Sportsman's News June 2016 Digital Edition

SportsmansNews.com

June 2016

Volume 12 Issue 6

Nushagak River Fishing Lodge

By Steve Mayer & Terry Ferguson

I

f you want to experience some of the best salmon fishing in the world, book a trip with the Nushagak River Fishing Lodge. The fishing, accommodations, staff and guides are all top-notch and fine-tuned to provide you with a true trip of a lifetime. The lodge is located smack dab in the heart of the prime fishing area of the Nushagak River, one of the primary drainages to world famous Bristol Bay. Salmon use the Nushagak as a major gateway to their spawning areas. To say the salmon fishing is excellent is an understatement! The fishing is incredible. The salmon run this baby in droves and the lodge is perfectly situated for catching them until your arms are sore and your heart content. The lodge is fly-in only access, keeping the area pristine and without the crowds experienced on other Alaskan rivers during the salmon run. Millions of salmon return from the ocean to the Nushagak every year to spawn, making this one of the hottest fishing spots in Alaska. In short, this is ‘Salmon Heaven’.

Rick Murphy, is the owner/ operator of the Lodge. He has seemingly boundless energy and works hard to ensure that everything is in order and everyone’s needs are met. He is a local from Dillingham, a small town down-river where

continued on page 2 Steve Mayer hefting a big male silver in full spawning color.

EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

NUSHAGAK

continued from cover the Nushagak enlarges into Bristol Bay. A natural outdoorsman, Rick commercial fishes Bristol Bay for sockeyes before the lodge opens each year and hunts moose as soon as the last fisherman departs at the end of the season. He has earned the monikers “Salmon Slayer” and “Moose Slayer”. The locals respect his fishing and hunting prowess and look up to him. He is active in community service and has started a ministry program to help locals with a food bank and counseling. Not short by any means on ambition, he has even tried his hand at national politics as a delegate to the national convention.

He is serious about business and prides himself on providing the highest levels of customer service for his guests, but is also a funny, amiable, all-around good guy.

The lodge is situated right in the prime fishing area. You do not have to go on a long boat ride to get to the good fishing spots.

Some of the best holes are right across from the resort. We caught salmon from shore while cleaning the fish at the lodge! The resort is located on top of a beautiful flat bluff overlooking the river. The lodge opened in 1995 with one small building and has evolved into a full service resort with all the amenities of home. Rick has developed the property for customers comfort and takes great pains to ensure every guest is

completely satisfied with their experience.

The main lodge is where guests meet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a large flat screen television with satellite channels and comfortable couches. A small bookshelf is chock-full of some great books on Alaskan salmon fishing and the local Bristol Bay fishery. The guests usually unwind and tell of their fishing exploits after dinner and an occasional friendly poker game is not unusual. Most cell phones will not work in this area without a special local chip and service provider.

The lodge has Wi-Fi to allow some communication through text and e-mails and there is a satellite phone for emergencies.

The facilities This is a real treat for a remote fly-in lodge. There is a bath house with two hot showers and there are three regular lighted toilet stalls with flush toilets. This is a luxury for this type of “rustic experience” miles from any minor type of city.

There are three cabins available for lodging. They are fully furnished with carpeted floors, heaters and AC power. They run the generators so there is power all night long. The Wi-Fi reaches the cabins and there is satellite TV in each unit. There is daily laundry service. There is also a four-plex with 4 beds and kitchen facilities (with the chef they have you will not be needing this at all). There is

Terry Ferguson with a nice “chromer” straight from the “Nush”.

An incredible sushi tray from the kitchen! a comfortable duplex consisting of two units with two beds in each.

The remaining cabin is known as the “honeymoon suite”, which affords the ultimate in privacy with its own bathroom and shower. The lodge houses 12 guests comfortably and it is this limited number of anglers that ensures a “once in a lifetime” type of fishing experience that will have you wanting to come back to year after year.

I want to get on with the fishing experience, but I would be remiss not to go into the dining experience that we enjoyed during our stay. Now I have stayed at many a fancy lodge and many a rustic one too and have had some mighty fine eats along the way. But the five days of exceptional meals, with individual attention and special requests honored, deserves some special accolades. Resident Chef Nick Dennis, brought his considerable culinary skills to the table with an incredible display of “Northwest Cuisine” inspired dishes. Utilizing fresh, local ingredients to conjure up some tasty offerings, Nick made sure that each guest received personal attention in their food preparation.

All breakfasts were made to order, including pancakes, bacon, hash browns, toast, fresh fruit, cereal, oatmeal or eggs any style.

One breakfast specialty included his special smoked salmon hash, which was a home run around the dining hall. Some of his dinners included tri-tip steak, heavenly halibut, smoked pork ribs, ribeye steak, chicken coq au vin and of course fresh salmon in a silky

teriyaki glaze. He will cook your salmon every night for you, as one guest wanted. I requested a little salmon sashimi and sushi combo.

He made several large platters of delectable rolls and sashimi that would make a Japanese master proud. Nick accommodated all request without fail and with genuine pleasure. More than one guest commented that they were gaining weight during the trip. I can attest to eating more and more often than I do at home. Delicious.

I was accompanied on the trip by fellow outdoorsman and close family friend Terry Ferguson from Knoxville, Tennessee. We had just returned from fishing rainbows and browns in the Roaring Fork Valley on the western slope of Colorado the month before and we were wound up to battle some feisty Coho’s.

I met Terry in the airport in Anchorage. We were spending the night there, so we took a shuttle to the Puffin Inn to drop our gear.

We grabbed a cab to downtown Anchorage to get a bite to eat and grab some souvenirs to take home. You must try the reindeer sausage from the street carts, the smell is intoxicating and they are tasty. After a good nights’ rest, we hustled to Merrill Field for the short hour and a half flight to Ekwok, a small Yupik Eskimo village. The scenery over the glaciers and mountain crags is amazing and I spotted a large moose as we flew overhead. We were met upon landing by Rick and his staff. They

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Words From The Publisher

ByMike Deming

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s a person who is knocking on the door of fifty; that’s right the big 50, I have seen a lot. When I was a senior in high school, we were just getting our very first introduction into computers. Today, nearly everyone has a smart phone, which is more powerful than the very first computers.

Knowledge is at your fingertips and with a quick Google search you can debunk just about any myth or at least have a fighting chance at a discussion. As a whole, I would consider it a very awesome tool and resource. However, I have developed a very serious pet peeve about what this has created. In my discussions with other outdoor professionals, they have shared the same distaste.

It is the contrast between the doers and the talkers.

What do I mean by that? Before all of the social media was around, we all had friends and associates who we shared joint likes with. For those of us that liked to hunt and fish, we spent time in the woods hunting and fishing. Many of us were fortunate enough to have fathers or grandfather who taught us about the ways of the woods. This gave us a head start on those that hadn’t learned from other people’s mis-

takes. Instead of having our faces buried in a computer, we would spend countless hours hiking the woods and learning about the deer or elk and their habits. We would tie flies and learn about the hatches and the time of year which was best to yield a trophy trout. We truly became experts in our craft and regardless of how good you were, there was always someone better.

We enjoyed the experience of the outdoors and what we were doing.

It was a wholesome and healthy way of life. Most of our idols were our fathers, uncles or grandfathers who had harvested some great trophies over the years which hung in the barn or on the back porch. They didn’t brag about it and taught us to act the same way when we had the good fortune of success.

The social media phenomenon of today is so much different. There are still a lot of doers out there and they are the ones still doing it. They are hunting and fishing extremely hard and becoming an expert at their hobby or possibly even career. They consistently harvest some of the very best animals and catch some of the biggest fish around. They might even have a Facebook, Instagram or other social media device to share their success with some of their friends. However, they are usu-

ally too busy doing and learning to spend much time telling the world how great they are on these social media vehicles.

This brings me to my pet peeve - the “Talkers”. These are the folks who spend more time talking about the outdoors than actually doing it.

They spend more time taking selfies than they do actually learning about the outdoors. They are usually the ones reposting all sorts of other doers’ photos instead of ones they actually participated in. I flip on the television and see people with their own shows, who only a year ago were just learning to hunt. I’ve seen books for sale on how to hunt elk written by people who have never harvested an elk. These talkers are using the social media resource to hijack our younger generation and along the way are actually getting them to believe they are doers.

Do yourself a favor and become a doer. Do as Sportsman’s Warehouse says and “Take it Outside”. The only way to become a doer is to actually do it. Pass on the skills of being an outdoorsman or woman to that next generation and take back the idolization of these dreaded talkers.

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WHAT’S INSIDE

3 Words From The Publisher 6 ALPS Brands 8 Browning Pistol Vault 10 Platinum Approved Outfitters 16 Scouting From Space 20 Pro’s Pick:Traeger Tailgater 22 Family Sized Tents 24 Pro Member Sweepstakes 32 Suunto Traverse Alpha 34 Fishful Thinker: Screen Freak 36 Video Product Reviews Outdoors: Holy 40 PacWest Flatfish, Batman 42 Gold Tip Arrows Directory 44 Business Pro Member Update: WRO 46 Mexico Game Recipe: Wild 48 Wild Game Tacos On A Budget: 50 Adventures Panfish Paradise 52 Tre-Fin: Tuna Ready 54 Barebow!: BC Mountain Lion 57 What I Want 4 Father’s Day Contest: An 8-year59 Writing Old’s Dream Fishing Trip

www.facebook.com/ sportsmansnews Become a Fan of Sportsman’s News for Fan Only contests and post comments about Sportsman’s News.

Tell your friends.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Steve Mayer Terry Ferguson Frank Hemmer Eric Christensen Chad LaChance Gary Lewis Shane Chuning Dennis Dunn John N. Felsher Wayne Harmond Carter Coorough

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

SPORTSMAN’S NEWS 2322 W. Industry Way Cedar City, UT 84721

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Mike Deming President/Publisher 435-669-4624 mdeming@sportsmansnews.com

SENIOR EDITOR Kent Danjanovich 801-231-9838 kdanjanovich@sportsmansnews.com MANAGING EDITOR Dan Kidder 435-865-1680 dkidder@sportsmansnews.com NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Shane Chuning 435-592-6106 schuning@sportsmansnews.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Lisa Deming info@sportsmansnews.com PRODUCTION MANAGER James Dansie jdansie@sportsmansnews.com

Subscribers should contact Managing Editor for changes of address.

Sportsman’s News is published monthly.

The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright 2016 © All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the Managing Editor.

SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE 7035 So. High Tech Drive Midvale, UT 84047

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

NUSHAGAK

continued from cover loaded our gear in the back of his truck and headed down to the river. Seven miles downstream by boat later we pulled up onto the bank and we were at the lodge.

The river conditions looked great - man I wanted to wet a line post haste. We were given a tour of the property and shown to our room.

After a hearty lunch, we donned our waders, grabbed our gear and headed down to the boats.

The guides introduced us to their boats and the gear we were going to use. They fish 22’ Fish Rite boats with 115 horse outboards and the boats were impeccably clean and well organized.

Unless you have a special rod and reel you can’t live without, there is no need to take any tackle whatsoever. They have an assortment of G Loomis or Redington spinning and fly rods, outfitted with either Shimano or Pfleuger reels.

Our guide motored us across the river and anchored in the current near the far bank in about four feet of water with the lodge as our backdrop in this pristine setting. The trusty salmon egg loop rig, loaded with cured salmon eggs, is the most common method used, so we baited up and got to it. We bounced the eggs off the bottom and were immediately hit. I missed the first fish, but with new bait, slammed the next one.

Man these silvers can fight. After several screaming runs, a nice

9-pound “chromer” was in the net.

This fish was fresh from the ocean and still sported sea lice. Terry and I were fishing together and the action was just non-stop. We caught and released fish after fish.

Double hook-ups were the norm rather than the exception. Just unbelievable. We boated 56 fish in just under three hours of fishing and we were just getting the hang of it on the first afternoon! It isn’t unusual to catch 25 to even 100 fish a day. There are crazy numbers of fish coming up-river.

The limit on silvers is five a day, so we only kept the fish that were bleeding and would die if returned to the river. We routinely caught fish in the 6 to 12 pound range.

The largest fish we caught was a touch over 13 pounds. They are not huge Coho, but man are they abundant. We also caught the occasional Dolly Varden and White fish. Every day we caught as many fish as we wanted. To change it up a bit, we went upstream to a sand bar where a tributary enters the “Nush”. We pulled the boat on shore, switched to spinners and flies and caught more salmon as well as grayling and rainbows. It was great to get out, wade in and fight it out with them, with your feet in the river.

The lodge’s guides are some of the best in the business. They are extremely knowledgeable and highly competent. They run their boats super efficiently, including baiting the hooks and netting your fish, quite a chore when fishing

Owner Rick Murphy and Dallas filleting the catch.

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Steve with another fat Coho fresh from the Salt. four anglers to a boat, often with triple and quadruple hook-ups!

The fish you decide to keep are bled immediately to improve the meat quality. They expertly fillet them when you return to the lodge, then vacuum seal and freeze the filets or offer to cook

up a fresh fillet for your dinner.

They package your frozen fillets in 50 lb. fish boxes for transport home the day you begrudgingly have to leave.

People have a hard time believcontinued on page 14

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

ALPS Brands – A Homegrown History

By Frank Hemmer

E

very morning as the sun begins to peak over the treetops in the small, mid-western town of New Haven, Missouri, the sound of gravel crunching under car tires rings in the start of another day at the headquarters of ALPS Brands. As employees emerge from the wooded gravel drive, they are greeted with the picturesque, mid-western setting that ALPS Brands calls home. The tan and green buildings that encompass the ALPS compound literally work their way up the hill and through the woods from the original headquarters building, evidence this is a company that started from modest beginnings and added space as their growth required it.

Founded in the early 1990’s by industry veteran Dennis Brune, ALPS Brands (then known by Active Lifestyle Products & Services) was a one man operation run out of the backroom of Brune’s home. Today you can still find ALPS Brands’ corporate headquarters on the same piece of property where it all began. However, the operation has grown quite a bit from those humble beginnings and now encompasses several office buildings and various warehouses both on the original piece of property and down the highway in the local township.

Today, ALPS Brands is the parent company of several outdoor brands, all specializing in a particular category of outdoor recreation. The oldest and original brand is ALPS Mountaineering, which specializes in designing gear for backpacking, camping and hiking, stemmed from Brune’s years of experience running another company in the outdoor in-

dustry. In 2007, the company enjoyed its first expansion by introducing ALPS OutdoorZ, a brand that designs camouflage packs, camp furniture and other accessories geared toward the hunting market.

In 2009 the company moved into the realm of licensing by becoming the official licensee of Browning Camping. ALPS Brands designs and manufactures high quality tents, camp furniture, hunting blinds, air pads & beds and other camping accessories under the Browning Camping name. Then in 2012 the company introduced another brand, Cedar Ridge, which uses the same design techniques used to create the high quality ALPS Mountaineering gear, but at a more affordable, entry level price point. Most recently, ALPS Brands partnered with Delta Waterfowl to bring to market a brand new line of innovative, performance oriented waterfowl hunting gear and accessories, including a revolutionary patent pending layout blind.

“I started ALPS Mountaineering with the mission of providing more gear for more people,” said Dennis Brune, president and founder of ALPS Brands. “Our gear is consumer designed, which equates to high quality gear that you can expect to get a lifetime of use out of.”

The biggest challenge Brune believes that the company has always faced is convincing the consumer that ALPS can deliver products with great designs, excellent quality and innovative features at the consumer friendly prices the products

sell for. “Our mission has always been to design, manufacture and market outdoor gear that a consumer would expect to pay a lot more for than what’s printed on the price tag,” said Brune.

This consumer friendly approach doesn’t stop with ALPS’ pricing strategy. The company takes pride in its business processes from start to finish.

From only sourcing the highest quality materials for all of its products, to backing those products up with the highest level of customer support, ALPS Brands fully stand behind the products they produce. ALPS Brands’ four core pillars of corporate philosophy can be defined as follows: Performance Oriented Products with Consumer Designs – The Company firmly believes that their best designs come from consumer feedback and this has been a key factor in their success. They take the ideas they receive from the people actually using the gear in the field and use that feedback to constantly make their products even better. “We never expect our first design to be perfect,” said Zach Scheidegger, ALPS product design manager. “We know there are going to be things that our consumers will have suggestions on to make our products better and we truly value that consumer feedback.”

