rossislider

Hopefully this is my little guys first of many. All three of them had a blast reeling them in this morning. My little princess loves catching them but isn't very excited about them once the get to shore and start wiggling and flapping around. I still can't get her to hold one. My oldest has caught his share of fish over the past several years, but he was excited and proud to catch his biggest yet today without any help from dad.

I'm in town till Monday. I'll check it out. Thanks!

Are there any good reloading supply stores in the Pinetop/Show Low area? Thanks

One of my favorite places in the world. Looks like a blast.

Awesome!

Close, we did Sunrise this morning. The bite was a bit slow. We will probably hit Big Lake next.

+1Well put! To each their own. I've got a soon to be ten year old that is out of his mind excited for his first cow hunt in the upcoming years. Hope he never loses that.

Wow, those are great bucks. Once again great work by AZ Ground Pounders!

Nicely put Ryan, we only had 8 people that weren't from azgfd at the Mesa meeting last night. TJ Sorry I was not there with you all, but I very much appreciate those who attended and did send an email to AZGFD. I believe in putting your money where your mouth is and I have certainly done my share of talking on the issue. If the June/July meetings are on any day other than Monday I'll be there with you. With my job Mondays are the one day that it is not possible for me to attend. Thanks again to all who went.

Midsouth Shooter's Supply just got a big shipment of powder in. Probably won't last long. https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

Didn't know Eli Manning was a coues hunter! LOL Congrats, that is an awesome buck!

Most people who vote on this will have no clue about the impact of wolves on game animals, ranchers, and the environment in general.

I have so many issues with these new increased prices, many of which I have posted about, but I guess the one that grinds at me the most is the 73% increase in application fees. This fee isn't even about the opportunity to hunt, its a fee for the opportunity to have the opportunity to get drawn. I see this as the biggest area where AZG&F will really be cashing in and is really taking advantage of hunters. I now have three hunters in my family; my wife, my soon to be 10 year old son, and I. We put in for the for the following species each year: Elk Deer Antelope Buffalo Ram Javalina Turkey With the newly proposed app fee of $13, I will now be paying $273 in app fees alone even before considering tag fees. Add license costs on top and it is really creeping up there.

Both my draw luck and health luck (I have had to have a couple of leg surgeries this past year) have been pretty lousy recently. I haven’t been up in the hills for a while now and it’s killing me. By fall my leg should be in much better shape. So I have decided that once I fail to draw a deer tag again this year, I’m going to try to get an otc (over-the-counter) deer tag for one of the border units. I’ve never bought a left over otc deer tag so I’m curious to know how difficult these left over border tags are to get. Do they sell out each year? Do you have to get in line early or camp out to get one? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks

I really don't understand why you feel one hunt should have a premium while another should not? I have read several arguments for the premiums and in each one the argument seems self serving. That argument being that it would discourage many from the premium hunts and improve their own chances. I would love to hear an argument for premiums that helps me understand how this will benefit all hunters and not just those with deeper pocket books. This isn't meant to cause an argument. I am trying to have an open mind and am anxious to see if anyone can convince me. Thanks

Listed here: http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/edits/class-schedule.shtml

Yea, because we all know the media is an unbiased and impartial entity that seeks nothing more than to promote truth and justice...

No, it doesn't. Tag and license money gets taken to the general fund to pay for other state services, but the money doesn't move the other way. Feel free to review the attached document. You will find several examples of tax money going to the AZGFD. As with many other things, the AZGFD would prefer the average person not know that they do receive tax dollars. So, like politicians they make cleaver statements like "The Arizona Game and Fish Department does not receive general funds from the State of Arizona. But here are a couple of examples from the attached document: Source of Revenue: Monies received through intergovernmental and interagency service agreements. Source of Revenue: Collections from local governments for the Urban Fishing Program, transfers from the state Risk Management Fund, proceeds from the charitable auction of bighorn sheep tags, and private donations from private contributors. fis(1).pdf Before the recession (i.e. 2007) the Legislature made attempts to pay back some portion of what they would sweep in prior years. It was never the full amount. And, in 2008, the Legislature swept more than $7.8million from the Department. You're good with percentages, so I'll let you figure out what impact that had on their $30M budget. So, would yousay that if Peter steals $10 from Paul, and then later pays Paul $5 that Paul is now operating on $5 of Peter's money? Here's a 2006 FAQ from the last price increase that lays out the budget challenges the Department must meet. Note the discussion of retirement costs--those are even higher now, and the Department doesn't get any help from taxpayers on that. http://www.azgfd.gov/temp/fee_increase.shtml Sorry 1uglydude, you seem like a good guy but if you won't see the forest through the trees there is nothing I can say that will convince you. I imagine I probably agree with you on 99.9% of every other issue but on this one I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree.

