Washington State Cleman Mountain Ewe Hunt, Mt Spokane Cow Moose

[kevinbethje]

I drew a Cleman Mountain Ewe tag in Washington State. Anyone else had that tag in the past? I live within a couple hours, so I will spend some time there. My question is, in October, what areas will they be in , the open hillsides along 410 just out of Naches, or will I need to climb to top of the mountains. Prepared for either.

Also, by luck, I drew the cow moose tag in Mount Spokane South unit. Any advice on that hunt is appreciated also. It looks like getting an access permit from Inland Empire will be a good thing to do.

 

[JohnCushman]

Congrats on your tags!

 

[BackofBeyond]

wow. just wow.

Like go buy a lottery ticket homes.

Welcome to Hunt Talk!

 

[Irrelevant]

I drew a Cleman Mountain Ewe tag in Washington State. Anyone else had that tag in the past? I live within a couple hours, so I will spend some time there. My question is, in October, what areas will they be in , the open hillsides along 410 just out of Naches, or will I need to climb to top of the mountains. Prepared for either.

Also, by luck, I drew the cow moose tag in Mount Spokane South unit. Any advice on that hunt is appreciated also. It looks like getting an access permit from Inland Empire will be a good thing to do.

There are no difficult sheep tags in WA. Almost all can be hunted from the road.

I would imagine that moose tag will be a lot harder to fill.

 

[Matthew57]

I hunted turkeys this spring quite a bit in that area. Saw several moose so I’d think if you get the IEP permit you should be able to fill your tag.

 

[lonedave]

I drew a Cleman Mountain Ewe tag in Washington State. Anyone else had that tag in the past? I live within a couple hours, so I will spend some time there. My question is, in October, what areas will they be in , the open hillsides along 410 just out of Naches, or will I need to climb to top of the mountains. Prepared for either.

Also, by luck, I drew the cow moose tag in Mount Spokane South unit. Any advice on that hunt is appreciated also. It looks like getting an access permit from Inland Empire will be a good thing to do.

I had a ewe tag on Clemens in 2019. It’s basically a one day hunt. The sheep are probably spread out over most of the area from Naches up to Cliffdell and over the other side above the Wenas valley. The vast majority are on the 410 side from about a half mile below the feeding station to about 2-3 miles above the station. They definitely range in that area from the highway all the way to the top of the mountain. The parking lot just past the canal crossing at the entrance to Waterworks canyon is always a good starting point. I started up Waterworks for both my ram in 2014 and the ewe in 2019. You can really make it as hard or easy as you want. You’ll probably start seeing sheep within just a few hundred yards of the parking lot or take your time and go further uphill. For my ewe, I took my Thompson Center Seneca 45 muzzleloader to make it a little more difficult. I ended up about halfway up Waterworks canyon and got in front of a moving herd dropping down the canyon. I shot the lead ewe from about 40 - 45 yards. It took me until later in the afternoon the first day, but if you use a rifle, it probably would take much less time. Like any sheep hunt, use of binoculars and spotting scope can really save you some climbing time. If you’re a bow hunter, take it, you won’t regret it, unless you’re really pressed for time.
I’m in West Richland, so if you’re close, we could meet up some time and talk if you want. It’s really kind of a fun hunt and I thought the meat was great. My wife, not so much, but she didn’t like the ram either.
I can’t really give you any pointers other than general stuff for your moose. My moose tag in 2015 was in the Kettle Range-East Okanogan area. Again, I managed to get my bull the first day. I keyed in on water and was sneaking around a little pond/lake when I ran into the bull chasing a cow. One thing I will say….a moose on the ground about a mile off the road solo is not a lot of fun! It took me until 2:30 in the morning to strip the meat and bag it up. I didn’t get the last (7th) load out until the afternoon of the following day. I had plenty of meat sacks, rope, and a great pack (Exo 5500). Even so, at 57, it was a little exhausting! I did him gutless and it worked great. I’d recommend doing it that way.