Tough Durable Construction – ALPS Brands use only the highest quality raw materials in their products and they only trust their designs to the best factories in the world. This philosophy of product construction allows the company to produce products that are backed with a lifetime guarantee against defects in materials and workmanship.

“We send out products with people rafting the Grand Canyon, hiking the Appalachian Trail and hunting the rough and rugged backcountry of the American west to make sure our products perform in varied environments,” said Adam Brune, ALPS product design manager. “They’re not indestructible, they will see normal

wear and tear, but we’re proud of the durability built into each of our products and believe they will hold up better than the competition.”

Consumer Friendly Pricing – ALPS Brands’ defining philosophy that great gear doesn’t have to be expensive, has been at the heart of what the company has stood for from the very beginning. “We believe a comfortable pack, chair, tent, sleeping bag or any other piece of outdoor recreational equipment doesn’t need to be expensive,” said Dennis Brune. “Value can be defined as getting what you pay for. We define value as getting more than you pay for.”

Outstanding Customer Service The company staffs and trains their customer service team with knowledgeable and friendly folks that can quickly and easily help consumers with any questions they may have regarding products they may have already purchased or products they’re looking to purchase. If a problem arises with an ALPS product, the customer service team is always there to correct the problem, as the company firmly stands behind the quality of its gear.

These four core pillars make up ALPS Brands’ corporate philosophy and can be attributed to each and every brand and product under their umbrella. Most recently, in 2015, the company used this philosophy and the experience they’ve gained in the industry design and released their “Extreme” line of hunting packs as a

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

sub-category of the ALPS OutdoorZ brand. When ALPS OutdoorZ designers began work on the Extreme line, they knew the packs had to be some of the highest quality products they had ever created. Because this line would be appealing to the western big game hunter, a category of hunter who arguably relies on his or her gear to perform more than any other, they knew that they had their work cut out for them. “We wanted to truly be able to say that we had the best packs on the market and to be able to back that claim up with facts, not just opinions,” said Zach Scheidegger, ALPS product design manager.

To ensure the Extreme line truly provided hunters with a premium pack option, ALPS OutdoorZ focused on every single feature over a multi-year research and design process. Designing and manufacturing a first-class pack takes time and the designers at ALPS took that time to make sure every detail was right.

The Extreme line of packs has been tested, used and abused, modified and retested time and time again to

bring consumers a pack that is not only reliable, durable and practical, but filled with innovative features that will make the hunt much more comfortable and enjoyable.

Because every hunting situation differs with a hunter’s style, environment, season and game animal, ALPS OutdoorZ designed multiple packs within the Extreme line to make sure hunters are prepared for whatever the hunt throws at them. Every pack in the Extreme line features durable 1680D nylon ballistic and robic nylon fabrics to ensure quality construction and superior performance, even in the harshest environments. Molded foam suspensions contour to the body to ensure a comfortable fit, meaning you can haul your gear in and your harvest out with ease. Lycra soft-edge shoulder straps are also found on each pack in the Extreme line to add even more comfort for those extralong treks to and from the hunting spot.

The initial Extreme line product launch in 2015 featuring five pack models; the Crossfire X, Pursuit

X, Traverse X, Commander X and the Commander X + Pack. Each pack was designed with a different hunting purpose in mind.

The Crossfire X and Pursuit X are great day packs and can be used in a wide variety of hunting scenarios. The Traverse X is a larger day pack with meat hauling capabilities, perfect for getting into the backcountry. The Commander X and Commander X + Pack are internal frame packs that are great for when you’re hiking into basecamp and need a frame that you can haul your harvest out with.

In 2016 the company plans to launch the first expansion to the Extreme line, which will include five new items as well as improvements to the 2015 Extreme models. The Covert X, Bino Harness X, Big Bear

X, Voyager X and Upland Game Vest X will all join the Extreme family of products this summer and will extend the Extreme line into several new product categories, including luggage, hunting vests and optics harnesses.

To learn more about ALPS Brands and to learn more about each of the brands within the company, visit www.alpsbrands.com. Head to your local Sportsman’s Warehouse to check out the latest Extreme packs and to check out the rest of the gear ALPS Brands has to offer.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Browning’s PV1000 Pistol Vault

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ig security in a small package. Browning ProSteel Pistol Vaults offer a distinct advantage over other pistol boxes. Featuring true, safe-like security in the form of heavy steel construction and solid steel locking bolts, the Pistol Vault is what other pistol boxes should be.

If you demand more security than the competition provides, the Browning Pistol Vault is ready to deliver with features you are used to finding in full-size gun safes. Browning’s Pistol Vaults offer twice the steel of other handgun storage solutions, making them one of the safest storage options on the market.

The word “robust” doesn’t do the Browning Pistol Vault justice. “Tough as nails” might come closer. “Bunker” even closer yet. Add one more word to this pistol vault and it would be ‘roomy’, offering plenty of space for several pistols and important valuables too. How many times do you come home and unload your carry

pistol along with a pocket of change, your wallet and a pocket knife onto your kitchen counter or bedroom dresser. Well, you’ll never need to again if you have a Browning Pistol Vault. Instantly your pistol and other valuables will have a safe, secure place.

Additional features, like interior LED lighting and a programmable four button key pad make them one of the most convenient vaults as well.

An electronic lock and spring-loaded lid allow for rapid access to contents.

The Pistol Vault is ideal in the home, office or where ever a little extra security protection is needed.

FEATURES: • Perfect for securing handguns, cameras, wallets and documents.

• Ideal for home, office, cabin, car or truck, SUV, RV, boat or travel.

• Twice the steel of competing pistol vaults.

• Bolt-down capable

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• 10-Gauge Steel Body: Safety & Security • 10-Gauge Steel Door: Recessed to resist prying; Spring-assisted for fast & easy access • Four Button Key Pad: Quick Access; Reprogrammable • Interior LED Lights: Illuminates interior making contents easier to locate • Pick & Pluck Foam: Customizable The Pistol Vault can be set on a shelf or mounted to a wall for easy access. And because of its sleek design, it becomes quite inconspicuous when added to any space. Another of the great security features is its recessed lid, making it very difficult to be pried open for access to its contents. The PV1000’s lid is secured by two, ½ inch diameter round steel locking bolts that engage when the lid is closed and are not subject to sawing or being pried open.

Four buttons on the front of the vault act as your key pad. It comes with a pre-set entry code, but can be easily reprogrammed to your personal preference (if I can do it, just about anyone can make the change as well). Once you enter your code to open the PV1000, the spring loaded hinges go to work and bright LED lights illuminate the interior of the vault to help you locate its contents. The ‘pick and pluck’ foam interior will even conform to the shape of your handgun when placed inside the vault.

SPECIFICATIONS: • 7.5” x 14.5” x 11” • Weight: 29 pounds • Body: 10-Gauge Steel • Lid: 10-Gauge Recessed Plate • Bolts: 2 -- 1⁄2” Solid Bolts (2 Active) • Hinges: Heavy duty, Exterior • Lock: Electronic with Touch Pad • Paint: Textured Black • Interior: Pick & Pluck Foam • Power Supply: Back-Up A battery panel is located on the right side of the interior of the vault and is powered by eight-AA batteries.

This power pack energizes your main locking system, but there is also a set of four-sided keys included that give you initial access to the vault as well as a back-up plan if needed. Also, external electrical contacts are located on the upper right corner of the vault that can power up the keypad for entry with the aid of a 9-volt battery.

Stop by your local Sportsman’s Warehouse and check out Browning’s Pistol Vaults. I promise you will be impressed by the sturdy PV1000 and the way it will protect your handguns and other valuables for many years to come.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

NEVADA HUNTING

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

UTAH FISHING & HUNTING

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There are other species to target, such as this fine Artic Grayling.

NUSHAGAK

continued from page 5 ing how great the run is on the Nushagak, because the amount of fish caught in any given day or over the five days is just incredible. I have had some great days on the Kenai, but have never experienced anything like we had on the Nushagak. It is truly a remarkable fishery.

Their trips are five days, with kings targeted from June 15th until July 20th. Silver or Coho salmon are fished from July 20th to September 9th. Rick can be reached at 866-7704386, his cell at 907-843-1081 or e-mail at salmonslayer77@gmail. com. The website has some great information and pictures www. nushagakriverfishinglodge.com.

I interviewed most of the guests and one thing they had in common was satisfaction with all aspects of their stay. One of the anglers has come every year for the past 16 years! Another father and son team was on their sixth visit to the lodge.

All three of them said they would be back next year.

Rick is a hands-on owner who prides himself on providing the highest levels of service to his guests.

The staff is friendly and will bend over backward to meet your requests. If a comfortable lodge and some of the best fishing on the planet is your idea of a great vacation, book a trip as soon as you can with Rick.

You must experience it firsthand to appreciate the experience of a full-on salmon run. This place is freaking OFF THE HOOK!

SportsmansNews.com Logon to our website for a full list of endorsed outfitters with photos, descriptions, and details about each.

Nushagak River fishing Lodge main building.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Scouting From Outer Space

By Dan Kidder Managing Editor

G

etting the lay of the land of an area you will be hunting used to mean hours and miles of hiking or trying to navigate on your

GPS or with a topo map. Today, those hours can be reduced to minutes, complete with elimination of nasty surprises, by using satellite technology.

It used to be that only the government had access to expensive satellite technology to photograph the earth.

Turning on all of the layers can really make an image confusing.

Adjusting the layers to just show the information you want can make it much more manageable.

Today, thanks to private companies, everyone can quickly access fairly recent swaths of land from space.

The most popular satellite imaging tool is Google Earth. It is free, full of features and easy to use. Because Google frequently updates its images, you can see a historical record of an area over the years by simply moving a slider at the top of the screen.

Finding an area is as easy as inputting the GPS coordinates or by just clicking on a region and zooming and dragging until you get to the area you want to look at. You can also just enter a city and state in the search box and the map will instantly zoom in on the location.

Once you have isolated your area, you can add overlays for weather, radar, roads and bodies of water.

Additional layers can be added for interesting landmarks, photos and even earthquake data. The options are wide open.

Pro’s Tips Google Earth integrates with various online services like Everytrail, National Geographic, Wikiloc and 360 Cities, so if you have an account with these services, you can easily add information to the images.

Google Earth has a robust tool set that will let you get directions and even mark off a line for distance or expand it to an area for square miles or acres.

If you are looking at hunting or hiking in the backcountry, these images can show you topographic features, as well as likely areas for finding animals. The detail of the more recent maps is so high, that you can zoom in and see small landmarks like cattle guards and cabins.

Another tool that is helpful, is the ability to download the area to your GPS device, so you can take the incontinued on page 18

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

GOOGLE EARTH

cue in your hunting area. You can set them as waypoints and then downcontinued from page 16 load them to your handheld GPS. If formation and coordinates with you an emergency arises, you can simply when you don’t have internet access pull that rescue point up on your GPS by saving the image as a KML file. and use the unit to navigate to it.

This will let you plan a route on fire You can also orient your map in roads or hiking trails and navigate whichever direction best suits your them on your device later. navigation needs. By adjusting the The information on Google Earth sun icon, you can see what the terrain can also give you increased peace of looks like at different times of the day. mind by identifying ranger stations, When zoomed out, your perspecroads or other places of potential res- tive is straight down, but as you zoom in, the perspective shifts slightly to give you a downward view from the side, to bring definition and detail to altitude changes.

This makes navigation of trails, in relation to the surrounding terrain, possible.

The satellite images can be very detailed when Another good zoomed in, and thousands of user uploaded way to get an photos give you the ability to see the area in even idea of the tergreater detail.

rain, is with the thousands of photos on Google Earth. Many of the smart phones now have the ability to geotag a photo, using the phone’s built-in GPS. These photos can be uploaded to Google Earth at the location where it was taken. This gives you the ability to virtually tour the site. Two of my favorites are Iwo Jima and Zion National Park. Having spent a great deal of time hiking Zion, it was pretty interesting to see other parts of the canyon that I may have missed and can add to my list of places to visit.

Google Earth provides activities for every kind of outdoor adventure. As a SCUBA diver, I like that it interacts with WannaDive, an online diver’s community that lets me record dive logs, find great new places to dive and to share experiences. There are bird watching groups, hunting groups, hiking communities, camping, ATV, off-road, horseback riding, paragliding, flying and fishing communities and just about any other kind of outdoor activity that can be tied into Google Earth just waiting to be explored.

As a scouting tool, Google Earth can be a great resource to virtually explore an area before you put boots on the ground. Taking full advantage of all of the many features is just a matter of time spent exploring from the comfort of your chair. Syncing your GPS, will give you great pre-planned routes and the ability to really get to know the area where you will be spending time.

As much fun as it can be to get lost in the outdoors from time to time, a bit of preparation can prevent you from getting very lost and also help you spend time getting to and exploring the areas you really want to know better, rather than wandering aimlessly or struggling to get to a particular location.

Google Earth is a free program and you just download it to your computer or device, but you will need internet access to use it. Just go to earth.google.com and download the version that is best for your device or operating system and start exploring the world.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Traeger Tailgater Wood Pellet Grill

By Eric Christensen

HUNTING AND COOKING OVER FIRE ARE WHAT MAKES US HUMAN

FULL LENGTH GRILL COVERS — 22 & 34 SERIES

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T

ailgating just got a whole lot tastier. Traeger now brings the same passion and pellet burning smoker in a smaller size for the tailgater.

The Tailgater is ideal for a big day at the game or big day in the field. You can take the Tailgater to any outdoor event or a weekend getaway in the woods, without taking up very much room. The Tailgater Grill is offering a Sportsman’s Warehouse exclusive that comes with an inverter to use with your vehicle for some off-road smoked cuisine. This exclusive Tailgater Grill also comes with a full length, allweather grill cover. The Tailgater’s compact size and portability gives you a variety of opportunities to wow your friends and add a different flavor for your outdoor cooking menu.

Traeger has made the legs on the Tailgater collapsible to fold under the belly of the smoker to maximize portability of the grill. Adjustment knobs are easy to loosen and tighten. The grill weighs in at 62 pounds, which is easily moved from the back of your vehicle to the ground by one or two people.

From the ground the wheels can take your grill to your location quite easily.

I liked the fact that I could put some ingredients in the drip bucket and other cooking necessities inside the grill when traveling to our outdoor destination. We also took the grill to a river camping spot close to our home. Even my kids had no problem carrying the grill closer to the camp site. We used an extension cord along with the inverter to gain some ground away from the truck so we could cook close to the river.

The smell of the smoker and the noise from the river made for one of our best family outings to date. My kids enjoyed learning to smoke their meal in a beautiful and fun setting.

If you have never cooked with a pellet grill, then you are really missing out. The ease and simplicity of the slow smoked process helps increase the flavor and experience. I first thought using a smoker might require some firefighting equipment to survive the smoke and also a big pile of wood to cook up some steaks or a rack of ribs. I quickly learned the smoke is contained in the body of the grill and that

the pellet grill is extremely low maintenance, all the while the auger slowly fuels the pellets in the firepot to keep the temperature even. Traeger uses an LED multi-purpose thermostat to adjust the temperature for a slow smoked rack of ribs or a high heat juicy prime cut of beef. The wood pellets work amazingly at creating flavor within the smoke, creating a heat bath through an induction fan.

I had an opportunity to visit with Traeger at their new headquarters in Salt Lake City to talk about Sportsman’s Warehouses exclusive Tailgater Grill. It was apparent that they take serious pride in not only the grill they are selling, but also pride in helping their customers enjoy their experience long after the initial purchase. They are constantly looking to develop new recipes for their customers to experience.

The grill came with a recipe book, which is great for a novice like myself. It simplified what pellets to use with what type of meat for optimal flavor. Traeger takes great pride in every aspect in the development of their grills. Stop in and check out the new exclusive Sportsman’s Warehouse Tailgater Pellet Grill at your local store and you too can start enjoying the many advantages of ‘slow smoking’.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

‘Take It Outside’ For A Great Family Adventure

By Michael Deming and the Sportsman’s News Team

T

he crackle and pop of a campfire and the brightness of the stars are something you really savor when you are out camping. You can unplug from the day to day rat race and get away from the electronic devices. You can enjoy the things that are so important in the big picture of life and that’s quality time with your family.

Uninterrupted time seems to generate some of the very best memories that can last a lifetime, regardless if it is camping, fishing or hunting.

Nothing puts you as close to nature and the family as putting all of you in a tent for a few days of fun-filled family activities together.

With everyone under one roof and no walls to separate you, it’s easy to communicate and as a father of three daughters, I will vouch for how much you can learn about your children on a simple weekend getaway in a tent.

