Post by: soccerguy on April 21, 2015, 11:43:40 AM
That portion of GMU 437 beginning at the intersection of State
Route 9 and State Route 20; east on State Route 20 to Concrete-
Sauk Valley Road; south on Concrete-Sauk Valley Road over The
Dalles Bridge (Skagit River) to the intersection with the South
Skagit Highway; west on South Skagit Highway to State Route
9; north on State Route 9 and the point of beginning.
Can anyone simply tell me that this area still includes some of the best area in the unit and/or private timber co land?
Post by: Tbar on April 21, 2015, 11:52:28 AM
Post by: ghosthunter on April 21, 2015, 11:54:20 AM
I doubt unless you know someone you will find no access.
Post by: Practical Approach on April 21, 2015, 12:15:26 PM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on April 21, 2015, 12:19:49 PM
Post by: ghosthunter on April 21, 2015, 12:44:22 PM
I don't think it is a waste of time. There is a lot of private property and some of those landowners do not like elk on their property all the time. I would recommend contacting WDFW office out of LaConner and talk to their elk damage specialists. That hunt is there to address elk damage issues and I bet the specialist can connect you with landowners that would let you hunt their property if you drew the tag.
I live in Mount Vernon. I lived in Birdsveiw for 4 years. Was in the fire dep.t there.
You might find one person to give you permission.
Damage hunts are handled through the Master Hunters as of late. And most property owners only let Master Hunters on because the state insists on it or the property owner may not get damage tags themselves.
Many property owners complain just to get the damage tags, money or free labor for fences.
They might let someone they know hunt if they were drawn.
But the chance that some outsider is going to knock on a door and get permission is so remote that it is a waste of time and points.
The area described is loaded with homes and small farms. The river runs through the middle of it. You can drive it in two hours and see the whole area.
If you want to hunt this area get a Master Hunter card. otherwise there are far better options for 65 and over and a better use of hunting time. :twocents:
Post by: CP on April 21, 2015, 12:50:49 PM
Post by: Bob33 on April 21, 2015, 01:13:53 PM
Post by: Tbar on April 21, 2015, 01:26:59 PM
I don't think it is a waste of time. There is a lot of private property and some of those landowners do not like elk on their property all the time. I would recommend contacting WDFW office out of LaConner and talk to their elk damage specialists. That hunt is there to address elk damage issues and I bet the specialist can connect you with landowners that would let you hunt their property if you drew the tag.I don't think it's a waste of time either. I do think it should be a buyer beware situation. Those elk do a ton of damage throughout the year and spend the season (all three weapon) on the Trask property where they are untouchable. It is extremely frustrating and will undoubtedly lead to disappointment. I also realize that those aren't the only elk in the unit. With the extreme allocation and subsequent extreme reduction in LOPs there are more than a few upset landowners that aren't going to welcome you with open arms come season. I also wouldn't say it's all gloom and doom either. There will be some harvest for sure, but with a limited season and altered behavior it's not a slam dunk. The master hunters had to put in quite a bit of time this year and many didn't harvest.
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on April 21, 2015, 01:57:41 PM
Post by: soccerguy on April 21, 2015, 07:57:45 PM
Post by: kodiak 907 on April 21, 2015, 08:00:33 PM
Post by: ghosthunter on April 21, 2015, 08:25:16 PM
Dont mis-understand I am not touting Master Hunters. But being one gives you a better chance at access in this area.
Everyone's idea of a Quality Hunt is different. This area even though I live 15 minutes away offers nothing that I want from hunting. I have hunted it as a Master Hunter and taken a cow. Only because in January it was the only option.
During other seasons or options I would not even consider it even it, it were 100% success.
Both Bowhunter 45 and Tbar have vast knowlege of this area.
All I am saying to the OP is this.....If you have no other options to hunt any where else than, hey go for it. But if it were me and I had other viable options I would not waste my time.
Post by: spin05 on April 22, 2015, 01:20:50 AM
Post by: 3nails on April 22, 2015, 04:56:12 AM
Post by: johnsc6 on April 22, 2015, 06:50:22 AM
Unless you have permission before hand there is no sense in applying ..All private ...same for the youth tag .
:yeah:
Post by: Tbar on April 22, 2015, 08:40:39 AM
What happened to hunting the hancock or whatever it is and them giving you keys to the gates like in the past???? Is the 65+ area not the same???To answer your question, no. This is the valley floor, a checkerboard of private land ownership of varying size parcels. There are a few very small parcels of public land (a guess would be 90+/-% private).
Post by: westside bull on April 22, 2015, 08:57:25 AM
Post by: Tbar on April 22, 2015, 09:04:11 AM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on April 22, 2015, 09:15:37 AM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on April 22, 2015, 09:45:54 AM
2516 Nooksack U WF, WM, WA Sept. 21-23, Oct. 5-9, and Oct.18-31 Any elk Elk Area 4941 5 NEW. :dunno:
So who gets to hunt when? The way I read it WF is Sept. 21-23. WM is Oct. 5-9. WA is Oct.18-31.
