Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Game & Fish West

Whether you call it fatwood, pine knot, heart pine or pine “lighter’d,” as the guy who showed me where to find it did, the resin-rich heartwood at the center of old pine stumps might be the best natural firestarter in the woods. As a kid fascinated with anything to do with fire, I was amazed at how quickly splinters of the pungent wood burst into flame, necessitating just a single match to create a roaring blaze for roasting hot dogs. Using pine lighter’d or birch bark to start a warming fire even when most of the surrounding forest is dripping wet or covered in snow is something I pride myself on. It’s just one of the dozens of little tricks I’ve picked up from older, wiser outdoorsmen in the four…

Stream trout are perhaps angling’s most perfect finned adversary. Gifted with exceptional eyesight—perfect for their gin-clear habitats—trout are ever wary and watchful for predators on the wing and the foot. Trout possess a powerful sense of smell; one their anadromous cousins use to return to the streams of their birth. Stream trout are quick to detect (and reject) offerings that are tainted with synthetic materials such as insect repellent or sunscreen. Sporting streamlined bodies strengthened by life in the current, trout make long, powerful runs toward the gnarliest cover and leap acrobatically into the air to throw lip piercings forged from sharp metal. For trout enthusiasts, opportunities to catch these truly amazing fish across much of the country are plentiful. These range from rainbows and cutthroats patrolling classic freestone fisheries…

Bouncing along on the ATV through northern Alberta’s mixed stands of poplar, birch and spruce among wide-open muskeg swamplands, I felt it: the unmistakable excitement—and unease—of venturing into an unknown wilderness. Shawn Mack, a guide at W&L Guide Service and son of owner Wally Mack, expertly drove us on the scant path he and his brother Kristen, another guide, had carved out in the bush weeks earlier with chainsaws. The route saw us juking fallen trees, bounding into and out of small depressions and cruising through open stretches among grassy bogs. Each minute, it took us deeper into the region’s wild public land (crown land, as the locals call it), which seemed to extend indefinitely. In one open spot, Shawn stopped the ATV, peering down at the soft mud. “That’s…

As my truck window rolled down, an unmistakable Merriam’s gobble carried across the prairie to my well-trained ear. The source? A dark ornament on a dead cottonwood’s bare limb. Another gobbler, still on the ground, soon roosted, and I left with a solid game plan. As I parked my truck in the predawn darkness the following morning, lightning intermittently lit the prairie. More than 10 seconds after each flash, distant thunder boomed, followed by shock gobbles. The radar showed the storm was moving north, missing the chunk of public dirt I was standing on by at least 10 miles. Confident I was safe, I beat feet toward the cottonwoods. With dawn impending, I hunkered against a tree 50-some yards from the roosted birds. While I waited, they gobbled, double-gobbled and…

Apache trout are officially designated as Arizona’s state fish, and are one of only two trout species native to the Grand Canyon State. Once near extinction, this beautiful trout has been restored to much of its historic range of the White Mountains in the east-central part of the state. They were listed as endangered in March 1967, down-listed to threatened in July 1975 and recommended for Endangered Species Act (ESA) delisting in August 2022. After a half-century of collaborative restoration and recovery efforts between federal, state and tribal agencies, as well as private organizations, the Apache trout will likely be another success story of a species being removed from the endangered list before becoming extinct. Today there are multiple recreational fishing opportunities for this historic native trout on both state…

The early June day was absolutely perfect. You just don’t get many like that: high skies, 80 degrees, nearly flat calm, and the bass were a special kind of hungry as the spawn was winding down. Conditions were ideal for a kayaking largemouth slugfest—or so we hoped. It was to be an exceptional day based on company alone; my son Tommy, who has become quite the hammer on bass waters, was in tow, along with my two friends Alex Sherbinow from Old Town and renowned Yooper photographer Scott Niska, who was pulling double duty with the camera and rod and reel. The goal was to conduct a road launch with a fleet of Old Town Sportsman kayaks on a beautiful lake that didn’t offer a modern public ramp. Both Alex…

