Jesse's Hunting > Jim Matthews > Jan. 2000 - June 2000

Jan. 2000 - June 2000

SIERRA BROWNS, KILLER YELLOWTAIL, & BIG CATFISH -- matthews 28jun00

There hasn’t been a brown trout over 20 pounds caught from the Eastern Sierra Nevada in a long time. Once upon a time, the Twin Lakes out of Bridgeport would crank out 15-pounders each trout opener and 20-pounders were seen, if not caught, each year. Norman Annett of Mono Village at Upper Twin Lake has been trying to improve the plight of trout fishermen by raising and stocking trout in the lake and stream for the past six years. Mostly he stocked rainbow trout, like everyone else in the Sierra. “This year, I said the heck with the rainbows. The county is stocking Alpers’ rainbows and the Fish and Game is stocking its fish. I went with browns,” said Annett. In his three raceways, he figures he had 4,000 brown trout. Most are from one to 1 1/2 pounds, but a 1,000 of his fish are from three to seven pounds. He’s been stocking from 50 to 100 fish every couple of weeks, and all of the big fish in the raceways not planted during the season this year will be released at the mouth of the creek this fall after Oct. 31 so they can spawn naturally in the stream.

While the stocking program hasn’t produced a 20-pound brown and can’t for at least a few more years while those planted fish get huge in the lake. It has generated a lot of interest in the brown trout trophy fishery that many believe was disappearing. Three of the bigger browns -- 3 1/2 to four pounders -- were caught Tuesday this week, and Annett said the anglers were just elated. “Most anglers like the big browns over the rainbow trout. They’re just more elusive,” said Annett. Fishing is about testing an angler’s skill against a worthy quarry. It’s part of our primal makeup. That is why anglers like difficult fish and big fish.

BIG CATFISH, TAKE ONE: Two big flathead catfish were caught this week at the Colorado River. Clint Goddard of San Bernardino landed a 40-pounder while fishing an irrigation ditch near Palo Verde with a live tilapia. Homer Ford, also a San Bernardino resident, caught a 40-pounder at Picacho State Recreation Area in the Colorado River. “The one I lost was a heck of a lot bigger than this one,” said Goddard. Both anglers will tell you they believe there are 100-pounders in the Colorado, and honest fishermen will admit they don’t think a flathead that size could be landed. Since there’s no such thing as an honest fisherman, most of us will keep telling stories about the ones that get away. True stories, in the case of flathead catfish on the Colorado River.

BIG CATFISH, TAKE TWO: Clint Goddard fishes for catfish wearing a full-length wedding veil this time of year. It has little to do with romance, although he freely admits he likes catfish a lot. It’s about mosquitoes. Goddard’s wife fixed him up with the veil netting to keep him from getting chewed to pieces by hoards of insects that could carry away a 100-pound flathead.

CHECKING OUT WITH STYLE: Hunters and fishermen deal with death each time we go into the field. It is the nature of these activities and part of what makes them have such a powerful impact on our lives. These are not games, they involve living life to the fullest. Ron Fujii, a 57-year-old angler from Los Angeles, died of a heart attack last Saturday with his knees against the rail of the Shogun, a long range sportfishing boat out of Fisherman’s Landing in San Diego. Fujii was hooked to a large albacore, short-stroking the fish to the surface and the gaff when he was felled by the heart attack.

On the same trip, he’d landed an 89-pound bluefin, one that would end up being the second largest fish caught on the trip. Even more incredibly, he’d landed what will surely become a new world record California yellowtail. The yellowtail weighed 88.2-pounds and was landed on 60-pound test line at Alijos Rock. It easily beats the 80-pound, 11-ounce record caught by Brian Buddell in Nov., 1998, and listed as the record in the current edition of the International Game Fish Association record book.

