Hunting Lake Chelan

[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!