Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 16, 2014, 06:06:45 PM
My Dad and I live on the wet side of the state (Sequim and Neilton) and my brothers are going to school at UofI and WSU. We would like to go over to the dry side of the state for a modern firearm white tail hunt with my brothers next fall. My brothers hunted IEP land in Mt. Spokane last year, but there was quite a few people in there. I was wondering if there are any areas over there where you could put a boat in on a lake or river and kind of get away from the crowds? We aren't set on using the boat, we just thought that might help get away a little. We would go with an area with a less deer if there were less people. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 16, 2014, 06:16:41 PM
Post by: bobcat on March 16, 2014, 06:18:46 PM
Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 16, 2014, 06:21:58 PM
Post by: Skillet on March 16, 2014, 06:36:33 PM
Lake Chelan is a good suggestion but you better be in good shape. And you won't find whitetails there, only mulies.:yeah:
Take a trip up the lake during a good weather window and stare up at those hills before you decide that's what you're going to do. The thing about accessing via water is you are almost always setting yourself up for a death march to get up to where the deer are. Unless the weather is bad and has driven the deer down - and bad weather and boating on chelan is not something to take lightly.
Just my :twocents:
Post by: huntnphool on March 16, 2014, 06:42:03 PM
Lake Chelan is a good suggestion but you better be in good shape. And you won't find whitetails there, only mulies.
I agree with the being in shape part, but actually there are whitetails around the lake.
Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 16, 2014, 06:50:44 PM
Post by: bobcat on March 16, 2014, 07:08:29 PM
Post by: huntnphool on March 16, 2014, 07:26:01 PM
I know there might be the occasional whitetail in the area but mule deer are far more prevalent. I'd think finding a whitetail by Lake Chelan would be like finding a needle in a haystack.Well of course mule deer are more prevalent, but I have seen plenty of whitetail there the last couple of years. ;)
Post by: T-Dozzer on March 16, 2014, 07:26:17 PM
Mostly all private or army corpse. Not sure how many guys are doing the same these days. Just a thought.
Post by: MuleDeerCrazy on March 16, 2014, 07:33:12 PM
Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 16, 2014, 07:39:01 PM
Idaho would be ideal, but the out of state license cost is a deal breaker right now. I love northern Idaho if I could get a job there, I'd move there.
Post by: T-Dozzer on March 16, 2014, 07:50:58 PM
T-Dozzer, I read about doing the snake and that is what started this boat idea out. After looking into it more, is sounds like quite a few people hunt from a boat off the snake and the public land is pretty limited. I'm not set on whitetails, i just figured it would be easier to find a couple of them. The brothers are starving college students and are hoping for some meat out of the deal.
Idaho would be ideal, but the out of state license cost is a deal breaker right now. I love northern Idaho if I could get a job there, I'd move there.
I hear ya on N Idaho.
I think your right about the amount of people on the Snake. I've taken a few down there years back.
What about just some old fashion knock and talk for permission?
The warden and Rosalie area is great for big whitetail. South of Cheney and the Turnbull animal reserve.
Check out a map and send your brothers over there to try and get access on some farm ground.
Post by: Snakeriver10 on March 16, 2014, 08:17:39 PM
Post by: T-Dozzer on March 16, 2014, 08:20:17 PM
Post by: Badhabit on March 16, 2014, 08:37:22 PM
We were steelhead fishing Heller Bar for the WA deer opener, saw more than one jet boat come back to the launch around noon with a few bucks on them.
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on March 16, 2014, 10:17:15 PM
Basic things to remember, you want to find a safe place to leave your boat where it will be secure if the wind comes up. Either anchored well behind protection, or even beached if possible. We hunted from the ocean so had to deal with tides too. Then you want a safe way to get to the beach and back to the boat if you anchor out. I've been involved in a couple incidents when people went unexpectedly into the water. One time was just funny as it was about 2 feet of water. Another was very scary as he went in and disappeared in the dark hanging on to the bow of a small skiff as the tide was running hard. By the time I got the main boat going and the anchor pulled, I had thoughts that we had lot him, but he had managed to get in the skiff, but filled it half full of water and lost the oars. He paddled by hand to the beach and I found him about a third of a mile away because he had the presence of mind to flick a lighter at me and let me know where he was. It was freezing that night, so he could have easily gotten hypothermic but I found him soon enough and got him warmed up.
Always take a flashlight no matter how you plan to be back to the boat before dark. Plans can be changed by circumstances. The night my friend took his scary plunge, an hour earlier we were dragging two deer apiece down the mountain when sunset caught us only a couple hundred yards from the beach. Not being able to see what obstacles were in our way created a lot of problems. The nice buck I had kept hooking his antlers on branches and brush and what should have taken us 10 minutes took closer to 45 minutes.