I told the story to anglers all day Wednesday while making calls for the weekly fishing report. Everyone was saddened that such a young man died and felt great sorrow for his family, but to a person, they all thought it was a great way to go. He was out there living life to the fullest. A few years ago when my brother-in-law, R.G. Fann and I received word that our fly-fishing friend Ross Merrigold had died of a heart attack on the Madison River in Montana, we both asked the same question: Was it at the beginning of the day or the end of the day? Not that it mattered much for Ross, who fished daily during the summer, but we wanted to know that he’d had a good day of fishing the Madison, maybe catching a big brown or two, before collapsing into the river. What a way to go.

ILLEGAL SPENDING OF FUNDS, TAG FEES AND ANTIS -- matthews 21jun00

Back in 1993, Idaho raised the price of its non-resident hunting license to $101, and its deer tag to $228. At the time, the $339 price tag to hunt deer was the highest in the West. Before 1993, Idaho's non-resident quota of deer tags went on sale January 1 each year and they were sold out before May each year. Since 1993, they have never sold out the quota, and small annual cost increases now have the deer tag/hunting license selling for $363.50. The agency is strapped for cash. This year, Colorado announced that it will be raising the price of its non-resident big game hunting licenses for the 2001 season. Deer and pronghorn licenses will jump from $150 to $270, and elk and bear permits will soar from $250 to $450. Colorado receives some 60 percent of its budget from non-resident license fees, and it has been operating in a deficit for a couple of years. They had to raise the fees, they say. When I was going to Utah each year, the deer license was only $120, but it has since climbed to nearly $200. Wyoming, Montana, and New Mexico have all jacked up their non-resident prices in recent years. Jacked them way up.

The song is the same in all the Western states as in California: we have to raise the rates to cover costs. California has charged more for its resident hunting and fishing licenses than just about any other state for years, collecting piles of money. I'll be blunt and tell you what's really happening with this money: The state agencies -- especially here in California -- are illegally spending the money. State game agencies were designed to do wildlife work on hunted and fished species, and they are funded almost exclusively by hunters and fishermen's license dollars. These agencies are being burdened with more and more environmental tasks by state legislatures. I'm not suggesting that the work the state is asking the professional biologists to do is not important, but the state is not providing the funding to do the work. It is illegally coming out of hunting and fishing license dollars. The money from license fees is earmarked for specific tasks, and it is not being spent on those tasks.

The California Department of Fish and Game has a long track record of spending funds illegally, but it has never been prosecuted for the indiscretions because our legislators and attorney general mostly don't care. The DFG staff can't document how it has spent a couple of years worth of Upland Bird Stamp funds. Fees developers pay for review of their development plans are not forwarded from the city and county agencies that collect the money because the DFG has no oversight. But most critically, the Fish and Preservation Funds, hunting and fishing license dollars, are misused and assigned to do non-game or threatened and endangered species work. They are misused to do environmental assessments on developments. They are misused to do public outreach programs educating people about the needs of habitat or open space. All of these things are important tasks, but to use Preservation Funds to do them is illegal. Fish and Game preservation funds are being spent illegally and the management of game and fish species is suffering. These funds are even being spent on staff personnel who are anti-hunting and anti-fishing.

I have decided that much of this is by design -- both the illegal spending of Fish and Game funds and the increasing spiral of license fees. It works like this. The license increase spiral runs people away from the sport, so less money comes into the agency. More responsibilities are given to the state agency and less work is done for the constituency who supports the agency, so more get frustrated and quit supporting the agency by buying licenses, hunting or fishing on private ranches and clubs -- or dropping out of the sport entirely. The agency has to raise fees again, and even more people drop out of the sport. At the same time, agency staff who support traditional hunting and fishing management programs are assigned tasks that do not relate to their game training. Moral drops when a deer biologist has to work on toads, and people who do not hunt or fish are hired to do work on plants or non-game species to replace the biologist who leave for other positions out of state or in the private section. The new staff is funded illegally, but no one calls the DFG management on the carpet for the indiscretions. Hunting and fishing are belittled in the state legislature and on television as politically incorrect, so no one cares that the law is being broken. The new DFG staff also doesn't care much, since they don't hunt or fish either.

