Cal Sports April 2019

FISHING • HUNTING • TRAVEL CALSPORTSMANMAG.COM

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Sportsman

California Your LOCAL Hunting & Fishing Resource

Volume 11 • Issue 7 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Brittany Boddington LEAD WRITER Tim E. Hovey CONTRIBUTORS Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Todd Kline, Bill Schaefer, Jeff Walters SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Kayla Mehring, Jake Weipert PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker DIGITAL STRATEGIST Jon Hines ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Aumann INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@calsportsmanmag.com CORRESPONDENCE Email ccocoles@media-inc.com Twitter @CalSportsMan Facebook.com/californiasportsmanmagazine ON THE COVER April 27 marks the statewide trout opener for California, and if the weather cooperates several Eastern Sierra fisheries should be productive as crowds will flock to Convict and Crowley Lakes, Bridgeport Reservoir, the West Walker River and more. (SIERRA DRIFTERS GUIDE SERVICE)

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 7

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(MONO COUNTY TOURISM)

HAVE A HOLLY, JOLLY ‘FISHMAS’

There may be a lot of snow still in the Eastern Sierra when April 27 rolls around, but winter will be the last thing on the minds of trout anglers heading up Highway 395 enroute to lakes, streams and creeks in search of fat rainbows for their stringers. To get you ready for the big day, we have multiple stories this issue, including a preview of Mono County fisheries like Crowley and Convict Lakes, plus the June Lake Loop, West Walker River and other spots to wet a line and kick off opening day.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURES 25

FAN THE FLAMES

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Reaching your backcountry campsite is a great feeling. But there’s work to be done still, including lighting a fire to get you through that first night.

Tim Hovey has lit a few campfires in his day and this issue gets down to the business of how to use everything from char cloths to even batteries and sticks of gum wrappers to channel your inner fire-starter.

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NOT SO MELLOW YELLOWS As spring begins to crank up this month, Pacific Ocean anglers know what species to target in the warming waters off the Southland coast. Yellowtail, which range from 10 to 30 pounds and put up quite a fight, are active biters this time of year, and our Capt. Bill Schaefer knows how to get you into their strike zone.

MAKING SENSE OF GOBBLER SENSES Call him the wild turkey whisperer.

Scott Haugen reminds us that the detail-oriented hunter who understands the acute senses of toms will have better luck bagging a spring gobbler. Haugen offers tips for getting inside a turkey’s vision and hearing, and wife Tiffany whips up some wild game tacos for after you’ve harvested your bird.

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FROM HUNTING SKILLS CAMP GRADUATES TO HARVESTERS Brittany Boddington cofounded She Hunts, a skills camp for women who are interested in hunting and the shooting sports. Her column this issue recaps a recent camp and the stories of a few gals who went from attending to successfully filling up their freezers!

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When World War II Manzanar internees defiantly fished the Eastern Sierra Planning a summer full of trout fishing trips Collins Lake fishing preview SoCal trout lake, river options Spring spawn is on for bass Gun dog training: Why toys aren’t tools

DEPARTMENTS 11 30 33 35

The Editor’s Note Adventures of Todd Kline Photo contest winners Outdoor calendar

Read California Sportsman on your desktop or mobile device. 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) 382-9220 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 © 2019 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. 8 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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THEEDITOR’SNOTE

Part of the editor’s hometown of San Bruno once was where Japanese-Americans were gathered for internment after the breakout of World War II. (CHARLENE KING)

M

y dad was 9 years old on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy’s task force attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. But for my dad’s parents and brothers and those living in San Francisco, Dec. 8 was just as, if not more, scary than the day before.

“We were all convinced San Francisco was going to be attacked next,” he once told me.

At the time, it probably was justified to have that fear. But the fact is that fear turned to paranoia, and West Coast Japanese-Americans were unfairly subjected to incarceration in dreary concentration camps like Manzanar.

Cory Shiozaki, who directed the 2012 documentary The Manzanar Fishing Club (page 13) had his own personal connection to the persecution of people of Japanese descent. And when he said his mom Leah, whose family lived in the Bay Area, was first sent to the Tanforan Detention Center, it literally hit close to home.

Tanforan, now a shopping center, is located in my hometown of San Bruno. It was once a horse racing track that legendary colt Seabiscuit once trained at. But the facility, which burned to the ground in a 1964 fire, was also utilized as an assembly center early in World War II for internees to stay at on a temporary basis before being transferred to permanent camps.

“They quartered these people in horse stables with the stench of manure. You couldn’t eliminate that smell,” Cory Shiozaki told me about what his mom and her family endured at Tanforan before they were transferred to a camp in Utah. “They whitewashed it; they mucked up the stalls, but there was still a lingering stench of horse manure.”

Today, in front of the main entrance at Tanforan, a mall I spent many a summer day at watching movies at the theater, eating at the food court and generally hanging out with my friends and family, there’s a sizable statue of Seabiscuit. There’s also a more modest plaque reminding mall patrons that the ground here was used for more than thoroughbred racing and shopping.

I was glad my dad had a chance to watch The Manzanar Fishing Club with me, and I too was honored to write about Shiozaki’s cinematic gift to those brave internees, who found some peace through fishing at a time when both the best and worst of America was on display. -Chris Cocoles

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FISHING

ONE SPECIAL CLUB FOR JAPANESE-AMERICANS INTERNED AT MANZANAR DURING WORLD WAR II, SNEAKING OUT TO FISH FOR EASTERN SIERRA TROUT BECAME CATHARTIC

“I will cleanse my soul, in the mountain stream. Face down my fears, and dare to dream. And for that moment of quiet dignity, I will feel what’s it like to be free.”

–Lyrics from “To Be Free” (by Harold Payne), performed in the film The Manzanar Fishing Club

By Chris Cocoles

T

here’s a scene in Cory Shiozaki’s film about Eastern Sierra trout fishing that could come straight out of an REI commercial or chamber of commerce promotional video.

Two men, armed with fishing rods, are climbing up a plateau with a backdrop of bright sunlight dipping below the tall peaks of the mountains that surround this trout angler’s paradise. It’s a beautiful sight that screams peaceful serenity.

But then you remember that what you’re watching is far more than just a trout fishing movie. The voiceover during the scene is Dene Nui, daughter of James Motoike, a resident of Block 15 in a United States’ version of a Second World War concentration camp.

Motoike hadn’t committed a crime, mind you, except that between 1941 and 1945 Motoike and other Californians of Japanese descent were considered security threats while America was at war with the Empire of Japan.

Manzanar, located in the dusty high desert of the Owens Valley between the Eastern Sierra and Inyo Mountains, was the most well-known of the internment camps and would hold roughly 120,000 persons of Japanese descent from shortly after Pearl Harbor through more than four years of fighting until Japan’s formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945. About 10,000 were interred here at any one time.

Motoike was one of thousands of

Japanese-Americans and immigrants from Japan sent to camps like Manzanar, smack dab in the middle of some of the state’s best trout fishing waters. He was one of a few incarcerated men, women and children who found brief moments of freedom at Manzanar while fishing just outside the camp’s fences of barbed wire and towers with armed guards.

“My father’s biggest stories – or his biggest fish stories – were always about sneaking out of Manzanar,” Nui said in The Manzanar Fishing Club, a 2012 documentary.

Director Cory Shiozaki is a Southern California resident and avid trout angler whose own parents were interred in two other camps among several spread throughout the Western states during the war.

“He would always say, ‘We would sneak out under their noses,’” Nui added. “And being able to run away essentially for a day was something that embodied his personality and his way of communicating his unhappiness. And that the only freedom that he ever had was in fishing.”

And for an angler who for years as a licensed Eastern Sierra trout guide with a personal connection to the story of these oppressed American citizens treated as enemies of their own country, Shiozaki, who studied film at Cal State Long Beach, found a project he would embrace.

“At some point in my life, I did want to tell that story that my parents didn’t tell me about incarceration,” he says.

“All along, this idea of what had happened with the executive order, I became very obsessed with the idea that this is a story that needs to be told.”

During the internment of Americans of Japanese descent and recent immigrants from Japan, Manzanar’s location in the trout-filled Eastern Sierra waters provided internees the chance to flee camp to fish. Their stories are told in 2012’s The Manzanar Fishing Club. (THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB)

YES, IF YOU HAD Japanese ancestry, lived on the West Coast after the Japanese calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

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FISHING In the early years of the camp, getting through the barbed wire and slipping past armed guards was dangerous. Several anglers were stopped at gun- and bayonet point, but the chance to flee the camp and find some peace while fishing was worth the risk. (THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB)

attack on Pearl Harbor and were subject to Executive Order 9066, signed

by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, your life was turned upside down.

After the Dec. 7, 1941 Imperial Japanese Navy attack that devastated Battleship Row and the United States Pacific Fleet – save for its aircraft carriers, which were at sea and perhaps saved America from destruction – President Roosevelt delivered his famous “A date which will live in infamy” speech. A little more than two months later, FDR’s executive order would ultimately send Shiozaki’s parents to camps in Idaho and Utah, respectively.

With widespread panic that the West Coast was the next target as Japan set its sights on conquering Southeast Asia, Japanese-Americans became an enemy within their own country compared to the enemy who resided on the other side of the Pacific. Especially out West, they were even thought of as bigger threats than those of German and Italian heritage as fighting would escalate in the European theater.

“Even though they were American citizens they were reclassified as enemy aliens,” Shiozaki says. “So having that placed on them as ‘Hey, 14 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

you’re an enemy alien,’ it created a lot of difficult (feelings).”

Propaganda and fear are both omnipresent in wartime. Leaflets warned that those of Japanese descent were a threat to America. The film showed a “California Jap Hunting License” patch – “OPEN SEASON-NO LIMIT” – with a caricature of a hunter aiming his weapon.

