Big Tub

We have been following the softball playoffs ... I have been rooting for .... er ... a ... can I say it ... ASU! Is there hope for me? Both Cali and ASU are going to have trouble with OK and Bama, though; but we can hope for the best. U of A sure stunk it up this year in softball. Maybe my wife can finally get some infield seats?

"Nobody in Tucson lends things to Sundevil fans" ... I was thinking the same thing! But Walmart and Sportsmens both have them and they are not very expensive.

We just got back. Big Lake was really slow following that big wind event on Friday but the 4 fish we did catch were the biggest average fish we have caught there in years (2 @ 15", 1@ 13", and 1 @ 11" in 2+ hrs) -- all were very chunky. On the other hand, Nelson Reservoir had a huge load of fish dumped in there (I heard the fish wagon had brake trouble and had to dump the whole load.) My wife had a limit of 6 in 25 minutes; my buddy and I caught somewhere around 25 fish in about 2 hrs, releasing all we could but those suckers kept swallowing the hook. The fish were smallish compared to the monsters at Big Lake. We started using cowbells/worms but ended up using Z-Rays to avoid the gut hooks. Bad News: they predict high winds the rest of the week. WOW was last Friday bad for the wind! Good Luck.

Only about 30% of the total burn was really bad. The elk and deer are going to do really well with all the new feed. We lost all the poult turkey but they should come back well this year and in the future. Escudilla was really torched -- that will take a long time.

Kept his horns for a long time!

I seem to recall a work associate getting a javelina (20+ yrs ago) and brought in the cleaned skull with "gold". I think we may have analyzed it and it was iron pyrite (fool's gold) -- memory is kind of foggy on this, though.

We were at a Quail Forever and the GF Biologist said the first he saw this year was 4-15 down near Sonoita.

You don't want to mess with the head anyway unless you are male, a drinker, and tatooed! Shoot the head off or use a shovel. The best way I have seen to prepare them is to sock the skin out backwards starting at the head, plug the vent hole and fill it inside out with clean sand. Then you can flesh it out and treat it with 50/50 glycerin/alcohol to preserve it.

Enjoy them now Shane. Both Jonathan and Ryan are off married now with little time to go, although Ryan being in Alaska he is still making time -- just not with me. Those were the good old days hunting with the kids. Congrats!

Nice catch. You need to teach me to fish and how to draw a Gould's tag!

"That sounds a lot like 1930's Germany" More like typical Chicago polictics!

The FAQ's can be outdated and usually do not cover recent/new stuff.

This reminds me of the "rules" of no float tubes in Rose Canyon. I pursued it till I got it from the horse's mouth. Most everyone at USFS kept saying it was a G&F law and it definitely is not. I finally after about 3 weeks got to some kind of head Forest Ranger for that particular area and it is literally a rule they made up on their own. Give a bureaucrat the power and see what happens? I could not believe how many of those misinformed nitwits kept telling me it was G&F. G&F has actually been trying to open things up. First step was to get USFS to allow canoes for the boys scouts during the week. I think that has passed. USFS is not my friend.

Without citing book, chapter and verse from the regs or code, then it's just pure BS.

What tag were you going for? Get the early bull if you have a choice? A friend of mine got denied on the Cabelas flub. I guess a bunch of cards were compromised no fault of my friend and he got ripped as they cancelled his card the day before the draw. G&F would not let him fix it in the middle of the draw. I have heard they are considering making most of them good, though. His choice he got was 6A Antlerless so I think they could easily give him that one but we shall see? I think you have an excellent case. Let us know what happens.

1990. I got drawn for my 1st antelope that year. I have max on sheep.

I bought a 4x7 for cheap and ended up having to replace the springs and tires. The darn thing had different springs from one side to the other. Take a close look at the underside with the axle, bearings and wheels before you buy, unless you like to work on them. There are sure a lot of homemade ones out there that aren't so great. Good thing it was close to the house when the springs let go on my poor son who undoubtedly deserved it for some kind of past bad behavior!

Find a mentor. You guys up there near Safford have "The Bird Finger" who may be a good source of info and at least have birds and some trained dogs. Go make friends. Down in Sierra Vista, there is the Cochise Bird Dog Club who have lots of great guys. You may want to ask around if Safford area has one. Gundogforum is also a great source of info. Lots of folks for the first year just say to let the dog have fun and bond with you. Make sure he has "come" down and that you are best buds and having fun. Don't rush, especially to see if he is gun shy.

SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY HAVE A FALSE START -- DO YOU COUNT THE NEXT TIME?

Kinda pointless when I know my credit card did not get hit but for crying out loud -- I WANT TO KNOW FOR SURE AND THE SITES DOWN. CURSE YOU G&F!

I would say 29% so that you would be closer than you know-it-all son!

That was a pretty lucky hit -- not what you'd call a high percentage shot!

OK! Expo is OVER: give us the draw results!

My pet peeve is the Big Lake fish cleaning station but that is a USFS fiasco and not G&F.

I forgot about last year but remembered the year with Burkhart. Here are the stats: YEAR School Tot 1991 Arizona 1993 Arizona 1994 Arizona 1996 Arizona 1997 Arizona 2001 Arizona 2006 Arizona 2007 Arizona 8 2008 Arizona State 2011 Arizona State 2 1986 Cal State Fullerton 1 2002 California 1 1998 Fresno State 1 2000 Oklahoma 1 1983 Texas A&M 1987 Texas A&M 2 1982 UCLA 1984 UCLA 1985 UCLA 1988 UCLA 1989 UCLA 1990 UCLA 1992 UCLA 1999 UCLA 2003 UCLA 2004 UCLA 2010 UCLA 11 2005 Michigan 1 1995 UCLA (vacated) 2009 Washington 1 Still quite a dynasty for UofA and UCLA