Washington hunting questions

[The Ri Guy]

The best forum/resource for WA hunting info I am aware of is at:

Hunting Washington Forum, Hunts, Photos, Videos, Contests, Classifieds

Hunting Washington Forum is an online community for hunters, fishers, trappers, and outdoor recreationists in the Pacific Northwest

hunting-washington.com

Dale, the site owner is a guide/outfitter. Bearpaw outfitters. They work hard to keep the site relevant and under control.

HuntWA is a great resource, but I would suggest caution on asking anything about locations or GMU's -- people will lambast you unless you drew a special tag and then it's 180º and they're more than happy to help.

I've also had to deal with a couple individuals tracking down my personal information and stalking me after posting some good bucks we've taken.

I am an avid reader of HuntWA, but I will not be posting there again unless I draw an OIL tag.

Just my two-cents.

Edit: Just wanted to add that ownership and the admin staff at HuntWA is absolutely top-notch and a pleasure to deal with should issues arise.

 

[MR5X5]

Yeah, there are always a few jack wagons on a public forum... Crazy that people tracked you down over some pics. That's messed up! Personally I've had really good luck both getting and giving info via PM. Thanks for chasing your post up with the edit on the staff. I'm sure it is a thankless job.

 

[DaveN85]

I am biased, I was born and raised in the Tri Cities so take this for what its worth... Spokane trumps the living experience of the Tri Cities hands down. You have far more outdoor activities to enjoy in the Spokane/CDA area. The scenery is much better as well.

Would you recommend the Tri-Cities area for someone who enjoys salmon fishing and deer/elk hunting?

 

[DaveN85]

While the tri cities sit in a basin and has less snow fall I'm not sure i would sat its more mild of a climate. Our summers are for sure hotter.

Just a heads up, there are not a ton of truly waterfront homes. There are a lot of close to homes or water view. If you do find one that has a dock, make sure the purchase includes the dock license.

Im looking at a family move up that way,,, how far is the TriCities from decent elk country?

 

[Jskaanland]

Im looking at a family move up that way,,, how far is the TriCities from decent elk country?

I'd say 1.5 hours or so maybe. Only downside is its spike only or draw for cow or bull for most of eastern washington.

 

[BluMtn]

As mentioned above using the Tri-cities as a hub you can go several directions from there and hunt. One of the hurtles you will have to overcome is finding ground to hunt deer in. You will find a vast majority of deer are found in the wheat fields and rangeland which is going to be private and can be hard to get permission to hunt on. There are some public areas, but you will find them to be high pressure hunting areas. You can hunt the national forest and there are some mighty fine bucks in those areas but they are hard to find being pre-rut.

As far as elk hunting same goes for the Tri-cities being a hub. You can go toward Yakima or into the blues. Not familiar with the central Washington elk herds but have been told by those that do it is a high pressure war. Here in the blues the glory days are long gone. Between the wolves, bears, cougars, and the tribes the elk population is nothing compared to what it was when I started hunting in the 60's. The 60's and 70's were unbelievable. If you were not seeing huge herds of elk everyday you were napping under a tree somewhere. Unfortunately those days are gone. About the only time you see dead elk is during the summer when the tribes stop at the convenience store in their pickups with them stacked up like cord wood in the back.

 

[The Ri Guy]

Not familiar with the central Washington elk herds but have been told by those that do it is a high pressure war.

Speaking solely to Archery General Season.

Like anywhere there are pockets that the elk traditionally rut in and around that you can find them in, but the invention of OnX and excessive use of Trail Cams in the Central GMU's has indeed turned it into a high pressure war.

For every bull I call into me each year, I'd say I call at least 3-5 guys in. I would hazard a guess that I see that many Trail Cams a day as well. I've mostly stopped calling unless I haven't seen another guy for a couple days, generally towards end of season. Hunting the Central GMU's these days is more of a try to head them off and let guys push them into you, and pray to God the wind is in your favor, kind of hunt. 10 years ago we could still call elk into us multiple times a day -- not anymore, they hit the black timber at first light and if you're lucky they come out before dark.

This is in a well-known GMU near E-Burg.

