Waterfowl average; deer success rates vary

These are the only reports I was able to obtain from Fish and Wildlife for the opening weekend.

Waterfowl

From Sean Q. Dougherty, District Wildlife Biologist in Ephrata:

Reported hunter harvest from opening weekend of waterfowl season:

Birds per hunter

North Potholes Regulated Access Area: 1.6

Winchester Regulated Access Area: 1.6

Frenchman Regulated Access Area: 1.6

Overall, the harvest was about average for the year. We don’t have any information from others areas that may have been hunted during the opening weekend.

Dennis note: This report only counts hunters in three access areas. Would be great to have your report as well. This goes for deer, elk, waterfowl and any other critter you have been hunting. This goes for photos, too.

Send your report to: dclay@atnet.net

From Colville area Fish and Wildlife Biologist Annemarie Prince:

Deer

Opening weekend was good this year. We heard mostly positive comments about how the season is going so far. We ran a check station in Chewelah on Saturday for the first time and it was a little slow. However, the Deer Park check station kept us busy.

I think the cool/cold weather also contributed to a successful opener. It’s forecast to stay pretty cool for the rest of the week and into next weekend, so I think hunting should continue to be pretty good.

Chewelah: 49 hunters stopped in. Eight white-tailed deer, (two bucks, six does), and two mule deer bucks were checked. We also sealed two cougars and checked two turkeys. We don’t have any historical data for this check station, so have nothing for comparison to past years.

Deer Park 2018: 127 hunters stopped in. We checked 35 white-tailed deer, (24 bucks, 11 does), and three mule deer bucks. This equals a 30 percent success rate.

Deer Park 2017: 174 hunters. 35 white-tailed deer and three mule deer bucks. Same number of harvested deer, but by more hunters. This equals a 20 percent success rate.