Post by: dscubame on April 09, 2011, 08:50:53 AM
Here is the link to the 2009 Harvest Report for Region 1 representing the NE Corner.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2009/reports/elk_gmu.php?District=1 (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2009/reports/elk_gmu.php?District=1)
I was talking to another member of this forum community over the weekend and he made a interesting comment..."why is the NE corner getting so much attention when the success rate and harvest reports are so poor." After all him and I do spend a lot of time up in that area but it is not for the Elk hunting that is for sure.
So I pontificated over the last few days.
Take for example the Sullivan Lake area that just very recently has been absolutely pounded during Elk Season and gets all this recent talk (Selkirk GMU 113). 1,300 hunters with only 5 cows and 55 bulls taken. That's just silly what is all the hype about?
Post by: NWBREW on April 09, 2011, 08:55:27 AM
A lot of people think that there are elk around every corner......their not. If one wants to score up there they have to hunt hard but you could pull the triger on a spike, 4pt. 6pt. whatever........if you can find them.
Post by: dscubame on April 09, 2011, 08:58:55 AM
Post by: NWBREW on April 09, 2011, 09:15:30 AM
Post by: CAMPMEAT on April 09, 2011, 09:38:10 AM
Post by: NWBREW on April 09, 2011, 09:48:59 AM
Post by: CAMPMEAT on April 09, 2011, 09:53:05 AM
Hard hunting if your a younger man as well. :twocents:
No kidding............
Post by: Ridgerunner on April 09, 2011, 10:15:38 AM
Post by: NWBREW on April 09, 2011, 10:23:18 AM
any bull, if they got rid of that it would be alot less appealing to people.
I agree.
Post by: STIKNSTRINGBOW on April 09, 2011, 10:44:52 AM
Any bull, and the chance to get a wall hanger, not having the crowds, (compared to other units) as a bowhunter, the ability to see 100's of deer (and fill a doe tag for "camp meat") a lot of hunters might be combining their trips to include deer, late turkey, Elk.... Could be a significant number from Spokane who don't want to drive all the way to Yakima, or Dayton for a spike..... all sorts of reasons.any bull, if they got rid of that it would be alot less appealing to people.
I agree.
Or even dreamers who hope to get drawn for moose and figure a few years to get to know an area wouldn't hurt.... :dunno:
Also those guys that show of the sheds they find up there are just fanning the flames..
Post by: piledup on April 09, 2011, 10:52:08 AM
I'll tell you why but not sure I really understand. ANY BULL.........ANY BULL. One of the few places in the state where a hunter can shoot ANY BULL.
A lot of people think that there are elk around every corner......their not. If one wants to score up there they have to hunt hard but you could pull the triger on a spike, 4pt. 6pt. whatever........if you can find them.
:yeah:
Post by: whacker1 on April 09, 2011, 10:57:10 AM
Post by: STIKNSTRINGBOW on April 09, 2011, 10:58:26 AM
I hunt the SW corner, no Elk here .. :chuckle:
Post by: oldleclercrd on April 09, 2011, 11:16:46 AM
Post by: elkinrutdrivemenuts on April 09, 2011, 03:16:29 PM
I have seen more legal elk during the season than in the blues ; ) granted that was one year and I didnt find them last year during
Season. But I have yet to find a spike during season in the blues, so that why I hunt up north. Plus guys in Idaho get them all the time up north
An last time I checked elk dont know where the state line is ; )
Post by: JimmyHoffa on April 09, 2011, 03:48:23 PM
I would agree with some of the posters that said ANY BULL. If I was to ever hunt the east side, I would be making the trek for a bull vs a spike.
Post by: STIKNSTRINGBOW on April 09, 2011, 05:31:15 PM
Quote
How much faith are you putting in those numbers from the Harvest Reports?Sure you have to allow a margin for Idiots and "secretive" people, but IMO the numbers still show a decent cross section of what is harvested, the majority of hunters will be honest.
Post by: Elkslayer on April 09, 2011, 05:46:32 PM
[/quote]
Also those guys that show of the sheds they find up there are just fanning the flames..
[/quote]
Incase I forgot to mention, all the sheds that I have posted on here were found in the Blues!!! :rolleyes:
Post by: piledup on April 09, 2011, 08:08:52 PM
Incase I forgot to mention, all the sheds that I have posted on here were found in the Blues!!! :rolleyes:
Isn't there no elk in the blues? :dunno: Unless you get drawn for a permit :rolleyes: :chuckle:
Post by: huntnnw on April 09, 2011, 10:48:04 PM
Post by: dscubame on April 10, 2011, 10:15:17 AM
One thing for sure is the last 10 years the elk herd has exploded!
