Arizona Wanderings

Arizona Wanderings Birthday Celebration

October 22nd, 2012

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Three years ago, I typed my first words into a free wordpress account. In a cliche, it seems so long ago, but also to have passed in only a blink of an eye. Although, Arizona Wanderings started as a personal journal of my fly fishing and hunting adventures here in Arizona, it has grown into something much cooler than I ever could have imagined. I have met some great people, fished in some unbelievable places, and hopefully helped a couple people along the way.

In honor of the three year mark, t-shirts in the Arizona Wanderings Shop will be on sale for the next week. The Original Arizona Wanderings Shirt is on sale for $10 while the I “Fish” and “Quail” AZ shirts are on sale for $12. Pick one up in the Arizona Wanderings Shop while supplies last,

Arizona Wanderings T-shirts

Check out some of my favorite pictures from the past couple years:

Arizona Fly Fishing — Arizona Wanderings

Mearns Quail Season — Arizona Mearns Quail

I do want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all those who interact on AZW as well as those who have picked up a few flies or a t-shirt. Your support keeps me going. Thanks again.

Arizona Wanderings T-shirts

A Field Journal

October 18th, 2012

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I recently made a new addition to my hunting and fishing pack – A Rite in the Rain Journal. This blog has been an amazing tool for me to look back and reminisce about where I have fished and hunted. On occasion it has even helped me decide where I would be fishing on a particular weekend. Although the pictures and words remind me a bit about how the day went, it sometimes falls short for a detailed description. I picked up a “Rite in the Rain” Journal to use while in the field in hopes of recording temperatures, weather conditions, hatches, flies that worked, fish that were caught, and all the nitty-gritty that sometimes can get lost from the field to the blog. Here’s to hoping that I can stay consistant and up to date on the new journal.

Does any one else do something similar?

Arizona Fly Fishing: Cold Mornings

October 15th, 2012

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Saturday morning dawned frigidly cold in the north country. We sat huddled in the truck looking at the 29 degree mark (a cold temperature for Arizona boys) that blinked on the dashboard of the truck, and we thought twice about our decision. In the end there was no way we were turning around, so we geared up, put on all available clothing, and headed towards the water. After spotting fish in the first pool and attempting to fish to them, we realized it was far too cold even for the fish to be moving, so we built a small fire and waited for the sun to come up over the canyon walls and warm the water.

Fishing was slow, but around eleven o’clock, I coaxed the beautiful brown above from underneath a large boulder. The fight was brief and Antonio swung the net underneath him. As beautiful as the photo is, it does not do this trout justice, as the yellows and oranges glistened in the sun.

The fishing continued very slowly and we saw/spooked a few big fish. As the sun disappeared, I was worked a long pool and sailed an orange mini-hopper to a likely looking spot. After a slow boil, I lifted the fly rod to find life on the other end. Within seconds, I realized that is a was a large fish and quickly fought him to the shallows, where I stared down at a beautiful beefy brown trout. With a few quick photos, he swam quickly back into the deep green water.

I felt blessed to hold, not one, but two beautiful fish out of this creek. The cold weather is going to put the kibosh on the stellar fishing soon, but until then, I’ll continue to push my luck and try to fool another of these big browns.

Mountainsmith Lumbar Pack (Review to come soon...)

Arizona Quail Hunting: Redemption

October 11th, 2012

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I talked my hunting buddy, Austin, into skipping out on the first part of work to join me for a sweat-dripping walk through the desert in search of Arizona Gambel’s quail. After the first day of quail hunting, my hopes were very low, but with the chance to check out a new spot, I was looking for a chance at redemption. The early morning was eerily quiet and it was not until a couple hours after daylight that we actually started hearing and seeing birds. We scared up several coveys who immediately flew to the top of the surrounding hills. Hacking through the underbrush I was able to knock a couple birds down. In spite of the low numbers, I have never been so happy to put two birds in my vest.

Arizona Quail Hunting (or this is going to be a long season)

October 8th, 2012

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Little puffs of dust rose from every footstep. With the light just cresting the surrounding hills, the desert was eerily silent. The smell of mesquite hung in the air as I shrugged into my hunting vest, and I spot checked to make sure I had the necessities for a few hours in the desert. With the truck locked up, I turned up the wash and headed toward a couple of springs that I knew, in hopes of finding a covey or two of Gambel’s quail.

About a half hour into my walk, I still hadn’t seen or heard any birds. What I did see was a half dozen shells littered around on the walk in, which means I’m not the only one who knows about these springs. Someone had probably come in here on opening day while I was hard a work. Such is life.

I only heard a couple of birds throughout the morning and I was able to only put up one covey. I dropped on bird as it rose, but 20 minutes of searching still left the game bag empty. The springs were all dried up and the desert was a bit on the crispy side. I have a feeling its going to be a long Arizona quail season.

Camping in Arizona

October 1st, 2012

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I had a nice change of pace this weekend and was able to head to the high country with my wife Michelle and our good friends Dan and Kera. We camped for the night in one of my favorite spots and enjoyed the cool September night with campfire food. The next morning after laying around camp and cooking a big breakfast, I had the pleasure of sharing my love of fly fishing with my wife and friends. A good time was had by all before we came back down to the Valley. After a wonderful night in the sticks, I imagine we’ll be headed that way together again soon.

THE Dan Parker laying down some line on the creek

Arizona Quail Season: T-shirt Sale

September 27th, 2012

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The Arizona Quail Season Opener is upon us. In excitement of such a glorious event, the “I Quail AZ” tshirts are on sale for $15 in the AZWanderings Shop.

Arizona quail hunting will open for Gambels and Scaled Quail from October 5, 2012- February 10, 2013. Mearns quail season opens up on December 7 and also runs until February 10, 2013. Oil your gun and break out your hiking boots…it’s quail season.

Arizona Fly Fishing: Scouting

September 24th, 2012

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We sped up to the White Mountains on Friday evening and enjoyed a small campfire before heading to bed. The elk bugling woke us at first light and after a bit of breakfast, we headed down the road to the wash. We bailed into the trail-less canyon and walked several miles to the point of the river that we believed would have big pools and big fish. But as is the way of scouting trips, we found small water, small fish, and solitude. No complaints though. Hanging with a good buddy, catching wild browns and bows is very tough to beat.