It is a concerted effort to get rid of the state game and fish agency and erode the base of support in hunting and fishing management programs. Sporting groups need to wake up and sue the state government for massive and long-term misuse of state Fish and Game funds and violation of dozens of laws and policies. It seems to be the only drummer that makes the DFG dance these days. It is the only music the legislature hears. It is the only way to stop the anti-management bias. The massive increase in license fees throughout the West is a good indication that the anti-hunting, anti-game management crowd is exporting its philosophy and tactics to other states. And winning. There's one simple solution. Sue them. Now.

Orange County NWTF fundraiser this Saturday

IRWINDALE -- The Orange County Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will have its second annual fundraiser banquet beginning 6 p.m. Saturday at the Alu-mont Furniture Manufacturing Banquet Facility. The fundraiser is to benefit ongoing turkey research in California and increase wild turkey population through the release of live-trapped wild birds from both within and outside the state. Cost for the event is $55 per person, which includes NWTF membership and dinner, or $100 per couple. The event will include a live auction, silent auction, and raffle. Alu-mont Furniture is located at 5400 Irwindale Ave., Irwindale. For more information, contact Kelly Paden at (714) 536-7480.

Snake avoidance clinic for dogs set for July 15-16 in Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA -- Robert Kettle, a professional herpetologist from Nevada and widely recognized as the leading expert in snake avoidance training for dogs, will be offering this training the weekend of July 15-16 at the Emblem Elementary School in Santa Clarita. The Santa Clarita Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited has set up the Rattlesnake Avoidance Clinic, but the session is open to anyone in the general public who take their dogs into the field on hunts or hiking trips. Cost is $50 per dog and sessions are arranged over the two days by appointment only. For more information or to reserve a time slot, contact Bruce Kenyon at (805) 526-2073.

Santa Clarita Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited to offer kids and women's hunter safety classes

SANTA CLARITA -- The Santa Clarita Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited is offering a series of free hunter safety courses for juniors and women. The free junior classes are set for July 22, August 19, September 9, October 21, and November 11, while the women's only class will be August 12. All the classes are one-day, 10-hour classes, as required by the state Department of Fish and Game, and all include range instruction. All classes will be held at the Oak Tree Gun Club. The classes would normally cost $30, but they are being offered free to junior hunters under a funding program offered by Quail Unlimited and the National Rifle Association. For more information, contact Derek Fong at (661) 297-0876, extension 3, or e-mail Fong at derekfong@juno.com.

Annual Big Bear 3-D Archery Tournament set for August 12-13

CHERRY VALLEY -- The Cherry Valley Bowhunters have set August 12-13 as the dates for its 16th Annual Big Bear 3-D Archery Tournament, to be held at the Grace Valley Ranch, just off Highway 38 near Onyx Summit, in the San Bernardino Mountains. The event is Cherry Valley's largest fund-raiser of the year, and it attracts over 500 archers from most Western state to compete. The two-day event, with camping on site and other activities planned for the whole family, also functions as a kick-off for the archery hunting seasons throughout the West. For more information, contact Cherry Valley Bowhunters at (909) 797-3693.

BIG BASS CAUGHT AT PERRIS -- matthews outdoor column 14jun00

Most bass fishermen think February and March are the two months when you are most likely to catch a big, world-record class largemouth. That does seems to be the case, for the most part, especially here in Southern California. But bass anglers tend to forget that George Perry caught his world record fish of 22-pounds, four-ounces on June 2 back in 1932. Biologists like Larry Bottroff, with the San Diego City Lakes, believe that largemouths are in their peak condition during the summer when the water temperatures are ideal, food is plentiful, and their metabolism is cranking. While late winter fish might have egg mass to add weight, summer fish really pack on fat and muscle from their more vigorous lifestyle and ready food supply.

