Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: mendozer on September 10, 2015, 03:13:47 PM

Title: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 10, 2015, 03:13:47 PM: The spot I wanted to do rifle hunting this year is pretty close to the Okanagon fire (not in an unsafe spot of course).

Would it be prudent to try my luck in this spot that I wanted? I was thinking they would be pushed farther away towards me from the fire. Or they could already be long gone....

thoughts?

BTW this spot I'm thinking of was about 10 miles from the fire.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: Buckmark on September 10, 2015, 03:18:47 PM: Should be ok, be prepared for lots of people this year in the Bonaparte area.. ;)
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: h20hunter on September 10, 2015, 03:36:43 PM: :(
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: baker5150 on September 10, 2015, 03:40:00 PM: I'm in the same boat.

My property above Tonasket didn't burn but I wonder how things will turn out for the season.
I'm thinking there will be a lot of guys on the public, hopefully pushing my way :chuckle:
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 10, 2015, 03:41:42 PM: Quote from: Buckmark on September 10, 2015, 03:18:47 PM
Should be ok, be prepared for lots of people this year in the Bonaparte area.. ;)

oh no I would be far from that. I'm thinking west side of okanagon
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 10, 2015, 03:43:36 PM: Quote from: baker5150 on September 10, 2015, 03:40:00 PM
I'm in the same boat.

My property above Tonasket didn't burn but I wonder how things will turn out for the season.
I'm thinking there will be a lot of guys on the public, hopefully pushing my way :chuckle:

You doin bow or rifle?
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: Firedogg on September 10, 2015, 03:45:41 PM: Depending on how the fires do with this weather warming up again you should be ok, most of the animals don't move much farther than they are pushed by the fires with many actually returning the the burned areas after the fire is out (have already seen lots of pictures of deer in the black areas).
The big thing to consider is to be very sensitive to the locals in the area as they are pretty traumatized by the second year in a row of wildfires, many are expressing dismay at the WDFW not closing hunting seasons in the area and will be even more shocked when they find out later that more permits will be given just like last year for the Carlton Complex.
It will be very important for hunters as a group to be good citizens when going into these areas.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: baker5150 on September 10, 2015, 04:27:17 PM: Quote from: mendozer on September 10, 2015, 03:43:36 PM
Quote from: baker5150 on September 10, 2015, 03:40:00 PM
I'm in the same boat.

My property above Tonasket didn't burn but I wonder how things will turn out for the season.
I'm thinking there will be a lot of guys on the public, hopefully pushing my way :chuckle:

You doin bow or rifle?

Rifle this year, getting some noobs out for their first deer hunt.
Should be fun.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: bigmacc on September 10, 2015, 06:40:39 PM: Should be fine or even better hunting around Tonasket or around those fires in the Okanogan area. Hunt the fringes,deer seem to like the ash and so forth. I know a guy that loves to hunt fresh burn areas and does very well :tup:. I too agree with the sensitivity of the locals, good to be on your best behavior as a hunter and a person.... :twocents:
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: Russ McDonald on September 10, 2015, 08:32:23 PM: Saw plenty of deer while I was up there. Just got home today. Wouldn't mind doing some hunting up they're some day.

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Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: gilroym on September 11, 2015, 06:08:05 AM: I went scouting last weekend and its not as bad as it looks at least not where my parents live just north of Fish lake they were in the center of the fire. I was also getting my nephew on a deer as he had to start school this week. We had a lot of deer passing through our property and he was able to get his first deer on Saturday his first day hunting this year. She was a decent size white tail doe.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: skeeter 20i on September 11, 2015, 08:09:58 AM: Quote from: gilroym on September 11, 2015, 06:08:05 AM
I went scouting last weekend and its not as bad as it looks at least not where my parents live just north of Fish lake they were in the center of the fire. I was also getting my nephew on a deer as he had to start school this week. We had a lot of deer passing through our property and he was able to get his first deer on Saturday his first day hunting this year. She was a decent size white tail doe.

Um isn't there a HuntWa rule that says you can't tell a story like that without pictures? I'm sure I've read that somewhere? ;) Congrats to the nephew and his uncle :tup:
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: gilroym on September 12, 2015, 08:37:20 AM: Quote from: skeeter 20i on September 11, 2015, 08:09:58 AM

Um isn't there a HuntWa rule that says you can't tell a story like that without pictures? I'm sure I've read that somewhere? ;) Congrats to the nephew and his uncle :tup:

I didnt post pic of him earlier since hes not my kid but here is his doe. Not sure why its posting upside down.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 14, 2015, 07:49:11 PM: very nice. Well, I feel better about trying it for rifle season then.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: grundy53 on September 14, 2015, 08:20:44 PM: I was going to go hunting over there this weekend but my favorite spot is still closed. It didn't burn but it's closed. I know it's very unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I think I'll probably still go so I can pump a little money into the economy of one of my favorite towns.

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Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 15, 2015, 10:37:16 AM: the spot I want to go check out isn't in a wildlife area, nor is it in the border of an active fire on that website. How can I know if it's closed? I didn't see any information on USFS road closures
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: gilroym on September 15, 2015, 12:16:08 PM: Last week I was head out toward crawfish lake on the other side of the North Star fire. It wasn't in a burned are but the road was closed just out of riverside. I had no way of knowing if it was closed or not. Think the only way to know for sure is to go look. A few of my other spots seemed like the road should have been closed some still had some fire burning on them and the road was opened.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: ldjbuff on September 16, 2015, 09:48:18 AM: We were up in 204 for the past 4 days. Lots of areas are untouched by the fires. Saw a lot of deer and a lot of bucks for it being so early.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: ghosthunter on September 16, 2015, 10:21:57 AM: You cannot rely on the fire maps. I don't think they update them enough.
Both Thompson Ridge And Bridge Creek roads were marked closed Saturday by FS on the map.

But I drove over Sunday spent the whole day on those roads. No indication they were closed. Set in a lawn chair at my camp spot had lunch several folks drove by and waved including FS and National Weather Service.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: Igor on September 16, 2015, 11:32:58 AM: The fire map shows that the fire was stopped on Cow Creek. Is that accurate?
We often hunt up the Dry Creek drainage.
Title: Re: will okanagon be ok?
Post by: mendozer on September 16, 2015, 01:51:30 PM: found these resources:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5307909.pdf

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprd3820244

The latter is a road closure chart. That one's specifically for Methow Valley. They have one for all districts