REGION 5 COASTAL ELK / DEER?

[HEADSHOT]

ANYONE COMING OVER OR DOWN TO THE COAST THIS YEAR? I hunt in and around Naselle area. Anyone got any questions or need advice Ihave been chasen the game on the coast for a few years!

[ICEMAN]

I used to hunt the Grays River Divide a few years back, Johnson creek, cabin creek... Then we got locked out from the North side, really screwed up the place for me. Miss it...

[MIKEXRAY]

Nice to offer your services. I am an eastern wa hunter for the last five years. I would think you would get some PM's from people heading that way. I hunted pe-ell area before east and could of used some guidance, would of saved years of school of hard knocks.

[HEADSHOT]

You know despite the big fear of everyone hunting over here becuase its published doesnt scare me! Like alot of people I dont get my elk every year! But I do get up close and personnel with them most all of the season! I have hunted SUIXON CANYON, CANYON GREEK, GRAYBACK AREA, LARCH MTN, WOODLAND HIGH LAND LA CENTER AREA, TOUTTLE, RYDERWOOD, VADER, SILVER LAKE AREA, WILLIPA HILLS, WILLIAMS CREEK, FOSSIL CREEK, AND EVERY WERE BETWEEN BONNEVILLE DAMN AND ILWACO! The coastal area is just as good as all region 5 areas, the down side most all gates are locked, and the terrain can be steep right out of the truck! The cool thing about BEAR RIVER "THERE IS ROADS ALL THE WAY AROUND IT! Williams creek, Head west you hit the Bay, head east 101 north! The big thing is get some were and work it slow n hard! TAG TEAM WORKS BEST! I would recommend a topo map! Learn how to use the ridges to go from one place to the next ie; I hunted from the LONG ISLAND REFUGE clear over to OAKIES GROCERY in naselle in 1 day on foot! The bear river ridge is the bomb for big bulls! If you know the land and the look outs you can watch elk all day long and base your hunts from there! The low down! Chinook has strong herds in the valley area, hunt the ridge facing the fields becuase typically the fields are flooded with hunters! Brix rd if you know how to use it can produceexcellent elk if not jump 1 ridge and your in bean creek which is great for a cow or follower bull! The mouth of the bear river were it meets the bay is awsome but stay out of the elk refuge! The power lines on the bay produce elk each year! Popular rd is a local favorite! As for naselle lots of private land elk ask for permission! Radar hill produces , as does upper rd, salmon creek, and deep rvr area! Williams creek "GOVERNEMENT RD" is loaded with bow hunters! Haeding north the nemah is great and full of elk! Heck germany creek is the same just as mill creek, and fossil creek! The key bring a bike and peddle your tail off, unless you know the local herds! Long island is worth the boat ride as well! I do alot of hiking and know were the animals are becuase I live in the area. Also I would love a PM on areas you may hunt and would enjoy helping out anyone on there coastal or I-5 hunt! Good luck this year and remember if you come over leave it as you left it and dont ruin the area for other to enjoy!

[HEADSHOT]

The big question? Why tell people or offer help? well honestly I would rather tell people were elk are becuase then they wont screw up my hunts! There is nothing worse then seeing a rig from another place or a hunter! Then hrs later that person who didnt know the area comes along and jacks your kill shot! I hunt all year "not shooting" but looking for the animals! I would rather say hey yall huntin is great here, check this out and hope the do it not to just show up and go beatn down rees with there buggles or stompn all around not knowing what there doin! Long story short I went turkey huntn in eastern washington brand new area nevr been there! Ran into a hunter who said "check this place out" I wondered why and we got into the birds! Well moral of the story so did they! And we almost screwed up there hunt, but becuase he was cool we had are own fun and in the end thats what its about! Being safe, friendly, and haven fun!

[mkcj]

When you get to the T in the road to turn right to go to long beach or left to go to Naselle right across the river there is 500 acre's friends of mine own we use to bow hunt there for elk for years. Have not done it since my buddy who's dad owns the land was killed out crabbing on his boat. Loved it though elk would feed in the fields at night so we would sneak in from above and wait on a trail and hope you picked the right one they would be using to get back into the woods

[HEADSHOT]

yep thats next to jims parents property! great huntin!

[spin05]

Yea we hunt the nemah area...I like it down there but some of our areas have been bad the last few years.Last year we drew a Observotory tag for the Eastside. Looking forward to getting back out to the coast after hunting that dustbowl eastside......

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I am going to be checking out the area for next year.

[1bowhunter1]

So what your saying is!  I get a bruiser down up there about 6-10miles in.  I can call you?  Come pack out?  LOL!!

[spin05]

So headshot how did you do this year? I talked to you earlier and you gave me some pointers on were to go in bear river.We never made it thou. My partner and i got a 5x5 up in the willapa hills side.My other buddy did get one in bear river thou.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

What did he get out of Bear River?

[spin05]

he got a 5x5 actually a little bigger then ours.Funny thin was i think he said his had like 23 cows with him.My partners 5x5 had none.He was all by himself.We figured he must have gotten robbed the night before.....

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Not really that funny when you consider Bear River is closed to cows during early season. That is one reason I plan on splitting my season next year and looking for a big bull in 681 and heading north (673) if I cannot find one. I dont really know yet, I plan on scouting it out this late season and as much as possible throughout the year until next season. ( I have an East-side tag for Elk) I might get a 2pt deer or doe.(??)

