Scouting didn’t go as planned on the day before season opened. We were unsuccessful roosting any birds in the evening and morale for opening morning was pretty low. Our only play was to head back to an area we’d driven through around noon where we had seen a few birds moving through the trees. We figured we’d work one of the two-tracks out in the morning darkness and see if we could get lucky and hear a bird on the limb. It wasn’t a great plan, but seemed to be our only option.

Luck was with us, a tom started gobbling across the canyon in the gray light. We worked one of the ridges out to get close to him, set out some decoys and did some real light calling. Ten minutes later while he was still in his tree gobbling, two other gobblers came screaming into our setup and met with a quick end. Austin and I stood there in disbelief looking down at two mature Merriam’s gobblers realizing that our 2019 Arizona turkey hunt was over just like that.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from turkey hunting – It’s better to be lucky than good.

The post Turkey Double appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

We had known for several months that we’d drawn this tag. My good buddy Austin and I had hunted the unit during the January archery season several years back and were anxious to see what we could find hiding in the mountains on this November rifle tag. We’d spent quite a bit of time looking over maps and marking waypoints and believed we had a good plan for the weeklong season.

On the evening of the second day, we spotted a small forky working the ridge below our glassing point. It was pretty thick cover, and when I checked back on him after a while,  I saw he had a bigger buddy with him. I quickly moved into position and was nothing but jitters. Austin coached me through it, and once I got steady, I squeezed off a shot. The buck piled up and we hiked down to him.

It’s always stunning to me how fast things happen in the field. One minute you are just trying to find one through the binoculars, and the next you are staring down at mature deer. I couldn’t believe my luck and was extremely happy with my 2018 coues deer. After a couple of quick photos, we broke down the buck and hiked our way back to the truck by headlamp.

We spent the rest of the week looking for a buck for Austin, but never found the one he was looking for. What we did find was some remote country with lots of potential, and a burning desire to get back after coues deer next season.

The post Arizona Coues Deer appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

Rambling Review: The Redington Vice Rod and the Redington i.D Reel

Why:

After one of the windiest Pyramid Lake fishing trips last year, I found myself in the market for a little bit stiffer action rod for throwing a sinking line. I was fortunate to get my hands on a Redington Vice Rod paired with a Redington i.D reel and a Rio Outbound Short full sinking line a few weeks before the trip, and what a setup this turned out to be.

First impressions:

The Redington Vice Rod – Out of the tube, the emerald green carbon fiber blank looked really sharp paired with the black snack guides and black aluminum reel seat. The rod itself is a no frills workhorse that is completely saltwater ready.

The Redington i.D Reel – The flat black cast aluminum large arbor reel looked pretty sweet as is.  Turns out that Redington has a whole line of decals that can be added to the solid side of the reel. I saw a few KC Badger prints in the mix, but went with a low profile digital camo.

Lifetime warranties – Both the rod and the reel are covered under Redington’s lifetime warranties.

Field Use:

If you read the report from the trip, you’ll note that the fishing was on the slower side. All that means is that I did quite a bit of casting and stripping for 3 days. You can get to know your equipment pretty intimately in a setting like Pyramid Lake that throws wind from all directions, rain, snow, and sub-freezing temperatures. I feel like it’s the perfect place to put gear to the test.

Let’s start with the rod. To be honest, I loved the Vice rod. Very smooth while casting a heavy sinking line, with enough backbone to punch through a snow squall in your face. Prior to the trip, I had bought another rod from another manufacturer in the same weight. Long story short, I liked the Vice so much I’m selling the other rod and keeping the Vice. This rod is a solid addition to my quiver and I plan on continuing to push it’s limits for years to come.

When I first saw the i.D reel I couldn’t really see past the sticker. It seemed kind of gimmicky to me and went into the field testing with a bit of a bias. The first night I hooked into a real nice fish about 10 feet from my ladder with about 70 feet of running line in my stripping basket. The large arbor reel gobbled up the loose line and the rulon disc drag did the rest. For a $100 reel, I was impressed.

Lastly the line. I’ve had my fair share of experience with Rio line, but had never used the Outbound Short. Although I’m sure the Vice rod had something to do with it, the Rio Outbound Short was a treat to cast. It loaded the rod well, flew threw the guides, and turned over heavy jig flies with ease. It was easy to see why these lines are so well regarded.

Pros:

Lifetime guarantee on Redington gear

Great price on a quality rod and reel

Personalization decals for i.D reel

Cons:

Drag not sealed on the i.D reel

Prognosis:  If you’re looking for a nice Pyramid Lake setup with out breaking the bank, check out the Redington Vice Rod paired with a Redington i.D reel spooled with Rio Outbound Short full sinking line.

* Disclaimer:

The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review.  My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.

The post Rambling Review – Redington Vice Rod and Redington i.D Reel appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

We had driven a long way and were many hours from civilization. I stood surveying the campsite where we had camped in years past. And suddenly it dawned on me. I had forgotten my tent.

I could see it in my minds eye, that lonely tubular tent bag, sitting all along on my garage floor like a lost child. And while it sat there with so much wasted potential 6 hours away, I stood, in my campsite with a dumb look on my face, feeling foolish and knowing that I could be paying a serious price should the wind pick up and/or the weather turn. Pride wouldn’t let me snuggle into a one man tent with my hunting buddy. So I rolled my sleeping bag out on my inflatable pad and borrowed the Tyvek ground sheet for the one tent that was brought on the hunting trip. I tried to think positive thoughts.

