Snapshot

Up in Montana they have whitefish in the lakes and rivers. If your using a nymph or subsurface fly it can be hard to keep the whitefish off your fly sometimes. Some people just throw them upon the bank and let them rot, but it is illegal. I have heard some people like them smoked, but I have never tried it.

These messages are painted out in the staging areas by the runway

Ball dragging Yeti minnows?

We are very fortunate to have all the public forest we have. If you were to look at other states you will see we have a good draw system. If you and your wife can't get drawn for a rut hunt then try and change your priorities. You can draw every year if you weren't so picky. Don't blame the guys who get drawn every year. The wait period isn't the answer and don't blame us who draw every year. Pick a unit that you can draw and put your work in. Hunting in the rut should be illegal. Like catching bass off their beds. Just kidding! :lol: TJ Catch-n-release my friend.

Awesome! I like a big buck in velvet.

Bill, I understand what your saying. I like fishing the upper and lower sections of the Little Colorado. The fish are not big, but every once in awhile, I will catch a nice one or two on the lower section. I love the Greer area. It has a certain charm about it, that I can't explain. Lots of good times and memories up there. I hope to get up there again sometime this summer?

Bill, I could certainly see that area being a travel corridor. Some years back, I flyfished my way down the Little Colorado river, from where it comes out of the dam on River Reservoir. I had gone down quite aways, and decided to take a shortcut back. I climbed out of the canyon, and ran into a really nice Antelope buck in one of the small meadows back in the timber. Further on I ran into some does and fawns. It was far fom typical antelope country.

I know of an outfitter that has gone over to hunt below Alma mesa. It is a LONG ride from the Blue River, and you will need to find water. The Only short way to get there is from the NM side. Also the backside of Red Mountain can be a sleeper, I'm told. Don't overlook the Bear Mountain area down in the Blue. A real gagger of a Bull was taken out of there awhile back. Here is a picture of Red Mountain taken from highway 191

I would burn 10 points for a unit 27 December hunt....in a heartbeat. Only 25 people in that big unit would be a quality experience, with the possibility of a 30" buck? You bet! The thing is, I have never had 10 points for deer. I always include a 3,4,5 choice on my app, and usually get drawwn for something. I just like to hunt, even if it is a marginal unit on a 3rd choice.

I have seen some nice bucks just down the road from Hoyer campground, hanging out in the pine trees. Also around the east end of Tunnel and Bunch reservoirs, there always seems to be a few.

You.....and all the rest of us!

There are remote spots of unit 27 that some old bucks may have never even been shot at, or seen, for that matter. I have put in for unit 27 exclusively since the later 1970's. It is always my first and second choice. I have seen a RADICAL drop in mule deer and permit numbers in the last 25 years. There used to be thousands of tags between 2 hunts. Not anymore. The whitetail seem to be doing well, but the mulie numbers are not even close to what they used to be. I would figure a December hunt with 25 tags would see at least a 50% success rate, if not more. The junior hunt always gets first crack at some good bucks in October. Some of the wise old bucks in the Eagle Creek area just boogie over to the Tribal land and hide out. I like the idea of it, if there is survey data that would support the extra harvest? I know the competetion for the tags will be fierce.

Happy Birthday! Hope your day is good to you! I decided I better not post anymore birthday pictures of women jumping out of cakes. I don't want Den-Mother to get upset with me.

Nice pics. I have not been up to look at the damage in unit 27 since I got back from Montana, but it is a real shame to see what happened because of 2 boneheads not extinguishing their campfire. Is there any green vegetation popping up through the ash?

Drooping ears and protruding ribs are one of the symptoms of Chronic wasting disease, but I don't think there are any known cases in Arizona?

