Adventure #1,005: Chukar Hunting: Giving It One More Hoorah

Is there anything better than getting up early in the morning, grabbing a black cup of coffee, a few country CD’s and getting out of town and off road as quickly as possible? With chukar and quail season coming to a close, the plan of attack was to give it one last hoorah and try to close out the season with a ‘Bang’. Of course, for us, things never seem to happen as smoothly and as close to the plan as we would anticipate that it should.


Seems that every stop we made throughout the day lead us to a wet and snowy hike, bone chilling temperatures and a whole lotta nothing. Where do all those dang birds go when it snows?

Besides not getting to close the season with a ‘Bang’, we still found ourselves having one heck of a great adventurous day. It doesn’t even seem to matter if you travel the same road multiple times, there’s always something new to look forward too seeing.


For instance when we began our journey, we drove by Pyramid Lake for the umpteenth time and noticed how turquoise the water was from the approaching storm, ran across four Golden Eagles, 2 deceased burrows, a couple of living burrows, a couple dozen wild horses, a couple dozen rainbow trout and to top it off we saw one heck of a WIDE Buck and his little friend running alongside the Black Rock Desert. So what if we never saw any chukar, we’ve always got next season.


Click here to see the photos.

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Squaw Creek Reservoir Everyone’s Hitting Their Limit

Even with all of the snow this year surrounding the mountain ranges, it hasn’t affected the Reservoir icing over. Squaw Creek Reservoir is still able to be fished whether from shore, a tube or a small boat.



Thanks goes out to Sean, Douglas and their family for sharing their Hot Tip on hitting each of their rainbow trout limits: Try using WORMS when fishing from shore.

Learn more about Squaw Creek Reservoir click here.

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Raccoon Be Gone

We're all thankful that our little friend got his eviction notice and moved on very early this morning. Well maybe not all of us 8)

NOTE: Raccoons can breed anytime from December to June, but most of them breed around February. Gestation is 63-65 days, with most babies being born in April or May. Litter size is usually 2-5 babies. At about 8 weeks old, the young usually leave the den and follow the mother to a new location. Young are weaned at about 12 weeks and disperse in the fall or early winter; or they may stay with the mother until the following spring. Raccoons are nocturnal animals.

When eviction techniques are used, do not expect the raccoon to leave until well after dark.

Click here to learn more about Raccoon's.

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And The Beat or Beast Goes On...Well Not Entirely

And the beat goes on...

4:30 P.M. - 12 hours after the encounter

Our guest has taken up residence underneathe our deck and has shown absolutely zero, hide or hair, of wanting to pack up and leave. I have to admit that this little critter might be the most stubborn creature that I've ever run into. I'm hoping that after the long day of being sprayed with water, poked with long sticks and proded with sharp objects - he might just catch on that there's a nice fresh can of TUNA waiting for him in the metal transportation device we have setup. Better yet, there's a longer life awaiting him if he leaves the yard and just takes up residence down the street in the local park.

If you didn't know - and really want too...I've come across the most popular foods to lure little raccoons out-of-hiding just incase you have the same problem:

• Fish, fresh or canned
• Honey or sugar covered vegetables
• Smoked fish
• Watermelon
• Sweet corn
• Cooked fatty meat
• Crisp bacon (who would have ever guessed this one)
• Marshmallow is a favorite!

Let's just all hope that after tonight our little furry friend finds himself a way out otherwise it's lights out. - stay tuned.

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Do Your Own Pest Control: Living With Raccoons

If you own dogs, you tend to know the difference between a friendly bark and an out-an-out "Get Out or I'm Gonna Hurt You" bark. Well that's exactly what we awoke to this morning at 4:30AM.

Seems that our Shorthair, Beddie, found herself a new playmate trying to find a home under the deck to our house. Not such a bright idea for the racoon, but made for a fun morning for the dog and is making an even more entertaining morning for me. So I've placed the bait, no tunafish here or fried bacon, just some plain ol' sandwiche meat...I hope he likes ham...to be continued



Q: What do you get when you cross a raccoon with a skunk?
A: A dirty look from the raccoon.

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Adventure Number 1004: Huntin' Coyote and Fishin' Pyramid Lake

January 7, 2006
Adventure #1,004:
Huntin' Coyotes & Fishin' Pyramid Lake

You know how some kids get giddy in a candy store, well Sportsman's Warehouse can do that to adults. After walking down the back isle, we came across something that we haven't yet had the pleasure to partake in and that was the art of Callin' Coyotes. Oh yeah. There where all kinds of DVD's and How To's that explained the exact art and finesse that it took to be able to Master the call of the Wild Dog.

So we bought a few Predator Calls and an accompanying DVD - went home and watched what they called "Spectacular Footage Featuring 45 Kills". Well it was all over after that. The plan was to wake up at 4:30AM the next day and high tail it to a few well known areas and start Callin' em in. Little did we know what the heck we where doing, but after about 30 minuts or so - it began to work. One by one they came closer and closer but nothing close enough to shoot.



I never realized that people put so much practice into the Art of Huntin' Coyote's as much as people focus on the Art of Fishin'. If you are interested in Coyote Hunting be sure to check out some information:

• www.varminthunters.com/coyotes/
• www.wcp-nm.com/coyotes/
• www.allpredatorcalls.com/

Nevada Regulations -

www.ndow.org/hunt/seasons/fur/coyote.shtm

After what seemed to be a good day Callin' Coyotes, we thought we'd try our luck wrangling up some Cutthroat Trout out at Pyramid Lake. Well it turned out that "The Fishing Was Good at Pyramid Lake; It Was The Catching That Was Bad".

Here are a few quotes that we found to be pretty funny and pretty true all an all...

• A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work. ~Author Unknown
• The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad. ~A.K. Best
• Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. ~Author Unknown
• An angler is a man who spends rainy days sitting around on the muddy banks of rivers doing nothing because his wife won't let him do it at home. ~Author Unknown
• Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend. ~Zenna Schaffer
• More Quotes

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Nevada Chukar and Quail Season Comes to an End

If you haven't had a chance to get out and hunt some Upland Game Birds, you might try your own backyard...

You've got just a few days left before the end of Chukar and Quail seasons. 2006-2007 Seasons begin October 14 and end January 31, 2007.

For more information, be sure to get the most recent Hunt Book and Regulations from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.



Take time to share your outdoor adventures with us at Fish the West and we'll be sure to post for all to enjoy. It's easy just click here and upload your photos or your comments and we'll do the rest! Or send us a letter addressed to:

FISH THE WEST
PO Box 50998
Sparks, NV 89435

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