Radios are indispensable. If you get separated they help finding each other, and if someone gets down to the beach in the wrong spot, he can direct you to his location via radio. We usually just use walkabouts as they have good range over water. But Garmin Rinos work very good. I've had to find guys who came down close to 2 miles from the boat before. Was glad they had a radio to make locating them easier.
Usually, if you know the lay of the land and know you have a safe way down, if you get an animal, it's easier to bring it straight down to the water, then make for you boat without a load on your back. Come back in the boat to pick it up. We'll regularly end up two to three miles from the bot while hunting, but you may not be that far from the water, so this saves a lot of packing.
While hunting, be aware of where you are before shooting something. It's easy to get up high, then go over ridge top and spot something down the other side. And if your first shot doesn't put it down, it may go farther down the other side. It's way easier to pack an animal down a ridge or peak than it is to pack it up the mountain or ridge first before you can head down. The first buck I took on Kodiak made that mistake. I hunted about two miles up a mountain and not seeing anything, started down a ways on the other side to glass. And damned if i didn't spot a nice 3 pt buck down in a gulley by a small stream. So down I went to get him as it was he only deer I saw that day. When I hit him he slid 150 yards down a steep hill into the creek gully. I was alone that day, so I made him into a pack and had to get out of the gully, then pack him about a half mile back up to the top and down the other side. I was dead tired when I got him out. Luckily I was about 26 and in pretty good shape so I made it. But I learned to set my limits on where I'd shoot an animal from that nasty pack.
Post by: BULLBLASTER on March 17, 2014, 12:53:14 PM
Lake Roosevelt, troll for trout, drift for ducks, geese and deer. Know of a few folks who go up there just to poke around early am for a deer. Just make sure you're not on the reservation.I have done this quite a bit.... well only for Deer. We have had great success also.
We were steelhead fishing Heller Bar for the WA deer opener, saw more than one jet boat come back to the launch around noon with a few bucks on them.
Post by: WSU on March 17, 2014, 12:59:55 PM
Post by: NRA4LIFE on March 17, 2014, 01:05:12 PM
Post by: rippinlips22 on March 17, 2014, 01:17:47 PM
For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.
:yeah:
Post by: et1702 on March 17, 2014, 02:05:33 PM
For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.
Elk too!
ET
Post by: CAMPMEAT on March 17, 2014, 02:53:21 PM
For a whitetail hunt from a boat, I would go to Idaho and hunt the Dworshak Reservoir.
Elk too!
ET
.............and wolves.
Post by: MADMAX on March 17, 2014, 02:54:32 PM
3x3's both times, one was a hybrid mulie whitail
Fun hunt
Lots of walking up from the boat to the wheat and rimrock.
When I did it it got crowded.
Even saw a nice 5x6 bull some idiots were shooting at thinking it was a big mulie, poor guy had his toungue hanging out
I launched one year at Wawawaii and one year at Central ferry, gave it up when gas got expensive and went to $2 a gallon in the jetboat
Worth trying, good luck
Post by: MisplacedAlaskan on March 17, 2014, 03:57:20 PM
Post by: splitshot on March 17, 2014, 09:53:35 PM
Post by: coyotecrazy on March 17, 2014, 10:19:19 PM
Post by: baldopepper on March 18, 2014, 06:46:12 AM
Post by: bhawley76 on March 18, 2014, 07:39:49 AM
Post by: Limhangerslayer on March 18, 2014, 07:50:08 AM
I'm not aware of any waterfowl hunting restrictions on Lake Rossevelt, curious where you got that information. You can't hunt on the reservation side, but I see hunters on the other side all the time.:yeah:
Post by: Shane54 on March 31, 2014, 07:59:23 PM
Lake Chelan. Plenty of land to hunt, just check the areas so you know you are not in the park. Weather can get nasty too, seen some nasty waves on that lake before.Shhhh there are not deer in chelan.
Post by: Skyvalhunter on March 31, 2014, 08:02:18 PM
Post by: Shane54 on March 31, 2014, 08:02:55 PM
Post by: Halo on March 31, 2014, 08:13:42 PM
Post by: Hangfire on March 31, 2014, 10:46:16 PM
Post by: Trailtamer on April 01, 2014, 08:23:00 AM
I've been on the water from Ketchikan to the Columbia and Lake Chelan is some of the roughest water I have ever seen and as concerned for my safety as I've ever been in a boat. You know it's getting serious when you tie a life jacket to your rifle.
I couldn't agree more. Very rough water very few places to escape it. If you decide to try it I hope you have at least a 25 foot boat.
Post by: James E on April 01, 2014, 04:06:23 PM