The key to enjoying one of these weekends is to have a good family sized tent which is dependable, one that can endure some wind and weather should you experience a less than perfect weekend. I don’t mean a family sized tent based on the number of people the box says it will sleep. We all know that ‘sleeps 4’ really means that it’s probably comfortable for two. You want a tent that is comfortable for your entire family to relax, has room to store some gear and is not be too crowded.

SPECIFICATIONS Manufacturer Rustic Ridge Coleman

Browning Camping Browning Camping Kodiak Canvas Springbar

Barebones

We know it’s hard to look at the box at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse and see if it is the kind of tent that will suit your needs.

Sportsman’s News has taken a good number of the tents sold in the stores and online and put them to some real field testing this spring. Some tents are a few hundred dollars and some are significantly more. A family who only camps a time or two a year and tries to plan them around good weather shouldn’t spend a thousand dollars on a tent unless you have unlimited resources. For those of you that not only do family camping, but also hunt and fish and utilize this tent more as a second home will want to consider spending more on a tent. The higher price usually means that there are more expensive components in the tent and they are usually more durable in severe weather. Nothing will ruin

an outdoor adventure more than getting soaked to the bone while you are inside your shelter. It will provide a lasting memory for all to share, but not a good one.

Rustic Ridge Dome Tent

*Prices vary in Alaska

Name

10 Person Dome

Jenny Lake Fast Pitch Glacier Extreme Bighorn

Flexbow Deluxe Highline 8

Outfitter Safari

Footprint Size 13’ X 11’ 13’ X 9’

10’ X 10

10’ X 15’ 10’ X 14’ 10’ X 14’

10.5’ X 12’

Rustic Ridge Dome Tent The Rustic Ridge series of dome tents is built with the budget-wise consumer in mind. This large footprint tent is the only family sized tent in our review which is priced at less than two hundred dollars.

However, this doesn’t mean that it is cheap when it comes to the build of this tent. Although this is a dome style tent (which usually means that it has a couple of long poles that bend around the tent giving it its’ free standing ability) the Rustic Ridge dome tent has utilized multiple poles and hubs which attach at the corners. It makes for a more complicated setup, but the shorter poles provide a much more rigid frame to hold the tent up during higher winds and storms.

The 13’X11’ footprint gives you a whopping 143 square feet of living

Weight

25 lbs 12 oz 37 lbs 9 oz 27 lbs 0 oz

30 lbs 11 oz 79 lbs 78 lbs

160 lbs

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space, which is touted to hold 10 people comfortably. Of course, this would be head to toe and stacked in like cord wood. However, it does provide ample space for a family and gear for a weekend getaway.

The addition four feet of vestibule space is a good place to store additional gear and still keep it out of the rain. It has two D-shaped continued on page 26

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

TENTS

continued from page 23 doors in the front which is a good idea if you opt to use the included room divider. This provides the occupants from both sides to enter and exit without disturbing the other side’s occupants.

The bathtub style floor, which is made out of heavy duty PE material, will insure you stay dry from ground water and we put this to the test with over an inch of rain on our test outing. We endured a severe rain storm and some 25-30 mph gusts of wind and not only did the tent stay erect, it also kept everyone dry. There are three full sized windows and a mesh roof which provides great ventilation when the weather is good. The Eport allows you to run an electrical cord into the tent without having an open door. This proved to be a big hit for my girls when camping in the backyard, when they wanted their television hooked up for the big sleepover.

The Rustic Ridge Dome tent is well-built and ideal for the budget minded consumer who is going to camp out a few times a year. Truly the best value of the test.

Coleman Jenny Lake Fast Pitch Tent with Closet When I grabbed the Jenny Lake tent storage bag and saw that it had wheels, I knew someone had been thinking. Someone had traveled with their tent in and out of airports as a family and someone was committed to making the experience as smooth and family user friendly as possible. As this is a Coleman Outdoor Company tent, it is obvious that those individuals are the engineers committed to a long lasting user friendly product.

I loaded the Jenny Lake in the back on the truck and seeing that Coleman logo made me smile as nostalgia set in from all the memories of that whistling Coleman lantern so many years ago as the mantels lit up the night and smores were our after dinner snack.

As I pulled the tent out of the bag, I quickly noticed the intention of ease stayed consistent. The cen-

is spacious enough to comfortably fit up to eight sleepers. I would add that those sleepers need to be somewhat comfortable with each other and some small people would be best. So once again, after another successful and pleasant Colman experience, I packed the tent up in the case and smiled as I rolled it to my truck.

Coleman Jenny Lake

tral hub sits on top of the fast pitch tent and this is where it gets its fast pitch name. In fact, on the directions it suggests that this tent can go up in eight minutes (one may need to be slightly faster than me, though). No need to walk back to the bag and assemble the usually separate fiber glass poles and slide them into a sleeve on top of the tent. These poles are already connected to the main hub and color coded slots are in-line, with the pole specific to the central hub. Literally, there is no way to confuse where each already slotted pole goes with each plastic sleeve that connects to the base pole, unless one is unable to see blue or red.

In less than five minutes, the tent is standing and upright. Now since this is a family tent and inspired by ease and comfort, you will find the next step in putting up the tent is to lock in the closet. Seriously, this tent has a closet for the special lady; she will have shelves and a place for hangers on her stay.

Three poles later and a couple of stakes and you have your very own travel closet fit for an outdoor adventure.

Having been an outfitter for 15 years growing up, accustomed to tents that can withstand wind and severe elements, I did notice that this is not that tent. The central hub is a very fast set-up system and the closet adds for some extra comfort, but keep in mind that this tent is high profile and is not made to withstand strong winds. While on our Arizona desert trip we did

encounter 15 mph gusts and it was obviously very capable of keeping our nights pleasant, but in the back of my mind I made a note to not take it to Alaska on my next adventure.

There is a fiberglass rod that encompasses the main access door and adds some solid stability as well as allows for a two door hinged affect, again more of the comforts of home. The fly goes on smoothly with plastic clips on nylon straps and in less than 15 minutes, you are ready for a family vacation. It is important with this tent, due to the central hub, to have all the stakes in place as well as all the engineered illumiline guylines staked down.

Overall, this a tent creating an experience built for comfort. Complete with a 6’ 8” center height and an overall footprint of 13’x9’, not including the 2’x2’ closet, this tent

Browning Glacier Extreme

Browning Camping Glacier Extreme Tent So, in providing full disclosure, we have more than our fair share of experience with this Browning tent. This is a tent the Sportsman’s News team has used on many of our outdoor experiences over the past five years. We can definitely vouch for its’ quality as well as durability in all weather conditions. Several years ago, we told one of our Alaska drop camp outfitters about this exact tent and all the positive feedback we had. He purchased over fifty of them to be used in the extremely windy tundra country and he is adding to his inventory each and every year because of its high quality performance. His experience tells us that a well staked out tent, using all of the guy wires, will endure consistent 40 mph wind and some 60 mph gusts. Now that’s performance.

This tent is a 10’X10’ (100 sq. ft.) footprint with almost vertical side walls, which gives you a lot of living space. There is another 66 sq. ft. of vestibule space which is designed as one in the front and one in the back. We usually use the front door for access in and out and stake down the back for dry

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Browning Bighorn Tent

storage area. It is rated to sleep five adults on the box and we have used it for two adults and three girls as a great family tent. This is my go-to tent on a good majority of my hunts and it is ideal for two guys, oversized cots and all your gear.

This is a free standing, 2-pole design tent with a center hub.

The poles are lightweight 25mm aluminum, but able to withstand some harsh conditions. The bath tub style floor is made of 210D Polyester Oxford with 2000mm coating and with years of experience in some severe thunderstorms, I’ve never worried about getting wet through the ground. The fly is also made of 210D Polyester and numerous extra guy rope attachment points. If you’re going to be camped in an area with the possibility of severe weather and high winds, I recommend that you use all of these. It will insure you stay dry and comfortable and your tent stays in one piece. The total weight of this tent is right at 27 pounds.

However, it isn’t what I would consider an entry level tent. It sells for $499.99 at the stores located in the lower 48, but it’s worth every penny. You will replace numerous substandard tents before you replace this one.

Browning Camping Bighorn Tent In today’s world, nothing says family like ordering in a pizza with everyone sitting at the dinner table taking bites while in between snap chats. Not sure why it has come to

this, but alas, here we are. Except as you all know, it doesn’t have to be this way and thus was the Friday night as me and my family of two bounced down an Arizona back country, holding a memory of two summers ago drawing us back to roadrunners and noisy javelina.

It was dark upon arrival and I questioned my ability to put a brand new tent up in the headlights. My excited, yet tired family of two and I rolled the Browning Big Horn out of the bag and my first thought was, «wow, excellent, it’s shaped like a square”. It was simple to fold out on the ground and I only had to find two black rods that cross in the center sleeves and one gray rod that runs the width. No challenges here and the rods slid evenly into the sleeves. It was obvious that Browning had a completely different idea of what in today’s world actually says family.

I locked in the angle couplings and connected the base. Now here is where I am glad I had help; the 10x15, 8-person tent would have been challenging in this moment to put together had I not had some helpers. I steadied the tent, applying pressure to lift the frame by bending the fiberglass rods in an arc, as my helpers ran around and locked in the base. With the needed help and due to the simple nature of the design that tent went up in just under 15 minutes in the dark. I stood up in the middle of the tent and wondered again, “what if dads all over the world

knew how easy it was to set up a tent?” I even made a mental note to camp more.

We didn’t encounter any adverse conditions in the Arizona desert, so I can’t speak from experience as to the tents ability to withstand a 40mph wind, but we did enjoy a very large very relaxed atmosphere, made available by the Big Horn Tent. It can be a bit of a mental block to consider such a large family size tent, until one has the privilege of abundant space while enjoying their favorite campsite. I brought the cots and they neatly slid into place and if I had to guess, the whole family from roll out of the truck to asleep was just under an hour, not bad for a first time set up.

We were a small family, but it is designed to fit eight sleepers and has a nice privacy divide that segments the tent into two halves.

Just a reminder though - it is not a sound proof barrier. With only three of us, we used the back half to store our gear and our dry goods and still had plenty of room for cots. I ended up a little biased on this tent and would have no problem recommending the tent to anyone and here are a few technical reasons why.

First, one of the most irritating things about many tents are those small easy to jam zippers. Well this Browning Big Horn has big zippers and two very large doors that go with those zippers and I put the zippers to the test and they performed very well. Second, the

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tent is built with uniformity and symmetry which makes setup intuitive. We are, after all, only human and this tent was built by someone who understands the human mind. Third, tent poles are 12.5mm fiberglass rods and .19mm steel, making them very durable. I have busted a few poles over the years and I would say that these would be very difficult to break.

Fourth, it is really nice to be able to stand upright in a tent and this one has an extra tall 7’3” center that is actually just way too much room for once. And finally, equally as impressive as the set-up was the take down. The bags are actually big enough to fit the whole tent and you don’t have to be a genius or a robot to stuff it back in the bag, it just simply fits nicely. Just to be clear, this is how Browning says family, a giant, way too much room, easy to set up, 10’x15’ home at your favorite campsite. It has nothing to do with no eye contact meals and snap chat.

Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Deluxe Canvas Tent Canvas wall tents are an iconic form of camping, used by many over the past century. Coming back to elk camp and seeing the large canvas wall tent brings back some of the best memories I have growing up. They are large and spacious, the heavy canvas keeps the wind, rain and snow outside.

Wall tents are very spacious and continued on page 28

Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow Deluxe Canvas Tent

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TENTS

continued from page 27 allow many people to enjoy each other’s company, however they are very heavy, usually take more than one person to set up and take up important space when travelling to your favorite camping spot.

Kodiak Canvas offers a smaller canvas tent that is more portable and easier to set-up than a traditional wall tent. Created with Hydra-Shield, 100% duck canvas, this canvas will help keep out moisture from rain or snow. At the same time, it allows the material to breath to help regulate temperature inside the tent and most importantly, keep you dry.

The cotton duck canvas is also very durable. Weather, combined with the sun and wind are the key factors that can destroy regular dome tents. The canvas can last for many decades of use, so long as the owner makes sure not to store the canvas wet.

One of my favorite features of

the Kodiak Canvas tents is the ceiling height. At 6’6”, it allows most people to stand up even on the edges of the tent without crouching. The tent is super easy to setup and can be done by one person if needed. The ridge poles and spring bars go in first and then the side poles erect the tent.

Very easy and very effective. Two large doors in combination with the large YKK zippers, make accessing the tent very simple.

No-see-um mesh windows offer good ventilation and privacy at the same time. Funnel flow vents are located at the corners to help manage the air flow and keep the tent from building moisture on the inside. Staking down the tent is very important, because the tent is not freestanding. Always make sure that your tent is secure in its setup to withstand anything Mother Nature has to offer.

The polyester floor is reinforced and super easy to clean up. This durable material helps with weight and will help keep your floor in

Springbar Highline 8

service for many trips. The Kodiak Flex-Bow Canvas tent is not light and tips the scale at 79 lbs. This tent is not designed to hike into the backcountry, but serve as a portable wall tent. The tent is really spacious and comfortable. Never store the tent away wet or with moisture on the canvas. Mildew is the leading cause for failure on the canvas material. Make sure to let your tent dry out before storing and even set it back up at home to let it dry out before storage.

Take care of your canvas and the Kodiak Flex-Bow Canvas tent will last for the majority of your camping career.

Springbar Highline 8 Tent Camping is my way to go and recharge my internal battery. And taking my family with to enjoy the wilderness without the distractions of today’s technologies is well, priceless. So, selecting continued on page 30

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Pellet Hopper Clean-out (Select models)

Grease Catch Pellet Auger

Ash Clean-out System (Patent pending)

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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TENTS

continued from page 29 a tent that will accommodate a large family, yet hold up to the weather and keep us dry is a serious concern.

Canvas tents tend to be heavier than the new traditional nylon tents, but for good reason. If I can get 3-4 good years out of my dome tents without starting to see some major wear, I’m doing good. The heavier canvas tents will last for many, many years.

Springbar has been building tents in Utah for over half a century. This kind of longevity has evolved their tents into an easy to set up, rock solid canvas tent. The Highline 8-Man Tent, truly means 8-man tent. Most dome tents can barely fit six, let alone eight full size adults. I can even squeeze a queen size air mattress and have over half the tent left to store our gear. You can also stand up inside the Springbar, even around the edges, which is a major plus. I’m

6’ tall and when I have used traditional dome tents, I find myself crawling on my hands and knees to maneuver through the tent.

Springbar tents use aluminum poles throughout their construction. The set-up is actually quite easy and can be done by one person if needs be: After you stake the outside perimeter of the Springbar, put the top poles in place and raise the sides to lock in position.

That’s how simple it is. It comes with an awning that you can roll up and store on the tent itself or use two more poles to give you some shade.

Some of my favorite memories are sleeping in wall tents, as my dad experienced when he was a young boy. The wind and weather seem to be held at bay when inside the canvas. The weight and design can take a beating from the rain and snow, all the while brushing it off and getting ready for more.

Springbar tents are not designed to put on your back and haul for miles from the truck, but rather a

secure and solid tent that offers plenty of space to sleep up to eight adults comfortably.

Springbar’s Highline weighs in at over 80 lbs. Springbar incorporates a Sunforger boat shrunk marine finish duck canvas in its construction. This double-filled cotton canvas is treated with a dry-finish silicone to help repel water and keep mildew from growing. The walls use an 8.5 oz shelter duck and a 10.1 army duck for the roof and window panels. This superior double fill canvas has two yarns twisted together for a one up, one down weave to make the canvas water tight. For decades of use, Springbar dips the canvas twice in Sunforger to ensure your Highline tent will keep you dry and relaxed in any weather conditions.

BAREBONES Outfitter Safari Tent Nothing says camping quite like a wall tent. The glow of a wall tent on a moonlit night has provided me hundreds, if not thousands of

great memories. I’ve been using them for many of my camping trips and hard core hunting trips for over thirty years. So, I would consider myself pretty well versed when it comes to setting up one of these types of structures.

A wall tent tends to be a bit larger and bulkier than your standard weekender type tent. They are also more durable and if taken care of, can be expected to last a lifetime.

This is the reason a good majority of outfitters and guides use them as their base camps. They are also quite a bit more expensive, but if you were to average out the cost per use, I’m pretty sure the wall tent would come out on the winning side and this specific tent would really do well.