In other words, having Japanese blood during that time brought new meaning to being an American. In a propaganda video that appears in the film, the United States Government spun the camps as being a comfortable alternate home away from home for internees. (“The Japanese in America are finding Uncle Sam a loyal master – despite the war,” the video’s narrator shockingly said.)

But in the early years of the war Manzanar felt like the maximum security prison it resembled as internees stayed in Army barracks with cots, a stove, a light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and not much else.

Shiozaki’s film – his close childhood friend Richard Imamura wrote the script for the documentary – shows many of the anglers being held at gunpoint when they attempted to leave the camp for a day of fishing in

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FISHING

Director Cory Shiozaki was first inspired by a photo taken of Manzanar resident Heihachi Ishikawa by a fellow internee who used a contraband camera to take mages of life at the camp. (THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB; U.S. GOVERNMENT)

one of several nearby creeks. But the act of defiance and feeling of freedom trumped the risks involved.

“Sometimes people ask, ‘Why would somebody leave the camp to go fishing?’ ‘Why would they crawl out through the barbed wire, under the tower and potentially risk their lives to go fishing?’” Manzanar National Historic Site chief interpretive ranger Alisa Lynch said in the film.

“And I think the answer has a lot more to do with just catching a fish or being a sportsman. I think it has to do with the human spirit and the desire to be free. And to do something that you love when you’ve been taken away from everything that you know.”

“That feeling of freedom and doing the trout fishing outside of the camp, it was really a satisfying feeling,” said Archie Miyatake (Block 20, Barrack 12, Apartment 4), who as a young boy at Manzanar managed to slip through the barbed wire to fish with his older cousin. “Because you feel like you can put one over on the government.”

Archie’s father Toyo, a renowned Los Angeles photographer, managed to use a makeshift camera to capture images of life at the camp. Those photographs included a shot of another camp internee, a 50-something-year-

old gentleman known back then as “Ishikawa the Fisherman.”

In the iconic photo that would eventually become the poster for The Manzanar Fishing Club, Heihachi Ishikawa (Block 20, Barrack 14, Apartment 4) is holding a stringer of golden trout caught in waters a long hike outside the camp. When he saw that grainy photo, Shiozaki was fascinated and wanted to learn more.

“Since cameras were contraband and not permitted, technically (Miyatake) did not have a camera. He had a lens and film holders. While he was in camp, he had some carpenters build him a box camera out of wood and took pictures,” Shiozaki says. “And eventually, one of the photographs during the time he stayed at Manzanar was this guy who was a neighbor of his holding a stringer of golden trout. ‘How the heck did this guy catch golden trout if he was incarcerated?’”

Shiozaki had to find out.

A TRUE BABY BOOMER, Cory Shiozaki was born in 1949. He is a third-generation Japanese-American, known as a sansei. Cory’s mom Leah grew up in the Bay Area and dad Ron was from just outside Portland, Oregon. After the Pearl Harbor attack sent the U.S. into

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war with Japan, Cory’s parents were sent to camps far from home, Dad to Minidoka, about 20 miles from Twin Falls, Idaho, and Mom to Topaz, in western Utah.

The Shiozaki family restarted their life with what little they had left (at the end of the war, all interned at the camps were given $125 and a train ticket, which Shiozaki reminds was the same restitution federal prisoners received upon their release from prison).

Ron and Leah Shiozaki ran a small grocery store on Chicago’s North Side.

Five years after Cory was born, the elder Shiozaki got a phone call from a friend and was convinced to move to Gardena, a city in the South Bay area near Los Angeles and home to one of the state’s largest populations of Japanese-American residents. Ron Shiozaki then ran a successful clothing store business after relocating to Southern California.

But it wasn’t until he was in college that Shiozaki knew what his parents endured a few years before he was born. By the late 1960s, a time when many of Shiozaki’s age took up a cause, he found one when he learned what happened to his parents and other West Coast residents with a Japanese heritage during World War II. “The Vietnam War was happening and I was draft-eligible. In fact, I think my draft number was 158 and it went up to 253 or something like that. So I was about to be drafted,” he says.

“At the same time, I learned about the incarceration of Japanese-Americans, which I’d never known about.

So I confronted my dad and asked him why he never talked about it.”

“I was very, very adamant about this because the social injustices (of the time). The civil rights movement was starting to get momentum and (there were) anti-war demonstrations. And I was so upset about what had happened with this executive order. I told my dad that in protest I was going to go to Canada. He got very angry and I said, ‘Why are you not condoning my belief in this protest of what they’re doing in this genocide

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FISHING war against Asian people, considering what happened to you guys?’”

But Mr. Shiozaki was just as defiant, telling Cory that if he fled for Canada he’d disown his son.

“His reply was, ‘Right or wrong, this is the only country I know.’ And I was taken aback by that,” Shiozaki says. “He wouldn’t support my choice to want to protest in this manner. But out of respect for my father, I honored his wish and ended up serving six years in the Army.”

But while he served his country – even one that in his mind turned its back on the previous generation of Japanese-Americans – Shiozaki was obsessed with knowing what really happened in the internment camps.

Starting in 1969 and every April since, interned survivors and their families have participated in the Manzanar Pilgrimage at the camp – run now by the National Park Service – to honor those who were sent there.

In his senior year of college, Shiozaki created a short film about Manzanar, picking the brain of Sue

Kunitomi Embrey, the founder of the Manzanar Committee that started the pilgrimage in 1969. He went to his first pilgrimage at Manzanar in 1972, as determined as ever to unlock new secrets about the experience of American citizens locked up in detention centers and camps.

“Of course, there were basically just ruins. There wasn’t much that the government left to show that this type of thing had happened. They wanted this to be a lost memory,” says Shiozaki, who aptly named his production company From Barbed Wire to Barbed Hooks LLC. “This happened and the government didn’t want to bring it up anymore. And neither did a lot of the Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated for a variety of reasons. Partially because there was a lot of shame and guilt associated with being incarcerated. It was just bad memories.

Everyone wanted to forget about this and not relive it.”

But he pressed his parents to open up to him, mostly just to provide them a semblance of healing.

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FISHING IS OBVIOUSLY THE centerpiece of The Manzanar Fishing Club. Both Ron and Cory shared a love for fishing.

One of Cory’s favorite stories from his dad – Ron passed away in 2014 at 98 years old – was from his Oregon days as a young man.

“He graduated from the University of Washington in 1939. Before that he was living near Westport, Oregon, where his family was from. One time he went fishing on the Columbia River and caught a couple salmon,” Cory Shiozaki says. “And a game warden came up on him and said, ‘Nice fish.

Let me see your license.’ My dad was pretty quick-witted and said, ‘Oh, I’m Native American and don’t need a fishing license.’ And the warden walked away.”

Cory really got into trout fishing in the 1990s, and while his dad knew more about catching salmon than trout, Cory was skilled enough to guide Eastern Sierra trips while being a seasonal resident of Bishop in the mid- to late 2000s.

It was also about that time that he spotted that photo of the Manzanar fisherman and his stringer of trout.

After spending 37 years with the International Cinematographers Guild and, among other projects, was part of the camera crew on the Academy Award-winning film Dances With Wolves (1990), Shiozaki began to tirelessly research Manzanar’s fishing legacy.

“I started with just the intrigue of one photograph and started asking the park ranger staff at Manzanar if they had heard of anybody else doing this. And at the time, when the interpretive center opened they were actually pursuing taking oral histories of surviving people from Manzanar,” Shiozaki says.

“And when they would go out and do these oral histories, I asked them before they got a hold of these people, would they mind asking preliminary questions whether or not any had connection or activity with Manzanar families that were going fishing while they were incarcerated. And the ones

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FISHING

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that they did stumble on – maybe a half dozen – I would tag along with them during the interview for these oral histories.”

Two internees that struck a chord with Shiozaki were Ken Miyamoto, who knew how epic the trout fishing was around the camp he was being sent to, so he brought along his tackle like hooks, leaders and sinkers. And Shiozaki also sat in on an interview with Jiro Matsuyama, who took a job with a crew supervising the reservoir adjacent to the Manzanar camp.

“They gave him a vehicle, so he had a lot more accessibility to go in and out of the camps. What he would do is order his equipment from Sears and Roebuck and used to go out fishing and would take his friends out,” Shiozaki says of Matsuyama. “But in the beginning, he didn’t want to get caught, so he declined all these offers and pretended to be ignorant. ‘No, I don’t know anything about fishing.’

Later on he was able to assist people leaving the camp and sneaking out toward the reservoir.”

He had something to work with now. With an assist from his friend Imamura, paying homage to those anglers who made the best of some of the worst times of their lives was taking shape.

THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPELLING moments The Manzanar Fishing Club recalls during that challenging time (and the few internees who did talk about their fishing experience are just a handful of thousands who lived through Manzanar and the other camps with re-

markable tales of their own).

The anglers who sneaked out sometimes crawled under the cloak of darkness to avoid being spotted. They made makeshift rods out of sticks and rakes, used bent paper clips to create hooks and found everything from worms to kneaded balls of rice for bait.

The film recreates the infamous Manzanar Riot on Dec. 6, 1942 – coincidentally around the one-year anniversary of Pearl Harbor – that led to a shootout with guards and left two internees dead. But there was also a human element to the ordeal for the Japanese-Americans, including a heartwarming story of an MP who gave one young boy, Mas Okui (Block 27, Barrack 12, Apartment 1), droplines to fish with in a brown paper sack. Okui and his friends had unsuccessfully tried to catch trout, first with their bare hands and then safety pins at the end of balls of string.

“That was an act of kindness,” Okui said in the movie.