In the winter, the bass might eat just once a week. In the summer, they will eat daily and sometimes in large quantities. The summer bass also are more difficult to hook and land -- especially the really big boys -- or big girls, which is the more likely scenario. These bass are likely to be mostly nocturnal, when there is the least amount of activity on the water and darkness aids in their ambush of baitfish. A 15 to 20-pound largemouth in the summer will shear eight- and 10-pound test mono like thread, and probably even 17-pound test or heavier line. In winter, that cold water makes them a little more lethargic and hammers their stamina. This makes them easier to land.

Conditions all work against an angler landing a big bass in the summer. That is why it was a shock to learn that Bob Branch, an avid float tuber angler from Moreno Valley, landed a 17.2-pound largemouth bass from Lake Perris this past Saturday fishing in the launch area with a four-inch smoke grub. "I've fished 50 years for that fish," said Branch. "I feel real blessed and honored to catch her. "Does it seem funny to say that I feel honored by this fish? I know that the odds of a fertilized bass egg ending up as a 17-pounder have to be astronomically incredible. To think that I would catch that fish awes me. But I would rather have not caught the fish at all than have it die after I caught it," said Branch, who released the bass. Two other anglers in a boat witnessed Branch land the fish from his tube. Windell Tucker and Jesus Nava, both of Corona, offered to take Branch to the marina to weigh the huge fish before releasing it. "The fish might never have been weighed at all if it were not for these two guys," said Branch. "Anyone who thinks that professionalism and courtesy have flown out the window never met these two. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate these two gentlemen offering me the opportunity to weigh the fish."

After the quick weighing and a couple of quicker photos, the bass was hustled down into the marina and released there. "I spent about ten minutes making sure she had fully recovered," said Branch. "Funny, when she swam down and away, a bass about one-fourth of her size seemed to escort her down." In case you think the catch was a fluke, you should know that Branch is a regular at the lake. In spite of his proclamation that "even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then," Branch has fished Perris since 1989, almost always from shore, wading or from his float tube -- which is equipped with a sonar fish finder. Branch, who is an avowed jig-and-trailer fisherman, landed "at least 350 bass" just on Gary Yamamoto's Hula Grubs two seasons ago. While the 17-pounder wasn't caught on that particular bait, it was a four-inch smoke grub fished on a round leadhead in about 20 feet of water on the outside of a wed bed "just where I thought she'd be." The new bait he's been fishing is perfect for the extremely slow presentation Branch prefers to fish, and he believes the bait represents a bluegill nosing along the bottom -- a preferred bass food this time of year.

"I have discovered that this particular bait seems to catch bigger, though not necessarily more, bass," said Branch, adding that while the bait is only four inches long, it has more bulk than other baits that size. Branch, who's best bass at Perris before this monster was only a little over six pounds, said he lost a big fish in this same area last year. That fish took line and got under a cable before he snubbed the fish up. The line eventually frayed and broke on the cable while he tried to battle it back. This time around, Branch was able to steer the fish away from cover and managed to land the fish in about five minutes. Still he doesn't focus on the big bass. "I learned a long time ago that if you fish for big bass, you can forget little fish. But I just like having my line stretched." One of the biggest bass caught in California this year, the 17.2-pounder definitely stretched his line.

BRIEFLY: The Castaic Lake Mini Mart will be closing June 30. The Mini Mart, operated by Joel Justice, has been "bass central" for anglers fishing Castaic Lake for over a decade. More largemouth bass over 10 pounds were probably weighed on this store's scales than just about any place in the world. Justice said changes in management at the lake (mostly charging a fee for fishing tournaments) affected his business, and other opportunities in Arizona have led him to close the store. Because of future development plans for the property, it is unlikely the Mini Mart will be reopened. With the decline in the Castaic bass fishery, the closing of the Mini Mart truly marks the end of an era in this area.

