Outdoors - Hunting and Fishing

Fishing report: September features kokanee salmon, end to Tomichi Creek closure

Colorado Fishing Report, Aug. 28 Information for Anglers SEPTEMBER BRINGS KOKANEE FISHING The month of September brings cooler weather and great kokanee fishing. The kokes are gearing up for their annual spawn and trolling is the optimal technique for pre-spawn success.  Colorado offers some of the best kokanee fishing in the country and Blue Mesa Reservoir has the distinction of one of the best kokanee fisheries in the U.S. Kokanee can be finicky, so knowing how to cover the ...

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BLM to host ‘listening sesson’ over target shooting concerns

In response to general interest in the current and future management of target shooting on public lands around Grand Junction, the Bureau of Land Management is hosting a public listening session 6-8 p.m. Monday at the Courtyard Marriot, 755 Horizon Dr. in Grand Junction. “Many people enjoy target shooting on the public lands managed by the Grand Junction Field Office,” said Assistant Field Manager Michelle Bailey. “At the same time, we’ve also been hearing ...

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Striper action starts early at Lake Powell

Lake Elevation: 3,623 asl Water Temperature 78-80 F http://www.wayneswords.com PAGE, Ariz. Sept. 5 –Lake Powell water level has declined another foot this week leaving 15 feet of water in Castle Rock Cut. Fishing success continues to be strong for almost all game species.  The big news is morning striper and bass boils. The perfect morning schedule includes breaking out the camera to take some incredible sunrise pictures at 5:50 a.m. (MST).  Sunrise occurs at 6 a.m. and ...

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Want to be a Grand Valley Marksman? Get in line

In an era when any mention of firearms seems to spark controversy, local interest in the shooting sports barely has wavered. The Grand Valley Marksmen is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with 23 members, a rich history of success and a backlog of prospective members, head coach Dave Andrews said. “We have 23 members now, and if you wanted to join, there is an eight-year waiting list,” Andrews said. “We just don’t have enough ranges or practice facilities to ...

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Hitting the mark

Whether you’re shooting free throws, seeking the perfect cast or trying to hit a paper target 200 yards away, the highest rewards come only to those willing to put in the effort. When Isaac Dow of the Grand Valley Marksmen shooting club swept to the 2012 Junior National High Power Rifle championship last month, the honor didn’t come without long hours of standing at the practice range firing line, shooting countless rounds at countless targets. It also came after months of ...

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Elks Lodge to host fly-fishing swap Sept. 15

The Grand Junction Elks Lodge will open its building to the public from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sept. 15 for a fly-fishing indoor swap meet. All manner of fly fishing gear, from fly-tying materials to waders, rods, boats and other paraphernalia, is welcome for buy, sell or trade. Fly shops and dealers are welcome. Indoor tables and outdoor booths are available for $15. Food and bar will be available. Information: Don Mear, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) //= 0; ...

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Utah wildlife officials adding 1,450 extra cow licenses for 2012 season

Concerned that the continuing drought has impacted the state’s key winter range, Utah wildlife officials are adding 1,450 more cow elk licenses to that state’s 2012 hunting quotas. Anis Aoude, big-game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said the state’s elk herds are doing well, but dry conditions this year in northeast Utah have affected plants on key winter-range areas. To help protect the plants, the Utah Wildlife Board approved the additional ...

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Best of brown

There’s a new snap to the air in the high country, aspen trees are changing colors, and blaze-orange displaces camouflage as the outdoorsman’s tuxedo of preference. There’s also a change in the fishing. Fall means brown trout are preparing to spawn, and there’s nothing quite so mean, nasty and totally irresistible as a knobby-nosed fall-run brown trout. “Brown trout get pretty territorial when they’re spawning,” said Phil Bloom at Western Anglers ...

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Getting active

The good news from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is obvious: Preliminary data from the 2011 survey of hunting and fishing says hunting participation was up 9 percent from the last survey in 2006 while hunting expenditures were up by 30 percent over the same five years. For that same period, angling participation was up 11 percent while expenditures were down that same amount compared with 2006. There is no question conservation, sportsmen’s groups and the outdoors-related ...

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Lake Powell Fish Report – Spoon-fed stripers put the bite on

Lake Elevation: 3625 Water Temperature 80-85 F http://www.wayneswords.com PAGE, Ariz., Aug, 21 –The bite is on!  The southern lake has come alive with submerged boils. Over the past few days stripers have located some bigger shad and are making a big splash over it.  The main action is near the brush line where shad have been hiding out all summer.  My guess is falling lake levels have exposed shad schools making them vulnerable to striper attacks. Submerged boils ...