When we pulled this tent out of the box, it was obviously a different sort of animal than we have normally seen. Traditionally, the canvas tent is one giant piece of material which drapes over a frame and is staked down from there. The Barebones tent fabric is

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

BAREBONES Outfitter Safari

a very unique nylon/polyester fabric which is pretreated to be fire retardant and mildew resistant, as well as water repellant.

The other unique thing about this tent is that it isn’t all one giant piece of fabric, making it more manageable from a weight standpoint when you are camping with a family and don’t have multiple men to muscle the large piece of canvas around. It is constructed as the top and sidewalls as one piece, a front door assembly and a back door assembly, which zip on with heavy duty zippers and Velcro attach once totally set up.

The frame is built with durable, but lightweight aluminum poles and attach together with nylon joints. The poles secure into these nylon joints with a detent pin on each end of the poles. This insures the frame stays together until you decide to take it down. There are also some cross member braces on the ends which give added support.

Unlike traditional wall tents, this unit not only has the four walls and a roof, but also a floor. The entire tent, including the floor, secures to the frame, making one of the most rigid wall tents I’ve ever assembled.

Barebones claims that their tents can withstand wind gusts of 90 miles per hour when fully staked down. We didn’t get the pleasure of testing to this extent, but the tent was pitched in our

lot in Cedar City, Utah where 50 to 60 mph gusts can be consistent and the tent stood strong until we took it down. During our testing we saw, rain, snow, sleet and lots of wind. The rain fly protects it very well, but even without this installed, you can expect to stay dry. This tent had a drying period which was a quarter of the time of what your standard canvas wall tent would be. This is super helpful when it comes time to store your tent after usage. You never want to store a tent of any kinds wet and the quick drying ability of this fabric gives you a good chance of not having to set the tent up again at home to let it dry on a sunny day.

As with most wall tents, it is equipped with a stove pipe hole to accommodate your heating stove. It also has great ventilation throughout the tent. The eight windows, as well as the two huge doors, give you plenty of good ventilation, but also allow you to see the great outdoors. The 6’ sidewalls and the 9’ roof make this a very roomy tent and make the most out of its’ 10.5’ W by 12’ L footprint. The entire unit weighs in right at 160 pounds and stores in three separate bags.

Whether you are a professional outfitter or just someone who wants a high quality tent which will last you a lifetime, the Barebones Safari tent is truly the way to go.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Suunto Traverse Alpha Watch And Navigation

By Dan Kidder Managing Editor

A

s I get into the nuts and bolts of this watch, I am astounded at how much functionality they have been able to pack into a small, wrist-sized package. From telling the time, sunrise, sunset, date, chronograph, alarm, countdown timer, and all of the other functions you expect from a quality timepiece, to advanced navigation capabilities.

All of these work together to make the Suunto Traverse Alpha an amazing timepiece and navigation aid.

The Traverse Alpha also works in conjunction with both a desktop website, www.movescount.com, and a mobile app to further increase its functionality.

By pre-planning routes on online Google maps, the user can sync the watch with these routes, including GPS/GLONASS waypoints and use it to navigate. A built-in backtrack feature lets you quickly mark your

starting location, then use the breadcrumbs track to trace your way back to your starting point.

Feature sets are preprogramed for fishing, hiking, and hunting, but additional sporting activities from SCUBA to paddle boarding to skiing can be uploaded to the watch. Additionally, customized apps for the watch can be uploaded, and custom apps can even be created by the user.

In the hunting mode, a shot sensor records the location from which a shot is fired as a GPS waypoint, so the user can easily find their way back to that exact spot. Sunrise and sunset alarms can be set to warn you when legal hunting times are getting close.

The watch features a fairly bright flashlight mode by brightly backlighting the face, but also offers an eye-saving red light backlight mode, for use in the dark without ruining your night vision.

When synced with your iPhone or Android smart phone, it will show

you the number of a caller, or how many notifications you have on your phone. It also automatically counts your steps each day, resetting at midnight, and then when synced, it will provide you a history of how may steps you have taken over time.

The watch looks great, with a very rugged scratch resistant sapphire crystal glass face, and high contrast monotone display. A stout knurled stainless steel bezel further protects the face. A water resistant nylon band with heavy-duty metal buckles ensures that the watch will stay put, even during the most strenuous activity. The Traverse Alpha is water resistant to 100 meters (330 feet) and has been tested according to military standards (MIL STD 819G). The watches have passed 19 tests, including vibration, shock, drop, freeze/ thaw, rain, humidity, immersion, sand and dust.

The watch features a rechargeable internal battery

that will last for about 14 days of normal use. Heavy navigation will reduce the battery life to hours, but the charging cable plugs into any USB charger so it can be recharged with a portable battery or solar panel, and it charges very rapidly.

The charging cable is also the syncing cable for using the Movescount application on your computer.

The Traverse Alpha retails for $569 and would make a great Father’s Day gift for the active dad.

Check out our full Father’s Day Gift Guide on page 57.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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Screen Freak

Chad LaChance

B

ack around 1980 or so, I got an Atari video game console. It was loaded with great old school video games like Defender, Asteroids and Pac Man. It was sooo cool; I mean, I really loved it - for about 10 minutes or so. Then, I wanted back outside.

Looking back over my life since then that was about the most excited I ever got about anything computer or video screen related, always preferring to be outside with nature instead. Then I got a boat and it all changed. Now I’m a “Screen Freak”.

Screen freak - yep, that’s me.

What do I mean by that, you ask?

I mean I’m borderline obsessive over the sonar and GPS video screens in my boat. You see, when I got that first boat, my fishing passion exploded with the new found freedom from shore. I deduced that I needed a “fish finder” and the rest is history. Flashing forward to these days and nothing has changed; the first thing I do when launching the boat is turn on the Lowrance units.

Sonar and GPS technologies have now been around for a long while and the more recent units are so affordable and user friendly that any boat without the technology makes no sense; in the grand scheme of boating costs - even kayak or small boat - it’s a tiny investment for huge gains in fishability. Sonar gives you underwater eyes and GPS gives you a perfect memory, speed control and the ability to share or use others’ information.

First off, I despise the common term “fish finder” because sonar is far more consistently useful for determining temperature, depth, structural elements like drop offs or channels, flooded cover like bushes, bottom con-

tent, thermoclines, baitfish and possibly exactly where my lure is in the water column than it is for fish themselves, at least for most species. At certain times of year (like late summer/fall), we use sonar commonly to find fish and certain species (like lake trout) are sonar-intense to fish, but by and large, we use the sonar to ascertain where fish should be based on the aforementioned variables the unit clarifies for us.

Each year the technology gets a little better at showing us fish themselves, but some steely-eyed angler skills are typically still required to locate fish. Thing is, it’s dang near impossible to make those intelligent fish location decisions based solely on experience, unless you have the pieces of the puzzle provided by the sonar unit. As a professional guide and angler, I spend more money each year on sonar/GPS than I do on tackle; all the tackle in the world doesn’t help if you’re not fishing around fishy structure.

GPS may not be as critical in my mind as sonar in my fishing, but it ain’t far behind. GPS allows you to repeat patterns, return to specific spots, troll or travel at very accurate speeds, get back to wherever you launched and share data. The sharing aspect is not to be taken lightly in today’s era of fishing “numbers” (commonly known productive waypoints). I manage literally thousands of waypoints as part of my angling. Additionally, GPS maps have become mainstream and many major lakes and reservoirs have

full detailed topo maps available.

That aspect alone is worth the price of admission.

Putting it all together means using the sonar to find good water and possibly fish and using GPS to troll or hold perfectly over them or to record the data for future use. These tasks can be done with the most basic combo sonar/GPS units which can be purchased for less than $300. Lowrance’s Hook 4 unit is a great example and it can be mounted on virtually any boat. If you only want sonar, that can be accomplished with a Lowrance Hook 3X for less than $100 and it even has a color display. Knowing water depth and temperature alone is worth that, yet the unit will show you much more than that including bottom density (think rock vs mud vs gravel bottoms), structure, cover, fish and more.

The opposite end of the investment spectrum lands you at my personal boat set-up; twin Lowrance HDS-9 combo units (one on the bow, one on the helm) that also include Structure Scan; a nearly photographic image of whatever bottom is below or out to the side of the boat. This allows me to scan swathes of the lake bottom several hundred feet wide. I can touch the screen at any point to set a waypoint, zoom in/out, changes setting, etc. Various screen views can be custom set-up and mixed and matched as I see fit. The two units share a network and subsequently, data. Awesome; that is the appropriate description of the set-up - unless you are a fish trying to hide.

So how does a guy go from bored stiff with video games to dang near video game fishing?

Good question. I guess it goes back to nature and the outdoors.

Anything that makes my time in the boat more enjoyable - which automatically happens when you catch more fish - is valuable to me. The time it takes to learn the technology is minimal and the cost can be too. It’s up to you. Do you want to catch more fish? I bet I know the answer.

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2016 New Video Product Reviews

Leupold BX-3 Mojave Pro Guide HD

L

eupold Optics have been a leader in the outdoors industry for years and have been used in my family for generations.

My Grandpa bought one of the first VX series scopes for his .30-06 springfield. A couple generations later that .30-06 and Leopold scope are still preforming well for me. Yes, the name Leupold is synonymous with dependability.

Leupold just released an upgraded version of their BX-3 Mojave series of binoculars, the BX-3 Mojave Pro-Guide HD. The Mojave Pro-Guide binoculars are beautifully crafted and come in Kryptek Typhon or Highlander patterns.

They have added high-definition performance which is really apparent at dawn and dusk. Anyone who hunts knows how crucial the first

and last couple hours of daylight able to hold giving you less are and having a pair of binoculars strain on your hands. The that perform beyond expectation longer you can stay behind during those hours could be the the glass looking for your difference of harvesting that trophy target animal, the better or going home empty handed. Like your odds are on landing it. most of their optics, the Pro-Guide One of the things that HDs have fully multi-coated lenses, I absolutely love about giving you the crispest image pos- Leupold is the Gold Ring sible.

Full Lifetime Guarantee.

The BX-3 Mojave offers an open The guarantee covers any bridge design, making them light- of your Leupold products weight and ergonomic. They are for the life of the product. also 100percent waterIf the product is proof, making them pernot performing fect for any environment. the way you think They also have added it should, send it grip for the thumbs and in to the guys at fingers, providing a nonLeupold and they slip grip even with a wet Scan this QR Code with your will repair or replace it for phone to view the exterior. The added grip smart free. Optics for most of us Sportsman's News YouTube also makes them comfort- Channel. are a big investment, but

with Leupold, you get the peace of mind that they will always perform.

SPG Browning Automotive Products

T

wo things I love as an outdoorsman are my truck a n d m y B ro w n i n g f i rearms. Now thanks to Signature Products Group, I can show my Browning pride in my truck.

Featuring the high level of quality and workmanship you expect from Browning, combined with the distinctive Buckmark logo of Browning, with Mossy Oak accents, these automotive products provide the perfect option to display your love of Browning in your vehicle.

The low back seat covers not only display your pride, but also protect the seats in your vehicle from mud, water, pet hair and anything else that can stain or tear them. Designed to fit the majority of car, SUV or trucks with low-back seats, these covers integrate stylish black and gray accents with Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo to provide a fully, form fitting seat protector. In the center is a bright yellow Buckmark. These

seat covers are made of a durable water repellant fabric and incorporate Safe Seam Technology, making them compatible with the majority of in-seat airbags.

Use the Full Size Bench Seat Cover to match your back seat with your front or for those vehicles with a front bench seat.

A hook and loop panel in the center of the cover gives quick access to center consoles and provides cutouts for easy seatbelt access.

Don’t leave the floors uncovered; make sure to pick up a set of floor mats. These anti-slip mats feature universal trim-tofit sizing. Put the full-size, deep mats in the front and the smaller utility mats in the back to protect your interior carpet and capture snow, mud, dirt and water. They are made of rugged rubber with a molded Browning Buckmark and subtle bullet shape texture.

Not only can you show your Browning pride on your steering wheel, but the Steering Wheel Cover provides a positive grip at

the 10 and 2 marks, with texturized rubber that massages your hands while they are on the wheel and reinforces proper steering wheel position.

The cover features water resistant and durable cloth, with Mossy Oak BreakUp Country camo.

Finish off your accessories with a Browning license plate frame, shotgun shell air freshe n e r, B u c k m a r k stick-on window decals and even a Buckmark keychain to let your true Browning colors show.

All of these and more are available at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Scan this QR Code with your smart phone to view the Sportsman's News YouTube Channel.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Without Twilight Max Light Management System

VX-3i with Twilight Max Light Management System

COUNT THE MINUTES ’TIL DAYLIGHT

OR COUNT TINES

INTRODUCING THE VX®-3i AND THE TWILIGHT MAXTM LIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Nothing outperforms the VX-3i in low light. The Twilight Max Light Management System transmits light evenly across the entire visible spectrum and strips out glare that degrades images. Game stands out from any background, in even the deepest shadow. We all get the same amount of daylight, make sure you get the most out of it.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

2016 New Video Product Reviews

Sig Optics Zulu5 Binos

L

ast year we started to utilize the optics from Sig Sauer and we have been very impressed by their performance. Everything they build has a superior ruggedness to it, giving you the confidence to take any of this products anywhere in the world.

The Zulu5 binoculars are no different. Featuring a lightweight, but durable magnesium alloy body, the Zulu5 will stand up to any kind of terrain and abuse you put them through. They are also covered in durable rubber armor for further protection, while also providing a nonslip grip, with or without gloves.

Their High Definition glass offers unmatched clarity and color correctness and Sig Sauer’s silver deposition phase-coated BAK4

prisms, with dielectric mirror coat- neck/ shoulder strap, lens cloth ing, deliver unmatched resolution and a premium padded ballistic and image contrast. The broadband nylon case. The shoulder strap has fully multi-coated lens system will quick-detach buckles, making it give you a bright, crisp image any- easy to take off so that they fit in time of day in any light conditions, your binocular harness. even in low light. They are also Textured thumb grooves make waterproof, giving you great fog- the Zulu5 very comfortable to proof performance and are rated hold, which is awesome for trips for complete water immersion up where you’re going to be glassing to one meter. all day. The longer you are able The Zulu5’s have a smooth center to stay behind your binoculars, focus nob, making it easy to bring the better you are in finding that that target animal into once in a lifetime animal. sharp focus quickly. The The thing that I like most twist-up eyecups provide about the Zulus’ is that excellent eye relief and they are built to last, Sig provide a custom fit for has put a lot of effort every user. The Zulu5 is into making all of their tripod-compatible, has Scan this QR Code with your optics industry leaders in phone to view the included tethered objec- smart rugged performance. Just Sportsman's News YouTube tive lens convers, a deluxe Channel. in case you do damage

your Zulu5’s, they are covered by Sig Sauer’s Infinite Guarantee and Electronics Limited Warranty, giving you added peace of mind.

By Eric Christensen

packs and over 15 accessory op- scope or 3-liter hydration system. tions. This modular system gives The F2 Transformer pack has a top you over 100 possible combina- load main compartment for easy tions to create a pack that works access. Ample moly webbing is for any outdoor trip. added to accessorize your pack This great pack features three as needed. horizontal compression straps to When attaching the F2 Translock down your load for transport. former to the F1 Mainframe, there The compression straps are perfect are two options. First, the sides of for securing an elk quarter or duf- both packs have full length zipfel bag quickly. The frame sports a pers to attach the packs together. shelf to keep loads from shifting to The other method is using the low as you work your way back to three compressions straps to grapcamp. An adjustable torso harness ple the packs together. The zipper will accommodate several types of method meshes the packs together body sizes. more securely, while the strapping The F2 Transformer pack is a method allows gear to be placed perfect complement to between the packs, like use with the F1 Mainand elk quarter after a frame pack or as a standsuccessful hunt. alone day pack. Simply Another recommended swap out the waist belt accessory to add to the F1 and you have a 2300 cuMainframe is the J2Db dry bic inch day pack. Two Scan this QR Code with your bag. This lightweight dry smart phone to view the full length side pockets Sportsman's News YouTube bag is great for weather can be used for a spotting Channel. that might release mois-

ture down in your area. In today’s age of electronics, it’s a simple way to keep your gear dry and safe. The dry bag can be attached with an expansion zipper or carried by the compression straps. The A2SS is a self-mounting rifle scabbard that is a great accessory to finish your outfit. It will assist you for a hands-free trek with all your gear.

