Rory McCallum of Mount Vernon, Wash., hunted Camas Butte in the Fossil Unit for his Oregon 6x6. Photo courtesy of Battle Creek Outfitters.

Last season's weather patterns seemed to favor the elk more than the hunters. Snow fell early on the high country, but it melted and winter white came late to many units. The good news is post-season elk escapement was good and winter did not put undue stress on most herds. That bodes well for the coming season for hunters in both Washington and Oregon.

From the rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula to the sagebrush steppe, an elk hunt in the Pacific Northwest offers a unique experience. Roosevelt elk inhabit the coastal forests to the east slope of the Cascades. Rocky Mountain elk live in the drier climes from the mountains to the eastern borders.

Here is the 2009 Washington-Oregon Game & Fish forecast for the Pacific Northwest's best elk hunting. We've done our research: We'll tell you which hunts offer the most animals, and where you have the best chance at tying your tag on a trophy. All you have to do is get out and scout!

WASHINGTON

Game managers recognize 10 main elk herds in Washington State: the Yakima, Selkirk, Blue Mountain, Colockum, North Cascades, North Rainier, South Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Willapa Hills and Olympic herds. Statewide, elk populations are estimated at between 55,000 and 60,000 animals. Overall harvest hovers between 10 and 11 percent. Western Washington

Jim Mansfield, an outfitter from Forks, guided hunters in archery, muzzleloader and rifle seasons last year. One nice 5x4 bull fell to an archer on the fifth day of the season, and a muzzleloader hunter tagged a 4x3 bull at a river crossing. But it was the story of last year's November rifle hunt that Mansfield loves to tell.

Tim Ridout found his place at the river's edge before daylight. About 20 minutes after dawn, he could hear the herd, branches breaking as they came on the run, pushed by hunters on the other side of the river. The elk hit the river all grouped together, with a 4x4 herd bull in the middle of the bunch. Swept down by the current, they spread out and the bull separated from the cows on the near bank.

That was the moment the hunter had waited for. As the bull climbed out of the water, he shot. At the impact, the bull lost his footing, fell back into the river and began to float away. The hunter jumped into the river and tried to pull the still-thrashing bull back to shore, to no avail. The river swept the hunter and the hunted downstream.

Ridout managed to swim, pull and tug the bull to the opposite shore, 120 yards downstream, much to the delight of the hunter that had pushed the elk out of the woods. A phone call to Mansfield initiated the rescue by drift boat. They loaded the elk into the boat for the float out and Ridout had earned a new name -- "One Who Swims With Elk."

Mansfield's river hunt illustrates how the thick brush hides the elk but makes them easy to pattern. Locate trails into escape cover, and then set up in a downwind stand. Where the river allows access to public lands, use waders or a boat to locate elk.

Mansfield said that there are many elk in his area and many hunters. In Clallam and Jefferson counties, nine tribes have treaty rights, which allow them to hunt before the opener.

For the best hunting in northwest Washington, probe the Peninsula's Wynoochee River watershed, the upper Humptulips, the Hoh, the upper Quinault and Bear rivers. To the south, river and bay access opens elk hunting opportunity in and around Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay.

West of Mount Rainier, Pierce County is good elk country, but it's heavily hunted by tribal members. Grays Harbor and Pacific counties have good numbers. In Thurston County, landowners fight elk damage on agricultural land. Timber companies may limit vehicle access, but foot traffic and bicycles are allowed.