Laguna Atascosa 2021

[RGV Hunter]

I got drawn for 12/17 -12/21. I hope I can make it. I am getting orthoscopic surgery on my left knee today.

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[Tiburon1]

areas that were not in a marsh/sand flats are high in grass. I walked about 250 yards from a road to get to an opening on google maps. the path looked like mesquite and sand/dirt...wrong it was almost inpenetrateable.

I don't know what will knock the grass down. Will rain more between now and the hunts. The little canals had water in them making it hard to scout when you hit a wall(I was not gonna wade through that crap)

All in all, what may look like broken mesquite and easy to walk is really thick grass in the mesquite.

They started mowing, but have a lot to go. Spreading them thorns everywhere

It's bad. I was in Parker Lake on Saturday morning (north west side of Horse Head in unit 5) and watched a bull walk on the edge of the brush. The majority of the time all you could see was the top of his back, neck, and head. Every now and then there would be an opening where the middle of his mid section would be exposed but if you are on the ground you would be predominately shooting through grass.
We got a little rain last week and the mosquitos are a little bad right now too. It's going to be super sporty until we get a really good frost to knock the grass down.

[Huntindad]

I am hunting the first hunt. Doubt there will be a freeze by then. I'll be hauling my tripod down there.

[BigRed323]

Freeze will be the only thing to knock it down.

Our place in Raymondville has chest high grass through the place

[solocam_aggie]

Anyone stay at the Port Isla Inn in Port Isabel? Priced right and had a kitchen, but reviews werent the best.

[Huntindad]

I've stayed here a few times. It is cheap & basic. Full kitchen, but no utinsils/pots/pans. It is my goto place when staying s few days or less. the 2 bed option is 1 bed in bedroom and on bed in living area. Takes up a lot of room. Rather sleep on couch if need be.

Place has 1 washer/dryer

it is not fancy by any stretch, but is in good location.

[surso]

I’m staying there too for the Nov 12th hunt. 1st time staying there, but the price and location seemed good enough for me. I got the 2 bed room, so if anyone needs a place to stay and wants to share some cost, it will be available.


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[Huntindad]

The Dominoes pizza across the street is good.

[RibcageX]

Drawn for last rifle hunt, 1/14 - 1/16. Never been there before. Couple of questions please..... 1. Per the hunt map included with permit it appears we can park along the long road that parallels the area.. is this correct ? 2. I noticed two bridges over the channel. Are these the only crossings from the south side to the north side? Or does low tides open up shallow crossable spots? 3. If you stay in Port Isabel, how long of a drive to get from town to the end of the south road where it dead ends into unit 5 ? 4. I watched a orientation video from last year that mentioned "the red gate", where is this gate? 5. I am an older fella, and move slow. I was thinking about waddling a mile or two and sitting on a chair in hopes the younger mobile whipper-snappers would chase something by me. I can't pedal a bike and don't own an e-bike. Would this thinking be total crap or do I have a chance ? Thanks for any information, and feel free to offer any more. I really would appreciate it.

[RibcageX]

Question 6. Is cell phone service good throughout the area? 7. It show to be a three day hunt... is that 3 full days or Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning?
I swear I'll eventually stop asking questions....

[RichExotics10]

Drawn for last rifle hunt, 1/14 - 1/16. Never been there before. Couple of questions please..... 1. Per the hunt map included with permit it appears we can park along the long road that parallels the area.. is this correct ? 2. I noticed two bridges over the channel. Are these the only crossings from the south side to the north side? Or does low tides open up shallow crossable spots? 3. If you stay in Port Isabel, how long of a drive to get from town to the end of the south road where it dead ends into unit 5 ? 4. I watched a orientation video from last year that mentioned "the red gate", where is this gate? 5. I am an older fella, and move slow. I was thinking about waddling a mile or two and sitting on a chair in hopes the younger mobile whipper-snappers would chase something by me. I can't pedal a bike and don't own an e-bike. Would this thinking be total crap or do I have a chance ? Thanks for any information, and feel free to offer any more. I really would appreciate it.

Port soap to the front gate I would say 20-25 mins. From the front of the park to the gate in unit 5 it takes 35-40 mins due to the speed limit.

Yes you can park along that road and go in anywhere you please.

Without a bike I would stay close to the vehicle or main road as possible if you are not in the best shape. FYI the wardens will help you, I can assure you they enjoy this hunt and helping people.

Cell phone service is fine and if something were to go wrong, help would come by or someone would most likely hear you.


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[FlyGuyy]

Drawn for last rifle hunt, 1/14 - 1/16. Never been there before. Couple of questions please..... 1. Per the hunt map included with permit it appears we can park along the long road that parallels the area.. is this correct ? 2. I noticed two bridges over the channel. Are these the only crossings from the south side to the north side? Or does low tides open up shallow crossable spots? 3. If you stay in Port Isabel, how long of a drive to get from town to the end of the south road where it dead ends into unit 5 ? 4. I watched a orientation video from last year that mentioned "the red gate", where is this gate? 5. I am an older fella, and move slow. I was thinking about waddling a mile or two and sitting on a chair in hopes the younger mobile whipper-snappers would chase something by me. I can't pedal a bike and don't own an e-bike. Would this thinking be total crap or do I have a chance ? Thanks for any information, and feel free to offer any more. I really would appreciate it.

RibcageX,

Congrats on drawing that tag! This is an amazing place that most come to love despite the challenges, maybe even because of the challenges.

That “Red Gate” might be the gate where the road turns north. There is a gate there and it seems like I recall it being red, but it’s usually open.

Those two bridges are the only two places to safely cross over to the west side (unit 3) from the main road. They do have a number of gators out there so I wouldn’t recommend wading across any water if you don’t have to.

I don’t know exactly from port Isabel, but be prepared that it takes about 45 minutes to make the drive from the main turn off of FM 106. The speed limit is extremely low on the black top from there to the main gate/ park entrance, and then it’s a slow speed from there to the dead end. I wish it was a faster drive, but vehicles take out more ocelots than anything else; and protecting ocelots is the main objective of this reserve. It’s the last remaining holdout for those cool cats, so the annoying speed limits are just a part of the experience.

I think you will do fine if you can walk a mile or two off the road. You may not need to even go that far. You have a good plan there.

From what I remember cell service is decent in most areas.

Good luck to you on your hunt! Feel free to PM me if think of anything else to ask.


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[RibcageX]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help. I might take you up on PM-ing you, after I accumulate a few more questions. Between you two and old threads, I feel a lot better and even more excited for this hunt. Again, thanks a ton.

[RGV Hunter]

It rained pretry hard yesterday. The Atascosa will be flooded in many areas where it is normally dry.

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[gemini2759]

It rained pretry hard yesterday. The Atascosa will be flooded in many areas where it is normally dry.

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You ain't lying. Had to drive 35 mph on fm510 coming back from San Benito to port Isabel yesterday late afternoon. It was brutal.

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