Outdoor Writer

Mike, My comment wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. In fact, it's sorta been festering for a few months as result of several discussions on various topics. Actually, I had written a very long reply, then decided to heed something my college speech professor once said: Tact is the art of making a point without making enemies. Then again, maybe I'll put it into a magazine column somewhere. -TONY

Now we're getting somewhere. I might even sharpen the ends of the wires a bit so as not to smush the beans too badly. The screen was a good thought, too, but the juice might make a real mess of the barbie burners. Hope you don't mind, but I'll pass on the ice tea for something a bit more worthy of such a time-consuming endeavor. -TONY

Aha, two rocket scientists, huh? Any dumbass could do that. That's about like grilling a steak in a frying pan. If I wanted plain ol' warmed over beans, why waste extra money on ones touted as "grillin' beans?" Geez, might as well just toss a can of Heinz in a pot and put it on a stove burner like I've always done. -TONY

Well Doug, I tried your idea last night. I skewered three hundred beans on 60 wooden toothpicks over the period of two hours. It sure helped me work up an appetite. Anyway, your idea worked great -- that is untill the toothpicks caught fire and pretty much turned all my hard work into little nuggets of charcoal. Although they were quite flavorful, they were just a bit chewy. Back to the drawing board; any other bright ideas?? -TONY

I always feel a tinge of sadness when I read comments such as a few in this thread. But it's not the comments themselves that give me that feeling; it's knowing that today's young hunters are learning the same attitudes. -TONY

Canon 30D with a 75-300 Canon IS lens. I don't get no steenkin' permits that allow me to use a gun. -TONY

Oh, I should have added that I did try lining up the beans in single file along each of the bars on the grill. That was fine until it was time to flip them, which is when the problem really begins. -TONY

Lark, Now that you guys have the problems of illegal immigration, global warming, hunting oppotunities and the outlandish prices of watermelons in the Middle East all worked out, I could use some help on a real problem I'm having. For weeks now, I have been seeing those commercials on TV about the new Bush's Grillin' Beans. So when my wife went to Fry's last Sat. I had her buy me a can to try. So last night, I went out on the patio and started the barbeque. I put my normal spices on a nice juicy rib steak and proceeded to place it on the grill after it was hot. Well, everything was going great until the time arrived to grill the beans. No matter what I did, they just kept falling through the grill, and nothing on the can label suggested a way to prevent it. Do you perhaps have a solution to this or maybe a link to some news article that explains the proper scientific technique? -TONY

There are less than eight months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States . The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike. To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. If you support the policies and character of John McCain, please drive with your headlights on during the day. If you support Obama or Hillary, please drive with your headlights off at night.

