Lake amistad exotics

[Gheft]

Hello, I am planning a hunting trip to lake amistad national refuge for January, has anyone hunted there before? What all is available, I have read some places that there are are axis deer and blackbuck and then I have also read that there are none, what is the most effective type of hunting, treestand, ground blind, or stalking? Where are the hunters generally fewest? Any tips, tricks of info is greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[dhmc03]

Where are you from? I ask only to help. Its deep South Texas. Very rough country.

EVERYTHING will have thorns and tear at your clothes. And bite.

But it’s beautiful.

Hilly, rocky, deep ravines and canyons.

Wont need a tree stand - no trees other than Mesquite’s. Tons of cactus, white brush, yucca, cat claw, purple sage... rattlesnakes. You will absolutely need to be careful of illegals, you are literally on the border.

There are whitetail. Javelina. Some hogs perhaps. I cant say for sure on axis but down the road at our place there are. Occasionally aoudad. Again, Ive never hunted there this is based on my experience in the vicinity.

Cold in Texas is different than cold in Colorado. More humidity makes 30 feel much colder. It can get in the teens on a clear night, easy. Then again it could also be 90. Just depends.

Its gorgeous in its own way. Hope you enjoy it, hope this helps.

 

[Gheft]

Thanks for the advice, I call north central Arkansas home, but have hunted all across the state, never texas though, we have big hills and piles of trees. That sounds scary and really exciting at the same time, what kind of clothes do you wear that wont get torn all apart? We will certainly be careful and keep an eye out for illegals

 

[dhmc03]

Carhartt pants are tough as nails... but loud.

Plain old cotton academy camo does ok... but of course if real cold cotton is not your friend.

If your gonna wear western active brands (sitka, kuiu) just wear toughest you can and know they will get a bit torn up maybe.

 

[Fitzwho]

There are aoudad and mouflon sheep. I would expect to see more sheep than axis and blackbuck. But there are deer and javelinas as well. It will be all spot and stock or setting up on an ambush point. Archery only.

Hunting - Amistad National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[Coupe de Gras]

I have seen blackbuck there, haven't seen axis, but I haven't been there in 7 years either and I was hunting ducks when I was last there. Spot and stalk will be tough. Ambush points would be best if you can find a heavy game trail. The mesquite is thicker than you think. I always wore regular blue jeans and some carhartt overalls they protected me from all the thorns. Ditto on what dhmc03 said about the weather.

 

[Gheft]

Ok thanks guys il see what I can do

 

[jspradley]

Don't shoot the goats! lol

 

[Gheft]

Ok, if I wanted to hunt deer is the general hunting license enough or do I need to buy special deer tags? And what about hogs and havelinas? Thanks for you input

 

[jspradley]

Ok, if I wanted to hunt deer is the general hunting license enough or do I need to buy special deer tags? And what about hogs and havelinas? Thanks for you input

Amistad is a little different than the normal rules

https://www.nps.gov/amis/planyourvisit/hunting-regulations-2019-2020.htm

 

[Gulfgoose]

There's some good deer that roam that area as well. Believe they missed the anthrax outbreak this year.
As mentioned before, illegals and coyotes (human smugglers) could be a real issue to watch. If one approaches you, especially a woman, there's usually more waiting in the brush. They try that trick on our place in Victoria. Your best bet is to not be seen at all. Leave some water and food in your truck bed, hopefully to deter them from breaking in or stealing it, happens often. Not trying to scare you at all but the border is a serious issue, don't let the media lie to you.

Beautiful and harsh country though. Plus the lake has some stud bass in it.

 

[Newtosavage]

Every time an Amistad thread comes up, it's all I can do to not go full-on curmudgeon and tell everyone how good it was "back in the day" when camping was free and we would see 40+ deer every day and you could spot and stalk whitetails all day, just like you would hunt mule deer.

Unfortunately for newer Amistad hunters, the gig is up and there is more information out there about every single hunting unit than you can read in a week. There used to be a good unit there for Mouflon sheep, with some nice rams in it, until everyone figured out which one it was, where to go and how to hunt them. You might get lucky and find a herd in that unit, but expect them to all run for the corner onto private property as soon as they see you.

I don't want to sound too discouraging because it's still one of the coolest public land hunts in the state. Be sure you know the rules (they don't follow state regs exactly) and play by them because the NPS rangers write expensive tickets and you can lose your hunting privileges.

If you want to know how to pull off a backcountry camping hunt there, message me. It is allowed within the rules but the NPS doesn't promote that fact (for good reason).

As for the illegal issue, I have not encountered a single illegal in all the trips I've made out there to any of the hunt areas. Not even once. Not saying they aren't there, but I think the concern is either way overblown or I've just gotten lucky. Just like anywhere else, keep your head up. I know some places in the NF in East Texas that concern me a lot more.

Good luck.

 

[Gheft]

Hey guys thanks for the input, I just got home from hunting Lake Amistad, I got a mouflon ram on one of the hunt areas, and an aoudad ewe on some private land I got permission to hunt on. All in all it was fun, lots of hard work, beautiful country and wicked thorns. We saw 1 aoudad on the hunt areas but that was it, (we didnt go to number 4), we'll be back next year to try our hands at hunting the deer.

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[Tradguy]

Fantastic! Nice job

 

[mrbillbrown]

Congrats. We‘ve floated the Devils River a couple of times and never thought about hunting around it. Tough country and must’ve been an awesome hunt.

 

[jspradley]

Dang thats a monster mouflon! Congrats!

 

[MikeG]

That's a great ram, congrats!

 

[bowhuntrben]

Great job..looks like a blast!

 

[Hoythunter1988]

Hey guys thanks for the input, I just got home from hunting Lake Amistad, I got a mouflon ram on one of the hunt areas, and an aoudad ewe on some private land I got permission to hunt on. All in all it was fun, lots of hard work, beautiful country and wicked thorns. We saw 1 aoudad on the hunt areas but that was it, (we didnt go to number 4), we'll be back next year to try our hands at hunting the deer.

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Have you been back in recent years? I was just out in Unit 5 this weekend and seen a truck with Arkansas plates lol wondered if it was you!

 

[Gheft]

Have you been back in recent years? I was just out in Unit 5 this weekend and seen a truck with Arkansas plates lol wondered if it was you!

Yeah that's me, lol did you see any sheep while you were out here?

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