stanley

Check out Duane Adams out of San Manuel. Not sure if it's the exact same thing as a scouting service, but I've heard good things about his map service. S.

I hear what you're saying Noel, I was simply making the point that there is at least one person (me) who does not make his living off these things who still supports them. I agree with you that the auction tag takes one animal (always a 'TROPHY') away from the general public, but how is that different than the raffle winner taking a trophy? I agree that at least the general public can buy, and afford, the raffle tags but I still see the benefit of the auction tags. I guess there's no 'right' answer here, because it's all about personal opinion. Lord knows that my wife has reminded me many times what opinions are worth.... I just hope we don't get into a situation like in Utah with these things, but only time will tell. S.

Nice pics Chris. I passed through Durango/Silverton/Ouray about 10 years ago while on my way to Grand Lake and fell in love with the Durango area. It wasn't until last summer that I made it back with the kids for some camping, fishing, and exploring (at a spot that RR suggested... Thanks Doug! ). We didn't do near the adventuring that it took to get these pics, but had a great time none the less. We'll be back there sometime in the near future. God's country for sure. S.

"The auction tag is a bunch of crap.And the only people that would dissagree are the one's that either have the money to pay for them,or make money guiding them." Noel, you're wrong buddy. I'm neither a guide nor do I have the $$ to afford the auction tags, but I disagree with you. S. :-)

Everything in moderation...... I don't have a problem with the way Arizona runs the program. Seeing the actual projects that are a result of the money generated has made me a believer. I'm anxious to see what the latest 'super raffle' will result in, but thus far things are looking pretty good. On another site (I'm sure some of you know which one....) there has been a lot of noise about "to many govenor's tags" being issued in Utah.... Seems like the public opinion up there is that they have gone too far with the auction/raffle tags. I think the perception of these things causing hunting to become a rich man's sport start to occur when the average joe feels like his opportunity is being sacrificed for the sake of the raffle/auction tags. Here in AZ, there are not enough of these tags being issued (yet... ) to force this feeling, so most folks in general still feel like the impact on the number of permits is benign. I'm not sure where the line is, but hopefully those who are adminstering the programs in AZ will take note of the political climate in our neighboring states as lessons learned for consideration here. My opinion only! What say you Chris? You posted the question, but didn't give your own opinion (which puzzles me based on what little I know about you.... ). S.

Allen, this post is spot on! Even though the vast majority of folks on this site (and others...) have heard this plea before, it's critical to not let the topic die. Kevin, thanks for the words. Even though I'm pulling back on the level of my involvement, I'm not going to disappear. Also I won't let the ADA youth program wither in the meantime. I took on the job, and I'll continue to try to keep things afloat in the interim. I'm also actively trying to recruit some youth support in the background so who ever ends-up leading the charge will hopefully have a support network to draw on (I'm planning be an on-going part of the network....). I'll send an update to the board soon on this so everyone knows what?s up. Chris (CHD), you are going to be part of this youth program buddy! Come this fall & winter, I'm going to relentlessly harass you until you show-up at one of our youth camps! Just so you know, it's not all kiddy stuff at these camps. Good campfire discussions with the local Wildlife Managers are the norm (and sometimes a couple of beers after the kids go to bed.... ). I'm going to look at you as one of my special projects, and I won't be done until I've converted you. Best of luck in the draws all! S

What everyone can do to help is you notice the problem, PM me as well as Amanda. We both have the ability to fix the SQL error. Amanda is apparently out of touch at this time, and I fixed the problem as soon as I noticed it. Now considering I'm working in India right now, it surprises me that I beat Amanda to the punch. The internet makes the world a small place though... S.