 

[kevinbethje]

I had a ewe tag on Clemens in 2019. It’s basically a one day hunt. The sheep are probably spread out over most of the area from Naches up to Cliffdell and over the other side above the Wenas valley. The vast majority are on the 410 side from about a half mile below the feeding station to about 2-3 miles above the station. They definitely range in that area from the highway all the way to the top of the mountain. The parking lot just past the canal crossing at the entrance to Waterworks canyon is always a good starting point. I started up Waterworks for both my ram in 2014 and the ewe in 2019. You can really make it as hard or easy as you want. You’ll probably start seeing sheep within just a few hundred yards of the parking lot or take your time and go further uphill. For my ewe, I took my Thompson Center Seneca 45 muzzleloader to make it a little more difficult. I ended up about halfway up Waterworks canyon and got in front of a moving herd dropping down the canyon. I shot the lead ewe from about 40 - 45 yards. It took me until later in the afternoon the first day, but if you use a rifle, it probably would take much less time. Like any sheep hunt, use of binoculars and spotting scope can really save you some climbing time. If you’re a bow hunter, take it, you won’t regret it, unless you’re really pressed for time.
I’m in West Richland, so if you’re close, we could meet up some time and talk if you want. It’s really kind of a fun hunt and I thought the meat was great. My wife, not so much, but she didn’t like the ram either.
I can’t really give you any pointers other than general stuff for your moose. My moose tag in 2015 was in the Kettle Range-East Okanogan area. Again, I managed to get my bull the first day. I keyed in on water and was sneaking around a little pond/lake when I ran into the bull chasing a cow. One thing I will say….a moose on the ground about a mile off the road solo is not a lot of fun! It took me until 2:30 in the morning to strip the meat and bag it up. I didn’t get the last (7th) load out until the afternoon of the following day. I had plenty of meat sacks, rope, and a great pack (Exo 5500). Even so, at 57, it was a little exhausting! I did him gutless and it worked great. I’d recommend doing it that way.
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Thanks for the info. Looks like you hit the jackpot on draw tags. This is first time ever for me drawings a moose, sheep or goat, with all the points that I can get. I live in Kennewick, so may hit you up someday. My son and I got bull moose in Northern British Columbia in 2019, so I know exactly what work is ahead of me if I find one. Never been afraid to work hard for animals. Spent many days under meat packing. I will go rifle I would imagine, although I do hunt with all weapons. I just have a few other hunts this year I will be out of the office for and I can't be away from work for much more than I already planned for. Thanks again and congrats on your past luck.

 

[wheels]

Congrats I'll be looking for a cow moose north of you

 

[kevinbethje]

Just an update on the 2 tags in WA I drew to help others later maybe. The moose is tough, I spent a handful of days in the IEP land, both main areas, the by Mt Spokane Park and the through Thompson Creek Gate. Never saw a moose all summer. I did set up a trail cam on on old road with moose sign. Got quite a few on camera there. They don't show themselves at all in the heat. Hunted a total of 4 days. 2 days in the Mt Spokane area, never saw any moose. Saw a ton of fresh tracks and even grunted with a bull for a bit. Talked to a couple bull hunters and they had each seen a cow. The second weekend I hunted the Thompson Creek gate. Stayed on the main line to the left and went up high early morning and spotted a bull and a cow several hundred yards below on an old road. Was able to harvest the cow. Everyone we talked to with experience, the gate keepers, etc, said the moose use the roads a lot and from the tracks I seen and the only 2 moose I saw, that seemed to be true. I think it is just spend enough time in there you will see one.

For the ewe hunt, I scouted a few days it the summer, again so hot, didn't see anything. Didn't really put a lot of time into it, since the few I talked to including the biologist, said they will be plenty around to find. On opening day, I worked then went up for an evening hunt. Saw several rams and 4 different groups of ewes, all from highway 410. I finally found a group that was close enough for an evening stalk and moved in and shot her. Stalk was about half mile, straight uphill. I saw sheep from Waterworks canyon all along 410 up to Mud lake area.

 

[Scott85]

Congrats!

 

[lonedave]

Congratulations on a couple of great hunts and a load of excellent meat! If you need any help finishing off that pile of moose meat, let me know!

 

[JColony]

Congrats! Used to play up on Mt Spokane A LOT and spent many seasons hunting the Umtanum unit. Glad to hear you were able to double up!