Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Game & Fish West

The guys in the shiny red boat above represent more than 120 years of bass-fishing experience. They’re all smiling because they have just wrapped up a week-long evaluation of four dozen new rods and reels—the core of the annual Game & Fish Tackle Test. While they won’t go so far as to say the Tackle Test is an excruciating task (these guys did fish for a week, after all), it does come with long hours of critical attention to detail, careful analysis and objective comparison. If there is a way to make bass fishing seem like work, this is it—and we’re proud of that. Our test team puts in the hours on the water, with clipboards in hand, gauging the performance of new tackle so readers don’t have to. The…

Despite the fact that I was in one of the most predator-rich realms of public land in the Lower 48, I hadn’t spotted a bear in two days of hunting over a baited barrel. So I decided to see if I could attract any unseen bears by appealing to their sense of hearing rather than their taste buds. I blew a series of raspy, ragged distress calls on my Circe predator call, then I glassed the avalanche chutes that rose up and away from my spot in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness of remote northern Idaho. I thought I caught a glimpse of movement in some greening wild currant bushes, so I blew the call once again. This time I definitely saw a bear, a glossy black specimen, and as I blew…

Slowly, what little slack was in the line grew taught, and when my son Kazden set the hook, there was no give. Instantly, line spooled off the reel, Kazden’s rod bent and he was locked into fighting position. When the monster sturgeon jumped, everyone in the boat gasped. “Hang on, Kaz, this is going to take a while,” shouted my good friend and guide, Jody Smith. “That fish is all of 9 feet!” The rest of us in the boat started bringing in our lines, figuring we’d pull anchor and chase the behemoth fish. “Leave ’em out there,” instructed Smith. “It’s too shallow to go after it and this is where the sturgeon want to be.” Seconds later, all of us were hooked-up. We had five sturgeon on at once,…

If you go to fish the Donner und Blitzen, plan on being self-sufficient; you’ll pretty much be off the grid. Find the river 65 miles south of Burns, Ore., and 394 miles north of Reno. To get there, turn east just south of Frenchglen, a small hamlet where you can grab any last-minute necessities at Frenchglen Mercantile. The historic Frenchglen Hotel has basic rooms and limited meals, and there’s a VRBO or two but not much else for modern lodging. From there, it’s a 2-mile drive to Page Springs Campground and nearby Steens Mountain Wilderness RV Park. There are historic cattle-ranch buildings at P Ranch, an entire wildlife refuge for birders. Still-water anglers will love Fish Lake en route to the summit of the Steens Mountain Loop, about a 20-mile…

STRUTTING INTO MAY ACTION Turkey hunters are still chasing longbeards in many areas, and we’ve been telling readers all about it. Our weekly Regional Strut Update reports continue through late May with top local info on gobbler activity, strategies, hunt videos and more. READY TO REEL? The entire U.S. has hot angling going on this month. From largemouth bass, trout and pike to redfish, snook and mahi, we have the expert info you need. Find it all in our “Fishing” section. REMEMBERING A MUSIC ICON Toby Keith, the country music superstar who succumbed to cancer in February, had such a passion for fifishing that he bought a tackle company. See “Music Icon, Outdoors Lover Toby Keith Remembered.” SPRING THINGS Check out “Great American Spring,” presented by Falken Tires and Yellowstone…

In Colorado this fall, voters could decide to outlaw hunting for mountain lions and bobcats. That’s on the heels of a controversial reintroduction of wolves—mandated by another Colorado ballot initiative—last December. In Washington two years ago, an activist fish and wildlife commission’s first act was indefinitely closing a popular spring black bear hunt. Meanwhile in New Jersey, black bear hunting has been stop and go for decades as governors flip-flop on their stances regarding bear management (sometimes for the better) and anti-hunting groups pressure lawmakers into hunting bans. On the other side of the yawning abyss that separates predator advocates from predator critics, Idaho’s legislature passed a bill in 2021 that allows hunters and trappers to kill up to 90 percent of the state’s wolf population. Over in Montana, trappers…

The natives were getting restless. Eleven Boy Scouts were whining and shivering as we trudged through crusty snow toward the halfway point on our hike. But I had a secret weapon in my pack, ready for deployment at the turnaround. They muttered and shuffled during fire-building, but when I whipped out a small, unassuming tube, the malaise morphed into puzzled looks. The patrol leader slammed it against a boulder and the spiral seam magically opened. Kids peeled off raw dough triangles, wrapped them on sticks and roasted their “mountain man bannock.” (Thanks, Doughboy.) That tactic came from a bottomless bag of tricks acquired over years of Scouting leadership, but your own experiences should serve you well, too. Here are a few more tricks you might try at the start of…

