Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Game & Fish West

In most areas of the country, September means hunting season has arrived. Finally. If you’re like me, you’ve been looking forward to it more this year than ever. The month typically kicks off with a dove hunt, or perhaps an outing for resident Canada geese or squirrels. Many states have deer seasons that open this month, some of them in the first couple weeks. And big-game seasons in the West are about to be in full swing. Whether you’re chasing elk up a mountain with a bow or swinging on doves over a field with a shotgun, returning to the field once again signifies a return to normalcy. Activities like hunting on opening day, never missing it, become traditions because they have been often repeated. Though each one of these…

Speed kills. Until it doesn’t. For a lot of years, bow manufacturers (in response to the demand of bowhunters) focused much of their efforts on building compounds that could deliver blistering speeds. Each new model was in a race to see who could build the fastest bow. The premise seemed to make sense. Faster arrows would take much of the “arch” out of archery, and this happened to pair quite well with the growing interest in long-range shooting. A fast bow delivers a flat arrow at greater distances. Arrow companies decided to jump on board the speed train. Their part was delivering ultra-light, thin-walled carbon shafts that retained minimal energy downrange but zipped there in a hurry. It was around this time that broadhead manufacturers started to unveil a new…

My hunting buddy, Jody Smith, let out an urgent “Psssst!” and pointed with his eyes to our left. My release was already on the bowstring, as I’d heard the quickened pace of elk footsteps approaching through the forest. Seconds later I could see the top of a Roosevelt elk’s rack, twisting and turning through the dense brush of the Oregon Coast Range. When the bull slipped behind a fat Douglas fir, I raised to my knees and drew. When the bull emerged, I gave a quick cow chirp with a diaphragm call. The bull stopped instantly and the 12-yard shot was simple. THE SOUNDS While on that day we lured in the bull with cow and calf calls, Smith, a full-time guide (541-643-6258; jodysmith guideservice.com), uses cow calls less often…

ARIZONA – No drawing is required to hunt mule deer with non-permit OTC archery tags in parts of Arizona. Visit azgfd.com/ hunting/nonpermitotctags to learn more. IDAHO – Resident and nonresident tags are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Some units have quotas. Visit idfg.idaho.gov/tag/ otc to learn more. WASHINGTON – Nonresident hunters purchasing a license over the counter must specify intent to hunt with a modern firearm, bow and arrow or muzzleloader. OTC tags may be used for mule deer, blacktail or whitetail. Visit wdfw. wa.gov/hunting/special-hunts/deer-elk-areas to learn more.…

This dry fly, created by Jess Riding, is reminiscent of many flies in the “purple nurple” category and is designed for Utah’s high-mountain streams. Tie this pattern on a No. 12–16 dry fly hook. For the tail, use grizzly hackle. For the tag, use fluorescent red (pink) Danville Flymaster. Build the body with purple Uni Thread and rib with the fluorescent red. Tie in a white foam indicator post and then apply a thin coat of polish to the top of the body and allow to dry. Apply pink paint to the top of the foam post. Finish with a natural grizzly parachute-style hackle.…

When Shane was 14 he received a compound bow for Christmas. Over the next nine months he practiced obsessively, and by late September he was well prepared to hunt deer with his bow. On opening morning Shane’s father woke up two hours before dawn, but he didn’t have to roust his son. Shane was already waiting in the den, fully camouflaged. The light rain outside dissuaded the young bowhunter none. “Your mom and I got you this for your birthday, but you might as well use it now,” said Shane’s father as he handed his son a box. In it was a fleece Realtree jacket, and on the jacket’s lining a big square patch read Gore-Tex. Speechless, Shane quickly pulled it on. “I know it’s big on you now,” Shane’s…

To make a rifle fire we must pull a trigger, and pulling a trigger might be the ultimate expression of hand-eye coordination. Triggers move when you pull them, and that movement needs to be understood in order to know a good trigger from a bad one. A careful consideration of each stage and aspect of trigger movement will help you make an evaluation. TAKE-UP Take-up describes the initial movement of a trigger before resistance is met. There are two types of triggers, single-and two-stage, and both can have take-up. Take-up on a single-stage trigger is undesirable; if it exists, it’s generally very light and over an infinitesimal distance. With a two-stage trigger you’ll feel some resistance, which can be as much as half the pull weight, during take-up. PULL WEIGHT…

