Day 1 Turkey Airgun Hunt

When scouting some areas a couple weeks earlier, Chul received some insider info from a guide he met out there on that trip.  On the weekend we decided to check it out.  The trip would require us to backpack it in.  I'd use my Beeman RX airgun and he would use his Abbott Longbow.  While on that scouting trip Chul also was given some info that the area held trout so we packed our flyrods in case the hunting was slow.

We arrived late morning on Friday and headed down the mountain.  I'd be humping about thirty pounds on my back in addition to my airgun which is probably about 11 pounds.  Going down shouldn't be a problem but coming back was going to be a chore.

Within a quarter of a mile of the trip, the sole of my right Lowa boot came apart. I haven't worn these boots in over a decade as I rarely backpack anymore.  Soles nowadays are rarely stitched on but rather glued, it has always been my concern that these glues will eventually deteriorate.  Of course it will always happen in the most inopportune time.  I tried to figure out how to booty fab a repair but without any duct tape or glue or anything I decided to just rip them off and see if I could continue.  After a few more steps my left sole came apart.  As we thought there'd be trout in the water we packed in Teva river shoes and Chul graciously offered me his boots (luckily we wear the same size) and he would wear the Tevas since he is used to hiking and backpacking with them when he goes into the Kern.  This helped me big time.

After descending about 1000 feet we made it into the valley.  We checked the water and it was green an low.  Other than frogs we saw no fish.  After resting a while we dropped the pack and scouted the area around the water for both turkey and trout. 

We saw no fish but heard one lone hen calling in the distance over the other ridge.  The water at one point may have held fish and it still might but we saw no sign of trout this trip.  Such a same both Chul and I figure fishing could have been our fallback if the hunting sucked.

The wild flowers are in bloom now and Chul pointed out each variety to me.  It's nice to have this knowledge in the field with you as it makes the outdoor experience more holistic.  Though it's a shame I can barely remember any of the names of them.  I do remember the important stuff like plants that counteract poison oak.  We headed pack and looked for a camping spot.  Once we found our basecamp we went about looking for more meadows to hunt tomorrow morning.

We headed back to camp to prepare dinner.  On the menu mac and cheese with salame.  We hit the sack early, Chul passed out within minutes.  I'd be stuck hearing him snore all night.  I was awaken around 10pm when another group of hunters rolled in and set up camp across from us.

Not Like It Used To Be

The Salamander Fly (now tied with braided chenille) got a lot of looks but just was only pushed off beds without any takes.

Yesterday we fished Mission Viejo.  Most bass at MVL are off their beds with only small fish remaining.  Water color is Hulk green and visibility is about ten feet.  After speaking with a few bass fishermen their experiences haven been like ours and can be explained with one word.  Lousy.  The dock attendants have let us know that mortality has been high for the big bass.  We only saw one big bass that was off her bed and was cruising.  The lake has changed that I have no interest in returning anytime this year.  I got a lot of looks and chases but no takes.  Chul managed a trout sized juvenile on my 3 weight.

Lowa Hunter Extreme Gore-Tex Hunting Boots

Heads up hunters in need of new boots, STP has discontinued Lowa Extreme Gore-Tex Hunting Boots on sale right now for $295.95.  With all the coupons floating around you can reduce that amount an additional 35% as I did.

The Hunter Extreme have been discontinued for a new upgraded "EVO" model and if you can live with the last generation of boot than you can get a quality boot for a steal.  Designed as a high mountain boot, it's listed on STP as nine inches tall (though I think its higher, I've not checked to confirm though).  Leather is water repellant Nubuck leather.  A protective rubber rand secures the boot to the sole.

Unstable, rugged rocky terrain should be no problem.  Outsoles are Vibram Tsavo and has a polyurethane shock-absorbing midsole for excellent grip on multiple surfaces.

Lined with Gore-Tex and 200 gram insulation of Primaloft makes this boot both breathable and warm.  High Sierra winters should be no problem and I intend on using these boots late season.   

These Lowas are made in Germany.

The Lowas side by side with my prized Meindl Dovre Extreme GTX.  The Lowa is  similarly styled and should serve as a great cold weather back up to my Meindls.  Too bad I have to wait til next season to try them out.

Beeman RX (HW90)

Growing up I shot rifles but much of my youth was spent shooting adult airguns.  Back then in eighty's America, adult airgunning was still in its infancy.  Many Americans still regarded pellet guns as toys.  A few in the know knew better though.  One of those was my old man who in the seventies started collecting several sporter airguns and had me shooting them at a very young age.  My father subscribed to several airgun periodicals from both domestic and foreign (UK).  I spent many hours reading and rereading those articles particularly the hunting articles from "The Hunter" John Darling.  By my high school years my father had given me one out of his collection, his FWB 124.  I have many fond memories with that classic springer being one of the first guns to reach "magnum" levels.

