with another 3 foot of wind chop combined with heavy current and a TON of floating debris.  Up lake Chelan is not for the novice, especially in a small boat it can turn into a washing machine in a matter of seconds.

[mebco09]

I wouldn't worry about the water I was out 32 miles off Lapush (Pacific Ocean), 20 ft seas in a 18 ft Silverstreak and your reading this. One boat met the bottom that day one guy dead but we made it so I think Chelan would be a walk in the park on the roughest of days.

What a stupid statement.  Obviously this guy has never been there.  Pretty irresponsible to give advice or opinions on safety.

This lake is nothing to fool around with.  In the Wapato basin, between Chelan and Wapato point, can get rough but not usually dangerous.  In the Lucerne basin, between about 25 mile creek and Stehekin, think of it as an inland sea with no shoreline or safe harbors for miles.  The dangerous part is that it can turn in minutes from minor wind chop to nasty, depending on how the wind whips down the canyons.  Comparing it to the Pacific Ocean is not even close as the wave/swell frequency is much closer together than the open ocean.  Just what you don't want in a small boat.

Last summer I had to turn back around 25 mile creek in a 23 foot Larson after taking a few waves over the bow.  Not fun with your family on board.

As far as hunting up there, there are better places to go in Washington that require much less logistics.

[t6]

Im open to ideas.  I have eight deer points so I'd try for a Muley. 

[Skyvalhunter]

How far are you willing to hike or back pack in?

[jstone]

AS FAR AS MY OLD LEGS CAN CARRY ME

[hirshey]

I've lived on the lake for 20 + years and here's my advice: if you're set on it, plan on traveling in the morning with calmer waters.. during the summer and fall the winds pick up every day and blow down lake around 2 PM and you shouldn't expect them to stop until dusk. As others have mentioned, be prepared for some steep climbs and a decent amount of company. It is possible to hunt this way, but it has not been my chosen method in any of my years of hunting and I've only had to make tag soup one year in my mule deer hunting experience. If you were set on a boat trip, I would plan on docking and doing a decent amount of hiking to get your own space; get up in elevation (good luck!) and you could perhaps see something not visible by other lake hunters.

Best of luck,
-Kari

[Skyvalhunter]

Well then I would hike in and do a hunt as there are some good access points where you can take a trail in and get away from the road.

[Skillet]

Shot that buck above Cub Lake and had to drag the damn thing all the way down to Lake Chelan. 

Holy crap, PolarBear.  You definitely earned that buck.  And after that drag, I bet it was well tenderized!