Central melrose?

Robert · 09-25-2003, 06:21 PM

I a extra tag for the Central Melrose unit. Does anyone have any ideas of what types of places to look for the deer?

Thanks Robert

C-lice · 09-27-2003, 01:37 PM

There are very, very few places available to hunt unless you know someone with private property. The only piece of public land I can think of right off the top of my head would be the Sugar Pine Ridge area, and it's really nothing special to hunt.

09-28-2003, 07:16 AM

Well unless you knock on some doors the unit is only 2% public. I think you had better head out early from portland, head to the local Roseburg pub and buy a thisty farmer a beer.

Robert · 10-16-2003, 06:25 PM

Is the Sugar Pine Ridge area public land that is accessible to the public? I heard the only public area in the hunt is surrounded by private land, is that true?

Thanks Robert

C-lice · 10-23-2003, 10:12 PM

Sugar Pine Ridge is public land itself, and is easily accessible from the Coos Bay Wagon Road.

Travel South on I-5 to Roseburg.

Take exit 124.

Turn left at the stoplight. You will be on Harvard Avenue.

Continue on Harvard until you come to Lookingglass Road. Turn left on Lookingglass Road. If you make it to the movie theater you have gone just barely too far.

Travel on Lookingglass Road to the Lookingglass Store, probably 6-8 miles from the Harvard turnoff.

Turn right onto the Coos Bay Wagon Road at Lookingglass Store. You will now be travelling due west.

Stay on the Coos Bay Wagon Road for several miles (I really don't know how many). You will pass Dairy Loop Road (off to your left) 1 1/2 miles or so from the Lookingglass Store, and Flournoy Valley Road (off to your right) several miles past that.

Where Flournoy Valley Road intersects with the Coos Bay Wagon Road, you will want to bear to the left. Soon you will start to climb. A few miles past the Flournoy Valley intersection you will come upon a big BLM sign at the very top of the hill. It tells you that you can turn left to enter the BLM recreation area, or something like that. This is Sugar Pine Ridge. There are a lot of roads in the area, and as far as I know they all dead end. There has been logging in the area off and on for the past 20 years, including some in the last 3-4 years.

If you keep going past Sugar Pine on the Coos Bay Wagon Road, you will soon reach the intersection with Reston Road. Your tag is not valid beyond Reston Road. Also, once you pass the Flournoy Valley intersection on the Coos Bay Wagon Rd, everything to your right will be the Tioga Unit.

Good luck with your hunt!

Robert · 10-23-2003, 10:30 PM

So Coos Bay Wagon Road is a public Road?

I am now confused on why ODFW told my dad that the public cannot access the public land because its surrounded by private land. Anyone know why they would say that if it was not true?

Thanks a Robert

C-lice · 10-27-2003, 12:40 PM

I have no idea why they'd say that. Sugar Pine has always been accessible, and has always been hunted. The Coos Bay Wagon Road is either state or county highway--I can't recall which. But it is public. Sugar Pine intersects it.

Most or all of the land around Sugar Pine is privately owned. There may even be some private timber company land up on Sugar Pine. But as far as I know nobody's ever had the least problems hunting there, and I've never seen a sign limiting access. I hunted it for years and still do occasionally if I need a "quickie". We used to kill porcupines up there when I was a teenager and get the bounty on their noses. Good times...