Thanks everyone for the help. As suggested, I think I'll head over and knock on some doors. There's also a link on the WDFW site that shows you the location of the feel-free-to-hunt areas in those units. Not many of them, but at least worth a drive by. BTW, I hunted the breaks of the Snake in the Almota unit a few years back - looking back on it, I don't recall seeing any whities in the breaks, just muleys, as suggested by a few of you. Probably makes the boat idea a bad one, although that sure would be fun to do for muleys sometime.

WSU - good thought on the elk. I know there aren't a ton over there, but I've seen a few in the Mayview unit and heard there are some around Colfax. Wouldn't that be a sweet double - get my deer with the rifle then find a cow with the bow? Just looked at the dates though, rifle elk just closed over there on the 5th. I'm archery elk anyway this year, and most of the palouse is AHE only for late archery elk.