Tabla de contenidos para February 2023 en Game & Fish West

Right about now is when many folks either reconsider or seriously commit to their New Year’s resolutions. I’m doing the latter. I promised my kids, and myself, that I would take them fishing more often in 2023, and I plan to follow through with it. Shouldn’t be that difficult, right? No, it should not, but I still expect some challenges. These come in the form of age (two pre-teens who some days act like they’re going on 6 and other days like they’re about to turn 16); sports (practice and games make it necessary to schedule time on the water in advance, which takes away some of the fun that comes with a spontaneous afternoon trip to the river); technology (“Get off your tablets!”); friends (hanging out with them is…

Live sonar—which provides anglers with a real-time tool to find structure, locate fish, and even monitor their behavior as they interact with lures—is dramatically altering the way in which both recreational and professional anglers practice their craft. This technological marvel can be directed beneath the boat, broadcast in a wedge in any direction, and even directed forward of the boat’s position to monitor a retrieved lure and any fish swimming in the live sonar beam’s path. Live sonar images from all three major marine electronics manufacturers—Humminbird, Garmin and Lowrance—reveal structure, lure motion, and fish behavior in remarkable detail. This powerful tool allows anglers to readily distinguish between walleyes and crappies, or bass and bluegills, and impart strike-triggering lure actions when a fish is spotted chasing a bait. Without a doubt,…

If you’ve been fly-fishing for a couple of years, you’ve probably learned a few tricks along the way. But what if a little tweak, a tiny adjustment, a simple change could put one more trout in the net? I learned these lessons the hard way, over many years of trial and error, so you don’t have to. 1 Sure, we can hide behind a bush or tree, stealthily snaking a cast to a wary rainbow until the trout moves. But instead of forcing yourself to cast around something, break up your profile by hanging in the shade or kneeling in front of a tree, boulder or shrub. 2 We all know river trout face upstream, into the current. But what about when “upstream” and “current” diverge, say, in a back…

Winter weather can be a good thing. When it’s too cold for many anglers to bother sliding their boats in the water, there’s more river for the rest of us. This is when life is better walking the edge of a stream, reading the water for the best lies with a fly or spinning rod (or both) in hand. Rig a couple of rods in advance and employ these tactics from the bank of your favorite trout streams this February and March. MICRO JIGS Consider the ultra-small, head-heavy, deep-running micro jig for probing deep slots in fast-moving water. Tied to mimic traditional trout flies, a new line of jigs is meeting a need for anglers who are comfortable fishing a deep-running, fly-style presentation on a spinning rod. The ideal rod…

Minutes into my calling sequence, a blanket of fog drifted into the ravine below. My instincts told me to quit calling, but I didn’t. I’d placed a FoxPro e-caller 50 yards in front of me on the edge of a clearcut, and nestled into a tangled root wad above it. The whole valley resonated with the deer distress sounds. It was perfect. When the fog lifted, a set of cat tracks—tracks that weren’t there when I started calling—had emerged from the thick timber, continued up an old logging road and stopped within 50 yards of my call. Then, the cat returned along the same path, back into the timber. I called for another 45 minutes, using a mix of big-game, small-game and bird distress sounds, but the cat never returned.…

From the launch ramp beneath Kanawha Falls, the scenery could not have been more spectacular. Guide Bobby Bower motored his jet boat past an old hydroelectric-power facility toward a series of several dozen mid-size waterfalls spanning the quarter-mile-wide Kanawha River. The bank-to-bank rock outcropping is a natural block to fish movement upstream, so the fish can pile up there at times, according to the West Virginia native. “Cast to that foam line over there,” Bower suggested. I pitched my crawdad-resembling Big O crankbait to the edge of the foam. The narrow foam ribbon defined an eddy between two broad falls. The bait splashed down, and the current swept it toward our boat as I reeled it back, slowly but on a taut line. “A little farther back where the foam…

In the early 2000s, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) discovered that the New River had a unique genetic strain of walleye, quite different than the walleye found in the Great Lakes and other common fisheries. The theory is that because the New River flows north, glaciers caused the walleyes in the New River to be isolated and develop different genetics. West Virginia’s Division of Natural Resources began working with the Virginia DWR to develop a program to reintroduce the native strain of walleye back into the New River, according to Mark Scott, assistant chief of fish management. Since then, West Virginia has passed special regulations for areas that hold the native walleye to protect the females and build the population. “There’s no real way to tell a New…