These are the two most recent reports I could find on the two fires in southern AZ. Note that both seem to be located in Hunt Unit 36B, and it sounds as if the Beehive is the one Gino's son has been involved. -TONY A man-made wildfire in the rough terrain of the Pajarita Wilderness, west of Interstate 19 near Peña Blanca Lake and south of Ruby Road, has grown to 4,000 acres, but it has not yet damaged or threatened any buildings. As of Sunday afternoon, a Coronado National Forest spokeswoman said there was good progress managing the Alamo Fire — which was burning on both sides of the border — but that it was only 10 percent contained and still had the potential to grow quickly because of extremely low humidity and high winds. The relative humidity was at 7 percent and winds were gusting to 23 miles per hour in Nogales, site of the nearest National Weather Service reporting station, at midafternoon Sunday. The wildfire, which was reported on Friday morning, grew significantly Saturday as winds grounded firefighting aircraft and drove flames feeding on bone-dry grass, brush and some oak fuel in the rugged mountainous area, said Coronado National Forest spokeswoman Heidi Schewel. The area ranges in elevation from 4,000 to more than 5,000 feet. The fire has had some desirable effects, burning up grass and excess underbrush, Schewel said. Schewel said the fire was listed as man-made because there were no lightning strikes in the area where the fire was first reported, near Peña Blanca Lake, Friday at about 8:30 a.m. Wildlands fire officials estimated the fire would be contained by Thursday, but Schewel said the low humidity and highly variable winds made it hard to predict containment with great certainty. She said the terrain is so rugged that even the size of the fire is only an estimate, because there is no single point where the entire wildfire can be seen. Firefighting crews working the western perimeter had to work considerably west of the fire line because the terrain in Alamo Canyon was too rugged to work, Schewel said. Nearly 200 wildlands firefighters were battling the Alamo Fire Sunday, including crews from the U.S. Forest Service and Arizona State Forestry, including state prisoners who volunteered to fight the fire. Tucsonans and other Southern Arizona residents should be on alert because of extreme potential for wildfires throughout the area, said Schewel, speaking from the command center for the Alamo Fire. In some ways, Schewel said, conditions around Tucson are even worse than at the Alamo Fire because it's warmer at lower elevations, such as Tucson, and just as dry. "People need to be aware in and around Tucson, because it's warmer than it is up here but has much the same vegetation. This is the kind of activity they could see if they aren't careful," Schewel said. A restriction on fires inside the Catalina District of the Coronado National Forest remains in effect. Schewel said people in the Catalinas must have a permit to have a fire outside a fire ring or a built-in grill. Schewel said no additional restrictions had been ordered in the Coronado National Forest. She urged people to use ashtrays and avoid unattended outdoor fires anywhere. **** The Beehive Fire was 14 miles northwest of Nogales, Arizona. Fire crews worked the edge of the fire to meet the objectives of containing the wildfire to less than 500 acres. The fire was in a very remote, steep and rugged part of the national forest. Firefighters were shuttled into the fire with helicopters. The Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team, who has been in the Rio Rico area for the past nine days managing wildfires, will hand full responsibility back to the Coronado National Forest, Nogales Ranger District at 8:00 p.m. tonight. The past five days the team has managed the Beehive Fire. The previous four days they dealt with an international fire incident (the Alamo Fire) with fellow firefighters from the Republic of Mexico. According to fire behavior analysts, the potential for extreme wildfire conditions is the worst they have been in southeastern Arizona for this time of year and higher than the average fire danger normally experienced in June. As of today the potential for extreme wildfire behavior is the highest it's been in April in the past 23 years of scientific records. Use caution while in the wildlands, since extreme fire potential exists. These conditions could easily last for a few more months. Hopefully by mid-July firefighters will finally get some relief from heavy rainfall during monsoon storms. The Nogales Ranger District will patrol the area for the next several days. If you have further questions regarding these incidents, you can call the district office at 520-281-2296.

Yeah, I know all that. Go back and read what I said about doing so at the top of a basically inaccessible mountain, which Gino has since cleared up. -TONY

Aaah, now we're getting somewhere. That does make perfect sense; baffle of 'em with brilliance. Instead of trying to smuggle drugs through the most monitored and patrolled area of the country, just create a farm on top of a mountain in the same area and double the chances of detection. After all since we can't find it on a map, it sure as heck won't be found by the border patrol or narcs. -TONY

Only if you do not want to be seen or caught on the easier flats with your load of drugs. That seems to make even less sense. Climbng mountains with heavy packs is even less fun. -TONY

One would have to wonder why an illegal would be near a place that is basically inaccessable without a helicopter, huh? Seems climbing mountains would be a waste of energy to attain the end result. -TONY

Hey Sissy, Nice bass! -TONY

No problema. My shoulders are narrow enough where I can drop mine over my head. -TONY

Oh come on, Bwana Jim scream like a girl? I doubt there are any alligators, but he might come across a toothy fish in the water such as or one of these lurking in the salt cedars. -TONY

It's too bad Jim is such a sissy. -TONY

It's been that way with more than one applicant on a form ever since the permit system began. -TONY

Amanda, I've used one with oars, and although it is better than nothing, it can be a real pain when there's the slightest breeze because you have to constantly put your rod down and use the oars to keep the boat positioned properly. It's sorta like using a hand-controled trolling motor on a bassboat rather than one you can control with your foot while still casting. With a float tube and fins, you just use your feet to move about and keep on fishing. -TONY

Jim, I believe this is the type Amanda cited where you sit higher in the water. But we're talking inches here. -TONY

Jim, Unless you go with something like this, you'll still need to use fins to move about even with the tubes where you sit higher in the water. The advantage of using a tube with fins over the little float boats is being able to manipulate it while you're fishing without having to put your rod down. They also work super on all the White Mt. lakes. That photo of me with the Apache trout is at Christmas Tree. If you should decide to get a tube, I have an extra pair of fins you can buy cheap. These previously owned fins were driven only once by a Sunday school teacher. If Nessy is living in the honey hole, just carry a big gun. -TONY

You should hotfoot it to SW or Cabela's and buy a float tube as in the pic below! It would be perfect for that fishin' hole. The water is probably warm enough where you wouldn't need waders even. -TONY

Shhhh. That's my secret spot no one else knows about! -TONY

I didn't draw any permits, but my refund checks arrived yesterday. So permits shouldn't be far behind. -TONY