Due to multiple events under my control, I made a trip to LM this past weekend. Muley season doesn't open until this coming weekend, but I figured I'd take a crack at some panhandle whitetails while enjoying cooler temps than any of my other hunt spots. It was 30 degrees sat morning with a nice layer of ice inside and outside my tent.

Couple pics

View of lake from #3


Inside Evans


Did almost 15 miles... Only glassed up 4 muley does, 2 whitetail does, and 2 fat coyotes. Lots of feed still up top. Horrendous conditions on low trail.

I also picked up my 2015 buck From the taxi today. Lookin forward to the next trip.

You have it to yourself?

I'm heading up Thursday evening. Cold front blowing through that night, with highs in the 50's on Sat/Sun, and lows in the mid-20's to low-30's. Should be pretty good conditions, but the moon is going to suck.

Were the cattails really thick, or was the ground swampy/mucky? Or both? I've had to bust salt cedar and cattails a few times, and it isn't fun.

shaynew1 said:

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You have it to yourself?

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I did... And it was glorious.

Yes that sounds pretty dang awesome. Except the ice part.

Log said:

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I'm heading up Thursday evening. Cold front blowing through that night, with highs in the 50's on Sat/Sun, and lows in the mid-20's to low-30's. Should be pretty good conditions, but the moon is going to suck.

Were the cattails really thick, or was the ground swampy/mucky? Or both? I've had to bust salt cedar and cattails a few times, and it isn't fun.

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Oh Yeah, I've been watching the weather. Should be really good.

Ground was fine. The cattails were super thick, but worse than that is all the other weedy vegetation that has taken over. It was stupid. Now, I'll admit I pulled a real dumbass move and packed in Friday nite a bit before 8pm.

Long story short, I finally made it to the mouth of #2 around 11.30... Set up camp and hit the hay just after midnite. (I packed my buck out in about an hour 40 from #3 last year.)

I Was wore the hell out so my morning start was pretty casual. It was a pretty laid back and casual trip overall. Hit some areas Ive never been too and just enjoyed the solitude.

Good luck Log. I'm trying to get a buddy of mine to go later in the season. I'll probably go solo if he backs out. Prob hunting San Angelo this weekend.

I'm thinking I may head up there right after Thanksgiving and hunt that weekend. I may backpack in this time. I've only been to Meredith twice and I've never made it to Evans. I've been from 1-4 and Martin's, but never Evans.

After Colorado this year, this is looking appealing to me again.

Love the Lake Meredith threads.

Isn't is amazing what an extra 40 ft of water will do for a lake?

Post a pic of your buck back from Taxi

BurrOak said:

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I'm thinking I may head up there right after Thanksgiving and hunt that weekend. I may backpack in this time. I've only been to Meredith twice and I've never made it to Evans. I've been from 1-4 and Martin's, but never Evans.

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Using plum creek ramp as a starting point, I think Evans is the 4th canyon, unless you're talking about coming in from blue west,

Evans is the 5th.

ursusguy said:

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After Colorado this year, this is looking appealing to me again.

Love the Lake Meredith threads.

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You, I, Log, and Lung blood should all do a Mulie / whitetail hunt at Meridith next year.

Evan's is the 5th. There's this little dinky box canyon that's #3 and is easy to not count. It's tiny compared to the others.

Log said:

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Evan's is the 5th. There's this little dinky box canyon that's #3 and is easy to not count. It's tiny compared to the others.

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And if I remember correctly that's where our buddy Lungblood killed his huge muley...in rinky dinky canyon #3.

For the first time since my initial trip in 2011 I won't be able to make it this year.

Be sure and post your pictures and stories though dammit!

We had this same discussion last year and I still don't know which one I'm missing. I shot my buck in the small canyon below Evans... Or what I think is Evans. What I'm calling Evans is the next canyon past #3... A long canyon with a dog leg that goes back to the fence. Maybe that's not Evans. Maybe my 3 is not 3.

At any rate, I'm gonna try to hang my mount today and get a pic. Any potlicker can get lucky and kill a nice deer once... I'd like to do it over and again.

I've started reading Robby Denning's book "Hunting Big Mule Deer: How to take the best buck of your life". He seems to be the modern day Kirt Darner (minus the illegal activities, as far as I'm aware). He's one of the owners of rokslide and post there quite often.

Are pack animals allowed to ride throughout the park to pack game out? Or do hunters have to pack their quarry out on foot?

To be accurate, it's technically a national recreation area (NRA). The answer to your question is yes, but pack horses aren't gonna do anybody much good this year imo... Plus, Log will give you dirty looks if he sees you on a hoss.

I think what you are calling Evans is actually the 4th canyon. Its a big canyon. Evans even more so.

Lungblood said:

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Any potlicker can get lucky and kill a nice deer once...

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And from then on you can happily shoot any scrub that walks out. #bigbodiescanttrophyhunt

Why wouldn't they do any one any good this year? Is the ground too boggy to ride a horse?

Forgive my ignorance, just trying to figure out why they wouldn't be good for packing a big muley out of the back/bottom of a deep canyon instead of packing it out on your back.

do you guys see a lot of ducks out there? are they more on the main lake or the marsh area where the river enters the lake?

The mouths of those canyon bottoms have a metric crap ton of washed out salt cedar skeletons plus chest high loose and standing tumble/rag/broom weed.

I also saw cracks in the ground on the low "trail" (haha) big enough to catch a softball and deep enough to devour it.

I'm not saying you couldn't bust through it all on horseback, but I think it's a bad idea. I don't intend to use the lowland "trail" next time. It was that bad.

Ragoo said:

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do you guys see a lot of ducks out there? are they more on the main lake or the marsh area where the river enters the lake?

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I'm never looking for ducks but I heard a lot of shotgunning last weekend. Could be quail hunters I guess but I assumed it to be duck hunters.

I hate aholes in wall tents and on horses at LM. Big, mountainous country I'm fine with, big while LM is big, a couple of people on horses and camped in the wrong place can eff things up for everybody else. You can't ride through that area without blowing everything out of the country. Packing one out on a horse I'm fine with, but covering ground on one and then pot shotting at anything legal that moves is piss poor etiquette.

If anyone wants topo maps, shoot me an email and I'll send what I have once I'm back.

I'm not talking about riding all over the place and hunting from horseback. I was mainly just talking about using a horse to pack an animal back to my pickup after taking one.

This morning its 30* in Amarillo which generally is 3-4 degrees warmer than our farm a couple miles north of LM.

Taint ticklin chilly

Well, the horse people are here. Ran into three hunters who know them and said they've already been riding the whole place all week. They're moving camp to the 4th canyon this afternoon.

They're probably hired hands of the private ranches to the west... Or George Soros sponsored.

Bummer man.

Maybe try Martins?

I guess I'll be making the short fifteen minute drive over there in the morning to hunt. I'm sure it'll look like a pumpkin patch, but good luck to everyone out there

I'm assuming no news is bad news...?

Was just thinking the same thing.

Any info at all, Log? Im headed up there Thursday morning.