Outdoor opportunities in Spokane WA?

[willfrye027]

The in-laws live there and the wife would really like to move back some day especially when we have kids. I’ve visited plenty of times and done some fishing but have not done any hunting. Would love to hear what you guys think about living there. I enjoy mule deer, whitetail deer, ducks, upland/turkey, and fishing in that order. Never got the elk bug but could definitely get into it. Obviously it’s no mule deer paradise but what say you on the public land opportunities? Is there anything to do in the winter?

 

[kicker338]

Don't live in Spokane but right next door in Post Falls ID. been here 20yrs and will die here. Mule deer hunting is not the greatest in eastern Wa. or nth. Id but whitetail hunting is pretty good, lots of ducks, turkeys and grouse. Fishing. lot of bass fishing which I don't do but love Kokanee fishing which is really good here. Elk hunting is pretty good but you gotta work for them. What to do in winter ???? depending on how much snow we get you can bank on snow shoveling or get a 4wheeler and plow it like me LOL. Aside from the shoveling Mt. Spokane has snow skiing and snowmobiles are real popular, lots of groomed trails in the national forest's

 

[wareagle22]

I live in Florida and just got back from Spokane hunting and I can tell you this, I would move there tomorrow if my wife would. Go North of Spokane or over into Idaho and the hunting is outstanding and some beautiful lakes and rivers.

 

[willfrye027]

Don't live in Spokane but right next door in Post Falls ID. been here 20yrs and will die here. Mule deer hunting is not the greatest in eastern Wa. or nth. Id but whitetail hunting is pretty good, lots of ducks, turkeys and grouse. Fishing. lot of bass fishing which I don't do but love Kokanee fishing which is really good here. Elk hunting is pretty good but you gotta work for them. What to do in winter ???? depending on how much snow we get you can bank on snow shoveling or get a 4wheeler and plow it like me LOL. Aside from the shoveling Mt. Spokane has snow skiing and snowmobiles are real popular, lots of groomed trails in the national forest's

Is there much public duck hunting over water or is it a corn field type thing. I’ve been to cabelas in post falls a few times, looked like lots of good county.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Waterfowl is probably going to be mainly private lease type stuff. Tons of whitetail and turkeys on public land, as well as some muleys in the higher elevation areas.

 

[Oregon]

I can assure you of 1 thing.
Spokane area way more cool than Virginia. 100 times better.
Idaho very close.
Did I mention Spokane more better than Va??

 

[willfrye027]

I can assure you of 1 thing.
Spokane area way more cool than Virginia. 100 times better.
Idaho very close.
Did I mention Spokane more better than Va??

Haha. I’ve only been here 3 years but it’s been good to me. I do miss the west but it’s nice having 6 deer tags and open season from October to January. No shortage of public land either. But we will end up either in California or Spokane in the next 4 or 5 years

 

[Jwhitney]

I have only been duck hunting a few years but if you want to hunt water. There is a ton of public access plus we have one of the highest mallard limits in the country and you can shoot great mixed bags too. Tons of whitetail, and turkeys. You can shoot an elk every year in WA but you will have to really work for it and most areas are spike only (except spokane area and the area to the north) but hard hunting. OTC mule deer, mainly to the south of spokane. You will have to work to get a real monster but you can get a buck on public land every year. Within an hour of spokane you will find tons of public land. I would look hard at Post Falls too. Idaho is a lot more hunter friendly, but I live just north of spokane and hunt/fish a lot

 

[Wrench]

There's 50 lakes within 50 miles of spokane.

Waterfowl guys can hunt any style they want. ...tons of land to work.

As for mule deer, it's no Colorado....but once you get it figured out, and can be happy with a 150" deer....it's not too bad. Whitetail hunting is pretty fantastic. Bears are pretty dense. Elk are sought after enough that it's pretty tough....but doable.

The single biggest problem is that if you hunt anything easy or close to town.....you better expect to have company and not always talented hunters. There's a lot of people and they all want the easy picking.

 

[Ross]

Best thing is Idaho and Montana are very close....if you like to work hard both offer ok elk and deer hunting

 

[tkaldahl2000]

I used to hunt some state land about 12 miles north of Spokane. That was in the early 90s and even then they were talking about making all of Spokane county a no shoot zone. It had nice Whitetail, some Mulies, and some elk. Grouse hunting was fun too. Lots of national forest up north. My favorite trout lake was up near kettle falls. Head west toward dry falls and there used to be great waterfowl, and upland game on public lands over there. Great bass fishing in the area too. No state income tax, really high sales tax, and if you own your own business they expect you to report out of state purchases so you can pay the sales tax on them. At least that is how it was in the 90s.

 

[chasewright15]

Turkey is about as good as anywhere from my experience. Obviously it’s relative but the big game hunting is not good. But with that said there is great whitetail numbers and if you work really hard you can find elk in the jungles up in the northeast. Probably some of the hardest public land elk hunting in the country tho. The numbers back that up. The lakes and fishing is awesome. Such a great area for lake life. Love living here and have for 25 years, but nothing world class about the hunting.


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[wesGiddingshunt]

Is there much public duck hunting over water or is it a corn field type thing. I’ve been to cabelas in post falls a few times, looked like lots of good county.

There’s more waterfowl hunting then they tell you. Within a couple hours you’ll find some good duck hunting. Without telling you specific towns or spots if you ever move I could let you know of some good areas

 

[willfrye027]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. My wife definitely appreciates this thread lol.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Just got back from there on a turkey hunt. Absolutely loved Spokane/north Idaho! Plenty of turkey and other wildlife. Never thought I'd see my first moose right close to where I killed a turkey. I'm sure its different for big game, but hunting pressure for turkey was minimal compared to the eastern U.S.

 

[willfrye027]

Just got back from there on a turkey hunt. Absolutely loved Spokane/north Idaho! Plenty of turkey and other wildlife. Never thought I'd see my first moose right close to where I killed a turkey. I'm sure its different for big game, but hunting pressure for turkey was minimal compared to the eastern U.S.

Public land? I would probably have some access to private with family connections, but I always prefer public. Also are they merriams up there or rios? Not only is turkey season super popular back here, I really think easterns are incredibly difficult compared to the western birds ive chased. Would be nice to hunt birds that are semi-interested in coming in.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Public land? I would probably have some access to private with family connections, but I always prefer public. Also are they merriams up there or rios? Not only is turkey season super popular back here, I really think easterns are incredibly difficult compared to the western birds ive chased. Would be nice to hunt birds that are semi-interested in coming in.

Yup, public. I was hunting Merriam's north of Spokane but there are rios west of south of town.