This week's weather will be a boon for the deer hunting opener this Saturday.

While the overall state of deer populations is a mixed bag, the cool, wet weather and damp underbrush should contribute to good hunting conditions.

Overall, hunters had a decent season last fall, according to Dave Ware, a state Fish and Wildlife game manager, and that should be the case this year as well.

Last year, during the general hunting season, 122,272 deer tags were purchased with 98,776 hunters harvesting 23,991 deer (22,553 were antlered) for a success rate of 24.3 percent.

"The snowpack didn't have much of an impact on survival, but the wet spring should have produced ample forage," Ware said. "I'm speculating that fawn numbers should have improved this year, but that won't be known until next year."

In southeastern slopes of the Cascades, around Yakima and Ellensburg, the deer numbers are down and it's not an attractive place to go hunting.

In the central part of the Columbia Basin, which is mostly private lands, deer populations are good.

"One of the big benefits in the Columbia Basin is the Conservation Reserve Program (which has helped wildlife populations under stress due to the loss of habitat)," Ware said.

Hunters in the Blue Mountain area should do pretty well for deer, although it might be down a bit this year compared to past years.

In northeastern Washington, whitetail deer populations are still down, which includes Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry counties.

In Central Washington, deer populations are holding up fairly well in Douglas, Okanogan and Chelan counties, although the southeastern portion deer population remains down.

"The Chelan and Okanogan areas should do well," Ware said.

In southwestern Washington, the cold, wet winter and spring could lower hunting success in some areas, but deer populations remain stable at lower elevations.