Fishing, Big Horn Sheep, Scouting, Opening Day Dove and More

Ok, there are so many things to talk about since my last post 30 days ago... subjects such as a 27 inch brown caught near Truckee, a Big Horn Sheep that was simply strolling not but a few yards from the pavement off of Highway 50, Smith Creek and Smith Creek Reservoir, Wall Canyon, Deer Scouting and preparing for opening day of Dove Season.

I'll begin with an update from Wall Canyon Reservoir that came in from Jeff, who just recently took the wife for some Nevada style adventure.


"The wife and I went out to Wall Canyon Reservoir about 3 weeks ago and what a trip. It was 191 miles one way to the dam. We caught rainbows and smallmouth bass and had a great time.

We really went for the crayfish. We set about 4 traps and left them overnight but unfortunately only caught 4 crayfish. I was very disappointed since all I ever heard of Wall Canyon Reservoir was for how big the crayfish were and yet we caught nothing.

Word is that some guys took commercial traps and coolers and caught them all. All in all -- we had a great time."
Thanks Jeff - Carson City

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Dove Season Opens September 1
To celebrate, I thought I would share a recipe that we've been using for years -- enjoy!

DOVE NUGGETS

• 10-14 Dove
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
• Garlic Powder
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Pepper
• Fresh Rosemary
• 3 tblsp. Olive Oil
• 2 tsp. Garlic

Split doves down the back and slice 1/4 inch thin strips from each of the bird's breast. Add all spice ingredients to the bread crumbs and then whisk the egg in a seperate bowl. Wet the meat in the egg wash and then lightly toss in the breadcrumb mixture. Put pieces to the side.

Add oil and garlic to a large saute pan on the stove. Get the pan really hot and then place the Dove pieces into the oiled pan. Brown on all sides which should take about 5 minutes. Remove and let rest for 3-5 minutes. They taste just like chicken nuggets so feel free to use your favorite condimant's or dipping sauce or simply eat alone.

Fishing for Yellow Stone Native Cutthroat Trout

Fishing Tales from Wayne and Robin in Idaho...
I always enjoy reading his stories and hope that you do as well...



"Hello again from south central Idaho."

Well we miss pyramid lake but here in this small town of Oakley we are surrounded by mountains with small streams and high moutain lakes you can only get to by horse back or hiking.

Our favorite stream is just 15 minutes to the trail head. This is a wild life management area for about two miles. (Big Cotton wood, BCWMA). THE STREAM IS LOADED WITH NATIVE YELLOW STONE CUTTHROAT TROUT.

Robin and I spent a night about 4 miles up surrouned by beaver ponds. This stream has plenty of caddis, mayfly and stone fly. The grass hoppers are coming on strong. The trout seem to like the smaller nymph patterns in size 16 and 18. Most fish are in the 10 to 12 inch range, but often we catch them in the 14 to 16 inch range (there are bigger ones). These fish fight hard. We use 7 and a half FT. 4 wt rods that add to the excitement.


BIG Cottonwood canyon has Elk, big horn sheep, couger, rattlesnake, wild turkey, chuker ect......The trout limit is two fish and suggested single barbless hook (good idea).

By the way, we had trout for supper and breakfast. We added currant berries and butter to the fish, very good -- you should try it. -- Wayne and Robin, Idaho

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2007 Big Game Quotas

I know this is a BLOG about fishing and I should be talking about where to go fishing for Memorial Weekend but I just ran across this interesting information from the Nevada Department of Wildlife's website that I thought all Big Game Hunters would be interested in....

"The following is a summary of the 2007 Big Game Quotas set at the Board of Wildlife Commissioners meeting, May 11-12, 2007 in Reno, Nevada." -- NDOW.org

• Total tag allocations across all hunts increased 11% from 2006.
• Resident Mule Deer Buck Rifle tags are up 11 % from 9,229 tags in 2006 to 10,290 tags in 2007.
• Resident Antlerless Mule Deer Rifle tags increased from 65 in 2006 to 440 in 2007. Amounts to 577% increase.
• Resident Bull Elk Rifle tags are up 4 % from 751 in 2006 to 778 in 2007.
• Resident Cow Elk Rifle Tags are up 73% from 840 in 2006 to 1,454 in 2007.
• Resident Bighorn Sheep (Desert, California and Rocky Mountain) tags are up 11% from 175 in 2006 to 195 in 2007.
• Resident Antelope Rifle Buck tags are up 6% from 1,644 in 2006 to 1,743 in 2007.

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2006 Nevada Harvest Hunt Statistics

Finally the 2006 Nevada Harvest Hunt Statistics are available for Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Elk and Pronghorn Antelope.

The following information includes hunt and draw odd statistics for each hunt, with harvest statistics and average age/points by hunt unit.

• Mule Deer
• Bighorn Sheep
• Bighorn Sheep Checkout Summaries
• Mountain Goat
• Elk
• Pronghorn Antelope

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SEASON'S GREETINGS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR NEVADA

After looking through 365 days worth of photographs and editorials, 2006 had to be one of the Best Ever Year's for Nevada Fishing, Hunting and all around Adventure.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed stories, photographs and shared some of their personal adventures with us and wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year!


Months 1 Through 3
(January, February and March)

The first quarter of 2006 turned out to be a couple of busy months... especially fishing at Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake, Squaw Creek Reservoir, chukar hunting coming to a close, finding a new found friend underneathe our deck, having Fish The West website be nominated and win an Addy Award, a trip to Boise, Idaho and much much more.

January 2006
February 2006
March 2006

Months 4 Through 6
(April, May and June)

The second quarter of 2006 had it's moments but Adventure # 1,010: Great Basin National Park, Lehman Caves, Comins Lake, Cave Lake, Elko and Unionville had to be the ultimate Nevada style adventure trip.

April 2006
May 2006
June 2006

Months 7 Through 9
(July, August and September)
July, August and September seemed to turn into three months of preparation for the 2006 Deer/Chukar/Elk Hunt; however, we did manage to find time to get some fishing in at Sqauw Creek Reservoir, the Truckee River, Inlcine Lake and a few other choice areas.

July 2006
August 2006
September 2006

Months 10 Through 12
(October, November and December)

Aaaa....how the time seems to fly by these days. October is always the best month of the year especially since Pyramid Lake opens back up to it's fisherman, Chukar season opens and Rifle Hunters who were lucky enough to draw a tag, get to go after and chase down their Grand Prize. Lucky for us, we were able to end the 2006 year with new friends, new stories and unforgetable memories.
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006

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Close of Season Pays Off

After scouting for months, awakening to weeks of freezing morning temperatures and chilled to the bone nights, it finally paid off a few days before the close of season.

"You have to be a Billy Goat" to climb to the top of some of Nevada's mountains to find large Mule Deer, but just like fishing, if you wait and cast out enough you just might get lucky and run across a Big One.


Solid 4x4 Mule Deer


Solid 2x2 Mule Deer

Again, I thought I would throw in a great photograph of our 'Wanna Be' Bird Dogs: Beddie Lou and Forrest!

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