The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to allocate a portion of money derived from the sales of Adventure Passes to work on water developments for wildlife on the four forests of Southern California, according to USFS spokesperson Jacqueline Leonard. The program, first announced in this column two weeks ago, was approved June 6. There will be four two-person crews hired to inventory and repair wildlife watering sites, mostly guzzlers and developed springs, on the Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles, and Los Padres national forests this summer and fall. The funding for this project is likely to become a permanent part of expenditures under the Adventure Pass program.

SMITH & WESSON CLARIFIED -- matthews column 7jun00

Smith & Wesson, one of the nation’s oldest firearms manufacturers, has been taking an immense amount of heat over an agreement it signed with the Clinton Administration in April. In return for agreeing to a number of restrictions on selling and manufacturing its handguns, S&W saw 21 of 26 lawsuits against them dropped by signing the agreement. Under pressure from federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD), these suits, which had been filed by politically motivated city and state representatives frustrated by their inability to pass ill-advised gun control legislation, were dropped. Why was HUD involved in the process? It is all part of an ugly story of federal extortion against legal gun makers, along with city and state agencies who were fear loss of HUD funding if they didn’t comply with the federal government’s requests (demands?). The five lawsuits that were not dropped are still pending because the five cities involved in those lawsuits had signed agreements with lawyers that effectively eliminated their ability to drop the case.

That means that S&W, and other makers named in these five lawsuits, will still have to battle these lawsuits through the court process. Mark Perry and Vic Garza, sales representatives for S&W in Southern California, said the gun companies are likely to prevail in every case, but the price is very high. It took four years and it cost S&W $5 million to win a New York-based case. “You do the math? How many of those can you afford to win at $5 million each?” said Perry, who said Smith & Wesson’s annual gross is only $60 million. “We were definitely getting ready to go out of business,” said Garza. “We could have just sold to the military and police [under another government-proposed alternative for dropping the lawsuits], but this company was founded on the consumer market and we didn’t want to give that up.” So the company executives made some hard decisions about consorting with the enemy -- at least for the short term -- or having to close up shop completely. That was the simple decision they had to make.

Many of the gun owner groups -- the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) -- were extremely critical of S&W for signing an agreement they saw, rightfully so, as violating the rights of gun owners. But the NRA contributed less than $2,000 to the legal fight that cost S&W $5 million to win in New York. “That’s the part that no one’s telling,” said Garza. In the days since the agreement was signed, many of the initial fears that those agreeing to sell S&W firearms would have to comply with the very strict sales codes for all of the guns they sold have not come to pass. S&W has made it very clear that the agreement only applied to Smith guns and not other guns sold by distributors or retailers. Once the “clarified” agreement came out on the S&W web site and was distributed to the industry, many companies like RSR Wholesale, one of the nation’s largest gun distributors, who had initially said it would not longer carry Smith & Wesson, changed its position.

Garza said that in Southern California, only two or three retailers have chosen not to sell S&W, and the major stores, like Turner’s Outdoorsman, will continue to carry their product line. The agreement, he said, really has little affect on California gun sellers or buyers because this state already has many of the restrictions already in place here. Both Perry and Garza said they weren’t happy with the deal, but understand that it was a last-choice alternative to going out of business. Their outrage was mostly directed at the government, on two fronts. First, they are angered that city and state governments would waste taxpayer dollars suing a legal gun maker producing high quality products to try to force their political agenda. It amounts to extortion. And second, that HUD -- which should have nothing to do with firearms issues -- would turn around and threaten a national lawsuit if makers didn’t comply with their list of demands. When S&W agreed to their demands, HUD was able to leverage the cities and states to drop their lawsuits, again extorting entities with lesser power and finances. HUD basically said, “we got what we wanted from the gun maker so you drop your suit or we’ll withdraw our funding from your city (or state).”

