Take a second look at northeastern mule deer

Hunters who gave up on mule deer hunting in northeastern Washington might want to give the area a second look.

Mule deer bucks have been making a comeback in the last few years. Numbers are not as high as they were a few decades ago, but serious hunters once again have a chance to find four-, five- and even six-pointers.

Mule deer numbers also are up in Okanogan and Chelan counties, but biologists have observed a decline in southeast Washington.

Kevin Robinette, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department regional wildlife manager in Spokane, said mule deer populations in the northeast counties have increased gradually since 2001.

One indicator is that the number of bucks harvested in the northeast counties increased from about 300 in 2001 to about 500 last year, hinting at what’s been occurring in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties.

The percentage of four-point and better bucks increased from 47 percent in 2001 to 56 percent last year. The most productive game management unit for mule deer bucks is 101 in Ferry County.

Northeast biologists don’t expect large numbers of whitetail “spikes” to be tagged this fall. Fawn production was only at the maintenance level last year “so we don’t expect a big crop of yearling bucks this year to boost the harvest,” Robinette explained.

The Fish and Wildlife Department continued with a conservative late buck season running Nov. 8-19, five days shorter than last year and still ending well before the Thanksgiving holiday. Local hunters in northeast corner of the state are divided on whether the season should be conservative or extended longer into the rut, according to debate at public meetings held in the past two years.

But the more conservative late hunt appears to be letting the pool of bucks grow to larger sizes.

“Hunters reported 15 percent five-point or better bucks taken in 2003, compared to 12 percent in 2001 and 10 percent in 1999,” Robinette said.

“We’re in the middle of our three-year management plan to rebuild the older age classes of whitetail bucks and it looks as though it’s working,” said biologist Steve Zender. “Hunters are finding more big bucks even though they’re not hunting late in the rut.”

In the Spokane area, prolonged drought and decline of nutritious browse appears to be taking a toll on the number of bucks, said district biologist Howard Ferguson.

“Large bucks don’t appear plentiful,” he said. “And fawn production was only so-so.”

Furthermore, indications are that there has been an outbreak of epizootic hemorraghic disease in the Cheney area.

Recent rains may have improved the situation by creating more watering spots for whitetails and thus spreading them out. But biologists last week had documented at least 100 deer dead or suffering from the disease, according to Madonna Luers, department spokeswoman in Spokane.

Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area manager Juli Anderson said a fair number of three-point and better mule deer bucks have been in the area this summer. But she said the influx of hunters seems to drive the bucks off the wildlife area during the nine-day rifle season.

“Many rifle hunters spend lots of time driving around the county roads waiting for bucks to come to them,” she said. “Our advice is that they park their vehicles and hike around areas where there may be bucks. We also suggest rifle hunters switch over to archery hunting for a better chance at taking a buck.”

In southeast Washington, several years of dry autumn weather has curbed fawn production, said biologist Pat Fowler, noting that mule deer numbers are down. “Finding legal bucks (muleys with three-points or better) will be difficult this year.”

Whitetail populations in southeast Washington are healthy, but indications are that EHD is killing deer there, too.

The mule deer populations in Chelan and Okanogan counties are reasonably healthy as the result of a series of relatively mild winters, said Matt Monda, regional wildlife manager in Ephrata.

The best mule deer hunting in his region likely will be in Okanogan County, he said.

The Yakima area has decent mule deer herds, said Lee Stream, regional wildlife manager, noting that hunters occasionally tag hybrid mule-blacktail deer on the east slopes of the Cascades. The deer are classified as muleys, not hybrids.

General deer seasons for Eastern Washington open Oct. 16. Closing dates vary from Oct. 24 to 29, depending on the GMU. Both late buck seasons are Nov. 8-19. Hunters can take any buck in units 105-124; only whitetail bucks with three-point minimum racks can be tagged in units 127-142.