If that's the case WF would almost be a slam dunk west of Hearns field where they rut, herd bull is always chasing the satellite bulls back into the forest service land there. And some of those bulls would be herd bulls in other units with less bull to cow ratio. :tup:
Post by: baker5150 on April 22, 2015, 09:58:44 AM
The only thing that bugs me is how this state manages things .. Look at the east coast ..They can hunt in city limits with a bow ..if they caught you hunting here within city limits you would be charged with reckless endangerment :yike: We all love to hunt and I am not trying to be an ignorant butt hole but it really stiNKS for all the hunters we have in the valley and one of the healthiest elk herds in the state and we can not hunt them .. they need to come up with a tag that benefits the local people ..not just here but down south or any other place where they give out damage permits ..It just makes local hunters sick when they can not use the resource available to them , when they live in the heart of the herd .. :twocents: I know they are not managing the herd because if they were they would be giving out some cow tags in 418 ..you can not just keep killing bulls ..You have to kill a few cows too ! I should have ignored this thread ..just hard to do :chuckle:
Arent the cows harvested by the Master Hunters and Damage permits? Maybe that's their grand plan for herd management? :bash:
Post by: Tbar on April 22, 2015, 10:04:46 AM
No, not part of the herd plan overall. Cows are only harvested to mitigate damage. That's where the master hunter program comes into play.The only thing that bugs me is how this state manages things .. Look at the east coast ..They can hunt in city limits with a bow ..if they caught you hunting here within city limits you would be charged with reckless endangerment :yike: We all love to hunt and I am not trying to be an ignorant butt hole but it really stiNKS for all the hunters we have in the valley and one of the healthiest elk herds in the state and we can not hunt them .. they need to come up with a tag that benefits the local people ..not just here but down south or any other place where they give out damage permits ..It just makes local hunters sick when they can not use the resource available to them , when they live in the heart of the herd .. :twocents: I know they are not managing the herd because if they were they would be giving out some cow tags in 418 ..you can not just keep killing bulls ..You have to kill a few cows too ! I should have ignored this thread ..just hard to do :chuckle:
Arent the cows harvested by the Master Hunters and Damage permits? Maybe that's their grand plan for herd management? :bash:
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on April 22, 2015, 10:11:39 AM
Post by: Tbar on April 22, 2015, 10:19:28 AM
Here's a brief history of this hunt. This area was first 941, an area created to address crop damage and keep the elk off the valley floor. There were unlimited otc tags and was a largely exclusive hunt for people who had access (there was little to no success with door knocking, asking for permission). There was a very long season starting first with archery and following with muzzy, creating a 3-4 month general season. Somewhere around 20 years ago they changed it to 4941 (with a smaller boundary than we now know) it continued with both seasons until around 08(guess) when they eliminated the muzzy season, citing various safety concerns. This hunt continued as a damage hunt as archery only until 09(Dec 29 I believe), this was the end of the otc hunt. The end to this hunt put the entire workload onto enforcement as they were tasked with damage control, which imo they did great (although this spread them quite thin). This was the beginning of a valley floor population explosion and when the majority of the valley floor elk became "residents" and non migratory. Fast forward to 2013 and welcome Brandon Griffith, a damage control specialist. In beginning I was in complete support of him(although I later did a180) . Brandon issued what seemed to be limitless damage tags for cows and created the management nightmare we are experiencing now. (Brandon has moved on and taken his career elsewhere).
On the bright side it's a positive step, there is opportunity now where there wasn't before. Also this hunt will cater to the least able, again a positive step.
Post by: baker5150 on April 22, 2015, 10:20:25 AM
No, not part of the herd plan overall. Cows are only harvested to mitigate damage. That's where the master hunter program comes into play.The only thing that bugs me is how this state manages things .. Look at the east coast ..They can hunt in city limits with a bow ..if they caught you hunting here within city limits you would be charged with reckless endangerment :yike: We all love to hunt and I am not trying to be an ignorant butt hole but it really stiNKS for all the hunters we have in the valley and one of the healthiest elk herds in the state and we can not hunt them .. they need to come up with a tag that benefits the local people ..not just here but down south or any other place where they give out damage permits ..It just makes local hunters sick when they can not use the resource available to them , when they live in the heart of the herd .. :twocents: I know they are not managing the herd because if they were they would be giving out some cow tags in 418 ..you can not just keep killing bulls ..You have to kill a few cows too ! I should have ignored this thread ..just hard to do :chuckle:
Arent the cows harvested by the Master Hunters and Damage permits? Maybe that's their grand plan for herd management? :bash:
I wouldn't be so sure. I talked with a gamey about it at Rasar a couple years ago. He said they go into each year assuming a set amount of animals will be harvested thru the damage program. Which is smart I guess. But if this is the case, opening up a cow season would make better sense, rather than paying for damage, and shelling out tags to only have the Elk come right back the next day.
They should also be giving incentives to land owners for opening up their property to hunting, even if it's for a certain quota or season.
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on April 22, 2015, 10:29:52 AM