The initial reports of many cities and states mandating that their police agencies buy Smith & Wesson products, because of its signing of the agreement, have not come to pass. A lawsuit filed by other gun makers and the National Shooting Sports Foundation made most agencies’ legal staff realize they would lose in court if they pressed for elimination of the testing and competitive bidding process now in place and required by law. The agreement does not take precedent over law. Many people are still upset at Smith & Wesson, as a matter of principal. But the reality is that the agreement its management signed with the Clinton Administration can be ripped up and thrown away with a new president. The Clinton Administration is an example government gone awry on so many fronts -- that is the real message here.

Shooting Sports Fair draws 10,000 people over weekend

NORCO -- While final numbers were not in, attendance to this year’s Raahauge’s Shooting Sports Fair here this past weekend was generally thought to be up over last year, according to Mike Raahauge. Nearly 10,000 people attended the show last year. “There were a lot more families and kids,” said Andy McCormick of Turner’s Outdoorsman, co-sponsor of the fair with Raahauge. “It was definitely not just a guy-type of thing at all.” “Kids 14 and under got in free, and there must have been at least 2,500 kids over the three days,” said Raahauge. Raahauge said the National Rifle Association “knocked ‘em stiff. They signed up like 500 new members.” The Second Amendment Sisters, the antithesis of the Million Mom March, collected over 2,500 signatures on their petition supporting gun rights.
Two of the most popular events at the show were the five-stand and sporting clays ranges, open to shooters at bargain prices where the newest shotguns could be fired. Raahauge said that over 25,000 shotgun shells were fired at just those two ranges over the three-day event. Estimates are that over 100,000 rounds of ammunition were fired show-wide, and Joel Depoli, who ran the air gun booth for kids, said over 50,000 BBs were shot. “Imagine that, all those rounds fired and not a single injury,” said McCormick. “People who are not around firearms would probably find that simply amazing.”

California Waterfowl Association Los Angeles banquet June 23

STUDIO CITY -- The Los Angeles County banquet for the California Waterfowl Association will be held Friday, June 23, at the Sportman’s Lodge here. The fundraising event is to benefit wetlands and waterfowl habitat throughout the state. Event tickets are $65 per person, $95 a couple, or $35 for a junior (17 and under), and the price includes a CWA membership, dinner, and a hat. The event will include a raffle and auction of sporting art, hunting accessories, and firearms. The Sportsman’s Lodge is located at 12833 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. The event begins with a no-host bar at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Frank Zebell at (714) 893-2082.

Inland Empire NWTF banquet set for July 8 in Rancho Cucamonga

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- The eighth annual Inland Empire Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will have its Super Fund Conservation Dinner and Auction Saturday, July 8, at the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars hall here. The fundraising event will benefit wild turkey research and relocations in California. Event tickets are $55 per person, $80 a couple, or $25 for a junior. The price includes dinner and membership in the NWTF. The event will include a raffle and auction of sporting art, hunting accessories, and firearms. The Veteran of Foreign Wars hall is located at 8751 Industrial Way in Rancho Cucamonga. The event begins at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Mike Carnakis at (909) 466-1128 or Ryan Long at (909) 981-9905.

SALTON SEA DERBY, SHOOTING SPORTS FAIR, MORE -- matthews 31may

I would have covered all bets that not a single one of the 50 corvina caught, tagged and released at the Salton Sea would have been caught again during the $1 million Salton Sea Memorial Weekend Fishing Tournament. The Salton Sea is one of the most prolific fisheries in the world, and the idea that any one of 50 fish could be caught seemed almost funny when mixed in with the millions of other fish in the sea. But there were over 800 anglers entered in the event, and it turned out that more than one of the tagged fish was caught. Thiet Trong Do of Santa Ana landed a yellow-tagged fish that earned him $500 in cash. While it was the only payout in the event, two other tagged fish were caught before the event began, and two others were landed by anglers who were not registered to participate in the event. One of those fish caught by a non-entrant wore a green tag, one of 20, that would have qualified the angler to draw for the $1 million grand prize.