I’ll never forget watching someone’s tent wheeling its way across the blustery desert because the guy lines were tied with granny knots. It was another reminder that as with most things in life, there is a right way to do something once, and plenty of wrong ways to do it then re-do it. The problem is, in this modern world, gadgets and gewgaws will do many things better than we ever could in city and suburban life, but “out there,” not so true. And even if you were a Boy Scout, those useful skills and knowledge have a way of falling out of your mental filing cabinet. So, here are some tricks I learned from guides, cowpokes, grizzled trappers and other folks smarter than I, who probably learned the hard…

On my hunt, I used the synthetic-stocked Mossberg Patriot Predator in .450 Bushmaster ($568; mossberg.com) and the walnut-stocked standard Patriot in .308 Win. ($669). Their spiral-fluted, dual-lug bolts and detachable box magazines proved utterly reliable. Meanwhile, the user-adjustable LBA trigger broke perfectly. Both guns have hassle-free optics mounts and are great for bear and other big game. A wide field of view and good light transmission in low light are key for baited bear hunts. Shots are often close, and most activity happens late. Swarovski’s Z8i 1-8x24 ($3,188; swarovskioptik.com) and Z8i 1.7-13.3x42 P ($4,166) both offer a wide field of view and have the new Flexchange 4A-IF reticle, which I loved. The illuminated dot reticle has a switch for bright daytime or low illumination. Hold the top intensity switches for…

Bear is one of my favorite big-game animals to eat. If you smiled at this comment, you know why. If you scoffed, keep reading. When my wife was writing a big-game cookbook, she had multiple families taste-test her dishes, and nearly everyone mistook the bear recipes for beef. The key to attaining tasty bear meat begins the instant you pull the trigger. Recipes and cooks are often blamed for the gamey taste and texture of bear, but improper field care is most often the culprit. Bears have thick fur, a tough hide and big bones, and can carry a lot of fat during certain times of the year. Their bodies are built for insulation and strength. If you want to optimize the quality of meat from your next bear, follow…

It was early afternoon when I reached the ridgetop where I wanted to glass for the evening. It was four hours earlier than when I needed to be there, but it was a nice, sunny day and I just wanted to be in the mountains. I slipped off my pack, set up my spotting scope, grabbed a snack and looked forward to taking a nap. But before I could finish my sandwich, a bear slithered out of the creek bottom below me. Looking through the binocular, I saw it was a dandy sow. Then a massive boar popped out from behind, hot on her trail. The boar dwarfed the sow, and without looking through the spotting scope, I knew it was a monster. Its back end gyrated when it walked,…

I heaved the 6-ounce spinnerbait and trailer as far as I could toward the dam and let it fall toward the bottom. Powerful currents from the hydroelectric power plant’s 14 open gates quickly swept the bait downstream and away from our boat. The offering started tumbling through huge rocks some 10 to 12 feet below the surface. I began a slow crank, keeping the bait at a depth where it bumped into the boulders about every 5 seconds or so. The boat continued its drift downstream in the tailrace area as I retrieved my first cast of the day. I tossed it again as far upstream as possible and engaged the reel after the lure’s 8-second free fall. On the second handle revolution, I felt the spinnerbait tick a rock,…

A sturdy and reliable trailer is critical for getting your kayaks down the road safely and to the access point that leads to the water’s edge. Yakima has you covered with several options, but one version I especially like is the EasyRider. The EasyRider ($3,399; yakima.com) can carry from one to three kayaks rigged with a number of additional Yakima accessories, or up to four bare kayaks total. Plus, the aluminum trailer is more than capable of long-distance, cross-country expeditions on paved and gravel roads, thanks in part to its shock absorbers. It features a 500-pound capacity, and the tongue folds for easy storage.…

Many hunters think of bears as big nasty critters that are hard to kill. Bears can be big; an Alaskan brown bear can weigh more than a half ton. Bears can also be nasty. Across North America black bears kill—on average—at least one person each year. But bears—most bears—are not hard to kill, and their size varies greatly by location. Most black bears weigh less than 500 pounds, with the average being closer to half that. And while a 500-pound black bear might be twice the size of a 250-pound black bear, it’s not twice as hard to kill. So, given their average size and the potential for danger, what are the best loads for bears? First, we must set some parameters because brown bears and grizzlies are a whole…