In the early days, the few turkeys found in southeastern Minnesota along the Iowa border were hunted and eaten by settlers, and otherwise eliminated by habitat loss. After that, wild birds didn’t exist in Minnesota for nearly a century before reintroduction began in the early 1970s. It started with 29 adult birds trapped in Missouri and released in Houston County. Minnesota traded 85 ruffed grouse for the Eastern turkeys. Previous releases of pen-raised turkeys failed, as did releases of Merriam’s turkeys, which are smaller than Eastern turkeys and considered less hardy. The Eastern turkeys from the original and subsequent releases of more than 5,000 birds—some through funding from the National Wild Turkey Federation—at about 280 locations over the next four decades proliferated, and in 1978 the first modern hunting season…

Over the years, I have chosen to ditch the truck and use my 15-year-old mountain bike to increase my success and create a “backcountry camp” experience during Western hunting seasons. Using a converted kid-carrying trailer as a gear and meat hauler, I start each morning from a well-stocked, comfortable camp far away from the dusty roar of hunters traveling from their vehicle-based camps before daylight. My camp is about a 1 1/2-mile ride that includes an honest climb preceded by a cross-country stretch to a nondescript shady spot in the lodgepole pines. It’s a two-track road where the grazing permittee comes through once a week to fill stock tanks for his cattle and mend the electric fence protecting the main meadow complex. This camp in the lodgepole was chosen many…

A surprising number of the world’s problems can be solved with the right jig. No, it’s not a medical cure-all, and it won’t bring peace where there is strife, but if you’re trying to unlock the mysteries of February bass, the venerable jig is the key. You just have to pick the right one. Depending on where you live in the West, your bass could be anywhere along their seasonal spectrum, from late winter (in the northern parts of the region) to post-spawn (farther south). With such a wide range of possibilities, it helps to narrow things down by answering a simple question: What’s the water temperature on your favorite bass water? The warmer it is, the more likely you’ll find fish shallow and active. But whether the water temperature…

In corduroy country, with its endless ripple of ridges and coulees, the terrain calls the shots. Climb high, where you have plenty of visibility, and the wind can send your scent into the nose of an incoming coyote. If you stay low, where wind is more consistent, you lose the advantage of sight. The best broken-country coyote hunters adjust to a mix of landscapes and employ a handful of setups to specific terrain features and weather conditions. That versatility is key, because anywhere you find coyotes in the West—that is to say, everywhere—they thrive in some variation of broken country, whether river breaks, timbered foothills, arid bench-and-canyon land or even farm country that’s broken up by fences and homesteads. If you have only one go-to set, then you’re going to…

The last two weeks of the dark-goose season in northeast Colorado might be the best goose hunting of the year in the region. It’s the one time when you’re not going to get shafted by the weather when waterfowling. If it’s nasty, giant honkers that have endured a long, cold winter will finally relent and slip down from Montana and Wyoming to more comfortable confines where food sources aren’t covered in a foot of snow. If it’s mild, snow geese, specklebellies and cacklers, the smallest subspecies of Canada geese, will begin filtering up from the San Luis Valley and points farther south to get a jump on the spring migration. It’s one time when waterfowlers are happy regardless of what kind of weather they get, which is rare. MIGRATION ROUTES…

The tom dropped as if poleaxed. By the time I hustled to where he had fallen, he’d futilely beat outstretched wings a few times and a dark spot of blood had stained the side of his red, white and blue head lying flat on the stubble-strewn ground. The bird hadn’t moved more than a foot from where he’d dropped. Cradling the broken-open single-shot over my arm, I unclenched my left fist and pulled the shotshell from where I’d squeezed it between middle fingers as a handy backup round. I tossed the thin .410 shotshell to Todd Gifford. “Looks like I won’t need this,” I said. To be honest, there was a lot more going on and the scene wasn’t nearly that sedate. There had been whooping, yelling, laughing, hugging and…

Suppressors have rapidly grown in popularity over the last decade for good reason. Although suppressors are still misunderstood in some circles—they don’t completely “silence” a firearm’s report—hunters are recognizing the benefits of a device that reduces the harmful noise that emanates from a rifle when it’s fired. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration notes that noise of 140 decibels is at the threshold of pain and can cause immediate, permanent damage. (Normal conversation reaches a level of about 60 decibels for comparison.) The noise made by firing a rifle varies depending on factors such as chambering and barrel length, but most centerfire models chambered for typical hunting cartridges like the .270 Win., .308 Win. and .30-06 Sprg. exceed 160 decibels. Magnum rifles are even louder, approaching 170 decibels. Most suppressors…

Like every evening at the dinner table, Shane’s family was talking about the day. When there was a pause, Shane cleared his throat and recapped what had happened to him in school that afternoon. “When the new girl in my class found out that I am a hunter, she spoke out against me,” he related. “She said some pretty nasty things.” “What do you mean she spoke out against you?” asked Shane’s mother. “Mrs. Connolly encouraged her to speak out because it was civics class and our assignment was to argue for or against some political issue of the day,” Shane explained. “I argued for hunting, and then Meagan argued against it. That was fine, but she got kind of mean when she pointed right at me and called me…