 

[MR5X5]

FWIW, sadly, I no longer hunt big game in WA. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is run by a commissioner appointed by the governor. The politics in WA are crazy left and not conducive to wildlife mgmt for sportsman. In fact they are currently in the process of adding two more, anti hunting tree huggers to the WDFW board. Big game hunting in WA has become super frustrating. I have chosen to spend my big game $$ elsewhere.

If you're a duck/goose/upland hunter there are still good opportunities. Lots of land that is not leased. Folks on the east side of the state are generally salt of the earth. Knock on doors and you will meet a lot of really cool people and find access.

 

[14idaho]

Many people have suggested living in Washington and hunting Idaho. Not so easy to get tags in Idaho. Cutting back non- resident to 15 percent.

 

[MR5X5]

Many people have suggested living in Washington and hunting Idaho. Not so easy to get tags in Idaho. Cutting back non- resident to 15 percent.

True that. Interesting year trying to get a tag. Lots of broken groups before it was over. I hope it helps with unit crowding though. Seems like it should.

 

[Ono]

Would you recommend the Tri-Cities area for someone who enjoys salmon fishing and deer/elk hunting?

No, I would not.

Edit: if you want salmon look at places down river....gorge area

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[CAB]

I just moved from WA to CO so if anyone wants some deer, elk, turkey, bear or bird hunting spots DM me I would be happy to give you my old hunting spots. I'm never going back so I don't need them. I didn't mind the hunting in WA but hated the people I had to deal with daily working in Portland.

So here is my 2cents as someone who only hunted there about 5 years(certainly not an expert)

-Turkey hunting in south central WA is pretty good. You will get company but if you hike just a bit you can get away from the crowd pretty easily. Worked and shot some great birds there.

-Learn to identify wild mushrooms. When I would get done turkey hunting in the morning I would hunt morels. Found around 7lbs in a single morning once. Tons of chicken of the woods during archery elk and chanterelles a bit after if I remember correctly.

-HuntWA is a fantastic forum to search for info as well as meet guys to hunt with. If you want someone to hunt with for archery elk hit up Pianoman on there he is always looking for someone to chase elk around with. Amazing camp chef and a good guy to have a drink with around a fire.

-Rain gear is so critical if you hunt the wet side. I was shocked how much rain we got during archery elk one season. It almost completely flooded our entire campsite.

-Blacktails are like ghosts. I only really ever saw 1 deer during season and he was a really good buck. He vanished in about a second and I have no clue where he went. Blacktail hunters are just flatout impressive woodsman.

-If you're on the west side and feeling those rainy blues take a drive to the east side for some shed hunting. It always brightened my mood up to do a camping trip out to the dry side to look for sheds.

- During archery elk every camping spot gets filled pretty quick but if there is bad weather for a few days it's amazing how many guys leave. Stick it out and you will have a lot more breathing room. Especially in Gifford Pinchot.

-The people in the big cities are stuck up and not great people but everyone else I met in the state was wonderful. Every fellow hunter I ran into was friendly and like to chat a bit. We would share a bit of info with each other even, not a ton but a bit. The hunters there were solid guys that work extremely hard during the season.

It might not be the easiest state to hunt but it sure is scenic, has great people and as long as you make the best of it is a lot of fun.

 

[Tyler C]

I just moved from WA to CO so if anyone wants some deer, elk, turkey, bear or bird hunting spots DM me I would be happy to give you my old hunting spots. I'm never going back so I don't need them. I didn't mind the hunting in WA but hated the people I had to deal with daily working in Portland.

So here is my 2cents as someone who only hunted there about 5 years(certainly not an expert)

-Turkey hunting in south central WA is pretty good. You will get company but if you hike just a bit you can get away from the crowd pretty easily. Worked and shot some great birds there.

-Learn to identify wild mushrooms. When I would get done turkey hunting in the morning I would hunt morels. Found around 7lbs in a single morning once. Tons of chicken of the woods during archery elk and chanterelles a bit after if I remember correctly.

-HuntWA is a fantastic forum to search for info as well as meet guys to hunt with. If you want someone to hunt with for archery elk hit up Pianoman on there he is always looking for someone to chase elk around with. Amazing camp chef and a good guy to have a drink with around a fire.

