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Sportsman
California Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource
Volume 6 • Issue 5 PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Brittany Boddington CONTRIBUTORS Steve Carson, Bart Hall, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Tim E. Hovey, Luke Kelly, Jeff Lund, Albert Quackenbush, Buzz Ramsey, Bill Schaefer, Mike Stevens, Mark Veary SALES MANAGER Brian Lull
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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Becca Ellingsworth, Mamie Griffin, Steve Joseph, Mike Nelson, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Beth Harrison, Sonjia Kells, Sam Rockwell, Liz Weickum PRODUCTION MANAGER John Rusnak PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Kelly Baker
INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTING Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@calsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email letters, articles/queries, photos, etc., to ccocoles@media-inc.com. ON THE COVER Trout anglers are now beginning to count down until the April 25 statewide trout opener for mountain lakes and rivers throughout the Sierra Nevada. Colorful rainbows like this Lower Owens River beauty will be hungry for flies and lures this spring and summer. (SIERRA DRIFTERS GUIDE SERVICE)
MEDIA INC PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com 8 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 5
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 17 25 59 67 75 83 87 93 99
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THE BALKAN HUNTRESS Our Urban Huntress columnist Brittany Boddington’s home base is Los Angeles, but she’s not afraid to hunt in the most unlikely of places. This month, she heads for the European country of Macedonia, a land of just two million residents tucked between Greece, Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria. What Boddington discovers are ancient ruins, friendly people and some exciting wildlife to hunt, like wolves! (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)
Meet the Fred Hall Shows’ hardworking staff The California Highway Patrol’s pheasant hunt fundraiser turns 15 Lake Isabella Fishing Derby preview: more prize$ this year! Fly fishing the lower Sacramento River Head to Wyoming for epic fishing for cutthroat, ‘bows and browns Buzz Ramsey on steelheading from the bank Fishfinders 101: Which one is right for your needs? San Diego’s Lake Barrett bass New bluefin tuna limit
DEPARTMENTS 13 41 43 44
The Editor’s Note The Dishonor Roll: Sniffing out an Inyo County deer poacher Reader Photos From The Field Wright McGill/Eagle Claw Photo Contest winners
FEATURES 31
LOST IN DEVIL CANYON CR. In his entertaining series, Tales of a Biologist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Tim Hovey shares some of the crazy situations he’s encountered in the field. During one assignment surveying for steelhead in Devil Canyon Creek in San Diego County, Hovey, a U.S. Forest Service biologist and one of her volunteers kept getting separated in the rugged terrain. Hovey was miffed about the volunteer continually wandering off on his own frequently to explore – and as darkness neared, that man was nowhere to be found.
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TROUT’S BIG DAY INCHING CLOSER It’s only March, and while most of California has been enjoying late
spring and early summer weather (seriously, you guys, we need more rain), most of the mountains’ lakes will remain closed until opening day next month. But our Eastern Sierras’ beat writer Mike Stevens provides a primer on what to look for come the first day of the season – an appetizer to April’s main course of the Golden State’s trout rush!
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MAKING TURKEY HUNTS A BREEZE Scott Haugen’s spring turkey hunts in Northern California are notorious for occurring during windy conditions. No sweat, says our Field to Fire scribe. Head to the leeward side of hills, knobs and ridges, and perhaps some toms will be shielding themselves from the
blustery winds. And after you find them there, Tiffany Haugen shares a healthy but yummy turkey chili dish!
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DISHING OUT TREATS Most of the time, So Cal Bowhunter columnist Al Quackenbush provides you with the hows and whats of what it takes to archery hunt in California. But of course, when he has a successful hunting or fishing trip, Al knows how to enjoy a great meal from what he harvests. From venison poppers wrapped in bacon (is bacon the greatest thing ever or what?) to zingy yellowtail burgers fresh off the grill, get your mouth watering as our bowhunter dons his Emeril Lagasse chef’s outfit.
California Sportsman goes digital! Read California Sportsman on your desktop or mobile device. Only $1.89 an issue. Go to www.calsportsmanmag.com/digital California Sportsman is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Avenue South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Send address changes to California Sportsman, PO Box 24365, Seattle, WA 98124. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues), 2-year subscription are $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Index Publishing Group, or call (206) 3829220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues are available at Media Index Publishing Group offices at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2015 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
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Crowds will file into the Fred Hall Shows in Long Beach and San Diego this month in search of the hottest gear and vacation destinations. (FRED HALL SHOWS)
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he Fred Hall Shows are closing in on the big 7-0 this month. The outdoor extravaganza is as much a rite of passage to Southern Californian hunters and anglers as I would suspect In-N-Out is for Southland burger junkies (although, as a Nor Cal guy who lived seven years around L.A., I found In-N-Out a little overrated, given the obsession and fuss about it). Our friends at the Fred Hall Show have provided a sneak peek into this month’s stops in Long Beach (March 4-8) and Del Mar near San Diego (March 26-29). What’s most fun about attending these and other outdoors shows? It gives us a chance to dream. Growing up near San Francisco I didn’t get to experience the Fred Hall Shows. But my poor dad, who is more into cars than catfish, used to get dragged up to the Cow Palace in Daly City every winter for the San Francisco Sports Boat and Show. The first stop I’d make through the entrance is for one the free fishing tackle-sponsored tote bags and go to town at every booth I could to stuff it with brochures. Salmon fishing in British Columbia? Yes. The Montana dude ranch with trout streams outside your back porch? Absolutely. Deep sea charters in Cabo? Why not. Keep in mind there was no way I was ever going to make it to any of these places at that time. We were exclusively a Lake Tahoe summer trip family (there are far worse places to spend a vacation, so we had it pretty good). Only years later were we able to actually see other corners of our tiny planet. It was the idea of walking from booth to booth and seeing photos of happy guests holding big fish and videos showing breathtaking scenery that made me feel like I was going to be a part of the experience. Hopefully there will be plenty of little kids at the Fred Hall Shows, which turn 69 years young this year, who will drag their parents over to some guy’s booth and beg and plead to go Arctic char fishing in Alaska next summer. I was that kid once. –Chris Cocoles
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FRIENDS & FAMILY PLAN THE GIANT FRED HALL SHOWS COME TOGETHER WITH A SMALL, BUT CLOSE-KNIT STAFF Story and Photos By Bart Hall
CAMARILLO—As we head into the 69th edition of the Fred Hall Shows in March, events of this scope and magnitude don’t just happen by accident. It takes careful coordination and detailed planning. General manager Mike Lum heads a small Fred Hall Show staff. Lum has spent his entire life in the fishing and hunting industries. As a young man, he began working retail in local Southern California gun stores. Eventually, Lum was associated with Andrew’s Sporting Goods and helped to turn that company into the regional powerhouse that it eventually became. Those stores are now called Turner’s Outdoorsman, but it was Mike Lum who got them off the ground and laid the foundation for their eventual extreme success. Back in the days when the Fred Hall Shows were in the final stage of exhibiting at the now defunct Great Western Exhibit Center, it was Lum and I who convinced my father, Fred Hall, to allow retail selling at the shows. Before then the shows were truly just a place to “show” products. Selling was not allowed. While Lum remained at Turner’s they had an exclusive on retail selling at the Fred Hall Shows. That ended when Lum moved on to a local sporting goods distribution company and eventually became an executive for an online sporting goods enterprise. He joined the Fred Hall Shows about 16 years ago and has become the person responsible for the detailed planning of these enormous events. His intimate knowledge of the retail business related to fishing and hunting is unmatched by any other person in the sports show business. Complementing Lum is Tim Baker. He also came out of the Turner’s group, and at one time held the same title as Lum did at the local retail giant. Baker eventually went on to become the marketing manager of the Okuma Fishing Tackle Compa-
Bart Hall (left, with wife) Ginny, has taken over the lead for his late father, whose Southern California outdoors shows turn 69 with Fred Hall Show events in Long Beach and San Diego.
Morgan Hall (left) is Bart and Ginny Hall’s oldest son. His wife Katie has guided the shows’ transition into the electronic age.
The next generation in the Hall family: (from left) Sammy, Aidan, Hunter and Hannah Hall are grandchildren to Fred and Lois Hall.
Sammy and Katie Hall participate in the kids’ trout, which will again feature several familyfriendly events at the Fred Hall Shows.
ny. He has an intimate knowledge of the fishing business from both the perspective of retail sales and the manufacturing of fishing tackle. Baker is an avid hunter and has a wealth of knowledge about anything having to do with firearms and accessories. Tim is married to Lynne Baker and they have two lovely daughters, Teal and Brooke (yes, he is an avid waterfowl hunter and angler). Lynne is obviously a patient and understanding woman. Their 2014 email Christmas card showed the family on an elk hunt. Baker doesn’t allow the office to become too somber. Laughter is part of his aura. He and his family are welcome additions to the Fred Hall Show staff and we are lucky to have them.
A FAMILY BUSINESS Katie Hall is married to Morgan Hall, the oldest son of me and my wife, Ginny. Katie
is the smartest person in the room – any room – and she guides us through the maze of electronic gadgets and social media of the modern era. She is the operations director and keeps track of everything that goes on with the shows. Katie is part advertising agency, part graphic designer, part computer technician and part show analyst. Despite having two young children at home (Aidan and Samantha), she is always on top of her work and often works late into the night to stay ahead of the curve. Ginny has been here for over 46 years. Once she married me, she married the Fred Hall Shows. Ginny also spent 20 years teaching around Los Angeles, and her many exploits into unchartered ground set her apart from the regular teaching community. Ginny spent 20 years pioneering the teaching industry and setting standards in challenged academic comMARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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munities that will be hard to duplicate. Throughout all of that, she always worked for the Fred Hall Shows. As my parents got older it was Ginny and I who did all of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;? work of putting the shows together. Ginny remembers everything! Tell her your birthday and sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know it forever. I am cantankerous and often short with people. Ginny is funny, charming, pretty and extremely likeable. Many late nights and many long days spent working by us eventually lead to the greatest consumer sports shows on the planet. Today, Ginny is an owner and the associate producer of the Fred Hall Shows.
