The two most popular hunting seasons of the year — waterfowl and modern firearm deer — open Saturday, and state biologists are saying both should be good.
“Last year’s deer harvest was the highest in the state since 2004,” says Jerry Nelson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife deer and elk manager, “and drought took a less significant toll this summer. Overwinter survival was also favorable in most areas.”
The largest mule deer herd in the state is in “the Okanogan,” encompassing the Methow Valley and along the divide between the Methow and Okanogan watersheds, and it draws a lot of attention. Last year’s general season produced 3,603 deer from the 10 game management units in the Okanogan, the most in over 20 years. Success rates were 26 percent for modern firearm hunters, 25 percent for muzzleloaders, and 35 percent for archers, with the best hunting in GMUs 215, 218 and 224. Some 1,514 deer came from those three units, 42 percent of the total taken in the Okanogan.
For the first time in three years, no major wildfire activity took place in the region. Biologists say vegetation is recovering, the fall greenup is good, and animals have returned to recently burned areas. Most access has been restored, but hunters may want to check with the Okanogan National Forest, and/or the Methow Valley Ranger District.
With the possible exception of GMU 209, all the Okanogan units support significant deer populations offering good to excellent hunting, along with plenty of access to public land. The region also carries good numbers of whitetail, with about half the population to be found in GMU 204.
The 2016 hunt should be another good one, but probably not quite as good as last year’s banner season. Biologists say hunters will find a good crop of 2.5-year old bucks, and a decent opportunity to take an older animal. The general season end date is late again this year, so mulies may be migrating toward winter range (south-facing slopes at lower elevations) during the later portion of the season. On the westside, wind and rain this week should be of benefit to blacktail hunters, quieting movement and increasing visibility by knocking down a lot of foliage.
Notable regulation changes this year include tighter regulation of baiting for deer and elk; making the late general archery season for whitetail in GMUs 204 and 209 earlier and shorter; and issuance of higher than average numbers of antlerless permits for units affected by recent large fires.
Waterfowl
Local duck production is down this year, biologists say, about 37 percent from 2015 and 25 percent below the long term average, due to dry weather during the nesting season. Most local hunters, however, count on ducks and geese migrating south from Alaska and Canada, and data assembled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the northern hatch is a lot more positive. The service says populations of North American nesting ducks remain at record levels, 38 percent higher than the long term average. In Alaska and the Yukon, the hatch drew an “excellent” rating, up 28 percent from 2015’s good 3.3 million birds.
The hot news, however, concerns snow geese. This could turn out to be a blue ribbon season for snows if nesting stats from the Arctic prove accurate. Reports by Russian biologists on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean, an important snow goose nesting site, indicate an extremely strong hatch and much higher numbers of snows coming down the coast than in 2015.
There should be good hunting in the usual areas: the Skagit delta, the Stanwood area and north Port Susan, but Washington game managers say snow geese are also tending to expand outward from these winter haunts to parts of Snohomish County including the Snohomish River valley.
Waterfowl hunters would do well to explore some of the special programs put together by the WDFW over the past several years. In this area, the Waterfowl Quality Hunt Program offers 40 to 50 hunting sites in Whatcom, Skagit, and north Snohomish counties, some with blinds, some simply designated sites. They’re used on a first come, first served basis. The program in Snohomish County includes about eight waterfowl quality hunt units, most on the Stillaguamish delta, and five snow goose units in the same area. Three WQH units are by reservation, and two are planted with barley. Sites, maps, more info at WDFW hunting access website.
Another possibility is the similar WDFW/hunting/snow goose quality hunt program, on Fir Island and north Port Susan. E-mail qualityhunt@dfw.wa.gov for the latest snow goose information.
And a third offers information on access to more than a million acres of private land, much of it in eastern Washington, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/hunting _access/private_lands/ including some areas open by reservation. An example would be units in corn stubble, in the Frenchman Hills, near Potholes Reservoir.
Turkey
The National Wild Turkey Federation has released its latest state-by-state census of wild turkey populations. Washington birds are listed as: Merriams, 19,800; Rio Grande, 8,400; and Eastern, 230 birds.
Compare that to, say, Texas: Merriams, 500 birds; Rio Grande, 500,000; and Eastern, 8,000 birds.
The survey also lists those states where “turkey dogs” are legal.
Turkey dogs?
Local river coho
The state Tuesday decided the coho run was stronger than anticipated, and opened three local rivers to coho only: the Snohomish, the Skykomish upstream to the mouth of the Wallace, and the Wallace up to 200 feet upstream of the hatchery water intake. This made anglers happy.
“It’s sure nice to have the rivers open,” said Tom Sakamoto at Three Rivers Marine in Woodinville.
The rivers are scheduled to close Oct. 31, giving anglers three weekends of silver fishing. Sakamoto said the best area right now would probably be the lower Skykomish, launching at the Lewis Street bridge in Monroe and fishing downstream, and also near the mouth of the Wallace.
Good gear would include Dick Nite spoons in 50-50 or frog patterns; number 4 or 5 Vibrax spinners; or Brad’s Wigglers in red herringbone or fire tiger colors. The plugs can be cast and retrieved in “frog water,” or trolled along current seams.
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