nateNAU

So we barley made it though the tunnel fire and this one comes right on it's heals. We were evacuated about noon today. We are lucky my parents live about 3 miles away so we have a place to stay but a lot are no so lucky. The tunnel fire got about 25 homes I think and this has the potential to do the same PXL_20220612_211649374_TS.mp4

Out of the tank was no problem. There was water up to the top. Getting it up in the truck was another question. It was about all I could do to not have a hernia. I would guess about 150lbs. Any heavier and I don't think I could do it without cutting it up first. I did my check at game and fish on Tuesday. I guessed it at 3-4 years old.The g&f guy thought a little older looking at the teeth.

I was able to connect on this bear this morning with my 6 year old son in tow. Gun was a Smith and Wesson 29 classic hunter.

We have finally settled back in at home so it time for a write up about our hunt. I have had a burning itch for a bear the last few years. I was talking to a good friend who is a guide and he pointed me in the right direction of a generally good area and a particular tank. I ran a cam there for a few years and made a few day trips to hunt it. I had many close calls, but no luck. Twice I had sows with cubs come in and more than a few times I had missed a legal bear by a day after I checked my trail cams. I knew from past years trail cam photos that this time of year a bear hits the tank at least every other day. My son finished kindergarten last Thursday, and didn't start his summer camps till after memorial day. I figured if I took Friday off and hunted with him for 4 days in a row we should have a very decent chance at a bear. I loaded the truck up Thursday morning, and when he got out of his last day of school we hit the road. We finally got to our camping spot around 10:00 and set up camp. Where the tank is, is about 5 rough miles from where we camped. Our camping location is where we javi hunt and has cell service. Gives mom peace of mind to check in at night. Friday morning we loaded the truck and headed up the mountain. We put up our pop-up blind and spent time brushing it in. Within about 2 minutes of finishing and settling in we had a young Jake turkey come in and give us a good show. When he left the tank he walked within about 3 yards of our blind. At the 15 minute mark we had a big coatamundi come in. Already I'm getting excited. I've sat this tank probably 100 hours over the past few years and in the spring/summer hardly anything comes in. It just seemed like a good day for animal movement. At the 30 minute mark I set my kid up on his i-pad and I pull out my book, getting ready for the long haul of sitting 15 hours a day for 4 days. While I am reading, I I pull my head up and scan every paragraph. This area is tight with some topography and the vegitation really shot up the past few weeks, so there are a lot of approaches a bear could take that you would see till they are right up at the tank. At the 45 min mark I pull my head up at see this bear already at the tank! I get my son's attention and he stands right over my shoulder. I told he we are going to watch and make sure there are no cubs with it. After a few minutes of watching and paying attention to see if the bear is looking around like it's looking for cubs to fallow I decide this is a solo bear. I tell him to plug his ear and get ready for a shot. The bear is a pretty, fluffy, stereotypical black bear. It is standing up on the rim of the tank drinking, slightly quartering towards up. I aim for the shoulder at 50 yards and squeeze. The bear goes stiff, and drops right in the tank. After I collect myself, we make our way to the tank. The bear sank right to the bottom and the water has no visibility in it. It took a while to finally noodle around a find it and pull in up. Not a monster, but a decent pretty sow. We tag it, head back to camp and take some pics and start cutting it up. I was expecting a long, gruelling weekend trying to keep a 6 year old happy and we were all done and finished in an hour and a half. I told my son that it can go in his room and let him pic out the taxidermy because he is always a good sport and always willing to go on any hunt with me. He decided on a bear rug which will go great in his room. Logistically, shooting a bear on memorial day weekend is not the best as I couldn't check in my bear, contact a taxidermist or a meat processor. We decided to process the bear ourselves and did breakfast sausage, brats, jerky, roasts and cured hams. So far the breakfast sausage and jerky has been awesome!

Awesome!

Real spotty service out here. Will do a better write up tomorrow

Took the kids, wife and father-in-law out fishing Saturday. We decided to go to Whitehorse, a lake I haven't fished in over 10 years. I didn't know what to expect so I brought rigs for catfish, trout, crappie. Well the large mouth bass were sure hungry. We caught about 5 in the 11" range and I caught this nice 16"er that was almost 3 lbs. These were my first largemouth I've ever caught. On Sunday I took my son out shed hunting here around Flagstaff and we did turn up 1 muley shed. Overall a good weekend outdoors.