S. :-)

Been a little slow around here so I thought I'd post a couple of pics from a trip to Alaska that I took in 1996. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I've been there, and I certainly hope it will not be another 10 before I get back! Here's the brief run-down. In the spring of 1996, my dad & I were invited to spend some time with a family friend in Alaska. He is a commercial fisherman who lived in Alaska from May to October, and then would spend November to April in Tucson. Anyway, he invited us to spend the last week of May with him. His salmon fishing season was to start on June first, so we spent time with him while he finished getting his boat ready for the season, and then joined him on some 'scouting trips' for his upcoming season. He was based out of a fishing town called Sand Point, which is in SW Alaska out on the peninsula towards the Aleutian Islands. He fishes in the Bearing Sea and North Pacific (Anyone been watching Deadliest Catch on Discovery???) He loaded-up a couple of ATVs & a skiff, and we spent several days exploring & doing some sport fishing in & around the Shumagan Islands. Saw some cool sights & had some fun adventures. This first picture is of a ghost town he took us to. The town is named Unga, and is on Unga Island. Apparently it was a Russian hearing fishing village back in the late 1800s & early 1900s. When the hearing got fished-out in 1920something, the island was abandoned. It was amazing to see the condition of this place. Cemetery, schoolhouse, homes, store, etc, all in pristine condition. Mainly because this place is soooo remote, that no vandals/scavengers have ever had their way with it. The picture was taken from the boat as we were anchored off the coast from the town. This picture is from the beach below the town, looking back towards the skiff & boat. (Notice the size of the fishing boat. It is a two man operation on a 35' boat, not the HUGE things you see on Deadliest Catch...) This is an old anchor we found 1/2 buried in the end of the bay about a mile from the town. Pretty cool.... So after we spent a week or so with our fishing buddy, we went to spend a few days at a lodge that a friend of his owns. The lodge was about an hour flight from Sand Point, and was on the north side of the peninsula about 7 miles from the Bearing Sea. It is called Bear Lake Lodge, and is located on the shores of (you guessed it...) Bear Lake. The land was home-steaded before Alaska became a state, and passed down to the current owner. It was an amazing place for sure..... We got there a couple of days after they finished with the spring bear season. All of the hunters were gone, but some of the guides & skinners were still around. We had a great time over a few days fishing, exploring, and learning about the place. This picture is of a bear that had been shot a couple of days prior to us getting there. At the time, they told us that it would likely end-up in the top 10 brown bears ever killed. It was a big sucker!!! One of the MANY Dolly Varden (sp) I caught from the lake while there. We were too early for any of the salmon runs, but stayed plenty busy on the dollys! Notice that flat calm water?????? Well here is what that exact spot looked like about 12 hours before the above pic was taken. A storm blew-up while we were there, and we had over 36 hours of sustained 35 knot winds with gusts up to 60! Didn't keep me from trying to get at some more of those Dollys though!!! During this storm, there were many times when the Super Cubs were straining 2 feet of the ground against their tie-downs. I didn't get a pic of it, but is was a site to see.... At the time, the lodge focused on bears/moose/caribou only, but I think they now do fishing trips as well. I hope to get there someday with my kids. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. I've got some more pics that I may post when I take time to scan them. I've got a couple that would blow some of you shed hunters away! Good luck in the draws everyone! S.

Thanks for the reply's guys. It was an awesome experience, and our buddy helped make it unique with the trip to the ghost town, etc. That bear was so big that it looked like it could have eaten both my dad & I, and still had room for more! I asked the owner of the lodge if he ever had anyone try for bears with archery equipment. His quote was something like "No &%#%@ way would that happen on my watch! Guns, BIG GUNS, only!!". These guys really took care of their place up there. Their lodge & land are right smack dab in the middle of hundreds of thousands of acres of preserve, which basically gives them exclusive access! They would rotate their hunting seasons so they would only hunt every other spring or every other fall, and boy did they have a bunch of bears in that area! Kevin, Bristol Bay salmon fishing would have to be an experience not too different from Deadliest Catch! Anyone who has spent even a little time on that water knows what those guys (all of them... crabbers or not..) go through. When we were anchored off the ghost town, we were in a really nice bay. As you can see from the pics, it was beautiful weather with flat calm water. We spent two nights there, and on the second morning we woke to a falling barometer and 5 foot seas in our bay. We had to get back to Sand Point, we took-off out of the bay. Imagine this land-lover on a 35' boat in 15' seas, and you don't get a pretty picture! At one point I asked my buddy if maybe we should go back to the bay and wait out the storm. He laughed and said "Are you kidding??? We fish in this kind of weather all of the time! If you can't fish in weather like this, you'll go broke!". Unbelievable! S.

Big congratulations on your pending graduation Christian! Great mile stone in life..... Take care of that wrist, and good luck up north this summer! S. PS: I'm coaching my 8 year old's 'machine pitch' baseball team this year, and we have not lost a game yet. One more win this Saturday will cap-off an un-defeated season! I hope I didn't just jinx him!

Awesome mounts everyone! I don't have any to share, as I have never felt like having anything I've killed mounted. Saved some antlers, but never put them on a cape. Pretty inspiring though folks!!! Doug, that buck is beautiful! Great representative speciman from the sw part of the state! S.

Outstanding pics everyone! I especially like the ones with the kids! Here's my son Erik with his first deer and his first javelina. Truly my most treasured memories.... S.

My son and I got turkey tags in unit 23 for the second hunt last weekend. We were in the same spot I've hunted the past two seasons in 23. There are always turkeys there! On Thursday evening we went-out to a point over looking a huge drainage of ponderosa & oak covered canyons. We heard what were likely over 10 gobblers up & down the drainage within a couple of miles of our position. On Friday morning the birds were noisy again, and we had two gobblers come into our first set-up fast & loud! The first one came in slightly behind us though, and never offered us a shot (I could have swung on the bird but was waiting for my boy to get a chance...). The second one then hung-up and didn't come in. By 6:15 AM on Friday the birds shut-up though, and NEVER GOBBLED AGAIN the entire weekend!! Made for really tough hunting, and we never got a bird. We did get one to come in silent on Saturday evenin simply by setting-up in a likely spot and waiting it out long enough. He came-in from the side though, and also didn't offer a shot before disappearing into the thick brush. Lots of fun but no bird! The spot we hunt is WAY back in the stuff, and we only saw one other hunter the entire weekend anywhere near us. No hunting pressure at all, so why did the birds shut-up? Could the slight change in weather (air pressure, etc.?) on Friday impact them this much? Truly frustrating.... Any input from anyone? Anyway, we saw deer, elk, a timber rattler, and other stuff. Did lots of exploring & target practicing, and enjoyed some great meals. I might try to get out once more, but work is weighing me down... We'll see. How did anyone else do? Any similar stories? Good luck to anyone who is hunting! S. :-)

