skeeter

A few years ago while fishing in the back of Canyon lake in te middle of the night I heard some scuffling on the ledge above me. It was pitch black that night & I put my spot light on two young desert rams bedded on the ledge. It soon became obvious that one was slowly sliding down the slick rock covered with loos pebbles with every move, At that time they were pumping water back into Apache lake & the current was very swift below them & there were steep sides on both sides of the lake. I figured if it went in maybe I could heard it toward the only place it could climb out. I anchored the boat & decided to try & get some sleep figuring I would hear it fall in. I soon heard it splash & jumped up w my spotlight but couldnt see it anywhere. I pulled anchor & turned the trolling motor up high, went around the bend in the direction of current & found the ram floating dead. I figured the powerful current must have sucked it down & drowned it almost insantly. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with it, I don't want a dead ram on my boat in tha middle of the night! I decided to leave it & i called g&f the next day but the guy sounded like he didn't believe me. Always wondered what became of it. Weird.

Unit 22 late archery bull. I have a love/hate relationship w this hunt. Always swear i'll never put in for it again but then the draw odds suck me in for second choice lol. would rather be hunting than not I guess. Good luck to everyone.

Good stories. Back a few years ago I went night fishing alot on Canyon Lake. One night I was at the very back where the sand bar is,& they were pumping water back into Apache so the current was real strong going the opposite direction it normally goes. I keep hearing some pebbles falling into the water on the other side & I shine my light over there to see two young bighorns bedded on a ledge about 15' above the water. Then I notice one is slowly sliding down the slope toward the edge & can't stand up. If he falls in the water the only place to get out is all the way across the other side. I am thinking I can 'herd' him to safety with my boat if this happens & continue fishing. I then later hear the splash & grab my light but can't see it anywhere. I turn the trolling motor on hi & go around the corner & can see something floating ahead. Sure enough there's the sheep floating dead in the water. It must have gotten sucked under due to the strong current & hit its head or something. Now I'm thinking, do I drag it into the boat or up on shore or what? Who's going to believe me? Then I've got this sheep in my boat in the middle of the night. I left it & called G&F when I got home, the guy I talked to sounded like he didn't really believe me but thanked me for the info anyways. I have more stories, my mom says I should write a book. "You have the craziest stuff happen to you when you're out"

It was truly amazing, we only got to be there for a short while but it was awesome. Thanks to Alan for letting us come in & see this. Pictures & words aren't enough to describe it.

Well I'd say more than I care to admit. One in particular instance was when I was archery antelope hunting one year & I was about to get a 50 yd shot at this buck I had been after for days. I was waiting as he passed behind a bush & as I drew he turned & walked directly at me! He then turned perfectly broadside & stopped, I let fly & watched my arrow sail right over his back. I also remember one time I had missed a nice coues deer buck & returning home my dad said" well son the day you stop getting excited is the day you need to quit hunting,"... Amen.>>>-->Jed

Hey there fellow hunters, ever wanted to own a piece of land in the middle of a prime unit? I have 1.54 acres for sale in Young AZ, has electric, a well & a septic already in. Did I mention it is within walking distance to antlers bar ( yes they are rebuilding)? relatively flat with plenty of room for R.V.s, horses, whatever. Asking $78,000, if interested call Denise Crandall @928-462-3605. Thx for looking & good luck on the draw. Jed(skeeter)

Loved it, thanks Amanda, be looking for some more soon. See you at the expo. Jed

Wow don't know why but I just discovered this thread. Great idea. My name is Jed Nitso I have been employed by the AZ G&F since 2004. First as a habitat tech building water catchments & currently as a heavy equipment operator. You may not have known this but yes the dept has its own heavy equipment section that does a variety of work around the state. From wildlife area road maintenance, cleaning out dirt tanks, assisting on water catchment developments, even weed cutting in various lakes to help anglers & fish when the weeds get too thick. I have been married just over a year, have two boys 9&4 & we live in Payson. I was born in Phx, Raised in Tonto Basin, &went to HS in Payson. Have been hunting & fishing most of my life. I have taken elk & deer with a rifle & elk(2),deer(1), antelope(2),javelina(2) with a bow. I have yet to kill a coues w/a bow so still trying. In the past I have built houses & had a fence business. Good luck to all on the draw.

Good job, thats a nice one! I've taken two archery antelope out of five tags, I know the challenges you faced. theres nothing like it & to share the experience with friends is even better.>>>--->Jed

Hey guys, I drew the big fat goose egg this year & was considering buying one of these OTC elk tags. Anyone have any experience with the verde valley one? how about the winslow/ holbrook one? Any info appreciated, freezers looking pretty empty,lol >>>--->Jed

I had that tag last year, the rut was late last year so for the first few days didn't hear any thing. Well except for the unbelievable number of people that would drive down the road, stop their quad, bugle, wait 5 seconds then start back up & go another couple hundred yards & do it again. My suggestion is to get away from the roads as much as possible & as was mentioned earlier the competition should slack off after the first we. good luck, Jed.

Congratulations to Brian & Jessica Marshall.

I can recommend two good books, not necessarily about hunting but are related. The first is 'A sand county almanac' by Aldo Leuopold. The second is ' It was a rough road...and other Arizona Game & Fish stories' by John N. Carr, which is a series of short stories written by various people in the G&F dept over the last few decades. Enjoy, Jed

I also like the walmart trailmix, i also like these Bumble bee prepackaged tuna salad w/crackers. They are good, nutritious 7 don't make a mess when you're done. Another handy thing to take along w water are those Caprisun drinks.

My Skeeter bass boat is ready! Bring It!