UNSUNG HEROES Most Fred Hall Show attendees donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to see the people who make these shows possible. Dave Mandagie has been with us for
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Thirty-seven years ago the Coastal Conservation Asssociation was created after drastic commercial overfishing along the Texas coast had decimated redfish and speckled trout populations. A group of 14 concerned recreational anglers gathered in a local tackle shop to create the Gulf Coast Conservation Association to turn the tide for recreational angler conservation. Only four years later gillnets along the Texas coast were outlawed and both red drum and speckled trout were declared gamefish. This previously unimaginable victory launched a new era in marine resource conservation. It got the attention of anglers across the Gulf and by 1985 chapters had formed all along the Gulf Coast. By the early 1990s the South and Mid-Atlantic regions had CCA chapters, and in 2007, Washington and Oregon chapters were formed in the Pacific Northwest. The fish are different, but the challenges facing them are often the same on all coasts. California was the last of the big coastal states not to have a CCA chapter. Some of the biggest names in California sportfishing sit on the board of directors of the new Coastal Conservation Association of California: CCA-Cal. This year at the Fred Hall Shows, in Long Beach March 4-8 and Del Mar March 26-29, the Golden Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chapter will be formed. Anglers attending the shows will have an opportunity to do the right thing and get a great value. Anglers who join CCA-Cal for $50 will get into the show for free, receive vouchers worth $150 and be entered into contests worth thousands of dollars. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Besides the free entry, some of the highlights include a free entry to win a Jackson Kayak that includes a one-day guided trip with Jim Sammons,â&#x20AC;? says Mike Lum, Fred Hall Show general manager. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That package is worth over $2,000. Also, CCA members can enter to win a Shimano prize package that retails for over $1,200 simply by dropping off their entry voucher. A deluxe fire-lined safe and rods and reels are being offered up as free drawing opportunities.â&#x20AC;? Lum adds that Maui Jim and Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Talk HookUp radio are giving â&#x20AC;&#x153;his and her â&#x20AC;&#x153; glasses to some lucky CCA member. Costa is giving away a very special fishing-themed music CD and there will be copies of Bill Pooleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, Fish or Cut Bait, available, to new members as long as supplies last. Now is the time to join the â&#x20AC;&#x153;newâ&#x20AC;? CCA-Cal. -BH
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most of his adult life. His beautiful wife Barbie and three special children, Amber, Ashley and Brooke, have all been a part of the Fred Hall Shows for decades. Mandagie is a unique individual. He actually is the definition of unique individual. Dave is intelligent and extremely capable. He works hard and is quiet; he is sophisticated; he is also the funniest SOB on the planet. If we had only started writing down his soft-spoken, spur-of–the-moment improvised comments on things that have happened over the last 20 years, we would have a book that would make us all rich. Mandagie makes me laugh so hard I cannot breath. He is not just a great husband, father and worker, he is my friend – and that is a very short list. Mandagie has put together a quality that staff includes Eric McCully, who is the guy you want next to you in the foxhole. In the dictionary under the word dependable they have McCully’s picture. He is husband to Chante and father to Dil-
lon and Reese. McCully also brings us his cousin Jonathan Carlton from the same great gene pool. Rick Gaskins and his wife Janet are also part of our group. Gaskins brings sanity and normality to this group of unique individuals around here and is a breath of fresh air. Robbie Mandagie is Dave’s brother and the only person around giving Dave a run for the “unique individual” award (another outstanding gene pool, though Robbie may have hit his head on the bottom of that one!). Billy Treviranus, his wife Terri and their sons Hunter and Colton give us some height at power forward. Just because Billy is tall and handsome doesn’t mean he can’t work. He can and he does. Terri has the brains in that outfit. At one time, before Danny Mandagie went to work for the U.S. Border Patrol, he was part of the crew. Dave brought us Lyall Belquist when he was 13 years old. I
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800-776-2873 www.pro-cure.com had to call his mother to get permission for him to work with us. She assured us that fishing and hunting was his passion and she would appreciate it if we let him work with us. Lyall expects to get his doctorate in marine biology soon. The work he has done over the past several years on behalf of aquatic species and local anglers has been nothing short of miraculous. We are very proud of him.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FAMILY Some of Ginny’s family help with the shows as well. Occasionally, Ginny’s brother Mike helps us. His beautiful daughter Crystal is married to one of our key exhibitors and works us at the front desk at the shows. My nephew, Ginny’s sister’s son, is also a great help. Jay Settle is big, energetic and always smiling and helpful. I like that guy. And, of course, there are Lindsey and Lindsey at the front desk. They are no relation to anyone, just friends of Crystal. My sons, Morgan and Travis, grew up
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around the shows and their “papa” Fred, just as I did as a child. They love these events and help out every year when they can. Now my grandchildren love them as well. Hannah is 13 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, beautiful like her mother, but she also looks like her “papa.” She’s a great student and a fantastic athlete and can play any sport she tries. Aidan, 13 years, is also tall and handsome, a great student and aspring filmmaker. He shares Morgan’s passion for fast, powerful cars, and they race RC cars together. Ten-year-old Hunter is, naturally, a hunter. He passed his hunter’s safety course when he was 8. He loves hunting, fishing and sports. I think he’ll be my future golfing buddy; he’s granny’s cuddle bug. And then there is Samantha. Sammy is 10, dark-haired and beautiful, and one of the most fantastic artists I have ever seen. We’ll be seeing her work in galleries some day. She is also an outstanding athlete.
Hannah, Hunter and Aidan all have passed their hunter safety courses and have valid California hunting licenses. It was a great day for me this year when they all joined us in Blythe for the opening of dove season. Our scuba and free-dive section is helped along by my “brother from another mother,” Jonathan Hall. His experiences as an LAPD diver and FBI CSI diver have been invaluable to our fledgling dive efforts. Our publicists Craig Pobst, formerly an executive with the J. Walter Thompson group, and his partner Craig Nichols give us excellent advice and keep our advertising focused. Publicist Amy Foley keeps us smiling and keeps us on our toes. Her contacts and insight into local media are amazing. I also want to acknowledge Russ Luke from Global Experience Specialists. His team of expert decorators, teamsters and electricians keep everything moving
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smoothly. Wes keeps the boats moving and the forks rolling. Last but not least, our old friend Barry Greenberg keeps us in touch with the automotive industry. The Fred Hall Shows exist because of this extended family. Of course, the Fred Hall Shows are a business. However, for this show-production family, the yearly evolution of the events transcends business. The fact that we can all work together toward a common goal makes these shows more than just a business – they are a way of life. And now with the re-acquisition of the Fred Hall Shows to the Hall family and the addition of Duncan McIntosh as a partner, the Fred Hall Shows are getting ready to be bigger and badder than ever. CS Editor’s note: Bart Hall is the show producer for the Fred Hall Shows, which will be in Long Beach from March 4-8 and San Diego from March 26-29. For more information, go to fredhall.com.
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CHIPPING IN FOR THE COMMUNITY
Held on Clear Creek Ranch near Corning, the California Highway Patrol’s annual pheasant hunt attracts officers and local bird hunters from throughout the Sacramento Valley. (TRACY HOOVER/CHP)
WILLOWS C.H.P. OFFICE HOLDS ANNUAL PHEASANT HUNT By Chris Cocoles ach fall, the California Highway Patrol’s regional office in Willows, just west of Chico, hosts an annual pheasant hunt, which will celebrate 15 years this fall. The idea started in 2000, when a now-retired lieutenant who was also an avid outdoorsman reached out to a local hunting club, Thunder Hill Ranch, about hosting an event. It’s since become a popular destination for both CHP personnel and locals in what is a hot spot for hunting in Northern California, on the first Friday
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of November. Since that first event, Thunder Hill’s proprietors sold their property and moved to an out-of-state location, but for the last three years the hunt has been held at Clear Creek Ranch in Corning (530-520-4034; clearcreeksportsclub.com), which is located adjacent to Rolling Hills Casino. “We have an average of about 150 hunters. I’ll send out flyers around the end of August,” says Tracy Hoover, public information officer for the Willows CHP headquarters. “It’s just a good day for the community.” It’s a full day too. Hoover says volunteers begin showing up around 7 a.m. to set up coffee, hot chocolate and donuts tables for those who attend. Half of the field will participate in
a morning hunt, while the rest will engage in clay-shooting competition. That rotation flip-flops in the afternoon session after a snack. At the end of the day there’s a catered lunch of tri-tip and sides for everyone. “We’ll have a raffle, and it allows us to donate the money to the 11-99 Foundation (714-529-1199; chp11-99 .org),” Hoover says of an organization that assists CHP families. “We donate to the widows and orphans fund, and to our local high school for Sober Graduation. And there are other various organizations around our community (that receive donations). It’s just a lot of fun and something we all look forward to every year.” It was a natural fit for the CHP to want to host a special hunt each fall.
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Participants split the day between shooting clays and hunting birds with volunteer guides. (TRACY HOOVER/CHP)
Willows is in the heart of a waterfowl and upland bird hunting paradise the Interstate 5 corridor between Sacramento and Redding, 162 miles apart. Both past and former employees are a big part of the event. “We have a lot of (CHP) retirees who come out and hunt,” Hoover says. “Our officers volunteer their time at the hunt, and it’s not a work day for them; they have to volunteer their time. We only have about 23 officers in this building, and I believe only one didn’t want to either work the road or volunteer his time. Our officers do the clay stations and a couple actually do the guiding. Without them we wouldn’t be able to put it on.” Hunts like this bring together the tight-knit law enforcement units up and down the Sacramento Valley. “We have people who show up 26 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
The event always ends with a raffle, with proceeds benefiting not just the CHP’s family foundation, but local organizations. (TRACY HOOVER/CHP)
from as far away as Stockton CHP, and they bring their friends from agencies like the sheriff’s department,” Hoover says. “A whole bunch of different
agencies help out with this and come out to hunt.” Hoover’s only been in the Willows location for a few years, but many of-
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An average of 150 hunters attends this very popular pheasant hunt each November. (TRACY HOOVER/CHP)
“People just really, really enjoy it and they look forward to it,” Willows CHP public information officer Tracy Hoover says. “It gives us a great honor to be able to donate money to the community in general.” (TRACY HOOVER/CHP)
ficers and administrators there are hunters and anglers. “We have a lot of hunters in our department. My husband is a (CHP) sergeant and he’s a huge hunter,” Hoover says. “One of our other sergeants here is a big duck hunter. He just got back taking six weeks off – and he did a lot of hunting.” Most of these annual hunts have gone without a hitch – Hoover recalled one incident where someone fainted on the ranch. And it’s the kind of event that brings the whole Glenn County city of Willows together each November. “People just really, really enjoy it and they look forward to it,” Hoover says. “I start getting phone calls months in advance. It gives us a great honor to be able to donate money to our 11-99 Foundation and just the community in general.” The cost to participate in the November 2015 hunt is $125. For more information, contact Tracy Hoover with the California Highway Patrol at (530) 934-5424. You can also email her at Thoover@chp.ca.gov to request a flier for the hunt. CS 28 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
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TALES OF A BIOLOGIST
The author, a U.S. Forest Service biologist and a volunteer ventured down San Diego County’s Devil Canyon Creek to search for signs of steelhead. But the volunteer kept wandering off on his own. (TIM E. HOVEY)
DEVIL NEARLY GOT ’IM A STREAM SURVEY VOLUNTEER GETS LOST IN THE WILD
By Tim E. Hovey hroughout my career as a fish and wildlife biologist I’ve been fortunate enough to work with literally hundreds of great volunteers. Unfortunately, you do occasionally run into a few who certainly could talk the talk, but when it came time to do the walking, they stumbled. That’s just the nature of the beast. For the most part, their hearts were in the right place, but they all seemed to have one shortcoming in common: they had no idea what is actually involved in conducting field work. I give every single volunteer the benefit of the doubt prior to any survey. I make sure they are well informed on what is expected, what we’ll be doing
T
and how rigorous the survey may be. I go over safety issues, escape plans and, most of all, who’s in charge. I do this so everyone stays safe and informed. This is the way I’ve always done it, and it seems to be the best approach. I’ve never lost anyone and no one has ever questioned the protocol or my authority. That is, until I took a volunteer named Dan in search of steelhead.
THE PLAN FOR this survey was to drive to the headwaters of Devil Canyon Creek, a tributary of San Mateo Creek in San Diego County. San Mateo Creek had received national attention in 2000 when, after a 60-year absence, federally endangered Southern steelhead trout were discovered in the drainage. After the discovery I spent many
hours mapping, diving and surveying the mainstem of the creek, on the lookout for trout. I’d collect population information, age and size data and, most importantly, I’d collect genetic material from every fish we encountered. During one of my surveys, I decided to take a short hike up Devil Canyon Creek, near one of the discovery sites. During the summer, there is normally no water connection between the creek and the mainstem, but we encountered spring-fed pools a short distance up the creek. And in those pools were dozens of juvenile trout. We reasoned that these juveniles washed down from a resident spawn further up the tributary. Breaking out a map, I decided that to optimize our survey time, the best approach to further survey Devil Canyon was to drop in from the top and hike down. MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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A FEW WEEKS later I planned a survey of the tributary from the top with Kirsten, a U.S. Forest Service biologist, and one of her volunteers, Dan. On the morning of the hike, we met early and drove into the headwaters in a USFS vehicle. Both maps and our GPS seemed to indicate that the very top of the Devil Canyon Creek drainage started as a slight dip in an old Forest Service road. After some searching, we located the very top – nothing more than an 8-foot-wide low spot in the ridge road. We parked and got our gear ready. The summer temperatures were going to be hot, so I made sure we all had enough water. We also had a full gallon that we’d leave in the truck for when we returned. As I situated my pack, I noticed Dan’s
The author snorkels the creek in search of trout, which he has done on a regular basis. Volunteers who join surveys are expected to follow biologists’ instructions. (TIM E. HOVEY)
pack. He had a canteen, compass, water pump, notepad and several other hiking implements hanging from his pack vest. I actually heard him clanking around the other side of the vehicle before I saw him.