Quincy has been consumed by whopper whitetail bucks ever since we were kids, looking for the biggest deer on our neighboring north Missouri farms. I’ve moved West, become an elk and mule deer junky, but he’s still back home, still looking for the gnarliest buck in Sullivan County. His average whitetail, measured in inches of antler, has steadily increased over the years. In part, that’s because he’s become a better hunter. But it’s also because the rising interest in shooting mature bucks has convinced more hunters to let younger deer walk while they select for mature trophies. I argue with Quincy all the time that this dynamic is what’s boosting his success: intensive management of whitetails. Quincy and many of his neighbors plant food plots, leave a portion of their…

Wyatt Sugg sets the hook and reefs on his Ugly Stick, putting an impressive arc in the rod as he fights a fish in Home Run Pond, a little kids-only fishing hole in my hometown of Glasgow, Montana. The rainbow trout he lands nudges the needle of his dad’s De-Liar fishing scale just past 1 pound, but to Wyatt, age 10, it’s the trophy fish of his young lifetime. “Can we keep it, Dad?” he asks, by way of a demand. “Can we eat it? Dad! Can. We. Eat. It?” Of course, his dad relents, and that night, he tells Wyatt that his Home Run Pond catch has “fed the family.” Wyatt beams, and another angler is hooked for life. That’s the gift of what fisheries managers call “planter” trout,…

Before we get into the tactics of hunting pronghorns with bow and arrow, it’s time for a little biology lesson. The first thing you should know is that “pronghorn antelope” is a misnomer. They are not related to antelopes, goats or sheep, but instead are the sole remaining member of an ancient family dating back 20 million years. They are also the second-fastest land mammal in the world—only the cheetah is faster—able to attain speeds of nearly 60 mph over short distances and able to hold half that speed for miles—a pace that even cheetahs can’t maintain. They have adapted physically for this, with long limbs, lightweight bones, a small digestive tract to use less energy during locomotion and a large trachea, lungs and heart for rapid intake of oxygen…

Over the puttering motor, my dad suggested we bring in the gear and move the boat. The tide started going out, and with only one more fall chinook needed to fill our limits, it was a good move. As we started trolling downstream with the tide and current, I let my spinner out. Almost immediately a hefty chinook attacked it. Minutes later we were hoisting a 23-pound salmon into the boat, marking a fitting end to a great morning on the water. Dad and I have shared many fishing memories over the past 50-plus years. I’ve also had the good fortune of pursuing fall chinooks with some of the West’s top salmon guides, all of whom have a lot to offer when it comes to learning this tidewater fishery. CALIFORNIA…

September symbolizes one very momentous and quite traditional event—grouse season. But where to begin? Grouse populations in many parts of the West appear to be in excellent shape at present, yet that doesn’t mean there’s a blue grouse around every corner and a ruff in every alder thicket. To locate them consistently you have to find a combination of three habitat components they need: food, water and cover. FOOD FIRST “A grouse’s diet is a little bit seasonal, but you’re going to find them primarily in the riparian habitats, and they’re going to be feeding on the types of plants that grow in those areas,” says Mikal Cline, upland game bird coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). “Grouse like things such as alder buds, catkins and…

I waded out and cast a three-fly nymph-and-egg rig under an indicator upstream from our launch point as guides Kris Kennedy and Bryan Quick of The Fly Shop in Redding, Calif., readied our raft for the float down a beautiful stretch of the Trinity River. Halfway through the run, the strike indicator plummeted and I quickly landed a small steelhead. That was an encouraging first cast in the tailwater fishery that flows from Trinity Lake downstream to Lewiston Lake and then from Lewiston Dam on to its confluence with the Klamath River at the town of Weitchpec. We boarded the raft and began floating down an isolated 6-mile stretch of the Trinity. The entire 110-mile-long river is designated as wild and scenic, and flows through Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Six…

Crossbows and muzzleloaders are often the tools of early fall. September and October seasons dedicated to their use spell more opportunity for hunters in pursuit of not only deer but other big game, including elk and bears. State game agencies and hunters alike have embraced the benefits they provide in additional seasons, which can also run through the rut and into early winter. Just as crossbow and muzzleloader seasons have expanded, so, too, have the options in each of these categories. Manufacturers continue to develop technology that makes each of these platforms easier to shoot, more reliable, and incredibly powerful and accurate. Hunters can now expect performance that was unimaginable just a decade ago. They may be considered primitive when compared to breechloading, centerfire rifles, but as the following models…