Big Lake Bottom WMA

[tdwinklr]

This is my favorite place to draw archery. It can be a tough hunt since it is all pretty much the same topography. there are some big deer out there. I can attest to that from about 60 yards. If it is wet you want four wheels and serious 4wd and good mud tires on an atv. A winch or come-along is a good idea. You don't want to be walking 3 miles back to camp to get it. Don't ask. They run this hunt relaxed and very well. I usually hunt the first week and I'm going down to see if there are standby spots this year. I haven't had a lot of success with corn but I know other have.

I've hunted this place for several years now. There are better draws but this is still my favorite.

Look up last years topic for BLB. I've posted some information there.

This year, I'm just going to take my saddle and still hunt north to south until I see some promising sign. I'm actually more interested in pigs but I won't pass up a good deer.

Note the antler restrictions are 15" there (or were last year). They want you to shoot mature deer only. I passed on one last year that was close. A 15" deer is nothing to sneeze at.

Always wondered about this hunt. Have hunted several times at Richland Creek North with my boys on youth hunts and always saw lots of deer. Is this pretty similar?

[Phorizt]

Always wondered about this hunt. Have hunted several times at Richland Creek North with my boys on youth hunts and always saw lots of deer. Is this pretty similar?

I would say terrain/vegetation (flat bottomland w thick forest) is much more like Richland Creek South except w lower deer numbers. That is from my experience hunting RC and BLB but i havent spent nearly as much time at BLB.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HuntorFish]

Well....anyone from the last few hunts have any success?? I'm headed down there in one week.

Will you be camping? I am sure we will see you there. Feel free to say hi. Black all terrain GMC Sierra with atvs and our group of 4 will be camping. Just got back from a successful Colorado elk hunt so looking forward to hunting some whitetail for the first time this season. Have hunted BLB a few times in the past and have enjoyed it except for the flooded years.

[Oldskool67]

Unfortunately I was only able to hunt the opening weekend.

I had 8 bucks on camera from the pre scouting. I chose to hunt where I was seeing all the bucks and sign, even though it was fairly close to a main trail. Didn’t realize people would be driving around on their ATVs during the prime hunting times. It sounded like a NASCAR race after the sun was up for only an hour or so. Anyways that’s my bad for not hiking in farther and letting them push the deer to me.

There are big deer there. There was so much sign and acorns it actually made it a little harder to pick a spot. If I could do it again I would have tried to pattern the other hunters better, especially the ones who seemed to keep moving on ATVs. I would love to draw that spot again. Good luck to everyone

[TheSchwartz]

Will you be camping? I am sure we will see you there. Feel free to say hi. Black all terrain GMC Sierra with atvs and our group of 4 will be camping. Just got back from a successful Colorado elk hunt so looking forward to hunting some whitetail for the first time this season. Have hunted BLB a few times in the past and have enjoyed it except for the flooded years.

Yup I'll be camping in the shell of my Tundra for the weekend. I'll be bringing a 4-wheeler or side by side (need to measure the side by side). I'll come introduce myself for sure. The ATV crowd should have a pow wow and maybe we can split up so we're not bumping into each other out there!

[Beargrasstx]

Unfortunately I was only able to hunt the opening weekend.

I had 8 bucks on camera from the pre scouting. I chose to hunt where I was seeing all the bucks and sign, even though it was fairly close to a main trail. Didn’t realize people would be driving around on their ATVs during the prime hunting times. It sounded like a NASCAR race after the sun was up for only an hour or so. Anyways that’s my bad for not hiking in farther and letting them push the deer to me.

There are big deer there. There was so much sign and acorns it actually made it a little harder to pick a spot. If I could do it again I would have tried to pattern the other hunters better, especially the ones who seemed to keep moving on ATVs. I would love to draw that spot again. Good luck to everyone

They let people put up cameras days, weeks before your specific hunt orientation day to prescout?

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Oldskool67]

[QUOTE=Beargrasstx;16482690]They let people put up cameras days, weeks before your specific hunt orientation day to prescout?

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

I put up a camera the night before the season opener on the orientation day. During the off season the area is open to the public for walk in only. So I scouted about three weeks before the opener and saw bucks. Not sure once the season started if it’s only open to the drawn hunters during their hunt dates. I would call them.

[Katch66]

Any body having any luck?

[HuntorFish]

Any body having any luck?

The bucks were rutting hard Saturday and Sunday. Ended up seeing atleast 10 different bucks kind of lost count. Lots of smaller six and eight points saw a few decent bucks and had a good shot at one but ended up letting him pass. Had a really nice 10 pointer I caught on camera that I was hoping would show up. Saturday morning had two doe being chased by five bucks and Sunday late morning had a doe being chased by seven bucks. Running all over the place grunting, fighting, etc. I rattled in a few too. Overall fun time and all the action kept things interesting.

[Possum9]

Was anything killed over the weekend?

[HuntorFish]

Was anything killed over the weekend?

I think one smaller buck. I think it was like 17-18 deer killed so far through all hunts but the majority were does.

[TheSchwartz]

The bucks were rutting hard Saturday and Sunday. Ended up seeing atleast 10 different bucks kind of lost count. Lots of smaller six and eight points saw a few decent bucks and had a good shot at one but ended up letting him pass. Had a really nice 10 pointer I caught on camera that I was hoping would show up. Saturday morning had two doe being chased by five bucks and Sunday late morning had a doe being chased by seven bucks. Running all over the place grunting, fighting, etc. I rattled in a few too. Overall fun time and all the action kept things interesting.

Same story as HuntorFish. Lots of bucks chasing does. Missed an opportunity at a nice one. Wasn't ready. Had a shot at another one, but he was borderline, so I didn't take it. Lots of action. Probably gonna head back this weekend.

[TheSchwartz]

Y’all. I got so close, so many times. Saw a bunch of nice mature bucks. Made some mistakes, had some bad luck. Didn’t get it done. If anyone is headed out for any of the remaining dates, shoot me a pm. I don’t mind helping out.

[ctom87]

Any surefire methods of making sure they are 15"?

Also, let's say since I am a bad judge of distance... I shoot 14.5". Is that illegal here or is that a rule that you get kicked out if broken?

[Beargrasstx]

Any surefire methods of making sure they are 15"?

Also, let's say since I am a bad judge of distance... I shoot 14.5". Is that illegal here or is that a rule that you get kicked out if broken?

They aren't that strict