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Colorado Fishing Report: Crawford State Park closes boat ramps for season

Tuesday, August 21 Information for Anglers DENVER WATER TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION ON LARGER ANTERO BOAT RAMP Denver Water is gearing up for construction of an expanded boat ramp on the south end of Antero Reservoir in Park County. The current south ramp will close for the season beginning Sept. 4 in order for work to begin on increasing the ramp from the current single boat capacity to a ramp that will allow three boats at a time to launch. The north ramp will remain open for launching ...

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Low water reveals hidden structures in Blue Mesa Reservoir

GUNNISON – What’s old is new again. Those words jog dormant memories as you wade into the Gunnison River 200 yards or so above the Lake City Bridge, its concrete pillars at the upper end of Blue Mesa Reservoir sometimes used as the de facto demarcation of where the river stops and the reservoir begins. Actually, given this year’s draw-down of the reservoir, your position is still well short of the actual juncture between river and reservoir, which for the first time in ...

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Get back to doing what you love with Outdoor Days

Mid-August means back from vacation, back to school, back to hunting, fishing, being outdoors. Cabela’s jump-starts autumn with the Big Game Classic-Fall Great Outdoor Days. Free seminars, sweepstakes, giveaways and demonstrations by industry experts open the doors for novice and experienced hunters and anglers. It soothes the sting of summer’s end. IF YOU GO WHAT: Cabela’s Big Game Classic-Fall Great Outdoor Days. WHEN: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday ...

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Out of water

GUNNISON – What’s old is new again. Those words jog dormant memories as you wade into the Gunnison River 200 yards or so above the Lake City Bridge, its concrete pillars at the upper end of Blue Mesa Reservoir sometimes used as the de facto demarcation of where the river stops and the reservoir begins. Actually, given this year’s draw-down of the reservoir, your position is still well short of the actual juncture between river and reservoir, which for the first time in ...

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Low water forces swim-beach closures at three state parks

The swim beaches at Rifle Gap and Harvey Gap state parks have been closed to swimming due to low water levels in the reservoirs. Similarly, the swim beach at Ridgway State Park will close Thursday. Senior Ranger Brian Palcer said the shorelines at Rifle Gap and Harvey Gap have receded during the summer and both swim beaches have moved with the water. “Now we are at a point where there is more mud than sand, making the area unpleasant as well as unsafe,” said Palcer. ...

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Colorado Fishing Report – As drought continues, anglers asked to check water temperatures

ANGLERS REMINDED TO MONITOR WATER TEMPS Aug. 15 – Drought conditions and low water flows throughout the state have Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminding anglers to monitor water temperature when they are out fishing. Several water-specific recommendations have already been released this summer; however aquatic biologists recognize that fish can be stressed due to temperatures in many different coldwater fishing locations. “Handling fish in waters that are 68 degrees and above ...

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Lake Powell strategy: Be prepared for anything

Lake Elevation: 3,626 asl Water Temperature 80-85 F http://www.wayneswords.com PAGE, Ariz. Aug. 14 – Fishing strategy this week is to be prepared for anything. Stripers are being caught night and day but it seems to be in a different spot with a different bait each time. The common thread is to look for small stripers splashing and then react to what stripers are doing.  Shad forage is limited in the lower lake but abundant near the Colorado River inflow and the upper San ...

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Fast-track Bowhunter Education course set for Aug. 18

Colorado Parks and Wildlife will be offering a one-day, accelerated Bowhunter Education class from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Horsethief Canyon State Wildlife Area near Fruita. Participants must have already earned a hunter education card to be eligible to participate in the class. The class is designed for bowhunters of all ages and ability. For novice archers, equipment will be provided. Although many states require a Bowhunter Education class prior to purchasing a archery ...

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Paying attention to details key to striper success

Lake Elevation: 3,627 asl Water Temperature 79-83 F http://www.wayneswords.com PAGE, Ariz. Aug. 8 – Fishing success in the main lake, particularly for stripers, requires attention to a few small details. Timing is critical. Visible action from surface feeding fish consistently occurs at morning and evening twilight.  Finding surface feeding fish provides the first opportunity to catch fish.  Juvenile stripers that break the surface in groups of three or more are ...

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Battle tested

Thanks to a multi-faceted partnership between Noble Energy Inc., private landowners and state and federal agencies, a 120-year-old fishery south of Battlement Mesa has been restored and public access guaranteed. Battlement Reservoir No. 3, which was lost when its dam breached during high spring runoff in 1984, has been repaired and stocked with Colorado River cutthroat trout. Noble Energy contributed $120,000 to the $375,150 fisheries project and another $30,000 to mule deer habitat ...

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