Northwest Fishing Reports

Has anyone on here thought about or know a good area of water that runs through public lands, or a lake surrounded or atleast bordered by some NF. Glassing from the boat away from roads and the other hunters has paid off in the past for me in Oregon, and a buddy of mine has taken a couple of nice Whitetails in N. Idaho from the water. I am not talking about blasting from the boat, but scouting and planning the stalk from the the water as a means to get away from the throngs of hunters in the trucks and 4 wheelers. Any ideas are appreciated.

I have gone out on Riffe lake with a friend during deer season. Not really any place to glass clearcuts but a good way to access closed roads and small timber patches along the lake, not to mention the banks of the lake, since the water is usually down that time of year.

i know of a friend that hunts elk out of a drift boat on the Olympic peninsula while salmon fishing...

Wow that sounds like the life.

I've seen so many elk from the water, that would be a great way to do it! Especially since you don't have to pack it out 10 miles, just load up the boat. No more return trips, back and forth. You shoot ducks from a boat, why not a deer?

I knew a kid in high school who would go with his dad and uncle by boat up the Snake river and hunt Mule deer. They'd spot them in the breaks, beach the boat, and then go after them. Sounded like a good time to me. I don't know exactly where they hunted, but I think there is a lot of public land that borders the Snake in WA. FWIW.

I think the 55 mile length of chelan would offer you like 4 or 5 GMU's to each side of the lake if you cruised the whole thing, with lots of places to beach and/or dock your boat.

natetreat wrote:I've seen so many elk from the water, that would be a great way to do it! Especially since you don't have to pack it out 10 miles, just load up the boat. No more return trips, back and forth. You shoot ducks from a boat, why not a deer?

deer, yes this seems reasonable. a hunting crew worth of elk? sounds like a well loaded and heavy boat lol

I am actually hoping to be hunting from my boat this year... we will see.

I've been on the Skagit twice when my fishing partner has bagged his buck.

Not big game but ducks.. i've seen dudes a few times anchored with plugs on the back channel across from Doug bar on the snoho.. pulling plugs and shotgunning ducks.. pretty cool..

oneshot wrote:Not big game but ducks.. i've seen dudes a few times anchored with plugs on the back channel across from Doug bar on the snoho.. pulling plugs and shotgunning ducks.. pretty cool..

we call that castin' and blastin'

my brother and I have had some good days of ducks/geese/ and fish.

looks fun.. dudes got their dogs to retrieve the ducks too so they can stay on anchor pulling plugs.. dig it! \m/