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It definitely looked like he was prepared. With map in hand, we started hiking into the top of the creek. Devil Canyon stretches about 9 miles from the almost unnoticeable road rut where we
MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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started, downstream to the confluence of San Mateo Creek. The terrain in between is steep, rugged and not for the weekend hiker. The year before I had done a complete hike of the drainage from the confluence downstream all the way to the top, and it was beyond brutal. On that survey, we started before sunrise and didn’t get out of the creek until 10 p.m. Today we were doing something different. I’d decided to cut the drainage into smaller, manageable segments. Today we’d hike about 2½ miles downstream from the top, take a break for lunch and then start surveying back up to the truck. I wanted to do a snorkel survey of each pool we encountered and search for trout. If all went to plan, we’d be back at the truck by midafternoon. The top section’s hike went well and
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we made good time. I was leading the way, Kirsten was behind me and Dan bringing up the rear. About a mile into the hike I glanced back and noticed that Dan was missing. I stopped the hike and waited for him. After about 10 minutes, he appeared off the creek, slowly walking back to the drainage. When we met back up, I decided to let it go and just informed him that we needed to stick together and left it at that. He stated that he understood and we continued the hike downstream.
TWO MILES IN, we stopped for a water break. Kirsten and I dropped our packs and rested. Once again Dan was nowhere to be seen. After calling for him for over 20 minutes, he finally stumbled from the overgrowth 100 yards from the creek. I couldn’t let his recreational hike go without saying something. I walked out to meet Dan. I explained to him that he was a volunteer on a state
An endangered trout found in Devil Canyon Creek. (TIM E. HOVEY)
survey and that I was responsible for his safety. Since we were here to collect data on an endangered species, random, unannounced hikes were not something we could spend time doing. He informed me that I was not responsible for him and that he was free to hike wherever he wanted. I had dealt with dozens of volunteers who didn’t quite measure up, but I had never been told outright that my simple rules were
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going to be ignored. I restated the rules, and to clear the air, suggested we keep moving. About 30 minutes later we arrived at our stopping point downstream. We broke for lunch and again had to wait for Dan. He had once again wandered off the creek after our discussion. At this point I was tired of dealing with his constant disappearing act. I decided that I’d cut my losses, get him back to the truck and never invite him back out on a survey.
TWENTY MINUTES AFTER we started lunch, Dan stumbled down the creek and collapsed on a boulder nearby. He looked absolutely spent. I suggested that he get his food and water out and fuel up. He told me that he was out of both, having consumed all his supplies on the way down. I shared some of mine with him,
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and suggested that he use his pump to obtain water from the creek. We finished up and started hiking back upstream. On the way down, I had conducted quick snorkel surveys of two large pools in search of trout without any luck. With no more water to survey, we could just hike our way back upstream to the truck and end the survey. With no unforeseen issues, I figured we’d be back by 3 that afternoon. The day was hot, but we made good time on the return hike. With no more available water to search, the work day was about over. Since we were headed back, I didn’t pay too much attention to where Dan was. That was my mistake. A half-mile from the truck, we took another water break and noticed that Dan was once again missing. Since we were so close to the truck, we decided to wait for him there. We both figured he would just follow the same trail we had used to hike downstream to make it out.
We ended up waiting for Dan for over four hours. At one point, I hiked back downstream about a half-mile and called to locate Dan without success. Back at the truck, Kirsten decided that we needed to call in a rescue party. She drove to a higher spot on the road and used the Forest Service radio to report a missing hiker to the local search-and-rescue unit. When she returned, she said that the team was suiting up and would be onsite within 30 minutes. While we waited, I honked the truck horn in three short bursts every minute. The sun was setting; within minutes, navigating the rough terrain in the fading light would be far more dangerous. I got out of the truck and walked a short distance downstream and stood on a boulder. I was just about ready to start calling again when I noticed some vegetation moving over 100 yards away from the creek. After a few seconds, a very exhausted Dan stumbled from the
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bushes. Earlier in the day I had been frustrated with Dan. When he went missing, I became worried. Now that we found him, I was relieved.
I MET UP with Dan near the truck. He looked like the wilderness had chewed him up and spit him out. His U.S. Forest Service shirt was ripped, he had lost several of his vest implements and scratches and sweat painted his face. He mentioned that he had once again left the drainage to explore and had gotten completely turned around, hiking for miles in the wrong direction. We loaded Dan up and headed over to the local fire department where the searchers were staging. As I got out of the rig still wearing my dirty California Department of Fish and Wildlife shirt, I guess the rescue unit assumed the
38 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
As darkness began to descend on Devil Canyon Creek and a searchand-rescue team gathered to find him, the lost volunteer stumbled out of the wilderness, clothes ripped and ego bruised. (TIM E. HOVEY)
search was going to be for me. “Looks like we were headed out to rescue another state biologist,” one said, sounding frustrated and bit angry. I just smiled and opened the rear door to let Dan out. “Not quite,” I said. “You were going after one of your own!” Dan had mentioned that he wanted to apologize to the rescuers in person. He shook the hands of the team,
made his mea culpa and got back into the truck. On the drive back, Dan also apologized to me and Kirsten. I figured Dan had been through enough and I just washed my hands with it. I was very glad he was safe and that he had found his way back out of Devil Canyon Creek. After that adventure, I never saw Dan again. CS
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K-9 UNIT HELPS TO SNIFF OUT POACHER K-9 tracking dog Sieger used its skills to find the scent on a rotting deer carcass that was allegedly taken out of season and with a tag from a different zone in remote Inyo County. (CDFW)
ot a lot of deer hunters get to experience the spectacular scenery around Inyo County, near the Eastern Sierras. The G-3 Zone includes land east of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, some of the state’s most rugged country. “Ethical hunters prize the G-3 tag for the incredible landscape and quantity of large deer,” says Lt. Bill Dailey of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s law enforcement division. “With only 35 tags issued every year, hunters can apply for years and never draw this zone.” Perhaps that’s what had allegedly prompted Bishop resident Joseph Eugene Bragdon to take his young son on a hunt in Division Creek, part of Zone G-3, but with BY CHRIS COCOLES a deer tag from another zone and hunted a month before the very short season that takes place between Dec. 6-21. CDFW officials received a call on its CalTIP hotline (888-334-2258) of the possible violation. The investigation got a big boost from a CDFW tracking K-9, Sieger. The dog successfully followed the scent of a mule deer and found most of a rotting corpse. The three-point buck was missing just the antlers and some of its edible meat. A $15,000 warrant was issued by the Inyo County District Attorney’s office, which took Bragdon, 37, into custody. “Bragdon faces possible charges for several violations of the Fish and Game Code, including taking a deer without a license, tag or permit, failure to fill out tags, waste of game, failure to have a tag in possession and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana,” a CDFW news release stated. “If convicted, Bragdon could face revocation of his hunting license, fines, probation and/or jail time.” As for the K-9 that helped crack the case, Sieger is a candidate to be awarded exceptional certification status. Atta boy, it was a job well done.
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR MARCH 1 Final day of Clear Lake Bass Tournament (konocti-vista-casino.com) 4-8 Fred Hall Show, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach (fredhall.com) 6 Start of late white-front geese season in Northeastern Zone 14 NorCal Trout Challenge, Lake Amador (anglerspress.com) 15 California Bass Federation Tournament, Clear Lake (californiabass.org) 21 Central Valley Anglers Trout Derby, Camanche Lake (centralvalleyanglers.org) 26-29 Fred Hall Show, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar (fredhall.com) 28 Start of general spring wild turkey season 28-30 Lake Isabella Fishing Derby (kernvalley.com) APRIL 11 NorCal Trout Challenge, Collins Lake (anglerspress.com) 11-12 Spring Trout Derby, Lake McSwain (lakemcclure.com) 18 Team Trout Derby, Pine Flat Lake (kokaneepower.org) 19 California Bass Federation, Lake Berryessa (californiabass.org) 25 Lake Berryessa Open Bass Tournament (bassreapers.org) 25 Statewide trout opener
Spring turkey season begins on March 28. (CDFW) MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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It was a good waterfowl season for Fremont’s outdoors-crazed Ling family. Mitchell, 10, and the family’s hunting dog Trixie filled their straps with mallards on this outing. (MARC LING)
READER PHOTOS
Rest up now, Trixie – you’ve got a lot of retrieves in store with the Ling boys! Mitchell and older brother Matthew, 13, share a great day in the blind with their 10-month-old pooped pup. (MARC LING)
One of our most enthusiastic friends is Bay Area resident Steve Gutierrez, who had quite a run of success on sturgeon recently. Steve landed this one using a Cousins Tackle CLB80XL rod while fishing aboard a Flash Sportfishing charter boat out of San Francisco. (STEVE GUTIERREZ)
It’s never too late to show off a young hunter’s success! Last fall, 10-year-old Kenny Wells of San Diego harvested this cow elk on a hunt in Arizona. Good job, Kenny! (JAMES WELLS)
Steve (left) and a friend with another sturgeon caught in the Delta. (STEVE GUTIERREZ)
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PHOTO CONTEST
WINNERS! Fishing the nearby Santa Ana River Lakes, Anaheim resident Kory Allen hauled in one of the lakes’ specialty fish, a lightning trout. Allen’s colorful rainbow weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces. “I caught it on a boat at the bubble hole while drop-shotting a white PowerWorm on 2-pound test and an 8-foot Phenix rod,” says Kory, who will receive a goody bag of fishing prizes.
Our monthly Browning Photo Contest winner is Keith Ashley, who sent this pic of his son, Darren, and his 2014 Oregon bull elk. It scores him a Browning hat!
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FISHING Snow on the ground is common in April in the high country of the Eastern Sierras, such as along Mammoth Creek on last year’s opener, though the drought cycle has made for less wintry conditions in recent springs. (MIKE STEVENS)
PREPARING FOR OPENING DAY WHAT TO EXPECT FOR APRIL EASTERN SIERRA TROUT FRENZY By Mike Stevens
T
he only thing certain about the April Eastern Sierra trout opener is its uncertainty. For instance, the opening day, or “Fishmas,” has seen it all. Two years ago, anglers were in T-shirts in various locales by 10 in the
morning. Last year, a snowstorm was set to arrive on Fishmas Eve and deliver 8 inches of the white stuff to the east side. Well, that ballooned into a 30-inch dumping that had anyone heading to the city of Mammoth Lakes after 6 p.m. in a scramble for tire chains just to get to their accommodations.
A white Fishmas, indeed. Like last season, and for that matter, the two years before that, much was said about the all-important (for the entire state, not just locally) snowpack, or lack thereof. While it is important to the Eastern Sierra trout fishery, it has little effect on opening day. If you MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING Crowley Lake figures to be busy again on “Fishmas Day,” when anglers will flock to the Eastern Sierras the last weekend in April. (MIKE STEVENS)
have trips in mind from July and beyond, that’s when you want to concern yourself with snowpack, because snow in the high country or not, you’ll be spending the opener fishing lower elevation waters along the Bishop Creek drainage (Lake Sabrina, Intake II, North Lake), Crowley and Convict Lakes, and the June Lake Loop. Generally speaking, the Mammoth Lakes Basin is still under ice, and road closures severely limit access. But these are the Sierras, so anything is possible.