Eberlestock Transformer Modular Backpack System

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berlestock backpacks have been helping hunters complete their quests through innovative technology for years.

Pack systems are nothing new to the market. However, designing the right pack frame with a removable day back is perfect for giving hunters a versatile setup to cover one-day antelope hunts or a week long backcountry elk hunt deep in the Rockies. The F1 mainframe pack is a light yet sturdy frame pack that can be combined with the F2 Transformer pack to offer you just that type of versatility.

The F1 Mainframe pack is designed to the bare bones with an Intex II aluminum frame. 1000 denier fabric outlines the frame for maximum strength and weight.

The F1 Mainframe pack’s modular system will work with Eberlestock’s duffels, dry bags or zip-on

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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2016 New Video Product Reviews

Nikon INLINE XR Muzzleloader Scope

By Sparky Sparkes

M

uzzleloader hunting gives the avid outdoorsman an incredible opportunity to hunt some of the best units, during the best seasons. Muzzleloader hunting has come a long way, offering the hunter the opportunity to shoot accurately at longer ranges.

Nikon has taken the optics side a step farther by introducing the Inline XR Rifle Scope perfect for any muzzleloader.

A quick focus eyepiece allows the shooter to instantly bring the reticle into sharp focus. The generous eye relief of five inches on 3-power and four inches on 9-power helps keep your brow safe, even while shooting heavy recoil charges. Precise, hand turn ¼ MOA click adjust-

ments, along with positive click that provide instant aiming points, adjustments allow you to adjust taking the guesswork out of longeryour Inline XR efficiently for proper range shots. The open circle design offers you a great sight picture, accuracy. No tools needed.

The Nikon Inline XR features a making shots at any range easier for bright multi-coated optical system, you to get on your target. Whether delivering vivid sight pictures and your game is up close and personal optimum light transmission, al- or standing at over 300 yards, you lowing you maximum brightness will appreciate the wide field of from dawn to dusk. The Inline XR view and the ease of acquiring is Nitrogen filled and O-ring sealed, your target.

The Inline XR allows you to making the scope waterproof, fog proof and shock proof, giving have the confidence in making that 300-yard shot by relying you complete confidence on the Spot On Ballistic even under the toughMatch Technology. This est weather conditions. technology gives you the Nikon has even gone one ability to take the guessstep further with its patwork out of compensating ented BDC 300 reticle. The trajectory compensating Scan this QR Code with your for bullet drop. You can phone to view the also now download their reticle integrates unique, smart Sportsman's News YouTube free Spot On App for your easy to see ballistic circles Channel.

IPhone or Android and take their technology with you. There, you will be able to load your data and atmospheric conditions and print off your information to take it to the range With states like Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and more allowing the use of variable scopes on muzzle loaders, its about time you get in the game and pick one up today.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Holy Flatfish, Batman!

By Gary Lewis

Two Face, that barn door halibut, that crusher of bait as big as salmon is on the prowl

A

gain the intrepid caped figure of the Batman and his aide, Robin, the laughing young

daredevil, team up to battle against that scavenger, that predator, that scale-less monster of the deep. Always outnumbered, but never outfought – two figures slug it out with the horde of halibut. Holy Flatfish, Batman!

It is morning and anglers from around the world gather at docks all along the coast of southeast and southwest Alaska. Their adversary is hippoglossus, a creature of the deepest, darkest, depths of the ocean – a two-faced right-eyed flatfish, white on the downside and a mottled brown on the up-facing slab.

We call them halibut, their name derived from the words haly (holy) and butt (flat fish) for their popularity on Catholic holy days.

As fry, halibut have an eye on each side of the head and swim like other fish, but early in life one eye migrates to the other side and that side darkens while the bottom side remains white.

The fish becomes a bottom feeder that holds a place high in the marine

food chain Photo by Gary Lewis and high in the regard of two-legged fish-eaters.

The flatfish feeds on crab, salmon, sculpin, cod, herring and just about anything else they can crush between their jaws. A worthy adversary for a crusader A halibut brought to the boat. (caped or not) armed with a boat rod you head north to do battle and take fillets, heed the words of wisdom of and a circle hook.

There are few secrets in the halibut some of Alaska’s best charter operain the waters off the coast of Alaska. A tors and guides. lot of excellent fishermen ply the salt to Dark Side Up Bob Anderson is the owner of Fireget their clients into the small fish we call “chickens” and the big old breed- weed Lodge, based in Klawock, on ers that run 200 pounds and more, the Prince of Wales Island. From May to so-called “barn door” halibut. When the first week of September, Ander-

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Photo by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis matches wits with a right-eyed flatfish that fell for a herring and a slow hook-set. son’s boats stream westward to the big water.

“The thing about the West Coast, from the shore out, there are halibut everywhere. When you want to target bigger sizes, you have to hit specific areas. It is about the configuration of the bottom and how it drops off and how the bait rolls into the holes and stacks around the pinnacles.”

We think of halibut as bottom feeders, scavengers and they are, but they are also predators that chase and kill prey. Anderson and his guides like to target the smaller, best-eating fish where baitfish gather. They hunt bigger fish in isolated spots.

“It doesn’t have to be in a big hole.

Your big fish are often going to be in areas of about 140 feet deep. They tend not to travel in schools like the smaller halibut do.”

Anderson keeps track of the areas where the trollers have been working and throwing their cleaned fish overboard. Such places often turn up bigger halibut.

Mike Flores and his crew at Ninilchik Charters fish the waters of Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Alaska.

“We look for breaks in the bottom, where the ground is down-sloping or up-sloping to pinnacles. The other thing we look for is bait. To find the bait, we look for whales on the surface and seagulls or cod and halibut on the fish finders that tell us where the bait is.”

Mark Edwards, of Naha Bay Lodge, fishes southeast Alaska near Ketchikan in the West Behm Canal, Clarence Strait and Naha Bay.

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“We are looking around for new spots all the time,” Edwards said. “I try to avoid going over the same spots.

I am looking for ledges around the 160 to 220ft. mark where we know bait is coming in.”

Weather, Tides And Currents It is hard to predict the weather, but in southeast Alaska, it is a little easier.

It’s going to rain. Bring a rain jacket and rain pants.

What you can plan for are tides and currents that push piles of bait into rocky crevices where halibut feed.

Try to time a trip to coincide with big tides. That means watching the moon. Some guides will tell you the moon doesn’t affect the fishing. Not Mike Flores.

“When we have a full moon, we have a negative tide, which means we will have a 30 foot water movement in six hours. In the new moon, you get about 11 feet of movement. We get longer fishing time and better fishing in a full moon cycle.”

An impending storm and a major low pressure system will slow the fishing down, according to Flores.

“A low pressure system moves through and the fishing is poor for a day or so. We can go to our “Chicken Hole” and have tons of fish and when that low pressure system arrives, the bite just dies,” Flores said.

“The fish are still there, they just are not biting. We have put Go Pro cameras down and watched the fish.

We see them on the film, they’re just not biting at all.”

Hunting Big Halibut It takes years for a halibut to grow as big as a barn door and for every big one an angler hooks, he or she will sort through 40 or 50 smaller ones.

Anglers know the smaller halibut make the best table fare, but for sheer poundage and battle, big fish are where it’s at.

Anderson and his guides like to protect the big halibut, but when they do find bigger fish they tend to be in isolated spots and in places where a reliable food source is available. Conditions can play a part in the odds of finding big halibut.

Flores believes the stricter halibut bag limits have helped to grow bigger fish. “I think the best eating fish are the 20- to 60-pounders.”

Pete Eades is the manager of the

Photo by Gary Lewis Lights out for a big halibut.

Glacier Bear Lodge in Yakutat where the prime halibut season runs midMay to the end of July when they switch to targeting other bottomfish and salmon. When an angler wants to hunt big fish, Eades says one of his favorite baits is octopus.

“It is very tough, it stays on the hook well. A lot of times when you see the big fish come up, they burp and you see octopus parts. We find a lot of octopus beaks in the bellies of big fish too.” continued on page 44

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Gold Tip Arrows

By Shane Chuning

W

hen you hear the name Gold Tip in the archery industry, you think of toughness and durability. The Hunter series of arrows have been a main stay in the Gold Tip line-up for years, with a proven track record. That has not stopped and they continue to produce one of the best arrows on the market today.

The Hunter series is offered in three grades of arrows: The first one we

Spine consistency is critical and you don’t get much better than the Gold Tip Pro Hunters.

will talk about is what they call their ‘good grade’ arrow. These are offered in +/-.006 tolerances for straightness and +/- 2 grains tolerances for weight.

The Hunter arrows will be for those on a budget and not looking to spend anything extra than they have too, but still want to enjoy shooting their bow.

You also have those people that don’t want to be afraid of wasting arrows due to the cost of the higher end ones.

For those, this would be a great option.

The next grade Gold Tip offers is the Hunter XT’s. These are probably the most popular selling arrow in their lineup. They come in with a rating on straightness of +/- .003 and weight tolerances of +/- 2 grains. These are a ‘very solid midrange arrow’ and what they consider their ‘better choice’ when selecting arrows. I will say when testing them you have a 50/50 chance of having some arrows that will probably test as tight as their best choice, the Pro Hunters, just giving you that tip from personal experience. Overall,

Made in the U.S.A.

they are a very solid choice for those not wanting to step up to the Pro Series and you will see very good performance out of them.

Last but not least, the Pro Hunters. These would be my personal choice when choosing the Gold Tip arrows. They come in with a rating for straightness of +/- .001 and a weight tolerance of +/- .5, which is right up there with the top tolerances in the industry. When testing these they have always been very, very tight and it makes tuning and broadhead flight so forgiving. The straighter the arrow generally means you will have tighter spine variances throughout the circumference of the shaft. You might ask what this gives you over the other options. It will give you tighter groups, better broadhead flight, unmatched down range accuracy and make tuning go so much easier for those working on and setting up your bow.

A very common question in the industry is, “What arrows should I shoot and what grade?” To answer the first question as to “What arrows to shoot?” You will get many different answers here depending on who you ask. I will say, when choosing Gold Tip, you will have the confidence knowing that you have a very solid, tough arrow with a great choice on different grades to fit anyone’s budget.

When it comes to choosing what grade, I always recommend you buy what you can afford. This means don’t skimp if you can afford better. You will be glad you did when you see the results down range.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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HOLY HALIBUT continued from page 41

Anglers that don’t want to mess with bait can catch a lot of fish on big scampi-style jigs.

Aboard The Boat Want to catch the most fish on the boat? Start at the back, Mike Flores said.

“For some reason the very back of the boat always catches the first fish. I think it is the scent trail. The fish come to you when they smell the bait.” And the first baits they encounter are the ones at the back of the boat.

Most charter operators and guides have a policy of rotating the anglers around the boat. So once you have had your turn, be nice and rotate.

“Listen to the captain,” Pete Eades said. “There is no setting of the hook.

You let them take it. It is a slow retrieve that sets the hook into the mouth.”

The Utility Belt Any rain-slickered crusader that would do battle with the two-faced flatfish must go armed with a utility belt. Going guided, most of the gear will be provided, but an angler that shows up with a few essentials can make the captain’s and the mate’s or bait boy’s jobs easier.

A set of needle nose pliers like the FT6500CP from Coast or a multi-tool like those made by Gerber and Kershaw can come in handy for remov-

ing hooks from fish (and sidekicks).

For long battles, there might be a fighting belt aboard. Anglers of smaller stature might strap into a fighting chair to put maximum leverage and graphite to a fish.

On a guided trip, the crew will dispatch big fish before bringing them aboard. A gaff hook is standard equipment. A baseball bat can be employed to put the fish to sleep. BAM! For the biggest fish, some guides prefer a marine-grade 410 shotgun like the Rossi R45S while others will go with a stainless 38 Special to knock the bad guy’s lights out. KAPOW! If you bring a fillet knife, select a blade that flexes, but has rigidity through the mid-section for the best control. A pair of rubberized fillet gloves can protect the digits at the fish cleaning station.

When the quarry is in the cooler, a system for sealing and freezer packing the fish can be a work saver and protect meat for the long lockup. Systems are available from VacUpack and other manufacturers that make the job easy for a valued sidekick.

Icing down the fish and apportioning the catch into waxed boxes is best managed by oneself. Boy Wonder might talk a good game, but he cannot be relied upon when there are fillets to cut. And Catwoman cannot be trusted around the fish.

To contact Gary Lewis, visit www.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Wapiti Ridge Outfitters - Mexico

By James Dansie

F

or those of us who are passionate about deer hunting, Sonora, Mexico is a dream location to hunt. The muleys and coues deer down south are known for having ridiculous mass and stories of deer scoring well into the 200-inch mark are abundant.

Although hunting in Mexico is something a lot of hunters are interested in, there will be some who never book a trip fearing that Mexico is just too unsafe and can’t justify the risk to hunt there. The Sportsman’s News team has been lucky to find outfitters who don’t just care if you tag out, but are committed in providing you a safe and enjoyable experience.

In 2014, Justin Jarret from Wapiti Ridge Outfitters told us that he was going to try and start an operation in Mexico and wanted us to be a part of the first hunting group in January of 2015. We have been doing trips with WRO in Wyoming for years and knew that Justin would go through the appropriate steps to create a safe environment.

Even though we didn’t harvest anything that first trip, we had such a great time with the WRO Mexico staff that we knew this would be a trip that we would do every year and because we personally enjoy it so much, we are going to be giving

away a mule deer hunt every year with our Pro-Membership Program Greg Abbott was our lucky winner this year and we were excited to get to know him as we hunted for a monster muley. Greg Abbott is a Texas native and has been hunting whitetail and mule deer his whole life. Greg used to come to Mexico a lot when he raced motorcycle in his younger days, but he admitted it had been a while since his last trip and that he was excited to get out and start glassing the desert landscape for deer.

The first night at the lodge is designed as a kind of ‘meet and greet’ where you are introduced to the other hunters and are presented with an authentic Mexican dinner that is handmade by the wives of the Mexican guides. We had carne asada tacos garnished with freshly made guacamole and salsa. I swear they were just about the best I have ever had. The next morning everyone heads out to camp, which is a comfortable tent camp right on the beach of the Sea of Cortez. After camp is set up, it’s time to get out and devote some time to glassing. Utilizing high racks, you drive from camp to a hill that’s high enough to be able to

A great mid 170s class buck that had an unfortunate fit with a cactus. Awesome buck but we kept looking for a monster.

This 220 stud was harvested by one of the other lucky hunters in camp and is the reason why we come to Sonora every year. look down through the desert floor.

When standing at the same level as the cacti and other desert plants, it’s almost impossible to see more than fifty yards in any direction.

It’s amazing that with just a little elevation the floor opens up and you can see for hundreds of yards.

The area that we were glassing was vast and you had to stay focused in order to see anything.

I consider myself pretty good at glassing, but I was blown away by how good our Mexico guides were at spotting game. We were hunting with Lorenzo, who is in charge of all of the Mexican side of WRO. Lorenzo has been hunting and guiding in Mexico since he was five and was amazing at picking apart the terrain to find deer.

We had only been sitting on the hill for about twenty minutes when Lorenzo spotted a group of does and a couple minutes after that he spotted a dark horned buck, thirteen hundred yards in the distance, walking away from us. We almost decide to go after it, but it was only a three by four and it was just the first day of our hunt.

Even though we were camping on the beach, the women who were in charge of making the food went all-out each and every night.

It is an amazing feeling to come back each night to homemade

guacamole and salsa and then to feast on a homemade meal. We had everything from fish tacos to fried chicken to scallop ceviche and it was all excellent.

On the second day of our hunt, one of the other hunters in camp connected with a whopper buck that scored just shy of 220. Having a buck of that caliber in camp reminded everyone of what kind of deer were in that area and helped to sharpen our focus while glassing. As the days went by, Greg stayed determined to find a deer over 200 inches. We were lucky to see great bucks every day, but just not the one that Greg wanted.

We were able to find bucks that would’ve easily scored in the mid 170s to mid 190s and I was impressed with Greg’s discipline to not compromise and just shoot one of those other bucks.

The great thing about hunting with WRO Mexico is that you will see multiple deer each and everyday which isn’t all that common in Mexico. Even with seeing a lot of different bucks, we unfortunately couldn’t find the one that Greg was willing to pull the trigger on. Greg had such a great time though that he has already booked to return and hunt next year and hopefully then he will find his buck of a lifetime.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Digital Edition Only Special Content

Presents Wild Game Recipes of Steve Mayer "The Wine Guy"

T

Wild Game Tacos

his traditional Mexican dish lends itself perfectly to wild game meats. The relative absence of fat, that hinders making burger patties, is perfect for filling a tortilla.