No, it doesn't. Tag and license money gets taken to the general fund to pay for other state services, but the money doesn't move the other way. Feel free to review the attached document. You will find several examples of tax money going to the AZGFD. As with many other things, the AZGFD would prefer the average person not know that they do receive tax dollars. So, like politicians they make cleaver statements like "The Arizona Game and Fish Department does not receive general funds from the State of Arizona. But here are a couple of examples from the attached document: Source of Revenue: Monies received through intergovernmental and interagency service agreements. Source of Revenue: Collections from local governments for the Urban Fishing Program, transfers from the state Risk Management Fund, proceeds from the charitable auction of bighorn sheep tags, and private donations from private contributors. fis(1).pdf

Actually, we don't. AZGFD doesn't receive any taxpayer money for game management. It's all through licenses and tags. And, in lean times, the Legislature sweeps their funds for the general fund. As to only going up a few percentage points each year. Okay. With no changes since 2007, what would a 3% increase per year over the course of 7 years look like? North of 20%, Let's not all forget that none of the proposed increases are above the fee caps the Legislature already had in place. In other words, the Department had authority to raise tag prices even higher than this before the "simplification" bill. They're just doing it now because they can also change the licensing structure. And to the guy complaining about they "keys to the Kingdom" license for resident and non-resident youth. Youth have always paid the same price for youth licenses, regardless of residency. Its in place, in part, to encourage new youth to try out our unique hunting experiences, but it also allows Arizonas resident fathers with children living out of state to bring their kids here for the same price as if they lived with the full time. I haven't made up my mind about all the other changes, but I support the $5 youth license 110%. They're our future hunters (and voters), and we should make it as easy for them as possible to get into the field and have a positive experience. So let me see if I have this correct? You want to argue against my point that “we subsidize AZ Game and Fish with our taxes each year” and then state a few sentences later, “in lean times, the Legislature sweeps their funds for (I believe you mean 'from') the general fund”. Thank you for arguing against my point by strengthening it. I never said how our tax money subsidizes AZGFD, just that it does. Second, you suggest that “With no changes since 2007, what would a 3% increase per year over the course of 7 years look like? North of 20%”. They aren’t recommending a 20% increase, they are recommending a 37.4% increase for elk, 107.9% increase for deer and a 73.3% increase in the application fee. As far as “none of the proposed increases are above the fee caps the Legislature already had in place”. Since the federal government has no cap on how much of our income they could potentially tax, I suppose that means the federal cap on income taxes is 100%. So we should be glad if one day the federal government raises our income tax to only 99% since it is short of the cap of 100%? As Obama might suggest I guess we hunters “aren’t paying our fair share” and “should pay just a little more”. You must be a democrat because yours is the most liberal arguments I have heard yet. No mistake...it's "for," not "from." The Legislature TAKES money (your tag dollars) from the Department to use in the General Fund. You obviously do a good job of staying up on the issues. As I said, other than the change for kids, I haven't made up my mind on the proposals yet. I was merely showing that there are other ways to look at it--trying to be a voice of reason. In turn, I get personally attacked? Nice. What is it with this board lately? Anyone who trys to acknowledge that there is more than one way to look at things is shouted down by belligerant bullies. 1. Either way it really doesn't matter. Tax payer money is going to the AZGFD! 2. You are welcome to your opinions and I welcome them from you. I rather enjoy the discussion and argument and don't mean bully. I apologize that it came across that way. My reason for the liberal comment was that I think that there is way to much hypocrisy anymore in these arguments. To many people claim conservative ideals but make liberal arguments when they don't agree with someone. I just want to make certain people recognize this.

Actually, we don't. AZGFD doesn't receive any taxpayer money for game management. It's all through licenses and tags. And, in lean times, the Legislature sweeps their funds for the general fund. As to only going up a few percentage points each year. Okay. With no changes since 2007, what would a 3% increase per year over the course of 7 years look like? North of 20%, Let's not all forget that none of the proposed increases are above the fee caps the Legislature already had in place. In other words, the Department had authority to raise tag prices even higher than this before the "simplification" bill. They're just doing it now because they can also change the licensing structure. And to the guy complaining about they "keys to the Kingdom" license for resident and non-resident youth. Youth have always paid the same price for youth licenses, regardless of residency. Its in place, in part, to encourage new youth to try out our unique hunting experiences, but it also allows Arizonas resident fathers with children living out of state to bring their kids here for the same price as if they lived with the full time. I haven't made up my mind about all the other changes, but I support the $5 youth license 110%. They're our future hunters (and voters), and we should make it as easy for them as possible to get into the field and have a positive experience. So let me see if I have this correct? You want to argue against my point that “we subsidize AZ Game and Fish with our taxes each year” and then state a few sentences later, “in lean times, the Legislature sweeps their funds for (I believe you mean 'from') the general fund”. Thank you for arguing against my point by strengthening it. I never said how our tax money subsidizes AZGFD, just that it does. Second, you suggest that “With no changes since 2007, what would a 3% increase per year over the course of 7 years look like? North of 20%”. They aren’t recommending a 20% increase, they are recommending a 37.4% increase for elk, 107.9% increase for deer and a 73.3% increase in the application fee. As far as “none of the proposed increases are above the fee caps the Legislature already had in place”. Since the federal government has no cap on how much of our income they could potentially tax, I suppose that means the federal cap on income taxes is 100%. So we should be glad if one day the federal government raises our income tax to only 99% since it is short of the cap of 100%? As Obama might suggest I guess we hunters “aren’t paying our fair share” and “should pay just a little more”. You must be a democrat because yours is the most liberal arguments I have heard yet.

+1I thought the exact same thing!

That is awesome! My "future hunting buddy" turns 10 next fall. I can hardly wait!

Good thing we got my scope rings lapped last week because our friendship is over.

Yes, the cost of running a business does increase and so at times prices must also go up. However, those price increases usually equate to small 5%-10% increases. If you average the proposed tiered cost of an elk tag, it equates to a 37.4% increase. Most companies trying a price hike like that would find themselves out of business.