By the time I was in University, I picked up my own gun, a Beeman RX (HW 90) in .20 caliber.  This rifle was the next evolution of spring airguns.  Powered with a Theoben gas ram, it was different from the guns my father brought me up with that were powered with traditional springs.  The RX is designed for hunting, the gas ram, unlike springs it can be left cocked indefinitely without worry of spring set. 

I've neglected airguns since leaving University.  Until just recently my interest in pellet guns has rekindled.  I've been browsing youtube and the internet regarding airgunning and it seems springers have gone out of favor.  Now most seem to shoot precharge pneumatics (PCP) for hunting.  Slow to follow trends I may one day join the PCP fan club but for now I'll settle for these sporters.

Implementation of the statewide lead ammo ban will be going into effect next year so I intend to take this gun out and try my luck at some spring gobblers before I can't hunt with this gun as nontox pellets are generally unavailable (at least in .20).  We'll see if I ever make it to a hunt but that's at least the plan for now.

Hiking With A Fly Rod

Fearing yesterday's earthquake dislodged a few boulders along the road to a difficult to access local watering hole, we changed our plans to fish another local watershed we've not fished as of yet.  The Southland's drought has been cruel to our local resident wild trout.  This watershed was no different.  I was unable to make any fish rise and only saw a couple fish.  Chul only fared a tad bit better, making three fish rise but missing everyone.

Water conditions have been rough and although we had some rain the past couple weeks, it appears it may have been too much too soon.  It appears all the holes have been washed out and despite the water being low it is running incredibly fast with little to no holding water.

Today was a bust.  We checkout two other nearby watering holes and they looked just as bad.  The local wild trout fishing is pretty much over.  It may be years before we see any good fish.  With an El Nino predicted for this summer let's hope the saltwater makes up for it.

Sight Casting To Browns

This weekend we had planned on backpacking into the Kern but with rather less than impressive reports coming out of there we decided to hold off on that trip.  Instead we would stay local and check out how our local resident brown trout were holding up after the last big storm.  The first time I heard of this river was over a decade ago when Bud mentioned it to me back when he was a pro staffer at Marriott's.  Since then I had long forgotten about this water until Chul mentioned it to me when we first started fishing together.  Back then he managed a rather impressive brown and so it peaked my interest again.   We decided to check it out.

Water level was significantly less than the last time Chul fished here.  With the water low and clear the fish were still here and they were spooky and finicky.  Despite the conditions we managed several browns all on dries with the largest fish about eight inches but saw fish in the ten plus range.  While the fish were not as impressive as we had hoped the day was fun spent targeting specific fish testing our accuracy and technical skills.  Given the difficulty reaching this water, it's unlikely I'll be returning anytime soon but at least I can scratch it off my list of local waters fished.

Quality Time On Youtube

Illness has kept me down for the past week or so.  As a result I've been spending much of my time on the web trying to pass the time.  I think I've found my new favorite channel, Shooting Photography by Jonathan M McGee.  Here is just a sampling of his beautifully done videos. 

He has even done the trailer for the reborn John Rigby & Co (now properly located in London once again).

Skinner Lake A Bust

Four juvenile coyotes wish us a good morning as we enter the lake.

I have not been to Skinner late since high school when my old man and I used to conventional fish looking for the schools of stripers that populate this lake.  Back then good fishing was almost a given after any trout plant and cloudy conditions.  Nowadays trout plants at this lake are no longer and today's sunny conditions were not going to help either.  We should have known how the day was going to end by how it began.  We arrived at the Skinner only to be told Chul's pram was not properly registered, forcing us to rent a boat at the marina.  When we asked the marina attendant how the fishing has been, he gave us a less than encouraging report.  Since Thursday the water has been lowered buy three feet.

The tules indicating how much water has receded.

Throughout the lake the tules show how much the water has receded.  Another sign this day was going to be tough.  The day started promising though as we saw some shad being chased into a cove.  We made our way to the action cutting the engine so not to spook the stipers and hoping we had a enough momentum to put us into casting range.  No fish were willing to bite.

Shad Game Changer

The rest of the day was much the same.  I tried just about every shad imitation in my box; none got even so much as a bite.   We should have just slept in.

Bluegill Game Changer

This years has not been kind to us and we don't see the season getting any better at least for freshwater bass or local trout fishing.  Let's hope the incoming rain later this week dumps on us good.

Game Changer and Calico Days

Work has preventing me from enjoying any of my hobbies of late.  I did manage to attend the Calico Syndicate hosted film tour and yesterday's Collaboration Day at Bob Marriott's.  As always Keith puts on a good show.  Inspired I decided to start tying up some Game Changers for the monster bass in Mission Viejo Lake.  Hopefully this will entice those monsters to eat.

Tod demonstrates how to rig up a custom heavy line Calico Syndicate style using an Airflo line welder. 

Eyes on squid patterns have always been the weak link.  I liked Adam's approach to attaching eyes.  He uses heavy Mason folded over and the eye epoxied on at the bend.

Alex shows me his version of the Game Changer which he sandwiches two Polar Chenile around the CCT body fur.