When most hunters work with their rifles in the off-season, they do so when the weather is good, and by good, I mean warm. Even if they test loads when temperatures are more moderate, it’s very possible that when hunting season rolls around it might be much colder. I once deer hunted in Montana when it was 8 degrees below zero, and I’ve had a Saskatchewan deer hunt that was way colder than that! Most shooters have heard that when it’s cold, ammunition performs differently. That’s true, but the big question is: Is the difference enough to matter? There are two ways that the cold can alter the performance of your ammunition. The first has to do with air density, and the second has to do with the gunpowder. Cold…

You need not be a member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation to benefit from its work. If you hunt, fish, shoot a gun or draw a bow, then you’ve already been influenced by this group that works with Congress, governors and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping. The CSF is part of an ecosystem of groups that advocate on behalf of sportsmen and sportswomen. There’s the Sportsmen’s Alliance (SA), National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club International (SCI), Boone and Crockett Club (B&C), Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), to name a handful of the dozens. That’s not even mentioning the policy work that each “critter group” such as Ducks Unlimited (DU), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Mule Deer…

Every type of fishing is made easier and more productive with the right gear. And while the ideal jig gear can vary from waterbody to waterbody and cover type to cover type, some general parameters will help. A good swim-jig outfit will include a 7-foot to 7-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy-action graphite casting rod with a fast tip; a smooth baitcasting reel with a gear ratio of 7:1 or faster; and either 30- to 65-pound braided line (in heavy vegetative cover) or 15- to 20-pound fluorocarbon line (for clear water or around wood or rock). Such a combo is capable of long casts and solid hooksets. A similar combo is usually best for football jigs or swing-head jigs, but you should probably forget about the braided line; fluorocarbon is a better choice. For…

BENELLI SUPER VINCI SHOTGUN You won’t find a more reliable shogun than Benelli’s Super Vinci, capable of cycling rounds in even the most brutal conditions. Combining low recoil, thanks to Benelli’s patented In-Line Inertia Driven system, and fast shooting capabilities, this lightweight, balanced shotgun is a favorite among hard-core waterfowl hunters. The Super Vinci reliably shoots a wide range of shells including 3 1/2-inch magnum loads. It is available in your choice of three finishes—black synthetic, Gore Optifade Marsh and Realtree Max-5. ($1,399 to $1,499; benellifirearms.com) FIOCCHI FLYWAY STEEL SHOTSHELLS End-of-season waterfowl have thick feathers and lots of fat, so you need ammo that packs a wallop. Enter Fiocchi Flyway Steel Shotshells. Fiocchi’s Flyway Steel combines treated steel shot, protective wads and high-performance powders. Fiocchi’s 12-gauge, 3-inch, 1 1/5-ounce load…

While the New River is fishable more days each year than the Gauley River, the latter can sometimes be a good backup plan. The Gauley is an option for those days when the flow rate of the New in the Gorge is too high or when the water is too discolored for optimal fishing. Unlike the north-flowing New River, the Gauley’s smaller watershed drops out of Lake Summersville and flows from east to west. The lower Gauley section generally offers more fishable days per year than the upper. The river, which has a national recreation area designation, is one of the best whitewater fishing destinations in the country. It yields a variety of sportfish, including smallmouths to 7 pounds, walleyes to 17 pounds and muskies to 40 inches. You can…

Close counts when hunting turkeys with sub-gauge shotguns, especially a .410. Keep your decoys closer than you would if hunting with a 12-gauge. About 20 yards is a decent distance. Most .410 TSS loads are deadly to 40 yards; a 20-yard decoy setup gives you a cushion. TSS has been a game-changer, 30-year turkey hunter Todd Gifford says, but it’s still critical to understand the effective range of sub-gauge shotshells. “There’s a big difference [with TSS],” he notes, “but you want to keep the whole situation close.” For Gifford, that starts with scouting. In Minnesota, he generally begins to focus his efforts in May. That may seem late, but he says that before hens are nesting, turkeys are unpredictable. Once most hens are on the nest, toms will be in…

The first riflescopes centuries ago used crosshairs—literal hairs or strands of a spider web—amid scallops of glass inside a tube. Over time those crosshairs, glass and housing tubes improved with knowledge and technology. We now have crystal-clear riflescopes (and other optics) with great magnification, and crosshairs etched on the glass or imposed digitally with lines, images or information about the conditions. Some riflescopes give you hold points for distance and wind, and sync with ballistics data on a phone to provide even more information. Do you need all that to kill a deer in Alabama, or a mule deer in Colorado, or a moose or elk or bison? Of course not. The first few deer I killed many years ago were with a Winchester Model 70 in .243 Win. and…