Wally Mack’s W&L Guide Service (wlguides.com) pursues black bears from a comfortable camp just outside High Level, Alberta. The perfect staging ground for outings into the wilderness, the camp has an assortment of cabins with cots, mattresses and pillows as well as wood stoves or heating units. There’s a separate kitchen and dining area where Wally’s wife, Louisa, prepares fabulous homecooked meals. Hunters will also appreciate the shower facility with on-demand hot water. While the camp’s look has changed significantly in its history—beginning first as a wall-tent camp more than 25 years ago—it’s always been set up near High Level. According to guide Shawn Mack, this is due to the area’s phenomenal bear population and the abundance of huge black bears. The camp’s biggest spring black bear measured 8 feet,…

The story of Western bassing isn’t a single narrative. Instead, it’s at least three different storylines with a shared conclusion: fish the month of May for fast action on shakers, but also your best chance at lunker bass. With apologies for ignoring the nuances of Western bassing, the three predominant storylines are: post-spawn reservoir largemouths, river smallmouths that will hit just about anything and pre-spawn reservoir smallmouths that respond to surprisingly sophisticated finesse tactics. A bonus storyline is the human dimension: We Westerners have so many different fish to catch and bites to track this month that we often treat bass fishing as a distant distraction. That’s a shame because, at its best, Western largemouth action is as hot as on any famous largemouth water in the Southeast, and our…

During my outing to Chirstmas Tree Lake last May, Apache trout would seemingly eating anything gold. Spin-fishermen scored regularly with small, gold Kastmaster spoons, gold Acme Phoebes and Zona Z-rays—both trolled and cast. Small spinners like the Panther Martin were also effective. Fly-fishermen found success with traditional favorites like the Woolly Bugger, Peacock Lady and Prince Nymph. Black ant and cricket dry flies are two of my personal favorites, and although I tried hard for a couple of hours, I could not entice any bites on dries. Capitalizing on the preference for gold, I switched to a Woolly Bugger with a gold bead head and immediately began catching fish. Beadhead leech patterns were also effective. Small hook sizes (14 through 18) are best for stream fish, while larger hooks (sizes…

La Zona Fishing Lodge owner Hector Bradanini began as an area guide offering day trips in 2002 and then added overnight cabin accommodations in 2013. In 2019, he completed the lodge hotel. American Airlines offers two 9-hour overnight direct flights from Miami to Buenos Aires’ Ministro Pistarini International Airport. Upon arrival, anglers are met by a La Zona representative who transfers them to the lodge near Concordia, Argentina, via a 5-hour van ride. The lodge offers six air-conditioned bedrooms with private baths and a main building with a comfortable lounge room above an extra-large dining room and kitchen. Excellent and overly abundant food and beverages are provided at breakfast, lunch and a three-course dinner by Chef Santiago Cattani. Since 2018, Chef Cattani has been a premier asset to the operation.…

Kayaks built with fishing-specific features make time on the water more productive for anglers seeking small-craft adventures. From ample storage and electronics-rigging options to smart mounting solutions for accessories, kayaks designed for fishing help us find the bite and make the most of it—all while remaining easier to transport and store than larger boats. Our colleagues at Florida Sportsman recently put the latest kayaks to the test on the water, and the following models stood out for a variety of fishing situations. OLD TOWN SPORTSMAN AUTOPILOT 136 LENGTH: 13'6" | WIDTH: 37"WEIGHT: 158 lbs. including motorCAPACITY: 660 lbs.MATERIAL: single-layer polyethylenePROPULSION: Minn Kota trolling motor (45 lbs. thrust) with i-Pilot; paddleMSRP: $4,849.99oldtownwatercraft.com TOP FEATURES: Among other specialties (including the famed PDL pedal drive), Old Town Sportsman was an early leader in…