Alex's array of various Mega Game Changers some up to nine inches long.  These are for calico fishing as indicated by their heavy weedguards.

The boys brought out the IGFA line tester and had a contest to see who had the strongest knot. 

Looking For The Exotics

What's up with this weather?  When I want it cold, it's hot.  When I want it hot, it's cold.  Where was all this rain (and snow in the mountains) last week when I needed it duck hunting.  Now that I have transitioned to fly fishing mode all the warm weather is gone and the cold front has arrived.  Figures.

Chul asked a week ago if I wanted to try our luck for some bonefish at SD bay.  He had tried earlier with Tuck without any luck.  I armed myself with some intelligence gathered from some buddies who have caught their fair share of these fish.  With coordinates and some knowledge we were better prepared to head out.  On paper the tides were in our favor and we had high hopes.  What was not in our favor was the recent cold snap and storm, nor was this the usual time of year for these fish.

Before fishing we loaded up at Roberto's Mexican Food with breakfast burritos. After which we headed to bay launching from Chula Vista. Chul was the first to get on fish but not the ones we were after, all of them spotted bay bass.  After watching him gain the lead, I decided that my 5 weight with 150 grains simply was not getting the job done so I rigged up my 7 weight with a 250 grain line.  Eventually I started to get bit.  All were spotties.  Chul managed his first sand bass on the fly and all 8 inches of it was wall hanging worthy.  None of the fish were all that spectacular although Chul did manage a decent fish which was the best of the day.

No bonefish were caught today.  It's still a little early for them so we'll be back again in the spring to see if we can finally catch one of those speedsters. 

Harkila Double Rifle Slip and Harkila Rifle Cartridge Cover in leather

Harkila, while not well known among US hunters, is a Scandinavian outdoor company that specializes in hunting gear.  From what I gather they are quite popular among European hunters.  My first experience with them is with one of their sweaters.  Its been the warmest sweater I've ever worn and it's lined with Gore-Tex so gives me added protection in case my Filson jacket is compromised. 

The old man has been in need of a soft case for fie rifles years now and with the addition of his new Martini Hagn single shot, it's about time he got a new one.  Since I was already placing an order for the Musto gun slip, I decided to pick up a slip for his rifles.

I chose the Harkila for many reasons.  For one I was so impressed with my sweater, I figured their other products should be just as good.  Another is that this case holds more than one scoped rifle.

This rifle slip's outer shell is made from waterproof PU fabric with nice and supple leather trim.  The interior is made with a high quality foam ensuring protection of optics and sporting rifles.  There are two expandable pockets which allow for carrying of spotting scopes, shooting sticks, spare barrels, ammo or any other accessory.

 

 

A removable and adjustable sling is proved for shoulder carry. One negative is that the is slip is rather tall and there is a lot of room height-wise so if you do carry the slip on the shoulder the gun within may get bounced around.  On a positive note though, for added protection the zippers are waterproof as well as lockable. 

I also picked up for the old man a Harkila Rifle Cartridge Cover in leather.  This ammo holder carries five cartridges of most standard medium bore.  It looks to be made of the same leather as the trim of the rifle slip.  All in all not a bad piece of kit.

If you've read this post and a few of my latest posts I've written about the Croots cartridge belt and the Musto gun slip, all were purchased overseas from Ardmour in Scotland.  They have been a pleasure to deal with and unlike a previous experience from another Scottish vendor (the one I bought the Harkila sweater from) everything went smoothly.  Ardmour was relatively fast to ship, the actual shipping though only took three days to arrive at my doorstep in California which is faster than some domestic routes, only one item was not instock and received a full refund back on my card.  I am not affiliated with Ardmour nor do I receive any compensation for anything on this blog.  I write for fun.  If I did get paid I'd let you know.  So if you have a need for any European hunting gear that is unavailable here stateside, you may want to check them out.  Currently they do have a sale on most of their items and international shipping is free over 250GBP.

Musto Canvas And Leather Gunslip

Not many quality gunslips are available here in the States.  Most are overpriced cheap imports that are hardly befitting a fine double.  Regretting not picking up a Maremmano gunslip on sale a few years back, I've been looking for a new one ever since.  I picked up one from Musto for £108.29.

There are some real smart feature of this English-made gunslip.  First, there is protective block end that creates a pocket to fit a portion of your stock.  This creates a layer of safety in case you carry the slip incorrectly (shouldering it zipper side down).  If the heavy duty zipper is improperly secured, the gun can plummet to the ground.  The pocket at least can help prevent the gun from being dropped out of the carrier.  Another layer of safety is that the zipper has a leather pull that can be buttoned to the slip to prevent accidental slippage.

The exterior is laminated cotton twill canvas with Italian vegetable tanned leather trim.  There is an adjustable leather sling with solid brass hardware.  The interior is a soft padded quick drying synthetic fleece.  This English made gunslip is an affordable piece of kit worthy of carrying my Merkels, Darnes or any higher end shotgun.