I am not sure about migration in unit 23, but it would be worth looking into! I got drawn for late archery in Unit 27 in 2009. It was the toughest hunt I have ever been on. Found lots of bulls, but they were migrating. One day the area was full of bulls, next day they were long gone and on the move. The only bull I got a stalk on busted me because of the winds, which was a daily occurance. They were all moving down in the steep canyon country. Here is a little clip from the G&F unit info: During the archery antlerless hunt in November, hunters should scout the Christopher Mountain, Naegelin Rim, Canyon Creek, Young Airport, Buzzard Roost, and Armer Mountain areas. The late bull hunt in November and December will have the bulls pushed into remote often rugged areas of the Unit. These areas include Armer Mountain, the south slopes of Naegelin Rim, Christopher Mountain, Horse Mountain, and the Mogollon Rim. TIPS: Scouting for the earlier hunts should begin soon after being drawn. Scouting for the later hunts should wait until elk begin their seasonal shifts, which occur after the weather changes and things cool down significantly. There will be areas where elk are common in September, but are absent in December. Also, later hunts have seen an increase in the use of aircraft for scouting. There is a Game and Fish Commission Rule, as well as federal regulations,

Maybe I will come by with a 12 pack, and we can have a minnow eating contest.LOL Sushi anyone?

I like your way of thinking!

LOl. Ain't that the truth. The last 2 years I worked up Montana, right outside Yellowstone National Park. Every May/early June, they have what is called a Buffalo roundup. Cowboys and helicopters are used to push all the Buffalo back into the park for the summer. There is a group everyone call's the "Buffalo hippies" they live in a little commune reffered locally as the "Nation", teepee's and all. These Buffalo hippies flock to the buffalo roundups to make sure that the Buffalo are not being mistreated. They will park in various areas and watch, and wave as people go by. You will not mistake one if you meet them. They smell like something crawled into their pants and died. Dreadlocks and tye dye. I know a bar/restaurant, where the owner actually kicked them out because of their stench.

X

I hear and understand what you are saying. Our society breeds selfishness in many forms. The self serving and ignorant thinking of the anti's and hippie activists, who are truly clueless to the big picture. These very people should have what they are passionate about taken away from them. Or maybe forced to hunt for nutrition just as it was in the old days. Hunt or go hungry. They seem to forget that this country was founded on guns, God and Freedom (Thanks Uncle Ted) This country is changing at an alarming rate. Left wing liberalism is rampant, especially in areas where Liberals can play on human emotion. The liberal media does not help matters. The only thing we can do is fight the good fight, for what we believe, and what we are passionate about. Younger generations will have to pick up were we leave off. Our younger generation of hunters deserve the opportunity to enoy the good times and memories of hunting with Dad/Mom, just as I had growing up.

Did they look healthy, or emaciated? Amanda might know the answer to this.

Yep. Obama is the weak link in why this could happen. Our Govenor stood up to him and gave him an ear full. Dictators don't like people that stand up to them. Obama will always have a "I'll show you who's boss" attitude. He will do it, even if it is wrong.

This topic comes up every year after the draw. And now, twice a year since there are two draws. Even though I am 50/50 on a bonus point vs. preference point system. I think our current draw system should be left as is. The one thing I like about a preference point system, is that a successful applicant has to wait their turn to draw again. Luck is not part of the equation. A premium hunt would take years to build points to draw, but that is not much different than those who are unlucky in the draw, and are building bonus points anyway. A waiting period draw of say..3 years would not increase draw odds very much, but it would allow different people to draw a tag every year, and filter through the system.Maybe? The best I ever did, was drawing a unit 27 archery bull tag twice in a row. That was in the early to mid 1990's. Rut hunt popularity really seemed to take off after that and draw odds fell significantly.

Can one tell their 10 year old son that he will have to wait 23 years to hunt antelope? A preference system will not be good for recruitment or retention, imo. Does anyone want to watch their 75 year old father go to the grave without ever drawing a tag? That 75 year old guy stayed retained as a hunter in the draw for all those years, and he didn't get a tag? What is the difference between him and a ten year old not getting one? If the 10 year old only had to wait 23 years, at least he/she would be 33 when they got one! Just sayin.... Careful what you wish for. Having operated under Colorado's system my entire life, I would trade you for AZ's in a heartbeat. A person starting to build points right now would NEVER draw one of our premium elk tags in their lifetime, resident or non-resident. It is very easy to criticize draw systems when they do not produce the results we want. Fact is, the demand for premium hunting opportunities far exceeds the supply, and a subset of draw participants will always feel slighted. I believe that New Mexico and Idaho have the best points systems, and Colorado has the worst. Thats true. But Colorado has only a handful of super premium units? A person can still get a decent unit with a handful of points. (I think) I have not applied there in awhile. A person can buy a good landowner tag from one of the tag pimps