[shadowless_nite]

hi everyone new to this forum, bow hunting (1st season w/ a bow), and hunting in general ( my second year )

i was turned onto bow hunting and hunting in general by my inlaws and buddies so after influence i bought a bow and love it, i hunted the 506 area early season for the first time and it was my first time ever encountering elk up close when actually looking for them. though i was unsuccessful at harvesting anything in september i did learn alot. ill be headed there again in the grays river area off the 7000 road and i could appreciate any tips for that area. im not 100% familiar with that area since i have not spent years of field time out there scouting but i do my homework with maps, chatting and reading.

i was there last weekend with my buddies during modern seasons ending and i noticed most of the gates were open in that area. does anyone know if they close the gates again in the grays river area or leave them open?

[mossyoak arrow slinger]

HEADSHOT-
i dont have much info to share for you on the westside i have hunted the eastside my entire hunting career and know alot of good area over there but i did hunt the westside this year and hunted winston crk unit. i was amazed on how many other archers were in the area.  my hunting partner and i are looking for a new area most likely along the coast  or the op.  any information from anyone would be great and like i said i am willing to help out and share all the info i have. thanks

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

HEADSHOT-
i dont have much info to share for you on the westside i have hunted the eastside my entire hunting career and know alot of good area over there but i did hunt the westside this year and hunted winston crk unit. i was amazed on how many other archers were in the area.  my hunting partner and i are looking for a new area most likely along the coast  or the op.  any information from anyone would be great and like i said i am willing to help out and share all the info i have. thanks

I am kinda in the same situation, so far I have recieved very little information about the areas I am interested in, I will have to check it out myself. Units 602 and 658 have incredible harvest stats, but I hear that they are crowded, although wdfw site doesn't show hunter numbers as being that high. My first choice is still 681 because the numbers meet in the mid-range and I hear it is (mostly) walk-in. 673 to the north offers the oportunity for cows. 681 is open for 2pt or antlerless deer so camp-meat is a possibility. I am going to head out there and check it out soon so I will keep you posted.

[mossyoak arrow slinger]

I am kinda in the same situation, so far I have recieved very little information about the areas I am interested in, I will have to check it out myself. Units 602 and 658 have incredible harvest stats, but I hear that they are crowded, although wdfw site doesn't show hunter numbers as being that high. My first choice is still 681 because the numbers meet in the mid-range and I hear it is (mostly) walk-in. 673 to the north offers the oportunity for cows. 681 is open for 2pt or antlerless deer so camp-meat is a possibility. I am going to head out there and check it out soon so I will keep you posted.
 
 
 
best of luck to you. when are you heading out. like i said in my previous post i dont know much info about any of those units although most of the westside from my scouting and hunting has shown there is a lot of elk in most the main units of attention, just getting away from the crowd is the problem. i will be heading down to the winston unit this weekend and i will let everyone know how it goes.

[buckhorn2]

We hunt 658 it;s where we live but this year some of the best areas stayed red dot the whole season and never did open. We took three bulls last year on one of the roads and it never did open this season. Some of the roads are yellow dot and only open on the week-end. There is a weyerhauser recording you can call that gives the open and closed roads so hope the one you want to hunt is on the open list. Lots of people in my area are mad who drew tags and can;t get even off the road many of them say no foot travel the wdf game need to get together with weyerhauser before they put draw together.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

 I am curious about 658, it has an incredible success ratio (>20%) and I have seen complaints on other posts about crowding, yet the actual total numbers are low, is there not that much available (public) land, or is the crowding just on the roads?

[HEADSHOT]

hey ya'll sorry I havent had a chance to get back on here between full time military and part time hunting i HAVE BEEN BUSY AS HECK... Well I helped a few people pack animals out, and have yet to get mine! There is a big 6x6 i have been chasing all season. I have had a chance on cows here and there but even though it late season, I need to hold a bit longer... As the season comes to a close I will hope to whack one.... Did see some nice animals this year "crusher creek, cement creek, and bear rvr drainage" early season and late season have been full of seeing elk (daily).... call me if your ever down....msg me for my number

[washingtonmuley]

Headshot,
What branch of the service are you in?

[Charlie]

As long time rifle hunters on the eastside, my son and I finally bought a bow and decided to try the westside for elk this year. One of my friends has hunted around the Naselle area for several years and he recommended the area to me. I missed the early hunt because of two deaths in the family but was able to get out four days last week and beat the brush above Parpula RD. My son and I saw several elk but they seemed to concentrate in the fields on private property. There were plenty of hunters also. It seemed like the hunters concentrated fairly evenly between the walk-in roads and the timber. My friend said that lately the area sees more bow hunters then modern firearm hunters. I didn't see any animals taken but again I was only there four days. I did find a few spots that looked good with fresh sign. I am sure there are allot more but it takes time to get familiar with the lay of the land. I plan on getting out to do some scouting before next season. My biggest concern is which property is private property and which property is open to the public. I unknowingly ended up on private property several years ago and ended up getting a 2nd degree treaspassing citation. Now I am a little paranoid hunting in unfamiliar areas.

[HEADSHOT]

US COAST GUARD (10.5) YRS OF SERVICE! Also a merchant mariner as well.... As for poplar rd. That place is what I call out of towner high way! You should try cement creek, davis creek, bean creek, brix rd, knapton creek! All these area are walkin only most of the time! yesterday my hunting partner punked me on a bull at 60 yds he was a medium sized 6x6 not rag not big timber........ but all n all saw 4 legal bulls and cows all day with some spikes running with them.

[Charlie]

This has been the worst year that I can remember as far as me getting out in the woods. Things came up that were totally out of my control. I know four guys who are staying at the Hunters Inn. They have been hunting around the Naselle area for many years now. I am looking forward to some good stories (and steaks) when they come home.