kennyazman

i finally drew an antelope tag!! first time ive been drawn so im really excited. i got the second achery hunt in 19a and i know very little about this unit. im planning on taking quite a few trips up there between now and my hunt since its not too far of a drive from wickenburg. I know that a lot of the unit is private property, so i could use some clarification. Do i need to get permission to hunt the fain ranch area? if so, how do i go about doing that? What kind of advice do you guys have for me? I know that there are lots of techniques for archery antelope and im willing to try anything from sitting tanks, to spot and stalk and probably all kinds of other crazy techniques. Any advice would be appreciated. I really want to be as prepared for this hunt as i can be because we all know how long it can be before i get another chance at an antelope. thanks.

congrats on the tag KAM. 3 times in 15 years isnt too bad. did you take any other than the one you posted from the 90's?

I just got back from our camping trip to knoll lake. We usually go to big lake every year but since we wernt allowed to go, I had to look for an alternative. I have to say, it just wasnt the same. The lake itself was beautiful, but the forest area was real dusty and dry. Every time a gust of wind came by we got dust all over us. It was still nice to get away from the heat for a weekend and catch some trout. I couldnt figure out the trout during the day but every evening right at sunset I limited out in like 45 minutes using a black rooster tail from shore. That was a ton of fun. Overall my experience with the lake was great and if it wasnt so dry the camping probably would have been good too. If nothing else i found a good plan B to big lake and i definately recommend this lake for someone who has not been there. Just be prepared for a long dirt road drive(about 29 miles!). Sorry we didnt really take to many pics.

Very Cool. way to go! Apparently thats a great way to lose weight.

Got mine too! Can't wait for the hunt.

my brother in law is selling a flat bed trailer. its got new paint, new tires, new wiring harness, and new flooring. its a 6'X 12'. no pics yet but this thing is nice. perminent registration. His name is Ben call him 928-231-7663 he can probably send you some pics. $1200 OBO.

Just wondering if any one had any idea when they plan on opening the road to big lake/crescent lake. i believe that is the 273 rd. I saw on biglakeaz.com that they are going to try to have the store open on the 27th so they should have the road open before that right? i don't know i guess im just being optomistic. I was originally planning on going the 24th, but that was before the fire. If they dont open the road what do you guys think would be the next best alternate to big lake as far as camping/fishing with the family in the high country?

Im looking to buy a little aluminum fishing boat for fishing the trout lakes in the high country this summer. preferably with a trolling motor and trailer but not a must. let me know what you guys have. i dont want to spend much.

That looks so cool! I love the habitat.

Thats amazing news!! Im so happy to hear that. They said the store will be open on the 26th but do you think they will open the road before then? I was originally planning a trip for the 24th before this fire happened now i am wondering if we might actually be able to go still.

check out biglakeaz.com there is an update from them. pretty good news. they say minimum fire damage to the recreation area and all structures are still standing. I'm so happy to hear this. They also say they will open the lake back up when they let the road open again. Not sure how soon that will be though.

Here is me and my oldest out on the boat getting ready to catch some trout here is a pic of my dad with my youngest boy. i think they are catching crawdads.

biglakejake i really feel the same way you do about big lake. This has been my favorite place in the world since i was just a little boy. my dad has been taking me there every year and i am now doing the same with my family. we are planning our annual trip for the end of this month, i really am praying that this fire leaves our precious big lake alone. I am finding a hard time getting any updates about the path of the fire but i keep looking at the big lake website and their facebook page under the information center. so far they say the store and the main campgrounds have not been touched. I'm hoping for even better than that since we normally camp other places than the main campgrounds. This is really hard on me(harder than i thought it would be). I will look for some of our pictures to post of our big lake trips. I know its not like i have a home that i am in danger of loosing like i know some of you guys have but i just cant help but feel like I am loosing something here. this just sucks. I hope this all ends soon and none of you guys lose any of your beautiful homes that you have posted on similar threads.

thanks for the update standman

I'm finding myself a lot more upset about this situation than i thought i would be. I am terribly sorry for those with their homes in danger. Its just so upsetting to think about the most beautiful place that ive ever been to burning down as I type this. I just dont believe it.

wow!! that really looks like fun. good job dad. I am really looking forward to my boys doing just the same at big lake at the end of the month on our annual trip. Im just so nervous right now about the fire going through that area. I really hope it doesnt go through big lake, it is has been my favorite place in the world since I was a little kid. I just read on another post that it went through big lake. I just dont want to believe that right now.

thanks red rabbit.

is there anywhere you can look for a map of the progress of the fire? I'm just curious where the fire has passed through so far. this is really sad. the white mountains is my favorite place to vacation in the summer, especially big lake. Lots of memories as a kid.

looks great. what a trophy! I would love to have a velvet buck like that.

Too cool! gotta love those babies. congrats!

127 3/8.

any news on the map yet? i have the same hunt and i am still waiting to see if that map comes.

I've always done well at kaibab lake, fishing the bottom with power bait and/or night crawlers. should catch some trout. I hope you guys have fun wherever you decide to go.

im watching a pretty cool show on the pursuit channel called broadhead science. the guy does a bunch of differant tests with differant broadheads and compares the results. Its totally promoting the swhacker broadheads. I myself am a little skeptical but i have to admit this show is starting to sell me a little on them. I am new to archery hunting as well, and shot my first deer this past january with magnus stinger 4 blades and i couldnt have asked for better results, but I am open to something better. I have an archery antelope hunt coming up in august, and an archery cow elk in september, I have the same quistions about broadheads, and the swhackers actually look pretty good according to the tests on this show. but for some reason i have a bad feeling about mechanicals as oppose to fixed blades.

sounds great to me. count me in.