You can use virtually any game meat from wild turkey to moose and make stunning tacos. Ground meat works exceptionally well, as well as small cubed pieces. Every year I course grind some of my venison without any suet, just for tacos. They are a monthly event at our house. Everyone really enjoys building their own tacos with their choice of condiments and kicking them up with different hot sauces.

I like to set up the table with a “taco bar” type of lay-out, featuring small bowls of a lot of different toppings to add to the basic meat, cheese and a shell. I have a list of suggested condiments below, but the sky is the limit and the more the merrier. You can also do several varieties of game meat; invite some friends and have a great taco party!

Viva la Caza!

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • •

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup finely chopped onion 5 cloves finely chopped garlic 2 tablespoons ground cumin 1 ½ pounds ground or finely cubed venison 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 8 ounce can of tomato sauce 8 ounces beef broth 12-16 soft corn tortillas or taco shells

•

Grated Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese Sour Cream Hot Sauce Shredded Iceberg lettuce Salsa Guacamole Chopped onion Diced fresh tomatoes Minced jalapenos

Condiments • • • • • • • •

• • •

Fresh chopped cilantro Sliced radishes Chopped black olives

Preparation

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Place the onions in the pan and sauté 3-4 minutes until translucent.

Stir in the garlic and cumin and sauté another couple of minutes. Add in the meat and stir as it browns, making sure all clumps are broken up. After the meat has browned to your desired doneness, toss in the chili powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Pour in the can of tomato sauce and beef broth and stir well. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced. Remove from heat and keep warm until it is time to serve.

Prepare whichever condiments you like and place them separately in small bowls. If you are using fresh tortillas, you can either fry them in vegetable oil to shape and crisp them up or simply brown them on the grill. I used some fresh blue corn tortillas from a local Mexican market, grilled on the barbeque.

A batch of Spanish rice and refried beans really rounds out the meal.

Lay out all the condiments, including meat and tortillas in the middle of the table, in a “taco Bar” type of presentation.

Hand everyone a plate and let them go at it. Everyone, young and old, will love to make their own custom tacos in a truly interactive dining experience. A variety of hot sauces will add some extra fuel to the fire of what is another unique way of enjoying venison.

This feast is easily accompanied by an ice cold beer, but red, white wine or sangria, could be served as well.

Arriba!

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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Digital Edition Only Special Content

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Digital Edition Only Special Content

Panfish Paradise

By John N. Felsher

T

he tiny cork offering landed in a pocket between two large weedbeds and sat motionless for a few moments until the ripples faded. Then, with one flick of the angler’s wrist, the bug plopped on the surface.

That commotion caught the attention of a small fish with a big attitude. The sunfish rose to examine the bait more closely. Then, it annihilated the temptation with a devastating strike as if someone tossed a huge rock into the placid black water of Lake George in central Florida, about 60 miles north or Orlando.

Pound for pound or more appropriately ounce for ounce, several sunfish species collectively lumped together as “bream” can outfight anything in fresh water.

What they lack in size, they more than compensate for in determination and pugnacious aggression.

Among the most common, widespread and aggressive sunfish, bluegills can weigh more than four pounds, but few exceed one pound. The Florida state record weighed 2.95 pounds.

Photo by John N. Felsher

Adventure On A Budget

Also called shellcrackers because they love to eat snails, redear sunfish look like paler versions of bluegills, but with orange to red highlights on their “ear flaps.” Shellcrackers can grow larger than bluegills and commonly weigh more than a pound.

The Florida state record weighed 4.86 pounds, but the world record exceeded five pounds.

Anglers frequently find excellent bluegill and redear action at Lake George and might also catch several other panfish species. About 14 miles long by six miles wide, Lake George spans 46,000 acres along the St. Johns River. Mostly surrounded by wilderness with few traces of civilization along its shorelines, the large, shallow lake averages about eight feet deep. Some holes drop a bit deeper.

Thick vegetation may extend several hundred yards from shore.

“The lake has a lot of thick weeds that are good places to fish for big bream,” explained Steve Niemoeller with CFL Fishing Charter Service (888-629-2277, bassonline.com) in

Central Florida offers more than just fishing To fish Lake George, many people run out of Astor on the St. John River about four miles south of the lake. Several facilities offer hotelstyle lodging, cabins or dining facilities. Frequently, hungry anglers take a break and dock at one of the riverside restaurants for lunch.

“I highly recommend Castaways On the River,” advised Steve Niemoeller, a local fishing guide. “Sometimes, we call one of the restaurants on the river to order lunch. When we dock the boat, the lunch is ready in a to-go box and we’re quickly back to fishing.”

Along Highway 40, visitors can find other lodging and dining establishments, groceries and bait shops or launch their boats where the highway crosses the river. Some businesses rent boats. People can fish off the bank in the Nine Mile Point area on the eastern side of the lake and at Silver Glen Springs on the western shoreline.

Several campgrounds rent spaces for recreational vehicles. A few allow tent camping. People can also stay, launch and dine at Bull Creek Campground in Flagler County or Highland Park Fish Camp up the river in Deland. People can also find camping facilities in the nearby 383,000-acre Ocala National Forest and at Salt Springs on the northwest part of Lake George.

Head east and in less than an hour, visitors could sun themselves on several beaches along the Atlantic Coast or take a saltwater fishing excursion. By driving along the beach roads, vacationers can find abundant dining, lodging and recreational facilities on the coast.

Mike Baker waits for another bite while using multiple rods on Crescent Lake near Crescent City, Fla. Deland. “The lake also has a lot of shell beds and a hard sandy bottom.

The west side of the lake between, Juniper Springs and Silver Glen Run is a good area with lots of good, hard bottoms for bedding. Just above Juniper Springs, the Cabbage Patch is another good area. It’s a big flat with a bunch of grass. Right in front of Silver Glen Run the water is a little deeper, so it’s a little harder to find fish there, but that area can still hold some big bream. On the eastern side, go behind the grass line to find hard bottoms.”

With hard bottoms, fertile water, abundant forage and excellent grass cover, the second largest freshwater lake in Florida produces some of the biggest bream in the Sunshine State. Sand flats covered in hydrilla, eelgrass and other weeds create ideal spawning conditions. Among the most prolific freshwater fish in the world, bluegills and other sunfish may spawn several times a year from early spring through fall. When spawning, bluegills hollow out depressions in the bottom.

In the clear, black waters of Lake George and associated backwaters, anglers can often spot these bedding areas.

“Lake George is well known for producing big bream,” Niemoeller said. “I’ve caught redear sunfish in the 2- to 2.25-pound range. Redears in the 1.5-pound range are pretty common. We also catch some really big coppernose bluegills. My favorite time to fish the lake for bream is the first week of June.”

While on the nests, bream may attack anything that comes too close or passes overhead. Bream guarding the beds make prime targets for fly fishermen. Voracious predators of insects, sunfish hit various floating foam or cork creations adorned with feathers. Some of these popping bugs resemble tiny frogs, crickets, grasshoppers, dragonflies, minnows or other morsels. Anglers could also use wet or dry flies and small streamers.

“When bream are on the beds in shallow water, we’ll often smell them,” Niemoeller explained. “It’s kind of a watermelon smell. Juniper Springs on the southwest corner of the lake is one of the best places on the lake to find bedding bream. It’s a great place for fly fishing. Behind the Cabbage Patch about halfway between Juniper Spring and Silver Glen is one of the best areas for fly fishing.”

When fishing a floating popper, toss the bug over a bedding area, at the edge of thick weed patches or close to other cover. Let it rest on the surface a few moments and then give it a small twitch or pop. Let it rest again for several seconds. For bream, anglers typically don’t need to make dynamic action. Sometimes, just a twitch, a pop or dragging a floater a few inches across the surface might provoke a strike.

If bream won’t hit popping bugs or flies, try dragging a small jighead across the beds. Anglers can tip the jighead with a small plastic trailer or add a piece of natural worm. Di-

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

minutive crankbaits that resemble insects, crawfish or other morsels can also work on an ultralight spinning rod or even a fly rod.

Among the most popular panfish enticements, a beetle spinner typically consists of a single-bladed harness spinner attached to a jighead.

On the jighead, anglers can put any number of soft-plastic creations. A small beetle or grub trailer in white or black with green stripes often produces big action.

Toss a beetle spinner over a bed or next to cover. Let it sink to the bottom or the desired depth. Then, slowly retrieve it just over the bottom. When working around submerged vegetation, let the spinner tick the grass tops. Occasionally, pause to let the bait sink a bit. Fish often hit spinners on the fall. Anglers can also “buzz” beetles over the surface or “wake” them just beneath the surface in a steady retrieve.

During hot or cold weather, bream may go deep. Fishing deeper flats along channel edges or holes frequently puts larger bream in the boat. Most bream anglers concentrate on the shorelines, leaving many deeper holes virtually untapped.

“When I’m fishing in deeper water, I normally catch bigger bluegills,” said Mike Baker, a professional crappie angler and guide (352-267-0747, www.thecrappiefisherman.com). “I look for grassy areas with sandy bottoms and vertically jig baits off the bow just like I do when crappie fishing. People can easily downsize their crappie fishing techniques and catch a lot of

bluegill or other panfish. Instead of crappie jigs and minnows, I just use an Aberdeen hook with crickets.”

Of course, the old standby also works over a good bed. Just rig up a simple bobber and a hook baited with a live cricket or worm. In slightly deeper water, add a small shot sinker, one just big enough to pull the bait to the bottom. Put it on the line between the float and the hook.

Other Bream Hotspots Anglers can find more places to fish along the St. Johns River system than just Lake George. Although dwarfed by nearby Lake George, Crescent Lake looms large in the minds of many Florida anglers.

Crescent Lake covers 16,000 acres on the Flagler-Putnam County line.

Dunn’s Creek connects the two lakes via the river. A deep channel connects Crescent Lake to the misnamed Dead Lake and Haw Creek, which flows through some swamps southeast of Dead Lake.

Just south of Lake George on the St. Johns River, sloughs connect the 2,200-acre Lake Woodruff, the 1,800acre Lake Dexter. Between Dexter and Woodruff, myriad channels create many grassy islands and flats.

A bit more difficult to reach, these backwaters typically don’t receive as much pressure as Lake George or the main river. Any weed patch could produce a boatload of feisty panfish.

“Lake Dexter is a really good place to fish for bream,” Niemoeller recommended. “It has a lot of beds. The shallows along the main river shorelines also hold many big bream. They Photo by John N. Felsher bed along seawalls and under overhanging trees where birds can’t get to them, sometimes in water only inches deep under good cover.”

Capt. Steve Niemoeller of CFL Fishing Charter Service shows off a bluegill he caught while fishing on the St. Johns River near Astor, Fla.

Keep in Mind Many people unfamiliar with Florida worry about alligators. True, this

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wilderness sys- Photo by John N. Felsher tem teems with large reptiles and many other creatures. On a summer morning, anglers frequently spot alligators surfacing near their boats, but the ancient reptiles usually stay away from people.

“We see alligators all the Capt. Niemoeller with a redear sunfish that he time,” Niemoecaught on a beetle spinner while fishing in a creek ller advised. off the St. Johns River.

“Most of the time, they won’t The Lake George area can probother people unless people bother vide excellent fishing all year them or feed them. However, watch long in a beautiful setting. Besides the pets closely. Alligators will grab bream, the system produces bass a dog in a heartbeat, particularly if exceeding 10 pounds, crappie, the dog is walking near a shoreline catfish, striped bass and hybrid or swimming in the river.” stripers. During the fall, sportsmen When planning a trip to Lake might even make a “cast-andGeorge, also consider bringing a light blast” adventure, hunting ducks jacket and rain suit. Even during a in the morning and catching fish Florida summer, the early morning in the afternoon. boat ride could turn a little chilly. Also Non-residents can buy a seasonal bring good polarized sunglasses for or temporary fishing license lospotting bream beds in the ebony wa- cally or on-line. For Florida fishing ter. Some bug spray or netting could license information, see myfwc. also come in handy at times. com/license/recreational.

Important Contacts

Guides

Mike Baker 352-267-0747 www.thecrappiefisherman.com Steve Niemoeller CFL Fishing Charter Service 888-629-2277 bassonline.com

Campgrounds

Castaways On The River castawaysontheriver.com Highland Park Fish Camp www.hpfishcamp.com St. Johns River Campground stjohnsrivercampground.com

Lodging and Services

Area Information

Blackwater Inn blackwaterinn.com

Lake County Info www.visitlakefl.com

Bull Creek Fish Camp and Campground flaglercounty.org/Facilities/ Facility/Details/Bull-Creek-

Putnam County Info www.tourputnam.org

Anglers Riverside Retreat anglersriversideretreat.com

Flagler County Info www.visitflagler.com

Volusia County Info www.volusia.org

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Tre-Fin: Tuna Ready Part 1 of a 3 part series on Pacific Northwest albacore tuna fishing – written exclusively for Sportsman’s News

By Wayne Harmond Team Tre-Fin

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s I began writing this article, I had just received the latest version of the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife’s 2016 quotas and seasons for summer ocean salmon fishing. It’s a good thing that I was already sitting down. In technical terms, it read something like this; Due to an anticipated decline in the numbers of returning Coho (silver) salmon, the states of Washington and Oregon have

drastically reduced both the catch quotas and areas for sport fishing for ocean salmon for 2016. In order to further protect this year ’s returning Coho, the states have also announced a reduction in the catch quotas for ocean Chinook (King) salmon, even though the summer Chinook returns are expected to be strong. Their reasoning is: when fishing for ocean Chinook, the Coho are still going to be caught “incidentally” – resulting in additional Coho mortality. With ocean salmon fishing scheduled to start July 1st this year, the significantly reduced catch quotas could be met within a few weeks. In less technical terms, let’s just say: “it aint lookin’ too pretty” for Pacific Northwest ocean salmon fishing.

All the more reason to ask: Are you “tuna ready?”

For many decades, fishing for albacore tuna in the Pacific Northwest was primarily considered a “commercial fishery”.

Now, it is one of the fastest growing sports fishing categories in our region. Every summer (around the middle of June) the offshore commercial fishing fleet will begin to report sightings of “jumpers” heading north. These are the first signs of the coming albacore invasion. For nearly 4 months each year, starting in late June and sometimes lasting into October, massive schools of albacore tuna will come as close as 25 miles off our Pacific Northwest shores. In recent “El Nino” years, along with the albacore, there have also been other pelagic species lured up to our nutrients and bait-rich waters. Catches

of yellow-tail, dorado (dolphin fish), yellow fin tuna, blue fin tuna and even rumored sightings of billfish have been reported.

While salmon, steelhead and halibut have traditionally taken center stage (with the mighty Chinook as the previously undisputed “King”); there is nothing in our region that compares to albacore tuna fishing. By around the Fourth of July, large schools of these migratory feeders will show up at our offshore deep water canyons to gorge themselves on baitfish, squid, krill and shrimp. However, if you have your sights set on catching some of these 25lb, football-shaped, silver & dark blue “finned rockets”, you had better get: “tuna ready”. That means; you have to be properly prepared for spend-

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

ing up to 10, 12 or 14 hours on the water, possibly running 35 to 55 miles (or more) offshore, often in “less than calm” seas.

You’ll also need to understand that a typical 25 pound albacore tuna can (and will) easily destroy your traditional ocean salmon gear. In addition to the proper tackle, equipment and bait/s, you will also need to know when to go, where to go, how to get there, what to use, what to expect and how to do it safely and effectively.

After you’ve done your homework, and decided that you are still up for the challenge, Mother Nature will ultimately determine when/if you can go (or not). Once you get your chance to successfully locate and catch a few “albies”, you are in for a real treat. Not only are pacific albacore tuna some of the most powerful, fun and exciting fish to catch, they are also one of the best eating fish in the world. Fortunately for us (and you), sport fishing for albacore tuna happens all along the Pacific Northwest coast. From well-known Oregon and Washington fishing ports like: Coos Bay, Newport, Depoe Bay, Garibaldi, Astoria, Chinook, Ilwaco, Westport, LaPush, Neah Bay and even West Vancouver Is-

land. Did I mention that there is currently “no official bag limit” for albacore tuna in Washington and Oregon? Keep in mind, the typical pacific albacore tuna will average about 20lbs - 30lbs each (some can reach upwards of 35-40 lbs.). When you find the schools of fish, and really start catching, you’ll quickly realize that you had better keep track of how many fish you are bringing onboard. Imagine; just 4 anglers catching and keeping just 5 tuna each, weighing approx. 20 to 25 lbs per fish? That adds up to an extra 400 to 500 lbs. of cargo.

