Things look rough for Yakima-area deer hunters

Yakima area deer hunters are in for another tough season when the general rifle season opens Saturday. Biologists say the Yakima County deer population is down again this year and hunters are going to see fewer deer.

After a year in which deer population declines somewhat leveled off, Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists are saying the populations are again down.

The number of deer in our area was already down around 50 percent in the last four years and, with some heavy snows this past winter and a potential resurgence in a hair-loss problem hitting local deer, this could be one of the toughest hunting seasons in many years.

The hair loss is created by a louse that infects the deer and makes them scratch and lose their hair. It hits the young the hardest, and many simply don’t make it through the winter.

Maybe the biggest concern is that there seems to be no let-up — or solution — on the hair-loss situation. So it may be a while before hunters in the area have some decent hunting close to home.

Deer hunters looking to have a better chance at putting some venison in the freezer might look at heading down to Klickitat County, or heading northeast into some of the counties north of Spokane.

Game-harvest statistics show hunters in those areas did much better than the hunters in Yakima County did in 2007. In fact, modern firearms hunters in Washington overall had a 24 percent success rate.

But when you look at the harvest numbers for the game management units in Yakima County, that success rate drops off dramatically.

There are roughly eight game management units in Yakima County, and virtually all of the GMUs in the western part of the county had success rates for rifle deer hunters that were below 10 percent. Popular GMUs such as Rimrock and Bumping showed less than a 5 percent success rate.

The only GMU in Yakima County that had even decent hunter success (18 percent) was the Rattlesnake Hills GMU, only part of which is actually in Yakima County. The rest is in Benton County, and it is a good bet that the majority of the 31 bucks taken in that unit last season were from Benton County.

So, with only a few days until the general deer hunting season opens, what other areas might best offer a chance at success?

According to the numbers, the East Klickitat Unit east of Goldendale has a better-than-average success ratio. In that unit close to 35 percent of modern firearm hunters were successful in getting a deer.

And in just about all of the GMUs in the northeastern corner of the state the success rate for modern firearms hunters was higher than the state average. One reason is that hunting seasons are longer in that part of the state, running as late as Nov. 19 in some units.

The other reason for the success is that region’s good population of white-tailed deer, in addition to some mule deer. So hunters have a bigger population of deer to hunt.

The general deer-hunting season runs until Oct. 19 in our area. Just be forewarned: The chances of success are pretty low if you do decide to hunt in the hills west of Yakima. There are still a few legal bucks (three antler points or better on one side) out there, but they are going to be few and far between.

Of course, a successful deer hunt is measured by many factors. But if you have your freezer all cleaned out, ready for some meat, you probably better hunt elsewhere in the state, or keep your eyes open for a side of beef to purchase.

• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.