I suspected I knew the general area of your pics Doug.... Outstanding buck! Good luck on your turkey hunt as well! I'm picking Erik up from school at lunch (science & vocab test's this morning... ), then heading-up with my buddies Rich & Richard. They'll be doing the calling for us. Anyway, gotta finish packing & get some groceries! Nice pics all! Amanda, that camp looks REALLY cold!!! S.

Nice comfortable looking camp there Doug. I want to see a picture of that buck though! S. PS: Erik and I are heading-up to 23 for turkeys tomorrow! I'm hoping one of us can get our first bird. Don't you have a tag as well? Good luck!

OK, here's something for all to consider; I just opened the new regs (on-line) and noticed that the hunt success reported for one of the units that I like to hunt actually had a higher success % for the October hunt than the November hunt? For what it's worth.... S.

Hey Doug: I had thought about this myself as well, as I usually put in for the October hunt. My opinion is that it will not change it that much. I'm thinking that most 'average joe' hunters (like me...) generally hunt the weekends or long weekends, so adding a couple of more days to the hunt in the middle of the week won't matter much to most. I could be wrong, but that's my $.02..... Tis a fun time of year when we get to start strategizing & planning for the draws. Fall will be here before we know it! S.

Now that's really funny! S.

My boy and I will be heading out for our turkey hunt in a couple of weeks, and the joke about the 1st grader inspired me to write about our experience last season. We had tags in unit 23 here in AZ, and had an adventurous hunt but ended-up with tag soup. The turkeys were a little silent, and the stomach flu swept through camp. We made the best of it though, and had a good time. We were joined in camp for the weekend by a couple of my regular hunting buddies. Now, don't ask me why, but on the drive home I felt compelled to give my son the 'what happens in camp, stays in camp' talk. I wanted to make sure that anything of the words he might have heard around the fire didn't get repeated around his mother or sister. Well, he said he understood but asked if it was OK to say ANY 'curse' words. I said that I didn't really think at his age he should be cussing. He then said, "Well what about the 'C' word?". I immediately said "WHAT?? NO, YOU CAN'T USE THE 'C' WORD! ESPECIALLY DON'T SAY THE 'C' WORD!". I then said "Erik, do you even know what the 'C' word is, and what it means? I couldn't believe it when he replied that he did, in fact know what it was and what it meant. Holding my breath, I then said "OK then big guy, what is the 'C' word and what does it mean?". He calmly replied "It's crap, and it means poopie.". I let out a HUGE sigh of relief and told him that he should try not to say it too much . S.

Congrats Vini! I'm heading-out with my son in a couple of weeks here in AZ. Great pic with the family as well!! S.

Are you kidding me Christian???? What a dream job! Good for you, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot up there. You'll also make some friends that will last a life-time! Make the most of it! Alaska is an amazing place. I'm planning on going back there some day with my sons & daughter, and I can't wait. Good luck, and bring us lots of stories!!! S.

Hope to see some pictures from Texas in a few days!!! From the sounds of it, I suppose there will be a couple of birds hitting the ground. Good luck right back at you! Myself, I'll be hunting turkeys here in AZ 23 for the third year in a row. I've learned a bit more each year, and I'm hoping this will be it! Better still, my oldest boy has a tag as well. I'll obviously be pulling for him first. Ditto what Scott said; Good luck to all! S. PS: No feeders where I'm heading. Just good ol' pine tree covered mountains (and STEEP ones)!

I was there for a brief time with my wife. Unfortunately we had another commitment that we had to get to, so we could only stay a couple of hours. Seemed like things went pretty well. Congrats on the 15x56s! How did it go at your table Amanda? Any other winners? Sorry Tracy and I didn't get much time to stop by and visit, but I'm glad you got a chance to meet her anyway. Hope some other CW regulars made out OK in the drawings & auction. S. PS: Amanda, I missed the chair auction. Do you know how much it went for? Curious...

I'm not a member, but I know several of the folks from the Tucson chapter through my ADA trash pick-up & youth camp dealings. They're right in the middle of the semi-annual unit 36 ranch pick-up efforts. Seems like a lot of energy in that bunch, and that they're doing some good things for the deer down south. S.