Good luck! Make sure to post about your trip. As to your question about when spring bears water, it can be literally any time of the day.

We don't have any clear water up here in any of the lakes. It's amazing a fish could even find a lure.

I went out this past Saturday bear hunting to one of my spots around Prescott. I sat a tank from sunrise to sunset. Only had one coatamundi walk past all day. With almost 5 years of trail cam info I know this tank is a producer. I have had a personal vendetta for a boar we have named scar. A jet black, black muzzled boar who is just a slob, with scars all over his face. 2020 and 2021 I have had sows and cubs come in, but no legal bear. This year without being able to use trail cams, I've had to rely on past data as to when the bears hit the tank. I don't know if scar is still alive but I would really like to wrap my tag around him. The second to last pic is a sow with scar walking in. She gets the f out of Dodge when she sees him. I am taking my 6 year old boy out in about 3 weeks for a 3 or 4 day hunt at this tank. Hopefully we can tag out.

For bear there is the holy Trinity. 1. Consistent water.- a water source that is not seasonal and always! Has water! 2. Main food source. Acorns,prickly pear, and to a lesser extent juniper berries. 3. Thick,thick cover.- deep dark canyons and such. If you find a spot with all three you will not only find a bear, you will find many. I live in 7e and that perfect trifecta is lacking. Bears are highly travelsome and almost impossible to pattern. I travel father south to bear hunt.

I don't think there is really better spot than others. I've done well at one end of the lake to the other. I prefer to fish the narrows. In my mind that choke point is good, even if the fish are deep because you can cast almost to the middle.

Ya. I think it was a funny story. It's a friend of a friend so take that what it's worth but the guy had a deer tag in hand but stopped to cut firewood. As he was using a chain saw, the deer walked out across a field and he walked back to his truck, grabbed his rifle and shot it. You never see good bucks in 5bn outside of the rut. I spend a ton of time in that unit and when I run a trapline in dec and Jan is the only time the monsters come out. Within 100 miles of Flagstaff, 5bn is the only unit in my opinion that you could have a solid chance at a 200" deer.

You should. I would pick 5bn over any unit south of the ditch.

I think everyone is looking at this with doom and gloom and failing to look at some of the new hunting opportunities that have opened up. I live in east Flagstaff and have been shafted as far as December and January deer. I have at least an hour drive to 6a, 8, or 10. Now all of a sudden 7 and 5bn have late hunts. Something I have never seen in my lifetime. I'm sure some years the quota will be reached early but even if 1 out of 5 years they don't there will be some awesome hunting in units that have never been available before.

If you are coming to northern Arizona, I would suggest the Williams area for fishing. We have had decent luck at Dogtown, Whitehorse and kaibab lake. Around Flagstaff you have upper lake Mary and Ashurst. Mary is decent but you will mostly catch pike and I don't know why I keep going to Ashurst. I have caught fish probably 2% of the times I have fished it and I have lived here my whole life and fished it a lot. It's also a good time to take some small hikes around these areas as you might find an elk shed!

Will do!

The fire missed me by about 1000 yards. If the wind shifts I might still be f'ed, but so far I'm good. I'm under evacuation orders but won't leave untill I absolutely have too. The fire swept through 200-500 homes. How many are still standing, no one knows at this point. I've heard sheriff's and summit fire were working on someone trapped in a burning home. Absolute worst case scenario.

Finally!

I was on parental duty this weekend and took the kids out fishing. Second cast I hooked this big walleye. 24". My biggest walleye and only the third I have ever caught out of here. 300 casts later we decided to call it a day!

Part 2. Went back out today. Yesterday we were planning on fishing ashurst but found the gate closed and we had to change plans for mary. I had all light tackle set up for trout. Today we went back to upper, this time set up with bigger poles, heavier test and steel leaders. We were able to get a couple pike and failed to close the deal on about 4 more fish.