FISHABLE WATERS As far as fishing the Bishop Creek drainage on opening weekend, 48 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
Lake Sabrina is generally the big question mark. It could range from ice thick enough to stand on, in which case, ice fishing is possible and historically pretty productive, believe it or not, If Sabrina is ice free, fishing should be excellent. What you don’t want is a thin layer of ice that is not safe to walk out on, yet impossible to fish from shore. In years past, South Lake has been a popular Fishmas spot that remained incredibly productive for the rest of the season, but it has been plagued by low water levels more than any lake in the area, and, as a result, it hasn’t been stocked since 2012. “For those looking to easy, dependable access to stillwater, but don’t mind a bit of a crowd, Intake II is your best bet,” says Jared Smith, general manager of Parcher’s Resort on Bishop Creek (760-873-4177; parchersresort. net). “The lake is sure to be icefree and (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) will have certainly stocked it prior to the opener. North Lake may be accessible by road, but more likely folks will have to walk in. Both forks of the creek are typically stocked where the creek crosses the road, camp-
MONO COUNTY OPTIONS For trout fanatics, April 25’s season opener for many Sierra Nevada lakes and rivers can’t get here soon enough. But in Mono County, there are options to cure your opening-day withdrawal. Since March 2014, the West Walker River has been open to year-round fishing on public lands. Only artificial flies and lures with barbless hooks are allowed until the new season on April 25, with catch-and-release fishing only. From that point on, normal regulations, including the usual five-fish limit will apply on the West Walker. “This (has been) great news for our area and for anglers to come and fish some of the best waters of the year in
the West Walker River,” says Pam Hamic, president of the Northern Mono Chamber of Commerce. Several derbies will highlight the fishing calendar for Mono County this year. The Topaz Lake Fishing Derby, which began on Jan. 1, will continue through April 15 on the lake located right on the California-Nevada border, with tagged fish for cash prizes stocked in the lake. The West Walker’s How Big-Is-Big Fishing Derby is scheduled for July 1-31, and the Size Doesn’t Matter Fishing Derby is Aug. 7-9. For more information, contact the Northern Mono Chamber of Commerce (530-208-6078; northernmonochamber. com). -CS
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FISHING Though trolling is one of the most popular methods of landing Crowley Lake trout, families will have plenty of shoreline to dunk garlic-flavored trout baits to limit out on opening weekend. (MIKE STEVENS)
grounds, bridges, and areas where turnouts allow easy access to deeper pools.” Smith adds a tip for fishing the creek itself. He says to get out there early (which for many anglers who target this area in particular, is in darkness) to grab a prime spot. But he adds not to spend too much time there if you aren’t getting bit, as either the fish are there, or they’re not.
THE BIG LAKES Crowley and Convict Lakes just might stand as the most popular opening-day impoundments. Crowley is where you want to be if you are a boater, as trolling (top-lining as well as leadcore) is a great way to beat up the lake’s rainbows, cutthroat and browns, which always seem to be better quality on average, as far as size is concerned. Old standby lures for Crowley include Owner Cultivas, Berkley
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seems that the best bite has occurred between 8 and 11 a.m. So while a ton of people get there at the crack of dawn, you really don’t need to in order to scratch out limits before noon. Bank anglers over the last few opening days have done well on standard trout baits, especially those with garlic either built in or added. Also effective can be working nymphs slowly on a fly-and-bubble rig, and throwing plastics such as the trout worms and jigs made specifically for the area from Sierra Slammers (sierraslammers.com). This Crowley Lake brown was caught trolling with a Kastmaster during the 2014 opener. Owner Cultivas, Berkley Flicker Shads and Needlefish are also staples for Crowley’s armada of boats that will fill the lake this season. (MIKE STEVENS)
Flicker Shads, and Needlefish. There are also miles of wideopen shoreline for bank anglers, and over the last few openers, it
WORK THE LOOP The June Lake Loop is another very popular area, and it’s the place to go if you want a lot of fishing options to bounce around to without wasting a lot of time in the car. The entire loop, which includes June, Gull, Grant and Silver Lakes – along with Rush Creek – should
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Convict Lake anglers are counting down the days until late April’s first casts. What no one will know until then is how the weather will impact opening weekend. (MIKE STEVENS)
all be open, but ice conditions are always up in the air. “If this winter pattern continues, there won’t be much ice and fish will already be active and feeding, which means a good opener,” says Eastern Sierra outdoor writer Ernie Cowan, who annually covers the June Lake Loop on opening day. “All lakes will be well stocked and anglers should expect to see plenty of 5- to 7-pound fish, but look for something in double digits to win the annual June Lake Loop Monster Trout Derby, held every opening day.” According to Cowan, big fish tend to be caught where Rush Creek dumps into Grant Lake by anglers tossing black Woolly Buggers and willing to work for it. He also suggested targeting the reed lines at both June and Gull Lakes as well as the north shore and Rush Creek outlet of Silver Lake if you are competing in the derby or just out lunker hunting. CS 54 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
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FISHING
NEW RULES MEAN BIG BUCK$ California’s drought has taken a toll on Lake Isabella’s water level, but derby anticipation should be high, thanks to guaranteed cash prizes that include $5,000 for the longest trout caught. (FLORENCE LOW/CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
ISABELLA DERBY PROMISING $18,500 CASH PRIZES FOR LONGEST TROUT By Luke Kelly
E
xcitement is quickly mounting for residents of the Kern River Valley and beyond for the 2015 Lake Isabella Fishing Derby, which makes its annual return March 28-30. The wildly popular trout derby is going into its 26th year, and it attracts visitors from all over the state of California. Although the derby is an old favorite among trout anglers, some changes have been made to the rules of this year’s installment, which will increase the number of guaranteed winnings. Whereas the derby oper-
Anglers flock to Lake Isabella every spring for a chance to catch trout worth cash prizes during the annual derby. In this year’s version, rather than tagged fish, prizes will be offered for the longest fish caught, including a guaranteed total purse worth $18,500. (KERN VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE)
ated on a tag system in the past, this year’s impressive amount of prize money will be awarded based on the 10 longest trout that are caught. “We are guaranteeing a payout of $18,500,” says Marsha Smith,
president of the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce (kernrivervalley.com), which puts on the derby each year. “We are doing it not by tags this year; we’re doing it by the longest trout. The top prize will be MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING $5,000 for the longest fish, and then we go down from there based on the length of the fish.” The longest trout will garner a $5,000 prize for the lucky angler who catches it. The second longest will be worth $4,000, third, $3,000, and awards descend in order from there to the 10th longest trout, worth $500. As a result of the drought in California, Isabella’s water level is considerably below average, but if last year’s event was any indication, that shouldn’t deter a successful derby. “Naturally, because of the drought, our water levels are lower than they’ve been in previous years,” explains Smith. “But we still have plenty of water to hold the derby.” Water levels aside, participants in the derby – both experts and novices alike – can look forward to the sheer number of trout that are up for grabs this year. “We are going to be stocking the
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lake with up to 10,000 pounds of fish,” says Smith. “We are guaranteed 8,000 pounds that we have purchased, but we are trying to purchase another 2,000, so it could be up to 10,000 pounds of trout that we will be putting in the lake for the derby.” In addition to awards for the 10 longest trout, the derby will host the always-popular Bobber Bowl Sweepstakes. The Bobber Bowl will consist of several large trout tagged with an official 2015 Derby Tag. “Those fish will be worth up to $100 a piece,” says Smith, “and (the prizes) are sponsored by local merchants.” There will also be a raffle for a vacation voucher worth $6,000 towards the trip of your choice. As the chamber’s website puts it, “If you win and want to go to Hawaii, you can; if you’re more rugged and love to fish, you can plan to use your vacation voucher for any fishing trip of your choosing.”
With all the great prizes and excellent opportunities to catch huge trout, it’s no wonder that the event is as popular as it is. “Even with the drought and the low water, we’re expecting about 2,500 to 3,000 participants this year. It’s a big derby; a lot of people come in,” Smith says. “We’ve been doing it for a lot of years, so people plan their entire vacations around the derby.” The 2015 Lake Isabella Fishing Derby begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, and will continue until 4 p.m. on Monday, March 30. Entry fees are $30 per individual and $65 per family. Fish measuring takes place only during derby hours at event headquarters, located at the Lake Isabella Moose Lodge, at 6732 Lake Isabella Blvd., just below the lake’s auxillary dam. Winners will be announced shortly after the derby’s end. For more, call (760) 379-5236 or email office@kernrivervalley.com. CS
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FISHING
THE RIGHT LINE Shane Kohlbeck instructs the author’s friend Chris Barnes on landing one of many lower Sacramento rainbows the trio pulled in while fly fishing with the Redding-based guide. (JEFF LUND)
By Jeff Lund
REDDING—There are lines all around us. Some are written, drawn and paved; others form, whether at the DMV, the grocery store or for a beer and a hot dog at the ballpark. But the most important, by far, are fishing lines. On a March 2014 trip to the lower Sacramento River, my buddy Chris Barnes and I booked a guide from The Fly Shop (800-669-3474; theflyshop.com) in Redding to float us over some of the legendary rainbows that stalk these waters. It was my third trip through The Fly Shop and second with our guide, Shane Kohlbeck.
EARLY SUCCESS We started just upriver from the Sundial Bridge, and on the first four drifts down a line, I had three fish and Chris had one. Chris has an extensive fishing résumé, including
HITTING IT BIG ON THE LOWER SACRAMENTO RIVER IS ALL ABOUT MINDING YOUR LINES
8-foot sturgeon, hundreds of shad, stripers and largemouth bass. What he hadn’t done to that point was lock the butt section of a fly rod into his forearm and feel the thrashing of a fish down his ulna. He didn’t say much as he fought his first fish on a fly rod; yet between the grunts, it was obvious the sensation was new and impactful. “He’s ruined now. He’ll never be the same,” said Shane. I agreed. As the current slowed to an imperceptible crawl Shane told us to strip in our rigs. He turned the boat and rowed back up to the top of the run. He swung into the slow, slack water where the smooth river rocks were made slick by a layer of orange organic material. “We’ll be going left side. Chris, go ahead and start casting,” Shane directed us.
Shane had spent a good 20 minutes on a drift boat-fishing tutorial before we started. As a guide who is interested in getting his clients into fish, he felt the need to be thorough in his instruction about how to cast and, you know, do things that catch fish. So when Shane told Chris to start casting, the beginner knew what to do, and by the time we reached the top of the line, Chris was fishing. I glanced downriver before I flopped my rig into the fray. I noticed another boat that had been fishing the same area. The craft started down a parallel line but probably 6 feet closer to shore than ours. I didn’t pay attention to how they did; I just noticed the difference in lines. As instructed, I kept my unblinking eyes on the strike indicator – hoping it would stop, dip, bounce or dive. It did. My left hand pulled the slack fly line through eyes of the rod MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING
Shane’s fly box reveals some of the patterns that can lead to big-number days on the lower Sac. (JEFF LUND)
and I pinned the now-tight line to the cork. Fish on. I stripped to keep the rod bent and felt the shake of the fish. It wasn’t big, but it was another rainbow in the net. It was going to be a good day.
CONTROLLED CHAOS Once we were convinced that par-
IF YOU GO... The lower Sacramento is considered to be the river from Shasta Dam downstream. According to The Fly Shop (theflyshop.com) in Redding, some of that stretch’s best trout fishing takes place between Redding and Anderson. The Fly Shop was optimistic that March will be a solid month, thanks to good though not great water clarity. “Big rainbows can be found holding in really shallow water, the kind of rainbows that we can’t even get close to under clear conditions,” the shop’s website reports. “Expect dark patterns in No. 16 to be top producers – flies like Dark Lords, Silvey’s Beaded Pupa in black, Zack’s Zaddis in black and the La Fontaine Lower Sacramento.” Fishing the river from 650 feet below Keswick Dam (north of Redding) to the Deschutes Road Bridge in Anderson is limited to barbless hooks; anglers can keep just one hatchery trout or steelhead through March 31. Starting on April 1, you can also keep one wild trout, but catch-and-release fishing is always encouraged when it comes to wild trout.
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ticular fast-water edge had given up what it would, we continued our drift. The other guys went through the same section once more, then passed us and we didn’t see them again until the takeout. In the meantime, Shane had lines all over the place, so we were consistently getting hit as we made our way down the 5-mile float. We didn’t get them all, because sometimes even when you’re ready for a strike, the spit happens faster than the set, but we were rather busy. At the base of a shallow riffle, Shane dropped anchor. As a guy used to fishing from boats or fishing slow-moving water, this didn’t seem fishy to Chris. Rather than doubt, he just nodded his head and readied himself for instruction. With weight on the rigs to get the nymphs down, it would appear that an angler would almost immediately get caught on the rocky bottom,
Here are other tips to remember:
1
Keep expectations reasonable. Fishing is fishing, and even if 2-plus-footlong rainbows swim in the lower Sac year-round, that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a 15- to 20-fish day. Fish don’t bite just because you swiped your card.
2
Listen to the guide. Nymphing from a boat is very different than fishing from shore. You stay in the strike zone much longer, but the cast to get your fly there is different. Be prepared to do some relearning when it comes to casting and mending.
3
Lock in. Since you are floating with the current, pay attention and be ready for epic staring contests with your indicator. Your nymphing rig will stay down and be in the face of plenty of trout. Be ready and expect hits. If you want to look at the trees, houses, other boats or update your Facebook status, do it when the guide is rowing upriver to put you back through the run. Otherwise, don’t take your eyes off the indicator, and once it dives, strike!
which was less than a foot deep. It was a spot that most guides – people, really – hardly mess with. There’s anchoring involved, some potentially tough rowing, and, of course, a real threat of snags. But Shane is concerned with trout, not excuses. Shane told Chris to flop a cast into the whitewater, mend it quickly, give it line and get ready. What Shane saw in that shallow riffle wasn’t the shallow riffle, but the dropoff, which was evident by the change in the color of the water. After a few fruitless drifts, Shane took the rod and was immediately into a fish. It was close to a foot long and provided the evidence Chris was looking for. Chris executed the next cast perfectly and had his own. As the river deepens, the fast water continues on top, providing slow water for the fish to hold and wait for food to float by. The speed of the current
4
It’s all about angles. One similarity with wade fishing is the angle of your hook set. Most times if you set upriver, you are taking the nymph out of the mouth of the fish, unless the hit is quick and the fish turns as you set. Once hooked up, the current doesn’t work in your favor as it does from shore because you’re floating with it. Slowly transitioning tension from right to left (all depending on what the fish is doing of course) can tire the trout enough to get it in. Pay attention to your guide’s instructions, especially when fighting big fish. While the lower Sac has plenty of large rainbows, it would be a shame to lose one because you didn’t listen.
5
Protect the fish. Regardless of whether you are catching and releasing trout in the lower Sac or elsewhere, it’s important to prevent accidental kills. Trophy shots are awesome, but keep the fish in the water as much as possible. You want to be able to catch fish in the future, right? Dead fish don’t spawn. If your guide wants to hold the fish for the picture, let them. After all, without him or her there would be no picture. –JL
1
FISHING also prevents snags and sinks the nymphs just enough that they’re prime for a take at the dropoff.
A ROOKIE GAINS CONFIDENCE Chris had it now. He sent his next series of casts further and further from the boat, working all the feeding lanes. The indicator dove,
and as he looked down to get the line between his finger and the cork, the massive rainbow jumped. Shane and I shouted in unison. Chris didn’t see as he tried to pin the line, but sure felt it. The rod tip continued to bounce spastically. It was probably the biggest fish of the day, a rainbow deep in belly and The river’s rainbows can run into the 2-foot-long range. (JEFF LUND)
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color thrashing away at the other end. As Shane extended the net to scoop, the nymph came free and the fish swam off. I felt bad for Chris. He was ruined. The gape of his mouth told me that, though he’d been catching and losing fish for decades, this one would haunt his immediate future. His shoulder was sore from all the fishing, but in that moment he forgot about it and instead stood with the pain of losing a sick fish. Sometimes great days have their flaw. We landed a few more – including a double – then reeled up for the last quarter of a mile. We’d been on the water for hours and the sun had taken its toll, but we didn’t notice until we didn’t have an indicator at which to stare. We’d been so focused on lines and fish that we’d even forgotten trivial things like hunger.
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Chris Barnes left the river a happy, rookie fly angler after some deft strategic moves by his guide (JEFF LUND)
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When we arrived at the takeout, we saw the dudes with whom we’d shared similar but not exact lines to start the day. They asked how we had done as the rower retrieved the truck and Shane got his vehicle. There was a temptation to shout our number because we’d had a great day, but they seemed more urgent to find that someone else had endured a similar day. “We did alright; a couple around 20.” The truth was a couple of the 20 we caught were 20 inches. They mentioned it had been a tough day. The wind was bad. The bite was bad. We hadn’t noticed. Shane’s lines were true. When Shane and their rower, who it then occurred to me could have been a guide, exchanged notes, we discovered we were fishing similar rigs, but our lines and depths were different. That’s the difference between a 20-fish day and a two-fish day. Shane drove us back to the launch where we left Chris’s truck. We thanked him, shook hands and followed the drab, gray asphalt south. We had three hours ahead of us, but stories of good lines to keep us company. CS Editor’s note: Jeff Lund formerly lived in Manteca and writes for our sister magazine, Alaska Sporting Journal.
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FISHING
SHINING ON THE SHOSHONE A ROADTRIP LEADS TO A WYOMING RIVER FILLED WITH FAT CUTTS, ’BOWS AND BROWNS The author’s friend Darrin Bergen fishes northwest Wyoming’s Shoshone River, a 100-mile scenic and wild waterway that cuts through the east side of Yellowstone National Park and is loaded with cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout. (TIM E. HOVEY)
By Tim E. Hovey
CODY, Wyo.–Stretching nearly 100 miles, the Shoshone River drops down from the east side of Yellowstone National Park and cuts through Wyoming to the town of Cody. The wild river runs through a patchwork of private and public land, and contains an amazing wild brown trout fishery. The river is also enhanced by spawning runs of rainbow trout and Yellowstone cut-
throat out of Buffalo Bill Reservoir. Despite having visited Cody in the past, I had never had the chance to fish the Shoshone River. Late last year, my good friend Darrin Bergen invited me out to Wyoming for a sportsman’s trip. The main reason I was headed to the Equal Rights State was to hunt antelope (California Sportsman, January 2015), but Darrin mentioned that I should also pack a fishing rod. He said that the trout in the Shoshone were biting, and if we had time, he
had a few spots we could try. I was just excited to get the opportunity to finally fish the wild river. After driving all day from my Los Angeles home, I pulled into Cody around dinner time. After a meal of steak and ribs, Darrin and I ran over to the 24-hour Walmart and picked up my nonresident fishing license and a few pieces of tackle.
AN EARLY START The next morning, before sunrise, MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING
The author landed this Shoshone brown, part of the river’s “triple crown” of catching one each of its trout species. (TIM E. HOVEY)
we pulled into the parking area near the river, about a five-minute drive from Darrin’s house. We grabbed our gear and started walking in on a well-maintained pathway above the river. After a short hike, we left the walkway and cut through a game trail towards the water. As we moved through the tall grass and alders, Darrin mentioned that a few bears had been spotted down near the water in the area we’d be fishing. Hiking in, I thought how easy it would be for a giant bear to bed down in the thick growth near the riverbank. Within minutes, we broke through the vegetation and found ourselves standing at the edge of the Shoshone. Being from Southern California, I don’t often get to see a true wild river. Where we were standing, the water stretched 60 feet from bank to bank and the river was moving fast. A group of mule deer slowly fed up the far bank, and the rising sun lit up the hills. To me, it didn’t matter what the rest of the trip held for us. My 76 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
first up-close view of the Shoshone made the lengthy drive worth it. Darrin dropped our gear and started rigging up. Over the previous several months, Darrin had been texting me photos of the large trout he had caught on the river, and from the photographic evidence, this looked like the spot.
CASTING CALL Darrin has spent the last three years learning the river and perfecting his fish-catching technique. We were located at a bend on the Shoshone, and Darrin graciously offered up the prime casting spot to me. He explained that I should cast out upstream and let the offering bounce downstream until it drifted back into the bend. The challenge was detecting the bite as the terminal tackle bumped its way downstream. After a quick tutorial on the working rig, Darrin moved his way further upstream to give me some casting room. I stepped to the river’s edge and made a cast. Within 12 hours
of arriving in Cody, I was fishing the Shoshone. I was using a baitcast rig, because no matter what type of fishing I do, I can’t seem to get away from them. Running the line over my index finger as it leaves the reel means I can feel absolutely everything that’s happening at the other end of my line. After the cast, I could feel the barrel weight rhythmically bouncing along the sandy bottom of the river. I was following the drifting line with the rod tip, when I felt it. The bite was subtle, but it was there. I set the hook instantly and felt the angry tugging at the other end. I had hooked a Shoshone trout on my very first cast. After a short fight, the 18-inch cutthroat trout was laying in the grass. I’ve done quite a bit of trout fishing in several states and this was the first cutthroat I had ever caught. Darrin walked over and pulled out a tape measure. The regulations in this section of the river allowed one fish over 16 inches in length and a sixfish limit.
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FISHING
The author (left) and Darrin Bergen were happy to land some fresh Wyoming trout for their tables. The river is one of the top fisheries around the city of Cody. (TIM E. HOVEY)
“That’s your big fish,” he said. Darrin is a sportsman, and if an effort is made to catch fish, they are usually put on a stringer and taken home for dinner. Along with
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perfecting the river technique, he’s come up with some awesome recipes for wild trout. “Those are the best eating right there, he said, digging through his
pack for a stringer. We strung up the cutthroat and kept fishing. I knew that cutthroat trout were only one of the three species that occupied this section of the river. Darrin had sent me photos of beautiful brown trout and feisty rainbows he had caught here as well. With a cutthroat already strung up, I was hoping I could land the Cody Triple Crown by catching all three trout species while I was in Wyoming. We fished for a few more hours before the wind kicked us off the river. Darrin added a nice rainbow and a few more cutthroats to the stringer, and I caught a few nice browns as well. Most of the fish I caught had to be released since they were all over the 16-inch, big-fish limit. That first day was the best day of trout fishing I had ever experienced. For me, it isn’t just about catching fish and adding them to a stringer. I enjoy seeing new places with good friends. I was honored that Darrin
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FISHING had taken me to the picturesque and wild Shoshone River and set me up in his favorite spot. Catching a few nice fish was just a bonus. The next few days were slated for hunting, and no matter what we chased, we were successful. With tags filled and meat packaged, I had a few hours to burn on the last day of my trip before I had to head back home. We discussed some possibilities, but my mind had already been made up. I couldn’t think of anything better than ending that amazing trip just like it had started. I wanted to go back to the river.
LAST CASTS Early the next morning we were back on the Shoshone rigging for trout. The plan was to fish for as long as we could, grab some lunch and then I’d get back on the road home. In less than five minutes of fishing, Darrin already had two cutthroat
trout on the stringer. I was struggling with snagged gear and missed hook sets. The next hook set was solid. As soon as I had hooked the trout, I realized it was bigger than anything I had hooked here previously. We were fishing light line and I had to be careful. After a short fight, the large cutthroat approached the bank, jumped out of the water and snapped the line. Darrin was standing right there when I lost the fish. “That was one of the bigger ones I’ve seen out here.” I’ve lost big fish before, but I certainly didn’t want to end this amazing trip on that note. In less than a minute I was rerigged and back fishing. A few minutes later I was casting the drift when I got a bite that just about ripped the rod out of my hands. I set the hook and in short order had the third jewel of my Wyoming trout Triple Crown – a nice rainbow trout that was strung up on the stringer. We fished for another hour before
the wind once again chased us from the bank. Back at Darrin’s place, I filleted the trout I had caught and got them vacuum-packed for the drive home. Within an hour of fishing the Shoshone River, I was packed up and driving back towards California. Over a lifetime of chasing fish, I have had the pleasure of fishing in some of the most amazing places. I’ve caught over 100 species and some true giants. However, the trips I remember most are the ones where good friends were standing there with me. Even though this was a successful hunting trip, catching trout on the green banks of the Shoshone River with my friend Darrin was without a doubt the high point. CS Editor’s note: For more information and regulations on fishing the Shoshone River, contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in nearby Cody (307-527-7125; wgfd.wyo.gov).
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FISHING
Banking On Steelhead By Buzz Ramsey
I
landed my first steelhead, a summer fish, while casting and still-fishing/plunking a SpinN-Glo into the Columbia River from a beach. It was later, after a friend suggested I try for winter steelhead, that I tried my luck on a midsized stream nearby. Since still-fishing/plunking was the only fishing method I knew, I remember tossing an Okie Drifter into the current. A friend told me the egg-looking cluster was what worked on that particular river. The water was low and clear – so clear, in fact, that I could occasionally glimpse my orange-colored Okie as it sat steady in the current, anchored near bottom with a 4-ounce pyramid-style sinker. After several hours a guy came by, evidently, to see how I was doing. We chatted for a bit and just before he left, he said, “You know, you might have better luck drifting that.” At the time, I’d never heard of drift fishing for steelhead. You gotta remember, this occurred back in the early 1960s, back when I’m not sure there were even fishing technique seminars or sport shows (all they had were boat shows in those days). This was well before the Internet, televised radio shows, know-how reports, and I had yet to see a magazine containing step-by-step instructions on how to catch steelhead. Since I had no mentor to instruct me on how to drift fish for steelhead, I relied on observations and tips from fellow anglers for advice. It was a full season before I would land my first using this technique.
The author has come a long way from plunking an Okie Drifter off a beach for steelhead, but he still enjoys patrolling the banks for them. Here, his brother, John, prepares to corral a wild winter-run that bit a winged bobber. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
MAN, HAVE THINGS changed! And while anglers still catch plenty of steelhead drift fishing from shore, many have added float fishing to their arsenal. And just like those fishing from boats, a growing number of bank anglers take more than one fishing rod along on their fishing adventures, each rigged for a specific fishing technique. For example, many anglers fishing winter steelhead from shore will
carry a drift rod, usually an 8-foot6 to 9-foot casting style in a medium-heavy action with a low-profile baitcasting-style reel spooled with 12- to 17-pound-test monofilament or 20- to 30-pound-test braid. They’ll also have an additional one dedicated to float fishing, typically a light- to medium-action spinning rod ranging in length from 9 to 10 feet with a spinning reel capable of holding 120 to 140 yards of 8- to MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING 10-pound mono or 15- to 20-pound super line. The reason for varying the poundage of mono as compared to braid is that most mono lines break several pounds above what’s stated on the spool, and mono stretches. What most anglers know is that mono stretches about 10 percent when dry, but because mono absorbs water, what you may not realize is that it also stretches 20 to 30 percent when wet. You see, it’s not only the bend of the rod that helps anglers land big fish while using light line, but the stretch of mono. As a comparison, braided lines have little or no stretch and the majority of manufacturers label braided lines at their true breaking strength, which means you cannot compare them with monofilament when selecting the right pound test. What many anglers do, me included, is to step up a pound-test category or
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two over the mono I’m replacing. The heavier pound test braid will still be thinner than the monofilament you were using, last much longer before it needs changing, and add a measure of sensitivity to detecting the bite of a steelhead when drift fishing that’s unobtainable with monofilament. Braided lines are popular for those float fishing because braids float better than mono, and their thin diameter makes them easier to mend upstream when wanting to eliminate line belly in order to keep your float tracking no faster than the current. You can make your super line float even higher by adding a fly line dressing to it.
adding additional weight. Float fishing works best when river levels are low, in areas where the current is slow moving, and will outproduce all other techniques when fishing current edges. Having rods available to address both fishing methods makes sense for bank anglers because, as many have discovered, they allow you to quickly switch from one fishing method to the other, and the fish will quickly tell you which presentation they like best. On many rivers, the late winter months represent the best chance to catch a steelhead – especially a big one, since big steelhead are usually males that come in during the latter portion of the season. CS
DRIFT FISHING FROM shore is most productive when rivers are high to medium height, since with this method you can get your offering to the bottom and slow it down by
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FISHING
Navigating The World Of Fishfinders By Mark Veary From this perspective, almost everything else on this kayak the author borrowed on an Alaskan fishing trip is secondary to the 480x480-resolution color fishfinder rigged in front of the angler’s seat.
E
ven a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while. If you haven’t yet equipped your kayak with a fishfinder, then you’re that blind squirrel. Sure, you may be catching some fish, but you’re definitely limiting your potential. Granted, selecting the right finder for your kayak can be a daunting task. There are so many units on the market today, with a myriad of features you may not have even heard of, much less considered. So before laying your money down, set a budget, evaluate your needs for the different options and do a little research focusing on the features that will deliver the biggest bang for your buck.
(MARK VEARY)
IN ITS SIMPLEST form, a fishfinder provides a graphical representation of the water-filled region between your kayak and the bottom. It allows you to measure the distance to the bottom and yields crude information on objects such as fish, structure or debris suspended below you. At its most complicated, a fishfinder can display multiple high-definition images of the objects both beneath and to the sides of you, while also providing a wide range of ancillary information such as weather updates, tide information and GPS positioning on a detailed bottom contour map. Let’s break the main features down: Screen size: Screen size will have one of the biggest impacts on the price of a fishfinder. Units with a 3.5-inch display and 320x240-pixel resolution start at just under $100. These models are great for monitoring your depth
when trolling for bottom-hugging Chinook or bouncing jigs for offshore lingcod and cabezon, but lack the detail necessary to resolve the difference between suspended baitfish and de-
bris or the subtle change in bottom composition from gravel to rock. If your budget allows, spend the additional $100 to upgrade to a 5-inch display with 480x480 resolution. MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING Screens of this size are much easier to read and deliver three times the detail. You can find models with larger displays, but they take up a lot of deck space and have a commensurately larger price tag. B&W vs. color: Black-and-white displays provide valuable feedback on the density of objects and structure by displaying them in varying shades of grey. Color displays allow you to more easily discern that density with a quick glance. This is especially helpful when fishing structure or searching for changes in bottom composition. GPS: Adding GPS to a given display size will generally add about $100 to the purchase price. It will also add the ability to mark and later find important locations, such as crab pots or prime fishing structure. GPS isn’t a necessity, but it certainly is nice to have. Navionics: Often sold as an add-on, Navionics chips create a topographical
88 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
If you want to go deluxe with a fishfinder, the Humminbird 1199ci features a 10-plusinch screen, 800x600-pixel high-definition display, chartplotting sonar and side-scanning capabilities, but also a hefty price tag of just under $2,300. (HUMMINBIRD)
overlay on your GPS map, complete with detailed bottom contours for rivers, lakes and offshore reefs. A Nav chip might be well worth its $300 to $500 price tag if you like to explore new areas, as it will allow you to immediately key in on target structures or depths. If the price doesn’t fit your budget, you can add waypoints to your simple GPS map based on online NOAA charts. Down-imaging and side-scanning:
Once prohibitively expensive, highresolution down-imaging and sidescanning sonars are rapidly becoming standard equipment on several makes of fishfinders. Both tools create higher definition “images” of objects in the water. While not quite photographic, the images offer a much more intuitive representation of what lurks beneath the surface, whether it be fish, structure or bottom contours. If you’re an avid bass fisherman, these technologies can be game changers. The one drawback is the size of the transducers and need to mount them externally. While standard sonar transducers can be mounted in a scupper hole, epoxied to the inside of the hull or wedged into a water-filled foam cup inside the hull, down-imaging and side-scanning transducers must be mounted below the hull in order to operate effectively.
ONCE YOU’VE CHOSEN a fishfinder, it’s time to find an appropriate 12-volt
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FISHING battery. In general, the more features that your new fishfinder has, the more power it will consume per hour, and thus the more amp hours your battery will need to provide. Here’s a simple calculation that will aid in selecting the correct battery. The number of hours that you can run your finder will be equal to the number of amp hours (Ah) your battery is rated for, divided by the power usage (U) of your unit. So, run time = Ah/U. Say you have a small black-andwhite unit with no GPS that draws about 200ma of power (.2 amps). If you run this unit on a fresh 12-volt, 4Ah lead-acid battery, you can fish for nearly 20 hours on a charge. In this equation, 20=4/.2. But say you have a 5-inch color unit with GPS and backlight that draws about 850ma of power (.85 amps). If you run this unit on the same battery, you can fish for only 4.7
90 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
Garmin’s Echo 101 is a sonar-only unit with a 4-inch screen, 160x258-pixel display and a price tag within reach of most anglers, $90. (GARMIN)
hours on a charge. In this, 4.7=4/.85 Until recently, battery choices were limited to either lead-acid or gel cel batteries, both of which are very heavy and bulky (think motorcycle or UPS batteries). While these are still solid choices, the proliferation of lithium ion batteries has provided kayak anglers with a much smaller and profoundly lighter option. Often sold as charging units for personal electronics, the new LiPo and
LiFe batteries with 12-volt outputs work very well with fishfinders. The one thing to keep in mind when selecting lithium batteries is that they have an approximately 30 percent power loss when running at 12-volt. This can be factored into the calculation above by modifying the formula to: Run time = (Ah*.7)/U, or run time is equal to 70 percent of the stated amp hours divided by the power usage of the fishfinder. Even if your eyes glazed over with all this math, with a fishfinder, once you see what you’ve been missing, you’re likely to realize that you’ve been running right past an orchard every day in a blind search for your nut. Just one safety note to mention: Don’t skip installing a 3-amp fuse in your power supply. While highly unlikely, it is possible that a short could cause your battery to leak, ignite or even explode. CS
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FISHING
GRIN AND BARRETT SAN DIEGO PAY-TO-PLAY LAKE WILL BE FULL OF HUNGRY BASS ON SPRING OPENER
The water may be down a bit at Lake Barrett, but the east San Diego County reservoir will still be one of the best bass fisheries in Southern California. (BILL SCHAEFER)
By Bill Schaefer
SAN DIEGO—Want to go to a lake in Southern California where you can catch 50 to 100 fish a day? Lake Barrett, located in San Diego’s east county, is a gem and definitely one of the top fisheries in the area. It is known as a pay-to-play lake because it costs a little extra to fish here. When open, the lake is limited to 100 anglers a day and only 25 boats. Lots of times there are only two anglers in a boat, so the fishing pressure is even lower than allowed. The current water level at Barrett is low, concentrating the lake’s large fish population, meaning it could produce even greater fishing. But it will also force anglers to fish a little closer together. The two main arms of the lake, being so shallow even when the lake is full, are almost dry.
Because the arms are shallow, a good rain will fill the lake and increase its surface acreage quickly. And because bass love cover, if you show up and find that there are freshly submerged trees and brush, you should attack them – the fish will be there.
RULES TO REMEMBER Lake Barrett is strictly a catch-andrelease lake. Also, your barbs on your lures must be pinched down for quick release. Don’t try to get away with anything, as California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers do come out and check for these regulations and licenses. You don’t have to pinch the barbs on all the lures you bring along; just pinch them as you tie them on. If it’s tied on, then the barbs must be pinched down. That helps release the fish easier
The author caught and released this chunky bass at Barrett. Its fish love crankbaits. (BILL SCHAEFER)
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FISHING too. The fish here average about 1½ to 2 pounds, with many in the 3- to 6-pound range; a few larger bass are likely to be caught in the spring. If the rains keep coming and there is fresh brush in the water, this year could be one for flipping, so make sure you bring at least one extra-heavy rod with strong line. There are a lot of fish tight to the bases of trees and brush. You may find some trees where you will catch 20-plus fish out of a group. The fish love the cover here and you will find them from 1 foot of water out to 20, provided there is cover. Last year, we ran our spinnerbaits right through a bush to draw strikes.
GET THE LITTLE ONES HOOKED Barrett is a great place to start your kids out on largemouth fishing. They definitely should catch some bass. It is also a great place to regain confidence in lures you usually don’t catch a lot of bass on, given that the
94 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
fish here eat everything in your tackle box. This is especially true in the spring when the lake first opens. The bass are very aggressive and will attack everything you throw at them. Even topwater baits do well in spring. The top baits at the lake – and the ones thrown most by anglers – are various plastics, with the Yamamoto Senko and Ikas traditionally leading the pack. Whether you throw the Senko with no weight in the brush or drop-shot rig a plastic worm on a rock pile, every type of rig works here. Like I mentioned, try everything, especially the rigs you don’t use often. You will still catch fish and gain confidence in the set-up. Topwater baits work all season long, and one of my favorites is the buzzbait. If you have never caught a bass on a buzzbait, you have to throw it for a while. The explosion on the bait is awesome and exciting. Weedy areas others would normally pass by will hold fish; the buzzbait can draw
the bass up out of that cover. Any topwater provides fun, so give yours some time as soon as you get to the lake. Frog baits will also do well over weedbeds and floating mats.
PATTERNS TO LOOK FOR The bass here usually travel in wolf packs, so traditional lures such as jerkbaits – both hard and soft – do well, along with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Pig-n-jigs also do well here around the long rocky points. I seem to always get larger fish on the jig. Later in the summer, wolf packs chase the schools of bait around the lake; when this happens, you can throw to the boils to score. Topwater baits or small spoons will do. How about tackle? You can bring your regular gear that you would use anywhere else. You may want to go up in line size, as these fish are strong and not that line shy. I use the 10-, 15- and 20-pound Maxima, which protects against the abrasive rocks
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FISHING and trees. I will also use Maxima braid on some of my flipping rods, as well as my frog rod. If you like to fly fish or just want to try it out, Lake Barrett can also help give you some confidence. Bass and bluegill will both attack topwater poppers, plugs or streamers. For most of my fly fishing here, I use Clousers and a floating 7-weight rod. Anything from 6 to 8 weight should be ideal. These fish fight hard and are great fun on fly rods.
WHEN TO GO The lake is open from May through September, with permits for entry going on sale beginning on the second Tuesday of the month before you would fish, such as April for the opening month of May. Cost of a reservation, which includes a boat and motor, is $80, plus Ticketmaster fees. In addition, each person 16 and older is required to
Where there are weeds, Barrett bass congregate in them. Brandon Cotton pulled this one out with a Senko. (BILL SCHAEFER)
have a valid California license. All persons, regardless of age, are also required to purchase a daily fishing permit at the lake on the day they fish, for $20 per person (cash only). Photo ID is required of the reservation holder at the main gate to the lake, and there is a limit of two vehicles per group. Barrett also boasts good populations of crappie, bluegill and catfish. The only reason the creel counts are low on these fish is be-
cause most anglers come here for the bass. But do know that road and fishing conditions can change at a moment’s notice. While you may have to pay to play, Barrett is well worth it. CS Editor’s note: You can always get more up-to-date information on Barrett and other area fisheries by checking the San Diego City Lakes web page at sandiego. gov/water/recreation/reservoirs/barrett/index.shtml.
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98 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
FISHING
CHANGING OUT OF THE BLUE BLUEFIN TUNA LIMIT LIKELY TO DROP FROM 10 TO 2
A dramatic decrease in bag limits for bluefin tuna, from 10 to two fish, is one of the biggest regulation changes California anglers will have to adhere to this season. (PENTEADO/WIKIMEDIA)
By Steve Carson
A
nglers heading out for bluefin tuna this season will need to be very aware of several proposed changes in the regulations that have been brought about as a result of the relentless commercial demand for the species across the Pacific from Japan to California. Although theoretically the proposed changes are still in the public comment and regulatory review process, the reality is that the changes are a slam dunk to go into force. The motivation came in the form of pressure from various agencies, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife simply dropped into “auto-conform” mode. The only real question that remains is exactly
what date the new rules will formally take effect. The most significant change will be the substantial reduction of the daily bag limit from 10 fish per day to two. Multi-day trips with the proper documentation can have up to a maximum of three days’ worth in possession, even if the trip is longer than that. The species has been declared overfished across its entire range, and the decreased bag limit is expected to reduce the recreational catch by 30 percent for 2015 and 2016, within the range recommended by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Association. CDFW noted that the reduction created a need for enforcement personnel to differentiate between blue-
fin and other tuna species. South of Point Conception, any tuna filleted on a boat or brought ashore as fillets requires that each fish be cut into six pieces retaining all of the skin, all pieces of each fish placed together in one bag, and the bag labeled with the species name. Much of the serious debate on this issue took place under the auspices of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Capt. Buzz Brizendine of Prowler Sportfishing in San Diego (619-221-8500; fishermanslanding. com) is one of the 12 voting members of the PFMC, and reported on the negotiations. We sat down with Brizendine and he offered the following thoughts on the situation: “We fought hard for a daily bag MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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FISHING limit of three. But that catch level carried a lot strings with it, and if the fish were biting too well, we faced the prospect of a zero limit for 2016. As good as the action was in 2014, we would have caught our quota in three weeks.” “The federal people are depending on the accuracy of catch data received from the Japanese fishing fleet, but it is hard to verify. A 25- to 40-percent total catch reduction was mandated. The NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) were clamoring for action, and the easiest entity to target was the recreational angling community. What we hear from Mexico is that they are planning to reduce their daily limit from five down to three, which is a 40-percent reduction of the limit.” “Interestingly, even though the long-time California daily limit has been 10 bluefin, back in September a motion had already been made to reduce that number to five, which
100 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
seemed prudent at the time, so it was easy for the number to go down from five to two.” “There were people who wanted the California limit set at zero, and CDFW was prepared to support that number. The Sportfishing Association of California, including Ken Franke and his staff, were tremendous in fighting just to get the twofish limit. The president of the Port Commission was especially helpful with his testimony, as were reps from Congressman Duncan Hunter’s office. Skippers like Tim Eckstrom, Marcus Medak, and Ted Dunn were there to provide support and real-life information. The pilot of a tuna spotter plane, Tom Green, showed video of large schools of bluefin.” “Some good news is that the stock assessment for albacore in the Eastern Pacific shows a healthy population that does not need any extra regulation. However, there is tre-
mendous pressure on the species in the Western Pacific due to a large influx of Chinese-flagged long-line vessels. Unfortunately, the Pacific decadal oscillation means that albacore are probably not in the picture for Southern California-based recreational anglers.”
FRED HALL SHOW APPEARANCE The month of March means the annual Fred Hall Shows will get anglers in the mood for the coming season. I’m looking forward to meeting many California Sportsman readers at both the Long Beach (March 4-8) and Del Mar (March 26-29) stops. I will also be doing seminar presentations on a variety of fishing topics; see each show’s programs for exact times and locations. CS Editor’s note: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife contributed information for this report. Contact the author at scarson@sunset.net.
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The author and her guide Toni Tonchev pose with her first mouflon ever, not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Macedonia in the Balkan region of Europe. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)
HUNTING THE BALKANS TINY MACEDONIA IS A EUROPEAN GEM FOR ADVENTURE SEEKERS By Brittany Boddington
Y
ou may be scratching your head and trying to remember eighth-grade geography class to answer the question, where in the world is Macedonia? It’s a small Balkan nation located directly above Greece and better known as the birthplace of Alexander the Great. The country is small but rich in culture and even has its own language, though there are only 2 million people who call it home. I got the opportunity to hunt in
Macedonia a few years ago, and I’ve decided to go back again – not just this year, but next year as well! I’m going back the first time to hunt the racka sheep and a big European boar, and next year I am going as the celebrity guest on a hunt going up for auction at the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits April 10-12 in Nashville. I encourage those of you who are attending the show to please drop by the auctions and show your support!
A BALKAN ADVENTURE My first trip to Macedonia focused on
hunting the Balkan chamois. It was my first “chammy” hunt, and I was very excited to challenge myself with the fierce terrain that they inhabit. We set out early in the morning, parked the car around daybreak and took off on foot. I was mentally prepared for an extremely long and arduous day. Less than an hour into our hike I bumped into my guide Toni Tonchev, who stopped short and pointed downhill. I was so lost in my thoughts that I had not been paying attention to my surroundings: we found ourselves MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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European wild boar are just one of Macedonia’s huntable game species. Others include chamois, moufflon and even wolves. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)
Hunting areas in what is officially known as the Republic of Macedonia range from the ruins of ancient cities to spectacular mountains looming over unexpectedly large lakes. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)
standing directly above a group of feeding chamois. We had just come to the bend in the hill and the animals were not yet spooked, so Toni carefully pointed to the biggest of the group. It was obvious with the naked eye that this particular chammy was much bigger in horn than the rest. Toni made sure that I had the
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right one picked out and then he bent forward and plugged his ears; he motioned for me to shoot off of his shoulder. The animals had spotted the movement so there was no time to argue. I did as I was told and dropped the chamois in its tracks. I was thrilled, and the long hard day just became a short wonderful day!
The chamois was even more spectacular up close, even bigger than the one my dad Craig had shot a few years before in the same area; that made me smile a little.
THE NEXT DAY we went to hunt in a different area, and there we sat in a blind. The blind overlooked some
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and added him to our collection.
BRITTANY AND THE WOLF open fields dotted by a few scattered trees. Toni assured me that lots of animals came through the area as sunset nears. Sure enough, just around 4 p.m., the first group of animals came in, and there was a nice mouflon among them. I had never shot a mouflon, so Toni checked it out through the binoculars and gave the go-ahead. This mouflon had lovely horns but also a beautiful skin and mane. Since we still had a couple hours of daylight, we hurried to take care of the mouflon and get back into the blind, hoping that we had not disturbed the area too terribly. About an hour went by with no movement, but then a group of European wild boar came trotting in. There were no giants in the group, but Toni’s friend needed a midsized boar for a barbeque, so we picked one that would cook up nicely
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The final and most exciting part of hunt in Macedonia was when we went after a wolf. I had never even thought of hunting wolves before, since most of my hunting has occurred in areas that do not have them, but I was eager to give it a try. The hunt got more exciting when I found out that we would be using night vision. We drove out to a remote area where a farmer had been having trouble with wolves and had set out a pig as bait. There was a burnedout old Volkswagen van sitting in the field that had probably been there for two decades at least. Since the animals in the area were already used to it, we used the vehicle as our blind. We settled in and got ready for what was most likely going to be an all-night wait. About two hours into our sit,
I heard a rustling and Toni heard it too. There were shadows moving around the van and toward the bait. We did not want to spook the wolves, so we let them get close to the bait before turning on the night vision. I could see somewhere between six and eight wolves moving around in the scope. They were close by, but I had never used night vision before, so it took me some time to figure out the front end of a wolf from its back. Toni assured me that we had plenty of time, so I picked the one that looked the biggest to me and I found the ears and worked my way back on the body to where I thought the shoulder would be. The grass was high that time of year, so there was a fair amount of guesswork involved. I got steady and took my shot, and I was surprised to see the wolf somersault in my scope. It also let out a high-pitched noise that convinced us it was hit. We searched and
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After a local farmer requested that her guide hunt wolves causing problems for his animals,Brittany spent a night in a burned-out, abandoned van that served as a makeshift blind from which to kill this big Balkan wolf with the aid of night vision. (BRITTANY BODDINGTON)
searched, but the high grass hid the wolf too well on that dark night, so
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we went back sad and empty-handed. The next morning Toni showed up
with a big grin on his face: one of his friends had gone back that morning and found the wolf dead in the grass. Macedonia is deďŹ nitely off the beaten path, but it should be a consideration for those of us who like new adventures. The NRA Annual Meeting is just about a month away, so if you are thinking about this as a consideration, come to Nashville and bid on the hunt! Larysa Switlyk, who last year appeared on the cover of California Sportsman and is a contributor to sister magazine Western Shooting Journal, will also be accompanying the winner to Macedonia for this amazing adventure. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out on what could be the hunt of a lifetime! CS Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notes: For more on hunting Macedonia, see huntingconsortium.com/europe-balkans.htm. Brittany Boddington is a Los Angeles-based hunter, journalist and adventurer. For more on her, check out brittanyboddington.com and facebook. com/brittanyboddington.com.
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HUNTING
FROM FIELD:
Glassing for turkeys on windy days is a great way to efficiently cover ground. This hunter, near Redding, is looking for birds to make a move on. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
DON’T LET SPRING BREEZES FREEZE YOUR GOBBLER HUNT TIPS FOR FINDING TURKEYS IN WINDY CONDITIONS By Scott Haugen
H
unting in the wind is one of West Coast turkey hunting’s greatest challenges. The birds can be up and active, but having them hear your calls – or worse yet, not being able to hear them answer you – can be frustrating. When the wind is howling, don’t give up.
HEAD FOR THE HILLS The first destinations I’ll head to on excessively windy days are the leeward side of hills, knobs
and ridges. Normally, I’d walk atop the ridgelines and call from above to await a tom’s reply from below. But this won’t work on windy days, as the birds likely won’t hear you; nor will you hear them. The protected sides of hills are where birds often retreat to in high winds. Before committing to a hunt, check the wind direction. It’s best to move with the wind, as it allows your calls to carry further. If you have to hunt into the wind, stick close to cover and keep your eyes open, as birds can be close. On windy days turkeys don’t move as much as on calm days, but when they do, it’s closer to cover and out of the wind.
On windy days check the leeward side of hills and tiny openings in forest settings; often these protective hideaways are where turkeys are holding. (SCOTT HAUGEN) MARCH 2015 California Sportsman
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HUNTING
TO FIRE
WILD TURKEY CHILI, WITH BEANS By Tiffany Haugen
W
ild turkey is tasty and versatile game meat. If you aren’t sure what to do with the meat, one of the easiest things to do is remove it from the bone and grind or finely chop it up. From meatloaf to enchilada filling to burgers on the grill (for great burgers that hold up on the grill, mix the turkey meat with ground pork), there are a lot of options. Once the meat has been removed, don’t toss that carcass. Homemade stock is amazing and will turn ordinary chili or turkey soup into a fabulously flavorful creation.
Wild Turkey Chili 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup onion, diced Four to six cloves garlic, minced 2 pounds turkey, ground or finely chopped 2 teaspoons oregano 2 teaspoons cumin ½ to1 teaspoon red chili flakes Two 7-ounce cans diced green chilies 1 tablespoon green Tabasco sauce 6 cups turkey/chicken stock or broth Three 15-ounce cans cannellini or white beans 1 cup instant or real mashed potatoes Salt and pepper to taste Juice of one lime In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat, two to three minutes. Add turkey and seasonings, sautéing an additional five minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except lime juice, and simmer at least 30 minutes. Remove from heat, add lime juice and serve.
Six carrots Five celery stalks Six to eight cloves garlic Separate turkey pieces so they will fit in a large stockpot. Quarter onion and roughly chop carrots and celery. Peel garlic and bruise with a mallet. Add ingredients to stockpot and fill with water. Bring ingredients to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer over medium-low heat six to eight hours. Salt and pepper to taste. Strain broth and discard bones and vegetables. Refrigerate for up to four days or freeze for long-term storage.
Wild Turkey Stock One turkey carcass One large onion
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Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Game
Birds, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order online at scotthaugen.com.
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HUNTING TAKE YOUR TIME When calling with the wind, allow time for the birds to respond. Though your sounds may be easy for them to hear, you may not hear them. If you feel birds are in an area, find a good place to set up, call and wait. Give birds up to 10 minutes to respond, being aware they may come in silently. When hunting in windy country, there’s no better edge to gain than knowing where birds hang out. Turkeys have favorite places to hold on windy days, and if you can get into those places the chances of success greatly rise. One thing I’ve noticed is toms respond quicker on windy days. Though you may not hear them gobble, frequently they approach on a dead run. They don’t want the sweet-sounding hen (you) to get away. For this reason when calling on windy days, set up and be ready
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Often, especially on windy days, the author’s had good success using a natural tail fan in his hard, plastic decoys. The wind creates lifelike movement in the decoy that wary toms can’t resist. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
for immediate action. On a calm day you might call, move, and call some more. On windy days, set up, then
call and give toms 10 to 15 minutes to respond. If nothing happens, push forward and call again, because may-
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HUNTING be the birds couldn’t hear you. A big bonus hunting in the wind offers is that it keeps the brush and trees moving, covering your movement. Don’t mistake this for an invitation to be careless, but if you have to make slight adjustments as birds approach, as long as it’s done subtly you can likely pull it off without getting busted.
sides of the decoy, firmly securing them into the ground. This will keep the decoy from spinning in the wind. I like using a real turkey tail on windy days, as any movement is more realistic. If you’ve ever seen a strutting tom get hammered by hard wind, his tail often whacking him in the face, you know what I mean about tail movement.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
TURN UP THE VOLUME
Avoid wearing loose clothing on windy days. Turkey vests, facemasks and jackets can all run large in size, and if too loose will flop uncontrollably in the blustery conditions. Secure these garments or wear tighter fitting clothes so unwanted movement and unnatural noises don’t alert a tom. On windy days, use a hardshelled decoy that won’t collapse in the breeze. Place it facing the way you want, then put sticks on both
When calling on windy days, get the loudest and highest calls you have available. Boxes and slate calls are favorites of turkey hunters in these conditions. I’m partial to high-pitch sounds pretty much all the time in the turkey woods, but am particularly fond of them on windy days. You don’t have to be a championship caller to find success. It seems like turkey hunters are always faced with some sort of challenging conditions. Either it’s too
windy, too rainy, too calm, too hot or too cold. If you have time to hunt, hit the woods, regardless of weather. When conditions are tough, figure out what has to be done to put a turkey in your pot. After all, overcoming challenges will only make you a more successful hunter. CS Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies For All Levels, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit scotthaugen.com. The 208-page book contains over 270 color photos and is packed with unique information on turkey behavior and hunting strategies.
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TURNING PEPPERS INTO (VENISON) POPPERS TIPS FOR PREPARING YOUR HARVEST AND CATCH By Albert Quackenbush
W
hile we must eat to live, I live to eat! Of course, food is something that can be eaten alone or shared with others, but the best part is being able to masterfully create recipes on
your own and chow down. This month I decided to share just a sample of my favorite wild game and fish preparations. There are many more, but these make my mouth water and are very easy to make – you just have to have some wild game in the freezer to make them too. Let’s get cookin’!
GRILLED VENISON POPPERS You can start with jalapenos for a spicier popper, or if you are in the company of others who do not like spicy, start with a sweet pepper and kick in the flavors you want later. I have made both, and they both rock, but for this recipe I used the sweeter peppers. I like to add marinated venison strips to my poppers. Cut about a pound of venison into 3-inch-long, 1-inch-wide strips. Sprinkle them with some garlic salt and set aside. (It’s too bad I ate all of my venison already – I had to make plain grilled poppers on this day!)
VENISON MARINADE Garlic salt Balsamic vinegar
Wooden skewers Aluminum foil Prep time: 20 minutes Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and brown sugar. Fill each pepper with the mixture. Lay a strip of venison the length of each pepper. Take your pound of bacon and cut the layered strips in half. Wrap each pepper in a half strip of bacon, then skewer it to keep the bacon in place. I try to get five or six peppers on each skewer, but no more. You want to be able to grab each wooden skewer from both ends. I use wooden skewers so as not to burn my fingers. The peppers are naturally
sweet, so these might need a kick. I like to sprinkle some crushed red pepper over the top of the bacon right before I put it on the grill. Set all the skewers on a piece of aluminum foil. This will help block flare up from the bacon grease as they cook. Fire up one side of the grill (or barbecue) to 300 degrees. On the opposite side, put down the foil-protected poppers. Now it’s a waiting game. The indirect heat will help the venison cook through and the bacon to crisp up. Once the bacon is crisp, remove the poppers and serve! This dish feeds three to four people, depending on how hungry you or your friends are.
I always do this to taste. I don’t want to overpower the entire appetizer, so I add just enough vinegar to coat the meat, add a few sprinkles of garlic salt and cover. Set them in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but overnight is best.
POPPER MIX One 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, softened 6 to 10 sweet peppers (3 inches or better, if you can find them) 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 pound of bacon, cured Crushed red pepper (chili flakes)
The author used bacon and a little heat to turn these sweet peppers into kicked-up venison poppers. (ALBERT QUACKENBUSH)
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GRILLED TUNA FILLETS AND APPETIZER STEAKS 2 tuna fillets (any size will work) 1 large lime (cut in half ) 1 scallion 1 jalapeno Sea salt Crushed black pepper Camp Dog Cajun or your favorite seasoning Prep time: Five to eight minutes Preheat your grill to where it will sear the meat as soon as it hits the grate. I hope you aren’t one of those people who must clean your grill each and every time. Leave it seasoned! If you do so, the tuna fillet won’t stick to the grate. Take a large bowl and squeeze the lime to get all of the juice out. If you are having trouble, use a fork on the inside and twist. Add in a half tablespoon of sea salt. Don’t add any more than that right now. Dissolve the salt in the lime juice as best you can. Appetizer prep: Take one fillet and slice off between six and 10 half-inch cuts (or more depending on how many you have over). Lay them in the lime juice; by the time you get to the other end, you can flip them from start to finish. Take them out and lay them on a small plate. Don’t add any more seasoning to these.
Juicy yellowtail fillets shouldn’t be overcooked. Just make sure you don’t leave thinner cuts of fish on the grill for too long before flipping them. (ALBERT QUACKENBUSH)
Main dish prep: Place a fillet in the bowl for about 30 seconds per side. You really don’t need more than that. Flip, repeat and then take it out and place them on a plate (repeat if you have more than one fillet). When you have all fillets on a plate, sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper over the top of half of them, flip, and repeat. For the others, cover them with the seasoning, flip and repeat. Appetizer: Use the top rack of the grill and lay down each slice of tuna. Close the grill for 30 seconds, open and flip them over. Close the grill again, and 30 seconds later you have tasty tuna apps. I ate mine right off the grill – they were so good! Main dish: Lay the remaining fillets on the grill, with the heat still medium-high. Let them sear on one side
QUACKY’S CHUNK O’GOLD 2 pounds venison chunk meat (stew meat in bite-sized pieces) 1 cup molasses ¼ cup sesame seed oil 2 cups water 1 tablespoon of sea salt (more or less to taste) Optional ¼ cup lime juice if meat is too
120 California Sportsman MARCH 2015
tough. This will help tenderize it a bit. Combine all ingredients and then add the meat. Marinade meat overnight for a minimum of 12 hours. Be sure to use a closed container so you can shake up the contents every so often to ensure coverage. Heat grill to red hot and toss these
for 20 seconds and then turn the heat down. My fillets were super thick, so I left them on one side for six minutes. Flip them and leave them for another five or six minutes. If they are thinner steaks, reduce the grill time. Overcooking will certainly dry them out! While the tuna is being grilled to perfection, chop up the scallions and jalapeno. Mix them together – these will garnish the top of the steak. Add a drizzle of soy sauce on the plate, if you like that flavor. I like my tuna medium-rare, and that is precisely how they should come out. Garnish with the scallions and jalapeno, serve with some salad, or maybe a side of fruit, and dig in!
little chunks o’gold on the grate. By the time you are done laying the last one on, it will be time to start back at the beginning and turn them over again. Once you have turned them all over it’s time for them to come off. But be prepared: If you are standing amongst friends, these will not make it to a plate! They taste best piping hot, right off the grill and into your mouth!
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YELLOWTAIL BURGERS 6 to 8 yellowtail fillets 2 medium-sized onions 4 scallions 2 jalapenos 2 eggs 2 limes Breadcrumbs Camp Dog Cajun or your favorite seasoning 2 percent shredded Mexican cheese Tapatío or your favorite hot sauce Prep time: 20 minutes Place aluminum foil over the top section of your grill. Fire up the grill to a medium heat. Start by cutting the limes in half and squeezing the juice into a large bowl. Set aside.
Chop up the yellowtail into medium-sized chunks. Don’t go too small because you don’t want it turning to mush. Add the diced yellowtail to the lime juice and mix thoroughly. Leave it there to soak. Go wash your hands (my wife would be very unhappy if everything in the kitchen smelled like fish). Chop the onion into medium-sized chunks. You want some good bite here! Set these aside in a separate bowl. Slice up the scallions and the jalapenos. Mix them in with the onion. Add one egg to the yellowtail mix (set the other aside in case you need it). Measure a half-cup of breadcrumbs and pour into the yellowtail bowl. Measure out two tablespoons of seasoning and add it to the mix. Pour the vegetables into the bowl of yellowtail. Pull up your sleeves and start mixing everything by hand. Get it worked in
Yellowtail caught out of the Pacific provide a protein-packed alternative to ground beef for your grilled burgers. (ALBERT QUACKENBUSH)
good and, after a bit, make a patty. If it holds together well, you are ready to grill. If not, add the other egg to bind better. Make about eight patties and wash your hands. Sprinkle a good dusting of Camp Dog or other seasoning over the top of the burgers. I use PAM, but you can use vegetable oil or olive oil on the foil. Spray it on and then carefully place your burger patties, seasoning-side down; this gives the outside a spicy crust. Then once they are all on there, sprinkle some more seasoning on top. Close the grill cover and wait three to four minutes, depending on how thick you made them. After those minutes are up, carefully flip the burgers as they can still fall apart. Wait another two minutes and cover the top of each burger with a little cheese. Wait until the cheese melts and you are ready to eat! Once on the plate, pour a little Tapatío or other hot sauce over the top of your burger. They might already be spicy enough for you, but I like mine with some kick. Share with friends and enjoy. CS Editor’s note: For more on the author, go to socalbowhunter.com.
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