Sure feel sorry for any of your hunting or fishing partners. What and where is your favorite fishing hole? :chuckle: :chuckle:
Post by: NWBREW on April 10, 2011, 10:45:57 AM
One thing for sure is the last 10 years the elk herd has exploded!
Sure feel sorry for any of your hunting or fishing partners. What and where is your favorite fishing hole? :chuckle: :chuckle:
Some info may be a little too much. I don't want to see the hunting population explode up there as well. It is hard enough as it is. :twocents:
Post by: piledup on April 10, 2011, 10:50:41 AM
One thing for sure is the last 10 years the elk herd has exploded!
Sure feel sorry for any of your hunting or fishing partners. What and where is your favorite fishing hole? :chuckle: :chuckle:
Some info may be a little too much. I don't want to see the hunting population explode up there as well. It is hard enough as it is. :twocents:
I think we shouldn't be believing everything on the internet though right? :dunno: :twocents: :chuckle:
Post by: NWBREW on April 10, 2011, 11:05:47 AM
One thing for sure is the last 10 years the elk herd has exploded!
Sure feel sorry for any of your hunting or fishing partners. What and where is your favorite fishing hole? :chuckle: :chuckle:
Some info may be a little too much. I don't want to see the hunting population explode up there as well. It is hard enough as it is. :twocents:
I think we shouldn't be believing everything on the internet though right? :dunno: :twocents: :chuckle:
You wouldn't believe how many do. :chuckle:
Post by: huntnnw on April 10, 2011, 10:21:02 PM
Post by: NWBREW on April 10, 2011, 10:38:27 PM
Post by: huntnnw on April 10, 2011, 10:41:55 PM
Post by: NWBREW on April 10, 2011, 10:49:16 PM
Post by: huntnnw on April 10, 2011, 10:55:27 PM
Post by: 400out on April 13, 2011, 08:39:01 AM
Not to mention fog and everything else mother nature sends your way. :chuckle: Can you see me. :chuckle:It's a trick! your behind the camera ;) You guys can have that area, I don't think I will ever be up there :hello:
Post by: Jburke on April 16, 2011, 08:44:38 PM
terrain isnt conducive to road hunting either for elk in these parts and add that to a rainy rifle season in a super thick area and most dont even leave the rig :chuckle::yeah:
I've been hunting the corner for a few years and have started to figure some things out but by no means is it easy. I grew up over by the clockum area and can tell you that you will not find elk in numbers anywhere near that. I have found elk every year, but It is not an easy task. Hell I screwed myself two years ago and missed. I think it's partly because of the ecconomy as well. People not wanting to spend so much money driving half way accross the state. Hunting gets expensive as we all know.
Post by: coachcw on April 21, 2011, 01:02:03 PM
Post by: 6x6rack on April 21, 2011, 01:04:22 PM
Post by: grundy53 on April 21, 2011, 02:14:29 PM
And as long as it keeps them on the far side of the state from me, I am all for it !!
I hunt the SW corner, no Elk here .. :chuckle:
Won't keep this guy away. ;)
Post by: bucklucky on April 21, 2011, 03:16:44 PM
Post by: Alan K on April 21, 2011, 04:15:50 PM
If I had to speak for the elk there based on my limited experience in the area I'd say what people are saying is pretty accurate. There are elk there but they are few and far between. There's no doubt that there are probably some great bulls too with how sparse they are.
Post by: br8kitoff on April 21, 2011, 04:41:26 PM
I have property about 25 miles North of Spokane, granted we have not hunted elk up there, but have spent lots of time Turkey hunting, Deer hunting and have covered many, many miles on our bikes. We see Moose, Deer and Turkey every day but in all the trips over have never seen an elk, only occasional elk tracks. I'm sure if we put the time into different areas we could find some but finding the needle in the haystack just hasn't seemed appealing when other areas you are in elk every day.
Try driving west from 395 on the chattaroy rd towards long lake......look south in the green fields and you should see the big herd of elk! :chuckle:
Post by: huntnnw on April 21, 2011, 04:59:08 PM
Post by: Bow N Arrow on July 19, 2013, 07:30:37 PM
Post by: jackelope on July 19, 2013, 08:11:22 PM
Post by: Bow N Arrow on July 19, 2013, 08:36:01 PM
Post by: jackelope on July 19, 2013, 08:53:04 PM
Post by: oldleclercrd on July 19, 2013, 08:53:36 PM
Post by: Bow N Arrow on July 19, 2013, 09:14:24 PM
Post by: smartazz171 on July 19, 2013, 10:37:42 PM
Because there are Elk in this unit! The reason the harvest is so low is because of the terrain. Not a large percentage of hunters have the physical conditioning or determinations to go deep into the backcountry and up multiple contour lines with the weight of the gear required to sustain them for the amount of time it takes to get into prime elk habitat. Most hunters won't venture further than 5 miles from a logging road. Do your recon (topo maps, google earth, etc..) there are all kinds of hidden wallows, meadows, and water in GMU 113...much of which is located in terrain that is tough to get to. I have saved my days off and plan on spending the whole 2 weeks of early archery season in that area. I've done the recon from where I'm stationed here in California and have the grid coordinates marked on my map for over 20 wallows, meadows, or water sources which are way off the beaten path, I spent countless hours on google earth to locate them. Map / terrain study and analysis, tough physical conditioning, daily practice with the bow, and some time invested in the area...there is no reason you shouldn't have the chance at an elk in 113. Some planning and preparation is all it takes.
I'm excited to see how you do! welcome to the site! I wish you the best of luck but I hope you have been there before. It's not like Yakima where the populations are large enough, and water scarce enough to locate just prime areas and bet elk are there. I hunt there and I have found so many wonderful elk places with water, wallow (potential) and 2nd growth clear cuts and only find moose and bear. they live in certain pockets of the terrain and if you can find it hold onto it. But I hope you get a big guy! :tup: honestly though keep us updated on how you do and don't worry about the old thread, sometimes I wish people would do this before making a new duplicate.
Post by: deaner on July 19, 2013, 10:42:30 PM
Post by: nw_bowhunter on July 20, 2013, 09:19:42 AM
Post by: buckfvr on July 20, 2013, 10:05:42 AM
Plenty of the locals hunt here because its home....rather than travel and endure crowds, we hunt here with low expectations for success, but the chance is always there.
Its not that its such a secret, rather no one wants to pump others up with odds so low. I dont hype any hunting up here because like any new spot , there is a learning curve. Since I dont intend to hold anyones hand, I leave it up to them to decide to commit to a new area and learning curve. Every time you change spots, you pay your dues......With a success rate of a bit better than 1 in 4 for deer, in all likelyhood, a guy must expect to go home without a deer some of the time. No guarantees for DIY hunts by me.......
Post by: dscubame on July 20, 2013, 11:18:53 AM
Because there are Elk in this unit! The reason the harvest is so low is because of the terrain. Not a large percentage of hunters have the physical conditioning or determinations to go deep into the backcountry and up multiple contour lines with the weight of the gear required to sustain them for the amount of time it takes to get into prime elk habitat. Most hunters won't venture further than 5 miles from a logging road. Do your recon (topo maps, google earth, etc..) there are all kinds of hidden wallows, meadows, and water in GMU 113...much of which is located in terrain that is tough to get to. I have saved my days off and plan on spending the whole 2 weeks of early archery season in that area. I've done the recon from where I'm stationed here in California and have the grid coordinates marked on my map for over 20 wallows, meadows, or water sources which are way off the beaten path, I spent countless hours on google earth to locate them. Map / terrain study and analysis, tough physical conditioning, daily practice with the bow, and some time invested in the area...there is no reason you shouldn't have the chance at an elk in 113. Some planning and preparation is all it takes.
:kneel:
Ha
Post by: huntnnw on July 20, 2013, 06:13:11 PM
Post by: CedarPants on July 20, 2013, 07:38:22 PM
Group 2 is made up of people who have somewhat of a passion to hunt, but they don't want to put in the work required. They want to shoot something so long as someone can tell them the general area and how to find the animals. They sometimes get lucky up there. Only sometimes though.
Group 3 is made up of hunters that were shown, at one point in their life, where the elk were and how the elk move around. Be it by a father, grandpa, uncle, cousin, coworker, acquaintence, etc - the hunting knowledge has been passed down from someone else. They know how to hunt elk up there because someone showed them where and how. Group 3 harvests the majority of the elk in my opinion. And they are rightfully so very quiet about where and how. They absolutely bust their tail year in year out as well.
I hope to one day be part of group 3 passing the info down to my 3 sons, but until then I will continue burning boot leather as part of group 1 (with the hopes of coming across one during the actual season) :IBCOOL:
Post by: Austrian Hunter on July 20, 2013, 07:44:33 PM
Post by: huntnnw on July 20, 2013, 07:59:03 PM
Post by: oldleclercrd on July 20, 2013, 11:20:52 PM
Post by: huntnnw on July 21, 2013, 07:13:26 AM
Post by: returnofsid on July 21, 2013, 08:27:18 AM
As for the predators, I do believe that the increase in cougars, wolves and even grizzly has probably had quite an impact on the elk and deer populations. I'll be carrying a bear and cougar tag, just in case...