Hunters’ chances can vary from north to south

Eastern Washington deer hunters may have to adjust their expectations, for better or worse, depending on where they plan to hunt this year.

While the number of bigger bucks has improved to pleasing numbers in the state’s northeastern corner, a stretch of tough winter conditions two years ago knocked deer numbers back significantly in portions of the southeast corner.

And it’s a mixed bag in between.

Hunters who can get permission to hunt in the Mount Spokane area will find deer numbers high, as usual, said Howard Ferguson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife district biologist.

However, the whitetails south of Interstate 90 in Mica Peak Unit 127 and the southern portion of Cheney Unit 130 were hit significantly last year by a disease similar to blue tongue, he said. Mule deer weren’t affected by the disease, but their numbers have not been as robust as whitetails in recent years.

Farther south on the Snake River breaks, the number of mule deer and whitetails has been reduced significantly in Unit 142 as a response to crop damage complaints, he said.

The foothills of the Blue Mountains near Dayton was a hot spot for hunters seeking trophy whitetail bucks a few years ago, but the area was hit hard by disease, a tough winter and fall drought, said Pat Fowler, department biologist in Walla Walla.

“They need a fall green-up to get fat before winter and they haven’t been getting it,” he said. “We lost a lot of fawns that should have been two years old and a significant part of the three-point or better buck harvest this fall.”

Deer hunters are likely to do significantly better in the Okanogan and Chelan county regions, where regional wildlife Matt Monda said deer are making a great comeback from the fires that blackened their range six years ago.

“For the most part, everything is rosy here for deer in those areas,” he said, noting that Okanogan deer herds were generally in good shape.

“I’m happy to say that Chelan county has lots of big bucks and we’re looking to increase the antlerless harvest in the future because the herds are growing.”

The number of legal bucks over the three-point minimum may be in shorter supply this year in the Methow Valley as hunters have had good success in the longer 14-day season they’ve enjoyed in recent years. Also, youth hunters have been better than expected in harvesting bucks with their any-deer privileges, Monda said.

Hunters could be similarly frustrated in portions of Adams, Douglas and Grant counties, where the wide-open spaces have enabled them to take a high toll on mature bucks in recent years.

“Anything over the three-point minimum stands out pretty well in that open country,” he said. “But it’s not gloom and doom out here. We have lots of deer.”

Desert Unit 290 near Moses Lake continues to be one of the most coveted areas in Washington to draw a tag for hunting trophy mule deer bucks. More than 5,000 modern rifle hunters applied this year for 15 tags.

Parts of the Yakima region have dangerously high numbers of deer and modern rifle hunters were given the chance to draw antlerless deer tags for the first time in several decades, said Jeff Bernatowicz, state biologist in Yakima.

The best deer hunting units “by far” are the Teanaway and Manastash, he said.