Plan accordingly.

Along with the growing popularity, it was only natural that albacore tuna fishing tournaments and competitions would emerge.

This year alone, there will be at least three (3) IGFA Offshore World Championship qualifying events in Washington and Oregon. The most popular being: The two Oregon Tuna Classic events (the Deep Canyon Challenge in Ilwaco, WA and the OTC Garibaldi, OR) and the Washington Tuna Classic (at Westport, WA). The winners of these competitions will all earn invitations to the prestigious 2017 IGFA Offshore World Championships in Quepos, Costa Rica.

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The How and What (strategies/methods and proper gear to use) for catching albacore tuna can get pretty complicated.

However, everything starts with having the correct boat and a skilled (and experienced) Captain & crew. Before setting out on a fishing trip that can take you up to 50 miles or more offshore you will need to do your weather, tides, ocean conditions and water temperature “homework”.

Generally speaking, you will head west (offshore), running your boat as fast as the ocean and weather will safely permit.

Keep running until the surface temperatures reach about 61 – 62 degrees F, and the water color turns from shades of green to stark blue. Once you reach “the zone”, it’s time to get out your trolling gear (heavy duty rods & reels, hand lines, outriggers, surface lures, divers, skirts, clones, plugs, teasers) and constantly be looking for “signs” (diving birds, bait balls, jumpers, temperature breaks, etc.). Catching albacore tuna on the troll is fun in itself.

However, if you also have a boat that is equipped with a live bait tank, and are able to secure live anchovies for your day of fishing, you will have an opportunity to partake in one of the fastest-paced sports fishing experiences imaginable. A “wide-open live bait stop” is something you will never forget. It can last a few minutes or if you are very fortunate and the conditions are “just right” it can last half the day and result in putting as many as 10 to 20 tuna (or more) across your deck within an hour. Some of the most popular and

effective strategies for catching pacific albacore tuna are: trolling, pitching/jigging iron, casting/retrieving swim baits and live bait (usually anchovies) with rod & reel or live bait fishing with our Tre-Fin sport jack poles.

Regardless of which technique or strategy you use, finding the schools of albacore is the key.

In recent years, a number of excellent tools and resources for finding tuna off the pacific coast and for connecting with other offshore anglers have emerged.

Some of the most powerful tools (after local knowledge and experience) are; the internet, improved marine electronics/ fish finding technologies/equipment, charter boat operators and fishing clubs/communities/ and social networks. Another place where you can find some of the latest gear to use and some of the very best fishing tackle & equipment is at our local area Sportsman’s Warehouse locations. If you would like to learn even more about fishing for albacore tuna in the Pacific Northwest, please feel free to visit us at www.tre-fin.com or go “on-line” and check out the Sportsman’s Warehouse calendar of events for an upcoming tuna fishing seminar featuring “team Tre-Fin”.

There, we have compiled a list of web sites and posted links to several videos that will give you a feel for what to expect as you get yourself; “tuna ready”!

Look for Part 2 of our Pacific Northwest albacore tuna series in next month’s issue of Sportsman’s News.

About the author: Wayne Harmond grew up in southwest Washington and began fishing the local Pacific Northwest waters at an early age. His passions for fishing and outdoors adventures led him to living and working in Alaska, Hawaii, the South Pacific and Mexico. He has sport fished for albacore tuna off the Oregon and Washington coast for more than 20 years. When he is not working his “day job”, he is an Executive Producer of several popular travel, fishing and outdoors adventures television shows and a member of Team Tre-Fin (an offshore competition fishing team).

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One B. C. Parolee Goes Free

The Tree of the Golden Shower.

iconic symbol of our vanishing wilderness: portrayed as a noble creature fighting to survive the destruction we ook out, Harv! You’re about humans have visited upon its environ“ to get wet!” I shouted, as I ment. Unfortunately, that is a rather watched the golden stream of distorted view of the facts, which is not urine (backlit by the bright morning surprising, since it is promoted by the sun) descend from on high. The lion’s more radical environmentalists, as well aim was pefect! Poor Harv didn’t have a as by most of the acolytes of the new, chance to get out of the way in time. He modern religion of political correctness. sputtered a few choice words and im- These are often the same people. mediately began tearing off his jacket.

Unlike the situation with cougars, The hounds began barking furiously which are impossible to do aerial again — almost as if they were laughing surveys on for any kind of population at the stunt their quarry had just pulled count, polar bears live in a habitat that off on their master. makes census counts from the air quite Before I put the paragraph above easy by comparison. In the case of the into proper context for the full story, I great white bears, the survey data genwant to give my readers an overview of erated since the turn of the millennium hound-hunting in general, and cougar clearly shows that their numbers are hunting, in particular. It is perhaps the sustaining healthy increases in most most misunderstood kind of big-game of their historic range. That is espehunting on the continent. cially true in nearly all parts of Canada’s The cougar, much like the polar bear, Northwest Territories, which ironihas in recent years been made into an cally, is the only area of North America that has allowed any sport hunting of the bears since the early 1970’s. This fact may seem implausible to the reader, but it becomes immediately understandable when two additional facts are laid on the table: (1) the overwhelming majority of bears Author’s Boone & Crockett lion — taken in B. C. taken by hunters February 27, 2016. are males, and

L

(2) large adult male bears kill several cubs and smaller adult males every single year. Exactly the same can be said of male lions in North America.

With cougars, you have a very different set of factors that have contributed to a significant increase of their numbers in recent years — throughout most of their historic range west of the Great Plains. The animal, by nature, is exceedingly shy and secretive. During the first several hundred years of the White Man’s presence in North America, cougar attacks on human beings were virtually unheard of. It used to be that a hunter could spend a lifetime of autumns out in the field and never even catch a glimpse of a lion. Nowadays, however, stumbling across one in the woods is becoming rather common throughout most of the Rocky Mountain West. More alarming is the hard fact that cougar attacks against people are no longer rare, isolated incidences.

Household pets, young children, and joggers are becoming periodic targets — from western Montana to western Washington and from the mountains of Colorado to the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Human deaths are now occurring in a way they never used to and the stage is set for many more in the years ahead.

A good friend of mine is the wellknown wildlife photographer, Chuck Bartlett. Several years ago, Chuck was photographing Roosevelt Elk one day in the rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula, when a cougar came out of nowhere to give him the fright of his life. He had his camera attached to a tall tripod and was bending over it, about to take a picture. A slight sound he heard directly behind him caused him to glance over his shoulder, just in time to see a mountain lion in midair, about to take him to the ground. He had only a fraction of a second to spin around and interpose the tripod between himself and the flying cat that had just launched

itself off the top of a bank. Evidently, its unexpected collision with the stout, metal tripod caused the cougar enough discomfort that it just kept running and did not return to attack again.

Why has this sort of thing been happening with greater and greater frequency in recent years? There are, of course, several contributing factors, but the point is that cougar numbers out West are going up, not down, and the overriding cause of increasing lion attacks is that they are no longer being hunted enough by sportsmen, especially via the time-honored method of hound-hunting. Wild-dogs-chasingwild-cats long predates human history, but Man learned many centuries ago that trained canines were the only means by which he had any realistic chance of catching up to a wily wildcat.

For the better part of twenty years now, it seems that hunting lions with dogs has been regarded by the public at large as unsporting. Sadly, this misconception has been embraced by a number of hunters, as well. These are hunters who have never hunted cougars themselves and who have bought off, unfortunately, on the uninformed propaganda put out by the anti-hunters. As a result, animal-rights groups have succeeded in pushing some state legislatures into curtailing severely the hunting of lions: either by drastically shortening the seasons or by eliminating pursuit with hounds altogether. In other states, legislatures and government agencies have been circumvented by animal-rights organizations that managed to collect enough signatures to get initiative petitions on the ballot at election time. Then the voting public has unwisely decided, in several states, to substitute its judgment for that of the game biologists and wildlife professionals.

It’s not, of course, that the voters don’t have the right to make such decisions under our federalist system of States Rights; it’s just that the general public doesn’t have access to the knowledge, scientific data and larger overview required to manage the different game species in such a way as to keep their numbers in balance with their available habitat. The other important balance that must be maintained through enlightened wildlife management, is that between the predator animals and

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

the huge Douglas Lake Cattle Ranch in southcentral B.C. Four or five days before I was to arrive for my hunt, they got a big dump of fresh snow up in that area. From six inches to a foot, depending on the elevation. This meant conditions were Dunn’s outfitter estimated the cougar’s weight at ideal for finding around 200 lbs. fresh cat tracks and setting the the animals of prey. Neither balance hounds on them in pursuit. Mike called can be achieved or maintained with- me right after the fresh snowfall, but the out the other. It is always a complex, problem was that I had some conflicts two-headed challenge for the wildlife and couldn’t get away early for the professionals and that is why game hunt, at least not more than one day management “by ballot box” is nearly early. By the time I arrived there a bit after dark one evening, the snow was always a bad idea.

Prior to the date of the hunting story three days old and there were hardly we broke away from earlier, I had previ- ten square yards of ground that weren’t ously harvested two tom cougars with already heavily crisscrossed with all my bows. Neither male had been quite sorts of critter-tracks. Most numerous large enough to meet the Pope & Young were the deer and coyote tracks, of minimum entry-score, so my interest in course, but everything from squirrel, taking a third cougar was predicated to rabbit, to porcupine had also been solely on the assumption that sooner thrown into the mix.

Because the Douglas Lake Ranch or later, with enough persistence and determination, I could end up under a owners are most desirous of predator tree with an old tom in it that would un- control on their vast property, they alquestionably “make book.” This is one low Bearcat Outfitters to use as a base definition of “trophy hunting” and it’s for their hunting operations a nifty litone that works for me, most of the time. tle house on the ranch, one that comes When, in the spring of 2005, I con- complete with modern plumbing, hot tacted Mike Ritcey of Bearcat Outfitters, water, a full kitchen and a dog-kennel based in Kamloops, B.C., it was primar- out back. When I drove in that first ily to arrange for a lynx--bobcat combo night, the sky was mostly clear and the hunt. I had never taken either species temperature was already down to 5-deof predator and I was keen to make the grees above zero. I knew the hunt was attempt for either one or both. If we just going to be a cold one and fortunately I happened to run across the tracks of a had come prepared for readings down big mountain lion, in the process, then to ten-below. At least, I hoped so. I knew I told Mike I was game for that, too. my boots and clothing were going to be However, I made it clear to the outfitter tested, for sure.

Mike and Harv greeted me at the that I really had no wish to take another male lion, just to be taking another male door and their good news was that lion. It needed to have a skull on it they knew where a nice tom cougar which he felt confident would score was hanging out on a fresh deer kill, not 14 inches or better. Otherwise, I wasn’t too far away. Having already treed him interested and would let him go free, to once with the dogs and let him go, they kill again like any good predator. Mike seemed confident we could quickly said he understood what I had in mind relocate him the next morning. Mike and we scheduled the hunt for early explained that he might not be the lion I was looking for, but he assured me it December, 2005.

Ritcey and his partner, Harv Su- was one most of his clients would be rina, do much of their cat hunting on happy with. Following dinner, as he

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was preparing to turn off the lights, Mike said, “Dennis, we’ll just have to put him up a tree in the morning, if he will tree again, and then get a closer look at him.” It sounded like a plan to me.

“Morning” came long before its time. It was still pitch black outside when they awakened me and the temperature on the back porch read -9 Fahrenheit. Hound hunters pursuing cats always eat a big breakfast because they know their next decent meal may not come until well after dark. I was just hoping the day’s events would provide me with enough physical exercise to justify eating the kind of breakfast I stowed away that first morning of my hunt. There’s nothing worse for the waistline than riding around in a truck, day after day, looking for the right set of fresh tracks, while at the same time you’re taking in three meals a day, plus extra snacks along the way just from boredom and never having the chance to get in on a hot chase with the hounds. With just the first hint of gray and apricot showing in the eastern sky, the three of usaccompanied by three dogs in the back of the truck, pulled out of the snowy driveway and headed for the hills.

After the umpteenth turnoff from one old logging road onto another, Mike suddenly veered off to the right, up close to the bank and killed the motor, announcing, matter-of-factly, “We’re here!”

“Where’s ‘here’?” I asked.

Harv replied, “That dead deer, or what’s left of it, is right up the hill, about 30 yards away.”

“You mean that cougar is probably just 30 yards away from us, right now, also?” I queried, rather incredulously.

“I reckon so,” Harv responded, “unless he managed to consume all the rest of that carcass overnight.”

I was amazed! It just couldn’t be this easy! Had they chained him to a tree or something? Within a minute or two, the dogs were out of their boxes and the howling began. Mike had one hound still on a leash, but the other two were out of sight in seconds, into the trees and charging up the slope with full-throated bellering. Even before Mike and I reached the scant remains of the dead buck, I heard him utter the word, “Treed!”

“You’re kidding me!” I shouted, as Mike turned to tackle the faststeepening hillside and unleashed the

younger dog to join up with the din of the others. Of the many cougar hunts I’d been on (most unsuccessful), never had one gotten off to such a fast start. I don’t believe I’d ever even been part of a chase that took place on the first day.

This was incredible!

Carrying a small knapsack on my back and with bow in hand, I was soon struggling with my footing on the snowy surface of what had become a very steep pitch to the mountainside.

The sun had just come over the horizon behind me and, as I paused to catch my breath, I took a good look at the commotion I could hear, and partially see, some 80-or-so yards above me. Mike was just joining Harv. With its front paws four feet off the ground, one hound was leaning against the trunk of a very large Ponderosa Pine. His head was pointed straight up and he was barking, “Treed!” with all his heart and soul. The other two hounds were running circles around the tree, barking like banshees, all the while keeping their eyes glued on the big, tawny, feline form perched calmly on a stout limb, some 40 feet above the base of the tree. The lion sat there motionless, staring downward and seemingly unconcerned about the chaos going on beneath him.

Breathing hard, as I drew near the big pine, I heard Mike say, “Dennis, you can tell by the testicles it’s a tom, but is he big enough for you? That’s the question you’ve got to decide.”

“Will the length and width of his skull, when added together, exceed 13 and 1/2”, I answered, with a question of my own. “Your judgment on that’s likely to be better than mine, Mike.

That’s what I’m paying you to do: to make that kind of call.”

Mike didn’t respond, other than by resuming his study of the temporary prisoner. I continued working my way uphill until I had reached eye-level with the cougar. Then, glad for the chance to cool down, I removed my rucksack and an outer piece of clothing. Even though the road lay only 200 yards down the mountainside, my brow was sopping wet. The lion had no doubt scampered up that hill and up the tree in 15 seconds; it had probably taken me six or seven minutes.

I was eager to get some good video footage of the beautiful animal while he was still in the tree, so I hastened to extract my camcorder from its bag and got ready to do some filming. The big pine was directly between me and

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the sun and as the orange ball became brighter and brighter, a breeze came up which started blowing some of the powdered snow, deposited from the recent storm, off the pine boughs. The powdery crystals, directly backlit by the strong sunlight, seemed magical as they flew through the air from limb to limb. As I zoomed in on the face of the lion with my telephoto lens, the sorcery of the dancing ice crystals all around him became even more mesmerizing under magnification.

Shortly after I began filming, my guides tied up all three hounds a good ten yards or more away from the trunk of the Ponderosa. I must have spent a minimum of ten minutes studying the face and sleek musculature of this magnificent catamount through the eyepiece of my camcorder. Whenever he shifted his body positions up there in the limbs of the tree, his permanently-well-toned muscles just rippled beneath his glossy fur coat. So finely sculpted and detailed did his muscle structure appear that, at times, it seemed as if he wasn’t even wearing a coat. Occasionally, he would yawn, as if getting bored with the whole video session. Once in a while, he would look down at the dogs (which were mostly quiet now) and bare his four canines in a soft, guttural display of razor-sharp weaponry. If the big lion was feeling any sense of fear or panic, he surely didn’t show it.

At long last, Mike broke the silence with his final judgment on the cat. “I think he’s probably just marginal,” he opined. “As far as his meeting that Pope & Young minimum of 13 and

Too heavy for 76-year-old Dunn to lift, houndsman Dustin Stone poses for the iconic photo.

a half goes... after the 60-day drying requirement; I dunno, I think perhaps we’d better let him go.”