One of Shiozaki’s favorite stories from his research was one he had to cut from the film. Near the end of the war, about the time the U.S. had dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the war seemed destined to end, a group of internees wanted to make one last long hike to fish a remote high-elevation lake.

One of the members of the party was a middle-aged man who wasn’t in the best of shape but was an artist who decided to stay behind and paint while his friends fished. But an unexpected snowstorm blanketed the mountains and the fishermen huddled in a cave.

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They never found their friend.

“They made maybe three attempts with search parties to look for him and couldn’t find him. And about a month later there were two hikers from Independence (who wanted to climb Mount Williamson),” Shiozaki says. “And when they were hiking they noticed a wooden stick protruding from the rocks and felt that it was an anomaly because they were above the tree line and there’s no wood up there. And they went over to take a look at what that was, and what happened was that was the guy’s fishing pole next to the decaying remains of the fisherman. They just buried him up there.”

MANZANAR SHUT DOWN FOR good on Nov. 21, 1945 and the government mostly tore down the camp structures, leaving a small trace of what went on that’s preserved today at Manzanar National Historic Site.

But with the Manzanar Pilgrimage returning every last weekend in April – ironically coinciding with the statewide trout opener – those who lived through the war from inside and outside the barbed wire fences will always remember what happened there.

And for Shiozaki, The Manzanar Fishing Club also has its own tribute on both sides of Highway 395 about 1½ miles north and 1¼ miles south of the camp.

“We feel that we have a certain responsibility to continue to tell the story and the narrative. And what we’ve done going on three years now is we’re volunteers and have Manzanar Fishing Club Adopt-a-Highway signs up near Manzanar,” he says.

“And twice a year in the spring and the fall we go up there and pick up trash off the highway as part of the remembrance of Manzanar. We are always reminded that this is something that we want others to know. We take pride in that we have the opportunity to bring awareness to the site by this highway sign.”

One of those clean-up weekends is scheduled for May 17, and a day lat-

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FISHING er Shiozaki and Imamura will host a walking tour of the camp and a special screening of the film.

His parents were well into their 90s when Shiozaki was working on the film and securing enough funds to complete the project, which spanned 6½ years. Ron and Leah, who had both been slowed by dementia, got to see rough cuts and snippets of the film before Cory finished the final version.

“Whenever they saw images in the film of the barracks and everything, it struck a chord with them and they did make comments. ‘Oh wow! That’s camp,’” Shiozaki says. “Like so many in that generation, it really created a very important thing in their lives.

There were all kinds of mixed emotions about it.”

Shiozaki’s parents had a typical way to get past whatever bitter feelings they must have had during the war and what they and other Japanese Americans were subjected to as

their country fought in the Pacific theater. Leah, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, is now 101, almost 75 years after she faced the indignity of camps like Manzanar.

Perhaps fishing was a way for The Manzanar Fishing Club participants to lift a collective middle finger to their plight and injustices. Shiozaki hopes many, like his parents, moved on the best they could.

“There’s an expression that’s the mantra of all these Japanese people in the different camps. The saying that you’ll hear from other Japanese people that’s very common, it’s called shikata ga nai, which literally means ‘It can’t be helped.’ In modern times, shikata ga nai means ‘Sh*t happens,’” Shiozaki says. “But in the Japanese culture it’s something they use to maintain themselves. Hey, it happened; it’s water under the bridge. There’s another saying called ganebette. That means ‘Just hang on and keep it together.’”

“Those things, which I find for

myself, are some of the values that were passed down through generations about how to live your life.

One of the things that I learned through my parents and my ancestors is the fact that when you have adversity and things that happen when you have no way of changing, it’s a form of acceptance.

There’s no sense of being bitter and angry about something that was beyond your control. How do you benefit from staying angry about this? How do you continue to be bitter about something that you have no control over? That kind of philosophy kind of helped me in my adult life. You just kind of do the best you can.” CS Editor’s note: To order a DVD of The Manzanar Fishing Club, go to fearnotrout.com and like at facebook.com/ themanzanarfishingclub. For more on Manzanar National Historic Site, check out nps.gov/manz/index.htm.

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22 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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KERN RIVER VALLEY With the abundant winter rains, Lake Isabella and the Kern River Valley offer no end of recreational choices.

As shown, the mountains are ablaze with color!

River flows are awesome and as the lake rises, its daily gain is measured in feet, not inches.

2019 is shaping up to be a record year for outdoor recreation. White water rafting, fishing both on the river and in the lake, windsurfing, jet skiing, and every water sport imaginable, plus hiking, gold mining and exploring are all offered in the valley.

For the best choices in accommodations make your reservations early. Campsites, both private and public, plus motels and lodges will be at a premium.

Contact Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce for additional info. www.kernrivervalley.com • 760-379-5236

24 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

MIXED BAG

BEYOND MATCHES

IN CAMP, THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO START A FIRE

When setting up camp in the backcountry or even at your local county park, getting a warm fire started is often one of the first tasks to take care of. But you can use more than just matches to get the flames going. (TIM E. HOVEY)

By Tim E. Hovey

W

hen I was growing up, my family would head out a few times a year to camp in the coastal mountains of Central California.

After we’d set up camp, it was my dad’s job to start the campfire. His technique was simple and always the same: cut up kindling with his hand axe and lean several pieces together in the center of the fire pit to form a wooden teepee. Crumpled newspaper was shoved in the gaps under the kindling and lit with a match. After the kindling caught, he would add a log and call it good.

As I got older, my dad handed the fire duties on camping trips to me. Copying his simple methods, I was building the family camping fire from about the age of 9 and on.

When I got older and started branching out on my own, I always carried an axe, some newspaper and, of course,

some matches with me on camping trips. But as I started to really immerse myself in the outdoors, I began to investigate other, less traditional ways to start a campfire.

BOY SCOUT TRAINING When I was 12, a few of my friends convinced me that I should join their local Boy Scout troop. After one evening of initiation, I was told to show up at the clubhouse, located in the basement of the nearby elementary school, for a surprise field trip the following weekend.

My dad dropped me off early Saturday morning and I walked into the clubhouse. The small group of boys was gathered around a table in the center where the scoutmaster was. Once he settled us down, he started showing us how to start a campfire with just household items.

Most of us recognized the magnify-

ing glass as an easy way to get leaves to burn, and with some preparation and gentle coaxing, we could easily start a campfire. However, at the time the other stuff spread across the table didn’t seem to make any fire-starting sense to me.

The scoutmaster reached inside a box of steel wool and tore off an eggsized chunk of the fine metal. He then grabbed a 9-volt battery and placed the terminals against the steel wool.

Almost instantly, the center of the wool started to glow hot orange. We were all amazed. We had all seen the square battery before, but we had no idea that combined with the steel wool it could be used to start a fire.

The scoutmaster dropped several small pieces of paper on the glowing section and blew on it gently. The paper caught fire instantly.

After the fire demonstration, we were told that the surprise field trip

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MIXED BAG actually involved cleaning up the clubhouse. As a rambunctious 12-year-old boy, being used as free labor wasn’t exactly my idea of a well-spent Saturday.

With chores of my own waiting for me at my house, I decided to walk home.

Thus, my stint in the Boy Scouts lasted just three short days.

Besides messing with a magnifying glass on a sunny day, the battery and steel wool demonstration was my first introduction into using items other than matches to start a campfire. Once I determined that you needed to keep the 9-volt battery terminals covered and the wool stored separately, I kept the simple starter kit in my camping pack for years.

CHAR CLOTH If you read through the accounts of the lives of professional hunters, miners and settlers of the late 1800s, you’ll find a frequent reference to the use of “char cloth” to start their campfires. Char cloth is exactly what it sounds like: cloth that has been charred – not burned – and capable of holding even the smallest of sparks. Using a spark igniter, a spark will smolder on the cloth and can be easily used to ignite tinder and eventually start a fire.

I first heard about char cloth while reading through an old trapper’s magazine when I was in high school. The article described how to make, store and use the fire-starting material. I remember saving the article and filing it away with other outdoor articles.

Later in life, after I’d started taking my daughters out camping, I decided to teach them how to start a campfire using the char cloth method.

Making char cloth is pretty simple.

Take an old cotton T-shirt, cut about a dozen pieces of material, each about a 1½-inch square, then place the cloth in a small tin container.

You can use a breath mint box or any small container made of metal. And you’ll need to punch a small hole in the lid of the container to about the size of the head of a pin.

Place the tin on a camp stove outside. The small hole limits the amount

Making char cloth is pretty simple. Take an old cotton T-shirt, cut about a dozen pieces of material, each about a 1½-inch square, then place the cloth in a small tin container. Ventilate and heat it up to char the contents.

When the smoking stops, you’ve got cloth that will easily ignite when needed. (TIM E. HOVEY)

26 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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MIXED BAG of oxygen inside the container, keeping the cloth from actually catching fire, only charring it. A thick, white smoke will escape the small hole during the process. Once the smoke stops, the charring process is complete.

The charred pieces are a bit delicate, but also easily handled. We keep the cloth dry and packaged in a small plastic bag. When we need to start a fire, we gather some tinder and stack kindling.

We strike a spark igniter, casting sparks on the char cloth.

Once a spark hits the cloth, it’ll smolder its way over the surface of the charred square, giving you plenty of time to ignite dry tinder and eventually start a fire.

Once I showed my daughters how to use the char cloth to start a campfire, it became one of the first things they wanted to do once we set up camp.

Char cloth can also be ignited by using a small magnifying glass if the skies are clear and the sun is out. I always keep a cheap magnifier with my fire-starting kit to use for this specific purpose.

A STICK OF GUM AND A BATTERY I was at a friend’s house several years

ago and his kids had all sorts of things cluttered across his dining table. Among the toys, half-eaten cookies and socks scattered around, I saw a single stick of gum and one AA battery.

While joking around with my buddy, I told him I could start a fire with just those two items. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me to prove it.

I grabbed the gum, unwrapped it and tossed the stick in my mouth. I took the silvery wrapper and opened it up all the way. I carefully tore the rectangle-shaped paper along the longer sides so that the center of the rectangle was skinnier in the middle. He was still looking at me like I was nuts. What many may not know is that the shiny, silvery paper that is wrapped around each stick of gum will conduct electricity.

I grabbed the battery and we walked out to his patio. Tearing the wrapper so that it’s thinner in the center restricts the current loop, causing the midsection to heat up. It doesn’t take too much voltage to ignite the thin paper.

Using the silver side of the modified wrapper, I connected the positive battery terminal with the negative. The

center of the paper began to smolder and then instantly ignited into a small flame. My buddy was shocked.

Along with matches and char cloth, I also have a small container in my fire-starting pack that contains a few AA batteries and a few sticks of gum.

MORE THAN ONE WAY I know it seems simple to drop some matches in a container and keep that with your camping gear, but that isn’t good enough for me. I’ve been on trips where the matches were either old and didn’t light, or were just forgotten. Besides, I’ve always thought being familiar with several different ways to do the same thing is critical to being prepared.

Indeed, I’ve always been fascinated with different ways to do things. When it comes to staying safe in the backcountry, being able to create fire is a high priority.

Starting a fire increases personal morale, keeps everyone warm and enables all involved to warm up or cook food.

It’s all about being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. And you really don’t get any more comfortable than when you’re warm, in high spirits and fed. CS

Channel your inner MacGyver and show off to your friends by getting your campfire going with just foil gum wrappers and a battery. (TIM E. HOVEY)

28 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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Spring has kicked in and my clients have been blessed with some great experiences out on the water. Richard hoists some tanks from Diamond Valley. (TODD KLINE)

Breaking the new boat in right with a couple of healthy largies. (TODD KLINE) 30 California Sportsman DECEMBER 2018 | calsportsmanmag.com

I fished the first FLW Western Region event at Lake Mead in Nevada. It snowed a week prior to our tournament and that shut the fish off. This was one of the most challenging tournaments I have fished and my result shows that. I finished 51st out of 108. (TODD KLINE)

A couple more big ones that I caught. (TODD KLINE)

s e r u t n e v d A

You have to love mornings on the water. (TODD KLINE) We have had some rare storms this year here in Southern California. Check out my boat at Diamond Valley Lake. It looks more like Shasta. (TODD KLINE)

Lake Mead fishing was brutal, but her beauty always amazes me. (TODD KLINE) ee’re not ashamed to admit it: Todd Kline has the kind of life we wish we could experrience. Kline’s a former professional surfer, a successful co-angler on the FLW Tour aand a Southern California bass guide, plus he gets to travel the world as a commentator fo fforr the World Surf League’s telecasts. Todd has agreed to give us a peek at what he’s up to each month. For more on Todd or to book a guided fishing trip with him, check out toddklinefishing.com, and you can follow him on Instagram at @toddokrine. –The Editor

W

I picked up a new 2019 Triton 20TRX with a 2019 Mercury 250 FourStroke. This boat is unbelievable. I am excited to now have one of the nicest boats there is to take my clients out fishing this season on my guide trips. (TODD KLINE) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

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20 Califo California orni rn r nia Sportsman ni Sp Sp por orts or tsm t sm s ma an n A APRIL APRI APR AP PR PRIL PRI P RIL 20 2019 2 019 19 | cal calsportsmanmag.com cca al alspor ssp por po p or o tsmanmag ttsm ts tsma sma ssm manmag ma nm nma n ma mag m ag ag.com co com co om m

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34 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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FISHING

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Convict Lake should be busy on April 27 for the Eastern Sierra’s trout fishing opening day. (MONO COUNTY TOURISM)

APRIL 6-7

SMUD Trout Derby, Rancho Seco Recreational Area; anglerspress.com 27 Statewide trout opener 27 Fred J. Hall Opening Day Big Fish Contest, Crowley Lake; crowleylakefishcamp.com 27 California Inland Fisheries Foundation Inc. Trout Derby, Collins Lake; ciffi.org 27 Monster Fish Contest, June Lake Loop; junelakeloop.org 27 Start of Gull Lake Marina “Fish of the Month Club” Derby, June Lake Loop; gulllakemarina.com 27-28 Annett’s Mono Village Fishing Opener Derby, Upper Twin Lakes; monovillage.com

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FISHING

LET’S DO THIS AGAIN!

Whether it’s with his family or friends, author Tim Hovey plans to rekindle old memories of trout fishing this spring and summer. (TIM E. HOVEY)

WITH TROUT SEASON LOOMING, ONE SPORTSMAN PLANS TO MAKE MANY MORE MEMORIES

By Tim E. Hovey

W

hen spring rolls around, the Hovey clan puts up all the hunting gear and we begin the transition into the fishing season. We usually loosely plan weekend fishing trips to the coast or toss rods in the truck during camping trips to fish for trout in high mountain streams.

We essentially don’t make any long-term plans to fish anywhere specific. We just go when time permits. This year, however, things are going to be different.

Over the last few years, we’ve made memorable trips into the backcountry to fish for trout. This season we’ve decided to head back to a few of our favorite fishing spots. Some are easy to get to; others not so much.

For me, when it comes to fishing

the journey doesn’t always matter. I return to certain areas to relive old memories and make new ones.

MEMORY LAKE Back in 2010, I started taking my daughters to the high Sierra for weekend camping trips. Along with some family friends, we’d plan a fishing weekend and spend a few summer days angling from the banks of Rock Creek Lake.

We’d wake up early, hike to the lake and soak PowerBait in the hopes of catching a few stocker trout. To complete the experience, my daughters and I would keep a few pansized fish to cook up for dinner. We usually didn’t catch any real monsters, but they enjoyed catching their first trout on the scenic lake.

It was a father-daughter tradition that we looked forward to every

summer and religiously participated in for five years. Unfortunately, as the girls got older, it became tougher to coordinate schedules and we stopped going. We continued to spend time outdoors every chance

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

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FISHING we got. But getting away for several days was harder to do. I honestly felt like Alyssa and Jessica outgrew the trek to the high country to fish for stocker trout.

But a few months ago Jessica and I were out running errands and we started talking about plans for the summer. Out of the blue, she suggested we gather up the camping gear and head back to the lake.

She mentioned that she really missed camping and fishing for trout. A few years older and tougher, she even suggested we hike to one of the high-elevation lakes to try our luck. I couldn’t have been happier While we were discussing the planned summer trip, it occurred to me that I had only assumed that my daughters had outgrown the camping trips. I had never really asked them about it. That was my mistake.

This summer we’ll once again load up the camping gear and head to the

Thee golden Th g ldden go e ttrout routt H ro rout Hovey ovveyy aand n hhis nd is bbuddy uddy ud dy EEdd Da Davis avi v s ca caught aug ught ht aand ndd w will ililll pu pursue urs rsue uee aagain gain ga in inn tthe h bbackcountry he a kc ac kcouunttry ddon’t on’tt ggrow on row bi ro bbig, g, bbut utt tthey heyy ar he are so iiconic are cooni nic th tthey ey aare ree CCalifornia’s alif al iffor orni n a’ ni as state t t fifish, h so size i ddoesn’t’t matter tt iin thi this iinstance. t ((TIM E. HOVEY))

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40 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

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FISHING high country to try our luck.

In a time when cell phones and school drama are frequently at the forefront of most teenagers’ minds, my daughters still want to camp out and fish with their dad in the Sierra.

And I can’t wait.

TROUT OF GOLD Last year, my good buddy Ed Davis – he and I have been hunting together for over a decade – called and asked if I wanted to join him for a high-elevation fly fishing trip to look for golden trout. During a few previous trips, Ed had tried to educate me on the subtleties of fly fishing. It has not been an easy task for him.

As a lifelong angler, I hadn’t fished more than a handful of times with a fly rod in my hand. I just had no desire to learn. Despite my reluctance, Ed and I headed to the Horseshoe Meadows area last summer.

Using a 40-year-old fly rod and a borrowed reel, we fished the narrow creek for a few hours catching dozens of beautiful goldens.

Something clicked for me during that trip. I finally saw why this type of angling appealed to Ed. I enjoyed the skill involved in sneaking up to the trout and gently casting the small fly. That day, I became a fly fisherman. A week later the brand-new fly rod and reel I ordered arrived at my front door.

With conflicting schedules and warmer-than-normal temperatures, Ed and I weren’t able to get out again last summer, but last month he sent me a text mentioning that he was headed back to the land of the golden trout this summer and wanted to know if I was interested in going. He added that we might want to hike to a few of the upper lakes on this trip to try our luck.

I walked out to the garage and took the new fly rod out. I looked over a few of the flies Ed had given me during last year’s trip. I grabbed my phone and attached a photo of a

golden trout I had taken last year to the text Ed had sent me. Under the photo I typed, “Let’s go!”

Needless to say, the return trip is already planned.

HIKE TO THE TOP A true benefit of my job as a fisheries biologist is that I frequently discover amazing, out-of-the-way fishing spots during my weekly aquatic monitoring runs. Due to their remote locations, I usually have these angling gems mostly to myself.

A couple of years ago, I was con-

ducting a stream survey on a creek on the back side of the Coastal Range.

We already knew the creek contained a healthy population of wild trout that occupied the mainstem. What we didn’t know was how much of the drainage contained trout.

A natural fish barrier was located several miles upstream and we had no idea if trout were present above it. The plan was to hike up the main creek to the barrier and then continue further upstream to look for fish.

