Mill Creek Watershed (hunt 255A)

Radke · 07-07-2005, 09:23 AM

Has anyone here ever hunted Mill Creek Watershed, or know anything about this hunt? I find it interesting that you either put in as a party, or hunt it alone. You cannot have a non-hunter in your party, unless you get an animal down, and then your limited to one person.

Just curious

Ras · 07-07-2005, 10:08 AM

It took me 12 years to draw that hunt with my father (he had hunted it 3 or 4 times since the 60's), then we drew again 2 years later :whazzup:; been about 6 or 7 years ago. Got to know the Watershed Patrol Rider real well, and SHE had been patrolling there for something like 18 years. Said the elk hunting / herd had been on a long downward trend; lots of bears and cats.....that cannot be hunted in there

The prevailing philosophy of this hunt is to "manage" the elk herd to ensure water quality for the city of Waller Waller, and the ODFW / WDFW are allowed to hold hunts in there with several restrictions - must have a tag / entry permit to enter; elk must be packed out ASAP (I think within 1 day??), no overnight camping, etc.

With that being said, all of that country holds mature bulls :grin: The mentality of today's hunter is far different than it was back when my dad first started hunting in there; basically, they go further and hunt a "little" harder. Dad used to see large herds and lots of elk feeding the open south slopes throughout the day; now you won't see animal in the open. There are 4 major ridges (all with trails) on the Oregon side, and 40 tags if I recall. That obviously equates to 10 hunters per ridge, which are all only a couple of miles long. It has also been theorized that alot of the elk move across the border to WA (which usually opens 4-5 days after OR), and once their season opens it gets alot of elk moving back. I have not seen that happen yet. My best advice is, after trying for an easy bull opening morning, hit the low north slopes!

And furthermore, BE AN ELK! Those bulls, though they have been hunted for a day or two, have most likely not had a "close encounter" with a hunter. They do not see people throughout the year (except some poachers, but that is a different story

), and thus expect to encounter elk in "their" home. Get down in the canyons, travel the trails as an elk / small herd would, and watch your wind. Cow call (I even occasionally bugle, as the herd bull mentality seems to linger here a bit), and keep your senses open. I have had a grunt conversation with a bull in a hole for an hour after dusk, "called" in a 5 pt. to 8 ft. (he came in to see the herd, and I had smelled him for quite a while), and bumped a big bull twice that again I had smelled and knew was curious as to who / what I was.

The Watershed's are not what they used to be, that being the most coveted tag in Oregon; but take into consideration where you are at.....some of the best big bull country in the NW!

Ras

TheRogue · 07-07-2005, 10:27 AM

I hunted it 4 years ago. My best friend and hunting buddy hunted it last year.

Washington's hunt has been held at the same time at least the last 4 years, if not more. Washington side is at least 3x as much country as Oregon side.

On my trip and my buddy's trip, we regularly saw large mature branch bulls in the open feeding during the season. Most of these were on the Washington side, where the combination of large area and small hunter numbers means some of these animals never get pushed.

We saw a 375 class monster two days before my season, together with a huge 5x5 and another 6x6. Just down the road we had a 340 class 7x7 with a large drop tine herd a bunch of cows over an open ridge. Large windstorm that night pushed the elk off the high Oregon ridges and down into the WA side, saw few tracks and just cows the 5 days I hunted.

Conditions were perfect for my friends hunt, light snow pretty regular. He and his brother (spotting from the road), saw at least 15 seperate mature branch bulls during the season. He was after a 350 type bull...only saw one that he considered a shooter, and it was the next ridge over. He passed on a 310 bull that walked over the ridge and was shot by the kid on the other side, he helped him pack it out.

The watershed trails are no longer cared for. Walla Walla has installed a high-end filtration system that takes care of the pure water issue. Each year, there is talk about doing away with the special hunt altogther and just opening the area up. I think many people like it that you can go into an area that has no pressure all year long (including no bow or deer rifle seasons) to hunt. I suspect the monetary aspect of patrolling it will finally give in.

There are now 25 tags available for the unit. I don't know the numbers for the Washington side, but it's probably down similarly. It's a better number than 40, especially when you consider there's always 5-10 people who never get off the road, and just glass the open ridges.

If you kill an elk, you can take one person in for the sole purpose of packing the animal out. Once you've killed an animal, you cannot return into the unit to help someone else hunt, unless you're just packing a downed animal.

TR