Sturgeon fishing is a specialized sport that takes place on big water. If you’re looking for guided options this spring and summer, these are people I’ve fished with and recommend. Jody Smith (jodysmithguideservice.com) is based out of Astoria, Ore., and guides for catch-and-release sturgeon. Smith fishes every day of June and sometimes into early July. Dan Ponciano (columbiariverfishing.com), fishes the lower Columbia all of June and July for catch-and-release sturgeon out of Vancouver, Wash. If you want to target oversized sturgeon measuring 10 feet or more on the upper Columbia River, contact Austin Moser (austinsnorthwestadventures.com). Moser also guides for keeper sturgeon if and when seasons are set.…

After chasing bass for nearly 40 years, I’m aware of my proclivity to jeopardize any fishing trip as a weather jinx. When extended the offer to captain the 2024 Game & Fish Tackle Test in sunny central Florida, I jumped at the chance to try all the best new rods and reels on shallow, pre-spawn bass in mid-January. The subsequent midwinter suntan being the envy of friends and family upon my return home would be icing on the cake. Instead, we were greeted with temps in the 40s and 50s, sustained winds exceeding 30 mph and even a tornado warning. With apologies to my fellow Tackle Test team members, I even managed to jinx a trip to “sunny” Florida. However, the weather challenges proved beneficial in a couple of ways.…

The Henry rifle helped us begin our love affair with the lever-action rifle more than 150 years ago. It brought fast and repetitive fire to the American shooter and was often described as a rifle you could load on Sunday and shoot all week. It wasn’t long until Winchester and Marlin introduced lever-action rifles, and even with the introduction of more precise-shooting bolt actions and semi-automatics, the lever gun remains a favorite with American hunters. Surprisingly, given how long the lever gun has been around, some hunters still don’t know how to best manage one. To help with that, here’s the proper manual of arms for the traditional, tube-fed, lever-action rifle with an exposed hammer, along with some accessories to make it better. LOADING AND UNLOADING You load most traditional…

My native Kansas didn’t have a deer season until I was a teenager, so my first real whitetail lessons came when I was stationed at Quantico. Those deep-woods Virginia deer kicked my tail. My main takeaway: I didn’t know nothin’. Later, I hunted whitetails in various places. I was never foolish enough to think I had them figured out, but by the time we bought a farm in Kansas I thought I knew a bit. I soon learned it wasn’t as much as I thought. Nearly 20 years later, I know my Kansas woods and their deer OK. You probably know your deer country, too. I won’t tell you how to hunt whitetails in your area. Instead, let’s think about stuff that should apply to whitetail hunting everywhere. Things that…

1 Oregon’s Deschutes River has a prolific hatch of goldens and salmonflies that peaks in late May. Consider a multi-day, overnight trip through scenic canyonlands for the Deschutes’ famous redband trout. 2 The South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho offers a mix of cutthroats, browns and rainbows. It’s big water with big fish, and during the hatch, which occurs through early July, it’s best experienced from a boat. 3 Idaho’s Henry’s Fork of the Snake River has a good salmon fly hatch that peaks in late May in the Box Canyon reach. 4 Rock Creek in Montana is a smaller river with a large hatch of bugs in late June that’s popular with floaters and bank anglers alike. 5 Montana’s Madison River, famous for almost all styles of…

Waist-deep in a shady pool, I wrestled a particularly squirmy trout for possession of my last bead-head Prince nymph. When my eyes wandered to the sandy bank, the rattler woke from his doze and stuck his tongue out at me. If he had hands, he would have flipped me off, but he was leaving, so all was right in the world. I salvaged the fly, let go of the vividly colored trout and exited to the other side of the Donner und Blitzen River. Ho-hum, just another day in this wonderful desert paradise of southeast Oregon. It’s not the end of the world, but you can surely see it from the Blitzen. That’s one reason to love the river. Other reasons include its stark scenery, a wild-west vibe and the…

Each spring the small town where Shane lived held a trout derby. In years past, participants were encouraged to keep the fish, which would then be fried in the park pavilion that evening for everyone to enjoy. But this year was different. There was a new mayor, and there were new signs about rules posted all over the park. As Shane rode his bike to his favorite spot along the river, he couldn’t help but notice them. “Notice: Trout Derby contestants must practice catch and release only.” Shane pulled his bike over to read the fine print. Underneath the large words it said: “All entrants will be entered into a drawing for all prizes.” That seemed very odd to the boy. For as long as he could remember, contestants tried…