I called Russ Barabe, another fisheries biologist located in San Diego,

Jessica Je ess ssic i a Ho ic H Hovey veyy ap ve appr approached p oaach pr ched ed hher er ddad ad aabout b utt ggoing bo oing oi ngg bback a k ttoo tthe ac h EEastern he aste as tern te rn SSierra ieerr rra th rra this his ssummer um mme merr an aandd do d anot an another othe ot h r family he fami fa mily mi ilyy ttrout rout ro utt fifishing shhinng tr trip trip, ip,, wh ip w which ichh wa ic w was as ex eexactly xac actl t y wh w what at TTim im mw wanted ante ante an tedd ttoo hhear. ear.r.r. (TIM ea (TTI (TI T M EE.. H HOVEY) OVV Y) OVE Y

42 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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and asked him if he wanted to tag along. While planning the survey, he asked if I thought he should bring a fishing rod. Almost without thinking, I said yes.

We got an early start, headed upstream and decided to focus on the survey of the upstream barrier first.

We reluctantly passed by over a dozen trout-filled pools to get the work done first.

At around noon we reached the barrier and hiked around it. After seeing trout in just about every pool during the hike up, it was rather obvious that the waters above the barrier were vacant of trout.

We had lunch at an amazing spot and started the trek back out of the drainage. We fished several amazing pools with small lures and flies, and the trout kept coming. The fish were smaller but fought great and were brilliantly colored.

Davis shows off one of the small but feisty goldens he and Hovey will surely catch again on their fly rods. “It really doesn’t matter how many trout we catch or how big they are,” Hovey writes. “I’m just looking to make more memories in the outdoors with good friends and family.” (TIM E. HOVEY)

44 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

We spent several hours picking apart some of the bigger pools and catching lots of fish. As far as numbers go, it was one of my best trout fishing days ever. That trip occurred three years ago and ever since, I’ve been hoping to get back into that canyon to fish for the colorful trout.

Earlier this year I saw Russ at a staff meeting and he brought up the trip. He said if I plan a return survey, he’d be interested in helping out.

Fishing rods in hand, we’ll revisit the drainage this June.

READY TO FISH I always look forward to fishing familiar spots during the season. For us, these spots hold great fishing and good memories. It really doesn’t matter how many trout we catch or how big they are. I’m just looking to make more memories in the outdoors with good friends and family. CS

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FISHING

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE ‘FISHMAS’ TROUT SEASON OPENER LOOKS GREAT IN MONO COUNTY

By Chris Cocoles

I

t’s that time of year: Fishmas Day is approaching.

Trout anglers have circled Saturday, April 27 on their calendars as the statewide general trout opener.

The Eastern Sierra will be the most coveted destination, so expect Highway 395 to see lots of traffic bound for various lakes, rivers and creeks.

“The bona fide trout fishing season is the last Saturday in April through November 15 every year,” says Jeff Simpson of the Mono County Economic Development, Tourism and Film Commission.

“This is when most waters in Mono County are open to anglers to fish for as many as five trout to catch

and keep per day.”

LOTS OF FISH In addition to plenty of wild and holdover trout from previous seasons, Mono County fisheries will be receiving plenty of trout plants – including private stockings of trophy-size fish – as anticipation grows for opening day.

“We plan on stocking all the major front country rivers and lakes with 600 pounds of 1½- to 3-pound rainbow trout before opening weekend,” Simpson says. “This is the year to come up for fishing on opening weekend.”

As usual, the most popular fisheries are expected to be Convict and Crowley Lakes. Good weather will

likely create “combat fishing” conditions on the shoreline areas at both, but there will be plenty of opportunities and trout to cast for.

“Crowley and Convict always have fantastic fishing on opening weekend,” Simpson says. “Mono County will be bringing a 600-pound load of Desert Springs (hatchery trout) a week before opening day, so expect to see plenty of big fish caught opening weekend.”

Simpson adds that the area’s early-season opportunities for trout anglers include the West Walker River, Bridgeport Reservoir, Twin Lakes in Bridgeport, Lundy Lake, and the June Lake Loop.

“All will be stocked before the opener and should be ice-free,”

Late April in the Eastern Sierra means it’s time to bust out the trout gear and celebrate “Fishmas Day.” Opening day is set for Saturday, April 27. (MONO COUNTY TOURISM) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

47

FISHING Simpson says.

want to keep your eye out for high cfs during the runoff in early spring.”

WATER IS PLENTIFUL It hasn’t been as snowy and wet as in previous winters, but conditions look great for the late April opener.

“Current reports have our snowpack well below the winter of two years ago. Although this winter was a bit warmer, we still anticipate most front country lakes along the 395 corridor to be open and ready for opening day,” Simpson says. “Our lakes, streams and reservoirs will be full with water all season long, but you’ll

DERBY FRENZY You can head to Mono County throughout the summer and stumble onto a fishing derby or contest. But for early birds heading to the mountains on April 27 and shortly thereafter, there are plenty of derbies to enter.

You can find a complete list of events on the Mono County website (monocounty.org), but here are some opening weekend events worth checking out:

Expect to see a lot of different watercraft on Crowley, Convict and Twin Lakes and Bridgeport Reservoir, all of which should be in play for the opener. (MONO COUNTY TOURISM)

48 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

• April 27: Fishmas Day Derby at Tom’s Place; • April 27: Monster Fish Contest at June Lake; • April 27: Fred Hall and Convict Lake Cash Derby; • April 27-28: Annett’s Mono Village Opening Weekend Fishing Derby at Twin Lakes in Bridgeport; • April 27-Nov. 15: Bridgeport Locals Only Fishing Tournament at Bridgeport Reservoir.

• April 28-June 16: Roundup at the Lake Spring Trout Derby at Convict Lake. CS

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FISHING

COLLINS IS COOL SPRING TROUT RELEASES MEAN FOOTHILLS LAKE SHOULD BE BUZZING

By Chris Cocoles

C

ollins Lake, nestled in the Sierra foothills east of the twin cities of Marysville and Yuba City, is one of the area’s top fishing destinations, particularly for trout in the spring before the heat of summer arrives.

We caught up with Jacob Young of the Collins Lake resort (800-286-0576; collinslake.com) for a sneak peek.

Chris Cocoles It seems like it’s been a wet winter in the Northern California. How is the lake level doing?

Jacob Young It has indeed been a

very wet ending to the winter season. We got to 100 percent full and spilling over on Valentine’s Day, and with the continued rain systems since then have not stopped spilling over yet.

It looks like we will start to get more breaks in the weather, allowing for the lake to settle and have better clarity while staying full throughout the spring and going into the summer season.

CC It looks like the trout plants are al-

ready in full swing. Can you provide a breakdown of what trout anglers should expect?

JY We started our spring fish plants the week before Presidents’ Day Weekend and we will continue to do weekly trout plants into May. Many anglers are waiting until the rains subside and water settles to start their spring fishing trips, so with fewer anglers coming out right now the trout population will continue to become more robust. Once we have clear weather, we anticipate an explosion of activity with anglers’ traf-

Family fun, trout plants and great weather means Collins Lake, located in the Sierra foothills east of Marysville and Yuba City, is an ideal destination for anglers. (COLLINS LAKE) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

51

FISHING fic. And with that, a lot of limits will be coming out of the lake as well.

CC What kind of spring tactics should anglers targeting trout consider, both from a boat and shore?

JY Throughout the winter and spring seasons, anglers fare just as well off the shore as they do from a boat. On weekends, boat access allows anglers to get away from the busier shorelines, but we will see similar activity levels from boats and the shore until the water warms up and turns over throughout the spring months.

CC Once again, Collins Lake is hosting a few trout derbies this spring, including the Collins Lake Family Fishing Derby on May 4. Do you have some information on those events?

JY Yes, we are hosting three public trout fishing derbies throughout the spring. There are links to all of them on our website, but we have the fol-

lowing derbies on the docket: • Saturday, April 13: NorCal Trout Anglers (anglerspress.com/events/ norcal-trout-anglers-challenge. html) • Saturday, April 27: CIFFI Derby (ciffi.org/enter-lake-collins-derbyon-line) • Saturday, May 4: Collins Lake Family Trout Derby (collinslake. weebly.com/store/c3/Fish_Derbies) All three provide great opportunities for families to get out and have a fun day together, share the sport of fishing and create memories while potentially getting some awesome prizes as well.

CC Do you have some April and May options for other species at Collins you can share? Bass? Catfish?

JY Late spring is a prime season for bass fishing. As the water starts to warm up throughout the spring, we

will continue to see increased bass activity. The entire foothill region is renowned for bass and Collins Lake has seen exceptional sizes of largemouth bass being caught over the past few years. Crappie, bluegill and other sunfish will then pick up during late spring and early summer. We typically see the most catfish activity during the hotter summer months until trout and bass pick up again in the fall.

CC Weather permitting, spring would seem like an ideal time to fish and visit Collins Lake. What makes it such a great destination this time of year?

JY April and May are definitely the premier fishing months here at Collins Lake. It is the perfect mix of the time of year when trout and bass are active, the lake level is full and we’ll have beautiful, sunny spring days that attract anglers here this time of year. CS Trout plants began just before the Presidents’ Day holiday in February and will continue through May at the lake. (COLLINS LAKE)

52 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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SOUTHLAND TROUT PLAN

FISHING

FROM SAN DIEGO NORTH TO THE KERN VALLEY, HERE’S WHERE TO GET YOUR SPRING FISH FIX

By Jeff Walters

A

s the California spring trout opener looms over the horizon at the end of the month, many anglers plan their spring breaks to fish the waters in the Eastern Sierra.

To get there, they’ll battle long lines of traffic on two-lane roads to get to their waters of choice. Along the way they’ll pass by many of the best trout fishing waters in the state, ones that just happen to be open all year long. Here, we’ll break down the best Southland trout spots and highlight one of the most overlooked trout fisheries in the state, the Kern River.

In all, there are lakes and streams that receive trout stocks from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife hatcheries and private vendors as well all winter long, making for some excellent fishing.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY The San Diego City Lakes Program stocks two of the more popular fisheries: Lake Murray, located off Interstate 8, and Lake Miramar, accessible via Interstate 15.

Other trout options include waters such as Lake Jennings, Lake Morena and Santee Lakes, which use private- and state-allocated stocks. Some city-run options include Poway’s Lake Poway and Escondido-managed Lake Dixon and Lake Wohlford (California Sportsman, December 2018).

RIVERSIDE AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES Some of the top picks include Lake Hemet, Diamond Valley Reservoir, Lake Skinner, Lake Perris, Lake Ful-

With attention this month in the high country of the Eastern Sierra, anglers closer to Southern California have plenty of other options, including the scenic Kern River northeast of Bakersfield. (JEFF WALTERS) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

55

FISHING

The Kern offers some of the state’s most underrated trout fishing, particularly for fly anglers. (JEFF WALTERS)

mar, and others, with some streams as well. San Bernardino has its fair share of stocked waters, including several mountain resort destinations. The list includes Big Bear Lake, Jenks Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Silverwood, Lake Gregory, Arrow Bear Lake, Lake Hesperia, Yucaipa Regional Park, and over 10 different streams. These locations can be reached from many main roads leading into the San Bernardino National Forest.

KERN RIVER This is the watershed that provides the best trout fishing anywhere in Southern California and is where we are going next. The Kern River Basin is a vast waterway that provides water to the California Aqueduct, smaller lakes and parks along its 165-mile journey that starts at the foot of Mt. Whitney.

The Kern is joined by the Little Kern, North Fork, South Fork and other tributaries as it winds its way down some of the steepest canyons you will ever see. It provides great trout fishing for miles and miles, as well as a warmwater fishery in the lower river. And there are plenty of options besides the 56 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

mainstem.

Buena Vista Lakes is fed by the Kern River and is just outside of Bakersfield via Highway 99. Its two lakes and campgrounds offer family fishing and boating. The larger lake is a warmwater fishery that allows private boats. The smaller lake is stocked with trout with only fishing boats, float tubes and kayaks permitted. Both lakes offer great fishing all year. In the winter and spring, trout plants make for nonstop quality fishing.

Hart Memorial Park is 8 miles from Bakersfield off State Highway 178. It features two rather large lakes of 10 acres with lots of parking, picnic sites and playgrounds. The Kern River borders the park most of the way and provides an escape from lake fishing.

The river is rather shallow in spots with many deep currents, though this portion is more manageable than the upper sections, but still not something to be taken lightly. It’s stocked with trout in the colder months from state hatcheries and from private vendors, so the fishing can be fantastic at times during the spring, making this a worthwhile

day excursion.

Lake Ming is located just a few miles upstream from Hart Park and borders the Kern. This section is more turbulent than the section at Hart Park, so anglers should beware while wading or fishing this section.

The lake is stocked during the winter and spring and is one of the most popular spots to fish, with anglers lining its shores and making their casts. This is a stop well worth the time as you travel upstream towards Lake Isabella.

Following Highway 178 northeast from Bakersfield, the Kern River Canyon provides not only some amazingly beautiful scenery, but the fishing for multiple species can be incredible. You will travel a few miles until the road borders the river with many turnouts along the way. This section of the river is deadliest because of the extremely strong currents, so please be cautious.

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57

FISHING

Happy H Ha ppyy anglers pp a gl an g er erss with w thh a sstringer wi trin tr inge in g r full ge f llll ooff trout fu trou tr outt doesn’t ou d es do e n’ n t me mean a yyou an ouu hhave avve ttoo hhave avve all the all the way w y to wa t tthe h EEastern he aste as ste t rn SSierra ieerr rraa to t fifish shh tthis h s spring. hi sppri ring ng.. Th There her eree iss pplenty leent ntyy off fifishing fis h ng hi n aavailable vailili ab va able lee ccloser lose lo seer to t SSouthern outh ou ther th ernn Ca er California. alilifo forn fo rnia iaa. (JEFF (JE JEEFF WALTERS) W TERRS) WA WAL S

please pay attention to the sections of rapids prior to launching any watercraft. This information can be found at californiawhitewater.com, or usda .gov/recmain/sequoia/recreation.

LAKE ISABELLA Lake Isabella is a great place to spend some time and has plenty of campgrounds, lodges, inns and anything you could ever want or need in such a small area. The annual trout derby, which was held in March this year, is a huge event and most locations are booked prior to the festivities.

Isabella is formed in a windswept bowl at an elevation of 2,500 feet. Fed by the Kern River, this section has the first dam to harness the waterflow and is at least 60 percent full due to dam reconstruction. That doesn’t deter anglers from fishing this huge, 11,000acre lake.

Kernville is a small tourist town located a few miles above Lake Isabella. The Kern runs right through the town, which features many private campgrounds, inns, lodges and public parks, plus raft launch58 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

ing sites. You can always find somewhere to cast a line.

The section just south of the bridge can be waded most times and provides excellent fishing all year long for stocked and wild trout. Fly fishing is the mainstay in this area, and the Kern River Fly Shop (kernriverflyshop.com) is the place to go for all your information and supplies, as well as guided trips. There are plenty of places to eat and stay and enjoy your visit.

Riverkern is a small town with private campgrounds that border the river, with plenty of companies that provide river rafting trips. Following the river upstream there are hundreds of public campsites, some maintained by the U.S. Forest Service and some by private vendors that also offer dwellings such as yurts or comfortable cabins.

This is also where the fishing gets really good. The Kern River Hatchery is located here and provides all the stocked trout the river can handle. This waterway is by far the most overlooked in the state as far as trout fishing goes. Miles upon miles

of stocked water draw thousands of anglers all year long. This is a far cry from the crowds of the Eastern Sierra, so there is always plenty of elbowroom.

INTO THE WILD The Kern’s wild trout section starts above Johnsondale Bridge and permits barbless hooks and artificial lures only with a catch-andkeep limit of two per day, (check the current fishing regulations on CDFW’s website, wildlife.ca.gov.

These waters are a fly fisherman’s dream come true, with miles and miles just waiting to be explored. This section, its tributaries and other close streams deserves a guidebook of its own to cover the many miles of wild river.

So this spring, a change of travel destinations and locations may be in order. From San Diego to the Inland Empire to the Kern River Valley, there is some great trout action to be had even if you can’t make it up to the Eastern Sierra. CS

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

59

FISHING

SPRING BREAKOUT TIME

Now is the time where patient anglers can catch a giant bass like this one, which bit an imitation Matt Lures bluegill. (BILL SCHAEFER)

BIG LARGEMOUTH PLENTIFUL IN SOCAL LAKES

By Bill Schaefer

S

outhern California’s bass fishing is off to a great start this season.

The Southland’s lakes are churning out a ton of 5- to 10-pound bass, with largemouth in that range caught every day.

But the best news is that there are already a lot of 10-pounders.

These big mama bass are lurking and looking for some easy meals.

Those have been swimbaits for the most part. These big bass are keying on almost any bait that “swims.”

Trout and bluegill imitations are scoring sizeable fish.

SPAWNING IN SPRING The bass all over Southern California are in spawn mode right now. Even the quick passing storms – and we need them so badly – don’t seem to be

affecting the bass too much, lengthening the spawn-time bite.

Smaller bass are visible, but as the water rises they will fade off into a little deeper water. The bass will not reset; only new spawning bass will move in. Larger bass often spawn out a little deeper to begin with and they too will be hard to pluck from beds.

Keep in mind that if you do catch or take any bass off a nest, if you release it after a quick picture it will return to it and make more trophy bass for you to catch.

THE SWIM OF THINGS And that’s where swimbaits come in.

Anything big and that is a normal predator of largemouth eggs will draw a strike. Trout, of course, will work, but so will baby bass, shad and bluegill. Anything that may intrude on the nest will be gobbled up in a second if

you swim it past the right zone. Those big bass will guard their nest from anything that thinks it is going to get a free meal.

And time-wise, you may spend hours throwing and throwing those swimbaits until your arms grow weary. But you may be rewarded with a giant and set your new personal best.

A lot of other baits will also do well this time of year, so if you’re not after size, go for numbers. There are a ton of males roaming the banks right now. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits, as well as plastics like drop-shot- or split-shot-rigged plastic baits can be effective.

This is a fun time of year for bass anglers. Bring your family or friends and you never know what might bite your bait. It could be a trophy bass on the other end of your line. CS

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

61

62 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

FISHING

YELLOWTAIL ARE RED HOT FISHING JUST OFF THE SOCAL COAST TAKING OFF

By Capt. Bill Schaefer

L

ike clockwork, the yellowtail fishing of the Southern California coast has cranked up to a feverish pace.

Fish have been ranging from 10 to 30 pounds with a few giants mixed in.

Counts are up too, with catch dips only due to the occasional storm. Tuna seem to be on the way too, which would divert some fishermen. But if you want close-to-shore fun, this is the time and SoCal waters are the place.

Everywhere from Todos Santos – about 60 miles to the south of the border – to the Catalina Islands has been providing the action for anglers. Most fish have been caught on surface iron thrown on puddling fish or yo-yoing iron on meter marks. But slow trolling a sardine or mackerel will do the trick as well.

Kayak fishermen haven’t been left out of all the excitement either, as

they have been landing some nice fish along the kelpline.

BE A BIRD WATCHER Keep on the lookout for diving birds feeding on leftover scraps from the yellowtail. A good set of binoculars will help you spot breaking fish. You just don’t want to run all around chasing birds on a seal or porpoise.

A good meter can help as well in case the fish sink out once you reach the area of the working birds. When approaching the school, remember not to charge right in. Use the wind or swell to bring you to the fish. Come in slow, circle to the upwind side and slowly move in. It can make a difference.

ROD TALK For throwing jigs, the traditional 8-foot jig stick is king, but nowadays some anglers like myself go for a little different set-up. I like to throw my iron on a Daiwa Lexa 400 and a Pro-

teus 8-foot inshore rod. Load the reel with 50-pound Jx8 braid.

It’s the same principle – just a lot lighter – but it’s just as strong. For mono you can go with a line like Maxima 30- or 40-pound Ultragreen. For jigs, the list is endless, but scrambled egg, mackerel and blue and white, along with all variations of these, will do. If your buddy gets more bites than you, don’t hesitate to change.

NOT JUST ABOUT THE TUNA Yellowtail fishing has been great the last few years, with only the arrival of tuna turning anglers’ heads. Don’t forget you can also fish that leftover tuna bait on kelp paddies on the way back in and get a few yellows that way. You can use the lighter bait rigs you have for tuna for these fish.

You don’t want to go too heavy, as the yellows on paddies can be a bit more skittish than inshore fish in a feeding frenzy. CS

Jeefffre Jeffrey reyy King K ng was Ki was a happy hap appy py ttoo ho py hhoist isst a ye yell yellowtail llow llllow wta tailili ccaught a ghht of au off ff th thee So Sout Southern utthe h rn rn California Caalil fo f rn rniaa coast. rnia coaast st.. This Thiss month mon onth t should th sho h ul u d be an an ideal iddea eall time t me to ti to bring brin br ingg so in some me ooff these thhes e e hard-fighting hard ha rdd-fifighhti t ng fish fishh back bac a k from f om the fr the sea. sea ea.. (BILL (BBI (BI B LL SCHAEFER) SCH HAEF A ER) AE ERR

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

63

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64 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

HUNTING

FROM FIELD ...

GETTING A SENSE OF A TURKEY HOW HUNTERS SHOULD READ GOBBLERS’ SIGHT, HEARING

By Scott Haugen

I

f turkeys had a sense of smell that matched their eyesight and hearing, we’d be hard pressed to ever fill a tag. That said, knowing how acute a turkey’s senses truly are will help make us better hunters. Here’s a look at what turkey hunters need to know.

TURKEY EYES A turkey’s eyesight is equivalent to looking through powerful binoculars.

However, they see the world in monocular vision, which reveals why birds will approach so closely to hunters.

Turkeys have some of the best and worst eyes in the woods. Like most birds, they see in color, but turkeys are unique in that their eyes are widely spaced on the side of their head, accounting for their struggle with depth perception.

Turkeys scramble to decipher the size and distance of objects directly in front of them. This is because they can’t simultaneously focus with both eyes. It also explains why the hunter who sits stone-still will often encounter turkeys walking to within spitting distance.

A turkey’s continual head bobbing, dipping, twisting and turning action allows them to view objects from two

Due to the shape of a turkey’s skull and the position of the eyes, these birds have monocular vision. Though their vision is very powerful, they have trouble deciphering the location and size of objects directly in front of them. (SCOTT HAUGEN) calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

65

HUNTING

... TO FIRE

PREPARING THAT FIRST GOBBLER

Wild turkey legs and thighs are at their best when cooked “low and slow,” says chef and outdoorswoman Tiffany Haugen (right). Such tender meat makes perfect filling for gobbler tacos too. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

By Tiffany Haugen

O

nce turkey season opens the inquiries start rolling in: “How do you cook a wild turkey?”

“Do you actually cook the legs and thighs?” “Should I cook the bird whole on the grill?”

For first timers, I always suggest butchering the turkey and cooking the breast meat hot and fast. Any kind of stir fry or fajita is fantastic with thinly sliced breast meat. Plank cooking will also keep the meat moist and tender.

The legs and thighs get a different treatment: always low and slow.

Whether it’s a slow cooker, a pressure cooker or an oven bag, legs and thighs need to cook until the meat almost falls from the bones and cartilage.

The end result is tender, flavorful, versatile meat that can be used in almost any recipe calling for precooked meat. For best flavor, always clean the bird and get the meat cooling as soon as possible.

TURKEY TACOS Legs and thighs from one turkey 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground oregano 1 teaspoon black pepper ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 6 cloves garlic 1 cup orange juice ½ cup lime juice Cabbage salad Fresh cilantro Crema or sour cream Salsa In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano and peppers.

Separate turkey legs from thighs. Coat legs and thighs in seasoning mix.

Crush garlic cloves. Place turkey in a slow cooker. Add garlic, orange juice and lime juice. Cook on high heat four to five hours or until turkey falls away from the bone.

66 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

Let turkey cool slightly and pull meat from all bones, ligaments and tendons. Reduce cooking liquid by half by boiling in a saucepan. Chop meat and return to liquid. Keep warm until ready to serve. Another method for those who like a crispy texture to the turkey is to pan fry the meat in a mixture of olive oil and butter before serving.

Garnish tacos with fresh cilantro, crema, salsa and cabbage salad (slice cabbage thinly, lightly salt and toss with fresh lime juice and honey).

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Game Birds, send a check for $20 to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit tiffanyhaugen. com. Follow Tiffany on Instagram, Facebook

calsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2019 California Sportsman

67

HUNTING different angles. This movement lets them clearly see the object with both eyes – independently from one another – and determine not only the distance to the object, but whether it’s a potential threat.

Turkeys have excellent monocular vision. This, combined with the fact they can see in a 300-degree arc without moving their heads, gives them a commanding view of their surroundings. This is why hunters need to be as still as a possible when birds are approaching, even from a great distance.

TURKEY EARS A gobbler’s ears are set on the sides of its head. They have no outer ear to funnel sounds and can detect noise coming from all directions. This is another reason they constantly move their head to pinpoint sounds.

A turkey’s hearing is so acute, it’s nothing to have them respond to a call from mind-boggling distances. I’ve had numerous hunts in mountainous terrain where toms spotted on distant ridges that were well over 1,000 yards away still replied to my calls. Often, you can’t hear them respond due to the distance of separation, but you can watch them gobble through binoculars or a spotting scope.

The key to bringing in a finicky tom often lies in finding the right pitch and frequency of your calls. This is why I, and many avid turkey hunters, carry multiple calls.

I don’t really care what a call sounds like to me; I let the birds tell me if they like it or not. When a bird is hung up or won’t respond to calls, I go through all my slates and strikers to find the ones that hit the high notes, as that usually gets the bird excited.

If clean, high-pitched sounds from a slate don’t work, try high-pitched, raspy clucks and yelps on a box call. In many cases, change is good, especially when it comes to finding what sounds a finicky tom likes.

SEEING IS BELIEVING Turkeys have poor night vision as well, and they are continually preyed upon by predators from both the ground and sky. This onslaught of 24/7 predation is largely to blame for a turkey’s nervous nature. It’s also why so many birds have taken up living in residential areas throughout much of the country to escape predators.

A turkey’s nervous disposition, along with their eye and ear structure, explains why their hyper temperament is necessary in order to decipher exactly where potentially dangerous

sounds are coming from.

Should they not pinpoint where dangerous sounds are emanating from, they might flee in the wrong direction. Wild animals usually only make one mistake, and then they die.

SPEED’S THE KEY Turkeys rely heavily on their speed and camouflage to keep them alive.

When predators approach, turkeys either run off or fly away. They can run up to 25 mph and fly at speeds up to 55 mph. This explains why so many hunters miss shots at spooked toms on the move.

By knowing more about the animals we pursue, the chances of success increase. Don’t dismiss a wild turkey as being dumb or slow; they’re not.

The more turkey hunting you do in a range of habitats and conditions, the more you’ll learn about how amazing these birds are, and how challenging they can be to hunt. CS Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling 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. Follow Scott on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

AAuthor Au thor th or Scott Sco cott ttt Haugen Hau auge genn has ge has been been hhunting unti un ting ti ng tturkeys urke ur k ys ffor ke or nnearly earl ea r y 30 rl 3 yyears, ears ea rs,, an rs andd iss sstill t llll aamazed ti maze ma zedd at hhow ze ow w kkeen eenn th ee thei their e r se ei senses ens nses e es are. are. e. H Hee took t okk this to thi h s mature matu matu ma t ree ttom om llast a t sp as spring pri ring ng w with ithh th it the he ai aidd off a DDave avve Sm Smith mitth De Deco Decoy coy an co andd so some ome bbasic asic as ic ccalling. allililing al ing ng..

A turkey’s field of view is 300 degrees, which is an explanation to why hunters must be totally still when birds approach. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 68 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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FROM SHE HUNTS TO SHE HARVESTS SKILLS CAMP ATTENDEES EXPERIENCE TAKING THEIR FIRST GAME ANIMALS

By Brittany Boddington

I

’ve had the pleasure of watching quite a few ladies come through my women’s hunting skills camp, She Hunts.

Recently I had several ladies who came to camp with zero hunting experience but left feeling like real hunters, as they took their first animals with us.

My friend Kristen had never pulled the trigger on a firearm before attending the camp. Her husband is a big bowhunter, but she never caught the bug. Yet she attended in hopes of gaining some understanding into his passion for the sport.

I started out Kristen on a Kimber

.22 that my grandfather left me. He probably started my dad off shooting with the very same gun and my dad taught me on it, so it seemed fitting.

After she got the feel for the trigger and the bolt action I moved her up to a 7mm-08 MG Arms rifle that we use for the camp and she was nailing the target every shot. So she proceeded to join the rest of the women as they began with sighting in their rifles, shooting fun targets and then moving up to shooting long range with a .300 Win. Mag. That gun was also an MG Arms rifle, but it was the Banshee style, which is heavy and made for the range. It doesn’t kick very much for a .300 due to the weight and the

muzzle break, and she didn’t seem to mind the recoil at all.

THIS GROUP OF LADIES bonded fast; they all seemed to be one solid group by the end of the first day. The participants were cheering each other on and supporting one another on the range and in hunting.

Several of the women came with the intent of harvesting an animal but were happy to let some less experienced hunters ride along and learn from watching them stalk their quarry.

Another one of our ladies, Julie, was on the fence when she arrived about actually hunting. She wanted the information about hunting in order

She Hunts cofounder Brittany Boddington (center, kneeling) brought together a new wave of aspiring hunters for a five-day camp. (ANTHONY JANSSEN/GREG WETZEL)

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Julie Ju ulil e couldn’t coul co u dn ul dn’t’tt hharvest a ve ar v stt a rram am aatt th tthee Te TTexas exa xass ga xa game me rranch annchh bbut utt tthis hs hi newb ne newbie w iee m wb managed anag an agged e ttoo sc sscore oree a bo or bboar. ar.. (BRITTANY ar (BR BRIITT BR ITT TTANY ANN BBO ANY BODDINGTON) ODDI DD NGT NGTON) NG N N)

to make her final decision on whether or not she would become a hunter.

By day two she had her heart set on a specific management black Hawaiian ram to be her first animal and was working her booty off to get it. I

told Julie in one of the seminars not to take a shot unless she was comfortable with it and not to succumb to pressure to shoot if she didn’t feel that she could make an ethical shot.

Julie hesitated on the trigger a few

times, but for her first hunt I would much rather she hesitate and lose the opportunity than have to deal with the aftermath of a wounded animal.

Her quest carried on for the duration of the camp, but the ram got wise to the game and gave her the slip.

She opted to hunt a wild boar instead on the last day since the ranch was teeming with them. It was an easier species to find than the specific ram that she was looking for.

Julie made a clean, one-shot kill and was over the moon with excitement.

Her guide Shane was so impressed that he pulled me aside to tell me how much she had grown as a hunter over the course of the four days.

Shane said that Julie went from laughing and joking in the vehicle to quiet and concentrated on spotting an animal. Her target acquisition was far faster on the last day than on the first. He was thrilled and she left talking about planning her next hunt with her family.

KRISTEN WAS A TOUGHER SELL. She understood the idea behind hunting and feeds her family wild game as much as possible. But she’s never had the urge to pull the trigger herself. By day four of the camp’s five, she was asking questions like, “If I were to hunt an animal, which would have the most and best meat for the money?”

She wanted to know that if she decided to hunt a species that it would be high quality and yield a quantity of meat to bring home to her family.

Kristen talked to Texas-based Recordbuck Ranch’s (recordbuck.com) manager Chuck and he suggested a bison. It is the biggest and best meat for the price range she wanted to spend. Chuck also reminded Kristen that the kill zone on a bison is huge, which is good for a new shooter.

I wasn’t worried about her shooting. By then she had shot a .22 rifle, .223 in an AR platform, .300 Win. Mag, .270 Win., 7mm-08, and Krieghoff 12- and 20-gauge shotguns, plus an open-sight .30.06 Krieghoff classic double-barrel rifle. Kristen had shot 72 California Sportsman APRIL 2019 | calsportsmanmag.com

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Boddington’s friend Kristen managed to fill the freezer herself by scoring a bison after attending the author’s skills camp.

(BRITTANY BODDINGTON)

all of them accurately.

I was more surprised to hear that a new shooter was going to jump into the deep end with a big and potentially dangerous animal, but we were assured that the guide would carry a backup rifle. In the end I decided to join her on the hunt.

My husband Brad and I followed

Kristin and her guide Glenn Allen as they stalked up on a herd of feeding bison. He got her on the sticks with his .375 H&H several times, but the buffalo wouldn’t turn broadside. We had agreed that her first shot should be the best possible angle that they could get, so they kept creeping forward. They were careful not to spook

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the bison until she had a clear shoulder shot at about 50 yards.

Kristen hit the absolute center of the shoulder, breaking it instantly.

The bison spun around and she got another shot into the opposing shoulder, and the bison rolled to its side and died.

It was incredibly quick and I looked to Kristen, half expecting tears. She had a look of surprise and relief.

Kristen took a moment to take in the brevity of the situation and then commented on how thankful she was that the animal passed so quickly and how wonderful it would be to take this meat home to her family.

I sent Kristen’s husband a message, “It’s official; she hunts.” CS Editor’s note: For more on She Hunts camps, go to shehuntsskillscamp.com. Los Angeles native Brittany Boddington is a Phoenix-based hunter, journalist and adventurer. For more, go to brittanyboddington.com or facebook.com/brittanyboddington.

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HUNTING

GUN DOG TOYS VS. TOOLS: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

D sttinngu Di Distinguishing g isshi h ng bbetween etwe et w en ttoys we oyys and and training trrai aini ning ni ng ttools ools oo ls ls cclearly cl lea earl rlyy communicates rl coomm mmun unic un icat ic ates at e what es wha hatt you y u expect yo expe ex p ct pe c ooff your y ur ddog. yo og.. og Bumpers Bump Bu mpper erss are are training trrai aini n ngg tools, ni too ools ls, ls s, not not toys. tooys ys. (SCOTT ((SC SCOTT OTTT HAUGEN) HAUGE HA UGEN) UGE N) N)

P

uppies love playing with toys and having fun. Puppies also need to learn, and training tools help to achieve this. In order GUN DOGGIN’ 101 to get the most effiBy Scott Haugen cient learning out of your pup, it’s necessary to distinguish between toys and training tools.

Personally, I don’t like mixing my dogs’ toys and training tools. I love frisbees to teach a dog how to mark objects moving through the sky. I also like using frisbees to play with dogs.

The frisbees I use for training are not the same ones I use for play time.

The frisbees I use for playing are hard plastic, thrown short range through the air so the dog can run and catch them, and they can also be rolled on the ground, which the dogs love chasing. These play frisbees are fun for the dog, and good for conditioning. To a degree, these toys also reinforce my communication with the dogs.

But when I break out the training frisbees, my dogs know it’s work time.

This is because I’ve differentiated between toys and tools since they were pups. My training frisbee is a heavy Rubber Throw Disk made by Browning. The dogs know when the work frisbees come out, they have to pay

attention, focus, and quickly obey my commands. They way the dogs hold their ears, tail and even their body language, changes the instant I put down a toy frisbee and grab one for training.

WITH BUMPER TRAINING, I don’t use bumpers as toys; every bumper I own is a training tool. Bumpers are never laying around the house or in the yard where dogs may grab and chew on.

When a bumper comes out, the dogs know it’s time to work.

When your pup is young, introduce a variety of bumpers to them. Cloth bumpers are ideal until the pup loses its puppy teeth, then you can go with harder plastic and rubber bumpers, increasing the size as the pup grows.

Even adult dogs like to play, and I use a variety of balls for this. Because both of our pudelpointers live inside the house, not outside in kennels, our family is consistent with what toys and tools come into the house. We have certain balls we use in specific parts of the house, and those balls never leave that area; we know it and the dogs know it. We have other balls we use outside, and that’s where they stay. Never play fetch with dogs on wood, vinyl or smooth tile floors as it can lead to serious injury. If guests come over who want to play with the dogs, I give them balls or the toy fris-

bee, never a training tool.

AS FOR CHEW toys, we primarily give our dogs bones from wild game we take, namely deer and elk. Deer bones can be given whole, while big elk leg bones need to be crosscut. Cow bones – especially crosscut stew bones – can also be great chew toys as they last a long time. I call them toys, but bones are also excellent for cleaning a dog’s teeth and gums. For the dogs, bones are a real treat, something they have fun devouring.

Since I hunt for deer and elk antler sheds with my dogs, I never let them chew on antlers. I want my dogs to know antlers are not chew toys, rather something they are trained to find and immediately retrieve. I’m seeing a growing number of deer antlers for sale in sporting goods stores; if you’re going to teach your dog to shed hunt, don’t give them an antler or even a piece of antler to chew on, ever, use them only for training.

If you have a high-energy dog that likes to play, and no matter where you are it frantically seeks toys for you to throw, put those toys away.

You don’t want the dog developing the nervous habit of finding a ball just for you throw it. The sooner you can curtail this type of behavior, the more relaxed your pup will be. Encourag-

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HUNTING If yyou ou iintend ou nten nt endd to hhunt en untt for un foor sh shed hed aantlers nttle l rs with yyour wi with ourr do ou dogg,, ddon’t dog, on’tt llet on’t on et tthem et h m ch he chew hew oonn anttl an antlers tler erss when when wh en tthey hey ar hey he are pu are ppups. ps. ps s. Ra RRather, thher er, us uusee them th them m aass tr training rai aini ini n ngg ttools. ools oo ls. ls s. (SCOTT ((SC SCOTT OTTT HAUGEN) HAUGE HAUGE HA UGEN) N) N)

ing self-calming behaviors like chewing on a bone, will help.

Similarly, avoid getting into tugof-war matches with your dog. Never use a sock or rope to pull around, having the dog grab one end, while you tug on the other. This fun game quickly turns into a game of dominance, one a dog won’t quit until it wins, and the older it gets, the more aggressive it will become. You, the trainer, are the one in command and control, not the dog.

The more clearly you distinguish between toys and tools, the more obedient your pup will be. Toys and training tools are all about teaching a dog discipline and restraint, and the sooner you can get this message across to the pup, the better for the both of you. CS Editor’s note: To see some of Scott Haugen’s puppy training video tips, check out visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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