Gary "Mack" Brenegar, a business owner in Salton City who dreamed up the idea of the tournament, said "we accomplished what we wanted. We had lots of good press about the Salton Sea and what a great fishery we have and how beautiful it is out here." All the marina operators and resort owners reported the biggest crowds they've seen at the sea in years. "We had large crowds throughout the weekend. We're still tallying the figures, but it may have been the busiest for us in some years," said Steve Horvitz of the Salton Sea State Recreation Area. So what's next at the Salton Sea. Well, two things. First, Brenegar is planning a team tilapia derby for Labor Day weekend. A 100-percent payback event, where the four-person team that catches the most poundage of tilapia wins first place. Second, with promised K-Mart sponsorship and national publicity for next year's $1 million event, Brenegar believes people will come from across the nation in hopes of maybe getting the million dollar fish. He figures most of them will be happy with the balmy climate and great fishing they'll find at this salty desert lake. That what the whole point in the first place: make people realize this place is worth saving.

A.C. Plug Update: For the many of us who have followed the continuing saga of Allan Cole and his A.C. Plug, I have good news. Allan called this week just back from a visit to Luhr-Jensen's Ensenada lure-making plant. Cole signed a contract last year with Luhr-Jensen to manufacture and market the A.C. Plug, arguably the most productive big fish lure ever designed. Cole was thrilled that Luhr-Jensen was committed to making the plug correctly and in a variety of paint jobs and sizes. The new Luhr-Jensen plugs will be available on the marketplace in September, once-again available to the national fishing market. The lure design is just too productive to fade away.

Hands-On Gun Show: The Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair is this weekend in Prado Basin. This is the third annual version of this revived event that first began here over 20 years with a concept that flew: Have an event where people interested in firearms could not only see the latest products, but also shoot them. For over a decade, the annual Shooting and Hunting Sports Fair held at Raahauge's each spring became a driving force in encouraging hunters and shooters to participate in their sports during what is normally considered the off season. It became a warm-up for hunting season. A tune-up for target shooters who may have laid off too long.

The fair also functions as an introduction to firearms for many people because the environment is friendly, safe, and most-of-all fun. They are brought to the sports fair by neighbors and friends, or just show up after hearing about it on the radio. After a day of watching exhibition shooting and trying a variety of different types of guns under tutelage and supervision, it is hard not to get hooked on the shooting sports. Admission to the show is $12 for adults per day, and parking is free this year. There is a $5 fee for preferred parking, with all of the proceeds for this parking fee going to the California Sporting Goods Association to battle anti-gun politicians. You can pick up a $2 off admission discount coupon at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. On Friday, all women and kids get in free, and kids 14 and under are free all days of the event.

There will also be a National Rifle Association booth outside the show grounds, and if you sign up for NRA membership, you will gain free admittance to the show. Show hours are noon to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information or directions, call Raahauge's Shotgun Sports at (909) 735-7981. Come on out and visit. I'll be out there all three days pedaling my hunting newsletters.

Primative archer and flintknapper campout this weekend in Wrightwood

WRIGHTWOOD -- The Primitive Archer and Flintknapper Campout, a free event for buffs of long bows and flint arrowheads and spears, will be held this weekend at Indian Springs Ranch just out of Wrightwood. The event begins 9 a.m. Saturday and it will feature lots of flintknapping (chipping flint into arrowheads and spear points), primitive bow making, atlatl and dart making, and "lots of other primitive tech stuff going on all weekend." This year the World Atlatl Association will hold an international standard accuracy competition (ISAC). There will also be a friendly primitive bow competition, where participants donate prizes like bow staves, arrow shafts, flint, soapstone, earth-pigments, and other raw materials. There's a growing number of flintknappers, primitive archers, bowmakers, and atlatlists who attend this event each year, and the public is welcome.

Indian Springs Ranch is located on Lone Pine Canyon Road. To reach the ranch, take Interstate 15 to Highway 138. Travel west on 138 approximately one mile to Lone Pine Canyon Road. Turn left (southerly) and follow this road approximately five miles. Indian Springs Ranch is on the left side of the road. There will be a sign marking the entrance to the ranch and signs posted for the campout. For more information, e-mail Tom Mills at paleoaleo@aol.com.