-Rain gear is so critical if you hunt the wet side. I was shocked how much rain we got during archery elk one season. It almost completely flooded our entire campsite.

-Blacktails are like ghosts. I only really ever saw 1 deer during season and he was a really good buck. He vanished in about a second and I have no clue where he went. Blacktail hunters are just flatout impressive woodsman.

-If you're on the west side and feeling those rainy blues take a drive to the east side for some shed hunting. It always brightened my mood up to do a camping trip out to the dry side to look for sheds.

- During archery elk every camping spot gets filled pretty quick but if there is bad weather for a few days it's amazing how many guys leave. Stick it out and you will have a lot more breathing room. Especially in Gifford Pinchot.

-The people in the big cities are stuck up and not great people but everyone else I met in the state was wonderful. Every fellow hunter I ran into was friendly and like to chat a bit. We would share a bit of info with each other even, not a ton but a bit. The hunters there were solid guys that work extremely hard during the season.

It might not be the easiest state to hunt but it sure is scenic, has great people and as long as you make the best of it is a lot of fun.

I just became a member today so I’m not able to send PMs, but I would enjoy discussing some potential areas to target in Washington as I am planning a trip there this fall. I’m going to buy tags for all the things. Also, making the best of it is basically my life motto

 

[PNW44]

Lots of OTC opportunities. If you end up here, welcome! Regs can be a struggle for hunting and fishing

 

[DaveN85]

Lots of OTC opportunities. If you end up here, welcome! Regs can be a struggle for hunting and fishing

just moved to the tri-cities last month! hope to get into some good hunting this fall

 

[Mike7]

Washington seasons pale in comparison to idaho in terms of length, weapon choices and opportunities, with the exception of whitetail deer. Washington does have great deer hunting.

Elk season in Washington is 99 hours of legal light and in that time you can hunt high pressure areas with moderate elk numbers for a spike bull only, or you can try low density areas for any bull and in a few locations any elk.

Bird hunting is very good. Expect to never draw a tag. I'm in it my entire life (in mid 40s now) and have never drawn a bull tag.

Living in Washington will be mildly less disgusting than California politically, but quickly catching up.

Given the opportunity to choose, I'd drive the 12 miles from post falls.

I selfishly don't want any further population increase in Idaho, but this guy nails it.

I go over to WA to bird hunt with my son, who lives there.

I have 5-8 points in WA on virtually every animal (without ever drawing) that I left on the table when I moved away, because it is too expensive to buy the entire tag for each animal as a nonresident each year just to get another point.

There "used to be" great moose hunting in WA near Spokane if you could draw, but that seems to not be the case now.

One additional thing to consider, if you have kids, it is really hard to take them big game hunting in WA because of the short seasons and pressure.

 

[DirtJones]

Coming from MT, I am blown away by the short seasons here! Having to pick archery/ modern firearms is also frustrating. Bit of a culture shock, but like others have said with more population comes more regulation.

 

[VinoVino]

Coming from MT, I am blown away by the short seasons here! Having to pick archery/ modern firearms is also frustrating. Bit of a culture shock, but like others have said with more population comes more regulation.

After having hunted in Indiana for years back in the late 1990’s, I was unprepared for having to choose one or the other for my tag. I thought “Oh, I didn’t get one during modern rifle, so I’ll just go during late archery” only to find out that’s only possible if get approved for a 2nd tag.
I looked up Indiana again last year, and I think I can get between 7 and 11 deer throughout the various seasons. I might need to go back to visit my parents for a couple months every fall…

 

[MR5X5]

Smallest state west of the Mississippi. Least amount of public ground per person... And of course, run by a communist dictator!

 

[RangerRick]

I got a question, mabye it's a stupid one, either way.

For WA state, i've always hunted the General Season, and occasionally i'll do the early season High Hunt. My question is for the Late General Season. White-tailed Deer Nov 6-19. It lists the GMU's and is Any buck.

Is the "Late General Season" a different tag than the "General Season"? I usually don't hunt those GMU's, but didn't fill my tag this year so wanted to give it a try. Am I good to go, other than not knowing the area, etc, etc.