“That’s fine with me, Mike,” I responded. “Let’s go look for a fresh lynx track.”

So, with an eye to getting the lion to leave the tree (and thereby giving the hounds a last little training session), Harv grabbed a stout stick, walked up to the trunk of the Ponderosa and started banging on it hard. The blows sent vibrations up the tree, which its temporary resident obviously did not like at all. He suddenly jumped eight feet higher up in the tree and then — before Harv had time to see it coming — let loose that golden shower, scoring a direct hit on the luckless houndsman below. Backlit by the sun, it was truly a beautiful thing! Mike and I began laughing ourselves silly, while Harv immediately went rummaging in his daypack for a fresh shirt. It had made spectacular footage on my camcorder.

Almost at once, after the second series of blows started thudding against the tree- trunk, the irritated cougar commenced a real exercise workout by jumping around from one limb to the next. Though his dander may have been up, it quickly became clear that he was coming down! The next thing I knew he was only 25 feet off the snowy ground and then he went totally airborne!

Forty feet from the base of the tree, on the downhill side, the lion landed, at full take-off speed, and it was off-tothe-races again with the excited hounds in red-hot pursuit. What’s more fun for a dog, anyway, than chasing somebody else’s kitty cat? Right? In this instance, however, the lion treed again 150 yards down the slope and the fun was over.

Harv and Mike put leashes on all three hounds and a few minutes later we were all back at the truck, leaving Mr. Deerslayer high and dry to think about where he was going to find his next meal.

The time was perhaps 7:45 AM. Most people down in the valley were just getting up, whereas we’d all just had a week’s worth of excitement in the time it took them to rub the sleep from their eyes!

The contract I’d signed with Bearcat Outfitters had called for a hunt of up to ten day’s duration. Since my primary hope had been for a Canada lynx, with bobcat as a highly desirable second choice, I was very optimistic

that nine more days of driving all the secret roads known to the outfitters would sooner or later take us right past a fresh set of cat tracks smaller than those of a cougar. With each day that passed, however, the job got tougher and tougher. We desperately needed some new snow to cover up all the old tracks, which by now were so numerous that it was getting more and more difficult to tell what you were looking at, as our truck rolled past. Ten solid hours per day of visually scouring the “moving,” roadside snowbanks was enough to give anyone a migraine! In just one day, let alone nine! What made the challenge even more arduous (and ever-more-arduous) was the steadilyincreasing number of “kerplops” each day that occurred as a result of the wind blowing chunks of old snow off the branches of the ubiquitous evergreens growing along the sides of nearly every roadway.

It is true that on the third or fourth day of the hunt we finally got a chase going with a bobcat, but he outsmarted the hounds completely, which happens fairly often in cat hunting. One dog got altogether “lost” for several hours and another (their best strike-dog) ended up barking, “Treed,” for at least an hour underneath a tall, thick spruce tree, totally convinced the cat was up in that tree! We could never find it, however, if indeed it had ever really been there at all.

On the sixth day of hunting, we finally found a lynx track my guides felt was worth turning the hounds loose on, but the tracks were evidently a bit too old and that effort came to naught within an hour. As evening approached on Day #7, I told Mike and Harv that I felt continuing the hunt was likely to prove futile unless we got a fresh snowfall. I suggested that I was in a mood to turn my Subaru homeward and give it another try in another year.

I sensed immediately that the two men, who I knew were totally committed to doing their utmost for the whole ten days, were greatly relieved to hear my decision.

As things happened, incidentally, eleven months later I did have the good fortune to harvest a big, male Canada Lynx with outfitter Paul Lowrie out of Anahim Lake, B.C. The bobcat, however, is still on my wish-list. As for the trophy cougar, I’m happy to report that last November 27th, 2016, near 100 Mile House, B. C., I finally did manage to

find and kill a true monster of a Boone & Crockett lion (with my Osage orange longbow, no less).

As so often is the case in hunting, especially, I must say, in trophy-hunting with a bow and arrow, December of 2005 saw me returning home emptyhanded. My head, heart and soul were certainly not empty, however.

They were greatly replenished from re-immersion in the world of natural things. And I had certainly had my chance at a dandy male lion! Yet, since he had not possessed the trophy quality I was seeking, I decided to give him his parole and then his freedom. In many ways, it had been a very successful hunt and I had learned much about lions, about hounds, and about myself.

Particularly about myself. Hunting has a way of doing that for a person.

As I had walked those final few yards back to the truck, after giving the parolee his total freedom, I felt just a little taller. The fact that, in the contest between two predators, I had opted not to take a life I could easily have taken, but a life I had every legal, ethical and moral right to take, within the larger, primordial scheme of things.

That fact, that decision, had moved me a few steps closer to being the true trophy hunter I was learning I really wanted to be. In truth, such a dedicated trophy-hunter does not kill very often, but when he does, it is an intensely meaningful act and one which usually benefits the entire wildlife population.

The BAREBOW! Sagas – Adventure and Misadventure in the Wilds of North America Dennis Dunn doesn’t just tell hunting stories; he shares his dreams, his victories, his disappointments, his wisdom and he teaches from his knowledge and experience. The BAREBOW! Sagas will not only acquaint you with the sweet taste of success and the bitter agony of defeat; they will convince you that well-regulated hunting sustains the use of wildlife and gives the animals increased value to justify their conservation and preservation. In this series, Dennis takes you along on his quest for the North American Big Game 29 Super Slam. A bow, a string, an arrow – no trigger, no peep-sights, no pins – just fingers, guts and instinct. That’s hunting BAREBOW! To learn more about Dunn’s award-winning book (from which the above story was taken), or to order a copy of BAREBOW!, you may visit the author’s website at: www.barebows.com.

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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Digital Edition Only Special Content

Daredevel Lures

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SKB iSeries Single Rifle Case

By Dan Kidder Managing Editor

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ather ’s Day falls right after my birthday, so the perfect gift for me would be the SKB iSeries Single Rifle Case.

Since I set myself up with a new rifle and scope every year for my birthday, having a rugged case to carry my new gun in, while protecting it during transport, is a perfect accessory.

The injection-molded iSeries cases from SKB are constructed of an ultra high strength polypropylene copolymer and feature a submersible watertight and dustproof seal (IP67), as well as a pressure equalization valve. Four t r i g g e r re l e a s e l a t c h e s provide secure, yet easy access and metal re i n f o rc e d l o c k i n g loops let me put just about any type of padlock I choose on the case for secure transport. An internal molded-in hinge, with steel hinge pins, keep the lid firmly attached and provide smooth opening.

EPS and ELE Convoluted Foam on the inside protects my rifle and scope from scratches and bangs, protecting my expen-

sive optics and preventing me from losing zero. It measures 49 inches long by nine inches wide by five inches deep and weighs only 15.8 pounds. A comfortable snap-down rubber over-molded cushion grip handle makes carrying the case easy, even with bulky gloves.

By Steve Mayer hat I would like for Father’s Day is a couple of Dardevle spoons. I was born in Wisconsin and my father started me fishing at a very young age. We made frequent trips to fish the many small lakes of northern Wisconsin. When I graduated from the trusty cane pole to the spinning rod and caught my first northern pike on a Dardevle, I was hooked on spoons. The original Dardevle spoons have been made for over 90 years by the Eppinger Manufacturing Company and are sold in a variety of sizes and color at Sportsman’s Wa re h o u s e .

My favorite colors are the traditional red with white stripe and the yellow with red diamonds.

A while back I stumbled upon photos of my father and I when

we were both fairly young, with almost identical pike held proudly. I had them framed and wrote a short note thanking him for introduc ing me to what has become a life-long passion. I presented the montage to him for Father ’s Day a while back and it is a memory I will never forget. My father has since passed on, but every time I open the freshwater tackle box and see that red and white spoon with the devil logo, I think of my father and the incredible experiences we had while fishing together. Happy Father ’s Day to all the Dad’s out there and take your kids out fishing!

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Digital Edition Only Special Content

Alps Outdoorz Bino Harness X

Browning Committed Black Label

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By Gary Lewis

f I didn’t have it already, the new Bino Harness X would be at the top of my “What I Want for Father’s Day” list. On a deer hunt or a turkey hunt, I wear my binos in chest harness so they’re close to hand, but out of the way when I’m not using them.

I started carrying a new pair ofbinoculars this year and to protect it from the rain and dust in New Zealand, I put the new Alps product to work. In addition to the regular

function of carrying the optics, I was able to use the unit to store a light, my wind checker and a lens cloth.

In the rain and in the wind, my glass was safe and dry inside the harness.

After my guests all had bull tahr in the salt, I spent two days hunting tahr for myself with my guides. The first day was warm and clear and I passed up a couple of good shot opportunities so we could get a good over-the-shoulder TV camera view.

It all came together on the second evening as we slid on our bellies over the shoulder of a hill. I’d already confirmed this was the bull I wanted. Now my binos were put away inside the chest harness and when I had the bull broadside at a bit over 150 yards, I made the shot.

Alps’ Bino Harness X protects the optics in a 6.5 x 5.5 x 2.25-inch pocket and has metal-free attachment straps and four exterior lashing points. The harness is fully adjustable to keep your binos from bouncing.

Redington Behemoth Fly Reel

By Kent Danjanovich Senior Editor

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he new Redington Behemoth Fly Reel combines space-age aesthetics with an industrial-strength, carbon fiber drag system, the most powerful, adjustable drag in its class, offering 30 lbs. of torque. The Behemoth is truly a great reel that pushes the limits of fly reel design. Featuring unique, die-cast construction that offers unrivalled strength and durability, coupled with a durable interlocking, large-arbor spool design to speed retrieval times and reduce line memory, the Behemoth looks and functions like a premium reel, at a fraction of the cost.

A super, heavy-duty, carbon fiber drag package with stainless steel braking discs brings the utmost in drag strength, reliability and performance, while the over-sized drag adjustment knob affords easy access when it counts the most. The large sized, arbor reel is perfectly balanced with a deep V-spool that increases backing capacity for epic fish battles. Twin molded, soft touch, ergonomic handles improve grip and comfort, while the reel easily converts to left or right hand retrieve and is sized

for your favorite 5-weight trout rod, all the way up to 12-weight saltwater ready offerings. It comes with a nylon reel case and Redington’s Lifetime Warranty.

Redington continues to advance by challenging traditional boundaries of reel design to achieve incredible performance levels with the Behemoth Fly Reel. Incorporating a sleek, modern design with a proven drag system, this reel is sure to turn heads this season. A quality, feature-filled reel at an affordable price of just over a hundred bucks.

I love mine and I’m sure your man of the house will too, so check the Behemoth out at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse.

By James Dansie

ne thing that I want for Father ’s Day is Browning’s Committed knife.

The Committed is a fixed blade and features full tang construction, providing greater stability and balance. The length of the blade is just over five inches and it has a titanium coating for greater durability. It incorporates a drop point tip with serrations at the base. The tip is both sharp and strong, making it easy for precise cuts.

The serrated blade makes it easy to cut to through tough things like thick rope. The Committed also features a nonslip grip that is textured, giving you the reassurance that you won’t drop the knife, even with wet hands. The handle also has finger grooves which add to the overall comfort and give you greater control.

This great knife has a lanyard hole that doubles as a hammer that could easily break through glass.

The Committed comes with a OD Green Molded Blade Tech polymer sheath, with a Tek-Lok belt clip.

So, if you are looking for a great fixed blade with a tactical edge, then check out Browning’s Committed Black Label Knife.

Camp Chef Pro 90 Outdoor Stove

By Chad LaChance The Fishful Thinker

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hat father doesn’t enjoy cooking up a great meal in the Great Outdoors?

Cooking fish, game or good ol’ cheeseburgers can happen wherever Dad likes to cook with Camp Chef ’s super portable and flexible Pro 90 Propane Stove. Portability is accomplished by easy folding legs and convenient side shelves and the whole package fits in a carry bag (sold separately). Flexibility comes from the fact that the Pro 90 is designed to utilize all of Camp Chef’s 16” stove accessories including the Grill Box, griddles and Artisan Pizza Oven, while the nickel plated cooking grate works equally well with anything from a cast iron skillet or Dutch Oven to a stock pot.

The Pro 90 features three of Camp Chef ’s proven cast alu-

minum burners, each churning out 30,000 BTU’s worth of cooking power. They are protected from wind by the removable three-sided wind screen and the housing itself reduces hot/cold areas on the 608 square inches of cooking surface.

No need for Dad to carry a flame source since the Pro 90 features reliable matchless ignition and it has a 3’ hose to connect to a standard propane bottle. The overall design is sturdy, durable and very easy to set-up and use. The Pro 90 stove will bring out Dad’s inner Camp Chef!

June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

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Digital Edition Only Special Content

An Eight-Year-Old’s Dream Fishing Trip

By Carter Coorough

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saw a beautiful flash of color in the water as my arms started to hurt from the powerful fish on the end of my line. My name is Carter Coorough and I am eight years old. I am in the third grade and I live in Colorado.

I love to fish and this year I was lucky enough to go on a fishing trip in Miami, Florida to catch Butterfly Peacock Bass.

For Father ’s Day my mom, sister and I gave my dad a fishing trip with Captain Mark Hall of www.flyfishpeacocks.com. My family and I flew into Miami on Friday January 8th and we spent the rest of the day in Biscayne Harbor. It was really neat to see the big boats, eat new foods and listen to live music. On Sunday, my family was going to get on a cruise ship for the next week, so it was cool to see the huge ships docked. Early the next morning my dad and I took a taxi and met Captain Hall in a park. There was a canal that cut through the park and Captain Hall had his boat there. We jumped in his boat and motored through the canal.

The water was really clear and I could see all sorts of colorful fish.

Captain Hall told me that they were different types of cichlids and tilapia, but some of them looked like gold fish. Captain Hall told me that the canal was made to help with flooding and that it acted like a road for the Miami area. There were a bunch of strange looking ducks and geese. Captain Hall told me that, just like the different fish in the canal, the ducks and geese were not supposed to be there, but that they were brought there by people and now are a problem.

When we got away from all the people in the park, Captain Hall gave me a fishing pole baited with a live golden shiner.

He told me that I would be using a circle hook and that I didn’t need to set the hook like I normally do. He told me to cast it out behind the boat and hold on as we slowly moved down the canal. My dad and Captain Hall were talking about stuff, but I really wanted to catch the first fish to beat my dad. After a few minutes I felt a hard tug on my line and I told everyone I

had a fish on. I don’t think anyone believed me; they were saying I was snagged on a tree we had just passed. I knew it was a fish and it was very strong. I fought him all the way up to the boat and then my dad and Captain Hall saw the fish. The bright colors on the fish flashed in the water as he moved around below me. My dad got really excited and started telling me what to do. That fish came off the hook before we got him in the boat, but I fought him for a long time. My arms were tired and it was only the first fish of the day!

I found out that Peacock Bass are a lot stronger then the fish I’m used to catching.

Captain Hall put a new shiner on my circle hook and I cast back to the same area. It seemed like a lucky spot to me. As I was letting the line out so it would be back behind the boat enough, I noticed it was coming off very quickly. Captain Hall told me it looked like I had another fish on, so I should close the bail and start reeling. This fish felt a lot stronger and he stayed in the deep water. It took all my strength to get him up to the boat. I was worried I would lose the big fish the whole time.

My dad kept telling me to keep my rod tip up and to reel. I told him my arms were starting to hurt and he laughed at me. It felt so good when Captain Hall pulled the big fish in the boat. The fish

Sportsman’s News Outdoor Writing Contest Winner See pg. 4 for entry details.

was so colorful and strong it was hard to hold on to. I felt proud as I held him up for all the pictures.

My dad took a lot of pictures.

Captain Hall told my dad and I that it was a real trophy sized fish and a heck of a first Peacock Bass.

Throughout the rest of day I caught a lot more beautiful Peacock Bass. Each one looked different from the others. I also got to see several different types of fish, birds and iguanas. Traveling down the canal felt like we were in the jungle with all the trees near the water and with how hot it was outside. When we got done fishing, I had caught more fish then my dad, but we both had lots of fun. My dad did catch a very big colorful peacock right at the end of day, but I think my first fish of the day was just as big!

I really enjoy fishing and going new places. I want to thank Captain Mark Hall for helping me learn how to catch Peacock Bass and for putting my dad and me on so many big fish. I had a great time fishing with my dad and our arms were really tired at the end of the day. I can’t wait for our next adventure.

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June 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION