Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: smithkl42 on August 21, 2017, 07:32:52 AM

Title: Index-Galena Road
Post by: smithkl42 on August 21, 2017, 07:32:52 AM: First-time hunter here and looking for advice from more seasoned folks.

I spent some time yesterday with my 8-year-old scouting around the Index-Galena road - the one that's washed out around the 6 mile mark. We explored the trail up Bitter Creek, as well as the road for a mile or so after the washout. It was all beautiful country, but we didn't see much sign, and rather little wildlife of any sort: few birds, few squirrels, etc. We saw a couple deer tracks in a sandbar, but they seemed maybe a week old. No scat of any sort.

I'm curious about what this means:

(1) It's all there, and we're just inexperienced and don't know what to look for.

(2) We didn't get far enough out. There are deer around, but you've got to get further away from the roads than my 8-year-old is going to be able to handle.

(3) There are no deer there. Go somewhere else.

Thoughts?
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: pianoman9701 on August 21, 2017, 07:52:47 AM: Did you get off the road much? Have you checked topos and Goggle Earth for water sources, forage, saddles/draws for escape, etc.? I'd be looking at those draws and walking along water sources to find intersecting trails and following those for a bit. :dunno:
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: kevinlisa06 on August 21, 2017, 08:05:33 AM: There is quite a bit of game in that area. Honestly I'm thinking you need to get in further and up higher to get away from people. Quite a few Bear Cats and Deer in that area. If you want you can PM me for more.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: jrebel on August 21, 2017, 08:10:15 AM: Hands down the biggest black tail buck I ever missed while archery hunting was in that area. I still replay that encounter in my head.....and still cry. :'( :'(

The limited access should make for great hunting. Keep at it, you will find deer in that area. Get a little higher and remember....blacktail like to move in really bad weather. If it is raining (which it does a lot of over there), you should be hunting. :tup:
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: Skyvalhunter on August 21, 2017, 08:59:16 AM: Living and growing up in that area I can tell you the deer in that particular area are on the down cycle. Probably due to the fact there is not any logging in the North Fork of the Skykomish drainage. But there are pockets where deer numbers are better i.e. the area north of Startup and Goldbar. Lots to older clear cuts where there is significant food source. :twocents:
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: smithkl42 on August 21, 2017, 09:55:08 AM: This is the draw that I was trying to get up into, before the 8yo started complaining :-).

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.8592536,-121.5241326,1131a,35y,129.85h,68.52t/data=!3m1!1e3

Seems like it'd be reasonable, but there didn't seem to be a lot down lower.

From what other folks are saying, it sounds like older clear cuts are better places to look than deep timber?
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: jrebel on August 21, 2017, 10:02:53 AM: Pack a lunch and a few trail cams.......it's always an adventure. Trail cams are great for seeing what critters are moving all hours of the day. Big blacktails are nocturnal for most of the year.
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: jrebel on August 21, 2017, 10:04:11 AM: Be careful how much info you share on the open web though......you may find a place that is great just to have it ruined by people willing to use the info you post.
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: Skyvalhunter on August 21, 2017, 10:07:48 AM: In that Tom, Dick, and Harry Lakes area there is a lot of slide alder. Most of the old roads up there have overgrown. Not to say it's void of deer up there but they are harder to locate and just stumble across. Your better off in alpine meadows or 2+ yr old clear cut areas.
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: fishnfur on August 21, 2017, 03:51:07 PM: I was out scouting a couple days ago on a south facing slope and found virtually zero fresh sign in an area that was heavily used last March. It took an hour or so to realize that all the dead grass and weeds indicated the area was pretty well burned out by the long summer with no rain. The deer have likely relocated to north and east facing slopes that remain cooler all day and still have enough water in the soils to grow food.

I have no idea where your spot is or if it is experiencing the same issue, but it is something to consider. Until it cools off and/or starts raining heavily, (or mid-October pre-rut arrives) it may serve you best to concentrate on north or east facing slopes, or deep cool drainages where life is more comfortable for the deer.

Perhaps look for a spot with big timber above a 3 - 8 year-old cut. Slowly/quietly work a deer trail inside the timbered edge, maybe 50 yards in, along the upper edge of the cut. Alternatively (and possibly more productive this time of year), just post up on a (down) trail with recent sign and wait for them to come to you at sunset as they go down to feed, (or get above them early and wait for them to come up and bed). They may not enter the cut until the last few minutes of daylight (if at all). According to legend, most BT bucks bed uphill of their primary feed source, and 50 - 400 or so yards up and in, (possibly to the sides as well). Attempting to find them in their beds in the middle of the day is best approached from above, but is likely also an exercise in futility for those other than experienced solo hunters.

The velvet is likely off many animals already, or will be soon. Pressured bucks will start disappearing during daylight hours in the next week or so. The farther off the beaten trail you get, the better chance you have of finding a buck that is not entirely nocturnal.

Have fun. Bonus points if you see deer!
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: bigmacc on September 01, 2017, 08:23:27 PM: 37 years ago(give or take) I saw one of the biggest blacktail bucks I have ever saw sitting behind Index store, I,m gonna estimate him at around 250 to 270 :dunno:. It was a hog of a deer, 3 by 4, bases like a baseball bat, roman nose and just plain ugly :chuckle:...that area is known for some monster blackies, most die of old age and thats a fact :tup:
Title: Re: Index-Galena Road
Post by: bigmacc on September 01, 2017, 09:36:37 PM: Oops, I,m clarifying-the deer behind the store was dead, killed by an old logger(approx in his 70,s, it was in the back of an old ford). There could be a few on here that are familiar or grew up around there that could have heard of or seen this monster. The guy who ran the store/post office at the time was a retired Safeway Mgr. Once again, about 37 to 40 years ago, a brute of a deer.