After an 8 mile scouting hike, a shot of bourbon, and an ambian, I snuggled in to my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. I slept like a baby under that Tyvek sheet.

We got lucky and killed two turkeys opening day and were on our way home by 2 pm. It was a good turkey season.

The post Arizona Turkey Hunting: Sleeping in the Dirt appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

We fished Pyramid Lake hard for three days in a cruel cocktail of rain, snow, and biting cold. It wasn’t a particularly good trip as far as the fishing was concerned. In fact is was arguably one of the slowest three days of fishing I’d ever seen. But I’ll never complain about being able to fish with a good buddy and I certainly will never take a fishing trip for granted. Life is forever picking up speed, and I cherish the moments where I’m outdoors, especially when at Pyramid Lake. Until next time, I’ll keep tying flies and thinking about that big red fish swimming in the frigid waters and some day, it’ll be my turn to catch a monster.

The post Pyramid Lake: A fishing trip appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

As I stare out my new wood shutters, I remind myself that I’ve been wanting a hunting dog ever since I was a boy. That longing has grown infinitely stronger over the past years as I’ve hunted the desert birds solo. Friends have been kind enough to invite me along and hunt behind their pups, and I relished every opportunity to watch their dogs work. The timing finally worked out and one of my hunting buddies contacted me about a 6 month old female GSP needing a hunting home. After some consideration, my wife said yes and we welcomed Sunny girl into our home.

The first week was a bit wild as everyone adjusted to each other, but Sunny, Jojo and I met up with my good friend Kyle and his 8 month old GSP, Riggs, for a little bit of field work. It was Jojo’s first “hunting trip” and our first time watching Sunny work in the open desert. She ran her heart out and then wound up pointing a couple of planted pigeons. It was a promising start, and I can’t thank Kyle enough for showing us the ropes. We’ve got lots of work ahead and we have our hearts set on hunting season.

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There is nothing quite like watching dogs work the grassy hills of Southern Arizona in search of Mearns quail. So when my good buddy Pat from Border to Border Outfitters invited me down for opening weekend to watch his team of GSPs work, how could I say no. Alex Landeen grilling venison sausages and pheasant for dinner was an added bonus.

We found birds and did a fair bit of shooting. I’ve had the pleasure to watch Pat’s dogs work Mearns several times and it never gets old. There is nothing prettier than a dog on a rock solid point with a covey of Mearns quail flushing in front of them. More importantly, I got to spend time in the field with old friends and make new ones. With life constantly picking up speed, I relish every step I get to take in chasing quail in this state.

Pat runs Border to Border Outfitters and you can hunt birds with him from Minnesota all the way to Arizona and everywhere in between. Check him out at Border to Border Outfitters.

The post Arizona Quail Hunting: Mearns Quail appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

It is only now that I realize, I’ve worked myself into a real corner. I try to blame my wife, but with what little I know about the birds and the bees, I’m pretty sure I had a hand in it. All three of my children were born on the opening days of Arizona’s bird seasons. My son was born on the first day of September on the dove opener. My youngest was born at the beginning of October which makes it extremely tough to get out to chase Gambels at the beginning of quail season. And my oldest started it all off by entering the world at the beginning of December which means her birthday party is usually on the weekend that Mearns season starts.

All this means that my hunting season openers are postponed this year. This worked out in my favor when I finally grabbed my shotgun and vest to chase Gambel’s quail. It’s been unseasonably warm here in the desert as the normally cooler weather was late in showing up. I found a morning to break away and scratched out a trio of birds.

The post Arizona Quail Hunting: My Opening Day appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

After a couple of hours, we had a big pile of Eurasian Collared Doves sitting on the tailgate. This  non-native invasive species of dove has flourished here in the desert of Arizona (and around the rest of the country for that matter), and subsequently there is an unlimited daily bag and possession limit combined with a year round season. With the shooting over and all of our shells picked up, I stood looking at the mound of birds and knew that the real work was about to begin. Plucking a tailgate full of doves is no small task. So, I took my pile of doves home and enlisted the help of my kids, who are always interested in knowing what I brought home for dinner.

With the doves plucked, cleaned and safely in the freezer, I saved a bakers dozen for a recipe that I’d been wanting to try for a while – Dove Pot Pie.  I had found this recipe on the Field and Stream website and saved it for just such a time. Long story short, it was a pretty involved recipe but turned out fantastic. The whole family loved it and my wife went back for seconds.

I revel in the moments when I can include my kids in the food preparation process and show them where our food comes from. Plucking and cleaning birds is just the start. I’m already looking forward to wandering through the desert, forest, and streams with them.

The post Dove Pot Pie appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

There is no doubt when I married my wife, I married up. On this past Mother’s Day when we went camping with our best gear from Survival Cooking, I asked my beautiful 18 week pregnant wife what she wanted for Mother’s Day. I expected the usual: a day to herself at the spa, but instead, she decided she wanted to go camping.

How could I say no?

The post Mother’s Day Camping Trip appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.