First-time hunter wins $1,000 Pig-O-Rama at Tejon Ranch

LEBEC -- Mike Jones, a first-time hunter from Santa Ana, won the $1,000 grand prize in the Tejon Ranch Pig-O-Rama held Friday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. The grand prize was awarded to the biggest pig taken during the 2 1/2-day event, and Jones shot a 229 1/2-pound field-dressed boar. It was Jones' first big game hunt. Game manager Don Geivet said the hunt took place under about the worst conditions imaginable with 100-degree heat all three days. In spite of those conditions about 50 percent of the 50 hunters entered in the event killed pigs. "That was not the success rate I'd hoped for, but it's not bad," said Geivet. "The guys who are good pig hunters and worked hard all killed pigs."

Geivet said that over 200 hunters called wanting to participate in the event, but that this first hunt was limited to just 50 hunters. The hunting access and entry fee was just $300, plus the $25 insurance fee. This is lower than the ranch's normal hunting fee for wild pigs. Geivet said they may do another Pig-O-Rama late this fall or early winter. "Most everyone who participated in this first hunt couldn't wait to do it again next time," said Geivet. The Tejon Ranch offers guided and unguided hog hunts. For hunters who prefer to hunt on their own, there are a pair of two-month seasons each year. The first unguided season runs from February through March, and the second is May through June each year. You can purchase a one-hog permit for either of the unguided seasons for $500, while a two-hog permit is $800. The guided hunts cost $600 for one pig. You can add a second pig for $300 more. Success rates have been 100 percent for the guided hunts.

For more information about the hunting program at the Tejon Ranch and future Pig-O-Ramas, contact Don Geivet at the Tejon Ranch Company, P.O. Box 1000, Lebec, CA 93243, or call (661) 663-4208 or (661) 663-4209.

CWA dinner banquet set for Friday, June 23

STUDIO CITY -- The California Waterfowl Association will be hosting a fundraising dinner and banquet Friday, June 23, at The Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City. The event begins at 6 p.m. and dinner will follow at 7:30 p.m. Cost to attend the event is $65 per person or $95 per couples. Juniors 17 and under at $35. CWA is a non-profit group dedicated to protecting and enhancing California's wetlands. For more information, contact Frank Zebell at (714) 893-2082.

ADVENTURE PASS MONEY -- matthews column 24may00

The U.S. Forest Service is on the verge of allocating a sizable chunk of money from the Adventure Pass account to directly benefit wildlife on the four forests of Southern California, according to Jacqueline Leonard, a public relations specialist with the Angeles National Forest. If this first step proves successful, it could lead to a windfall in wildlife funds through matching agreements with private conservation groups and the state Department of Fish and Game. This first step, however, is about is about water for wildlife. The U.S. Forest Service is in the process of setting up four two-person crews to inventory and repair wildlife watering sites. One crew would be devoted to each of the four forests. They would work on doing a complete inventory of gamebird guzzlers, big game drinkers, and developed springs and setting up a repair and maintenance schedule to be carried out this summer and fall. The funds for this project could be approved as early as June 6 and on-the-ground work begun almost immediately after that.

Those of us who hunt and watch wildlife on the forest have been huge critics of the agency for letting the hundreds of guzzlers, drinkers and springs fall into disrepair -- many of them to the point of being completely dry. This effectively eliminates wildlife from vast areas of the forest. In Southern California, water is the critical factor in maintaining populations of wildlife. Habitat, that is otherwise ideal, cannot support populations of wildlife if they have no water sources. That will begin to change if Leonard gets her way. “I am committed to making it happen,” said Leonard. “The bureaucracy is slow-moving, but I present a proposal on June 6 for this program.” She said both the Angeles and San Bernardino national forests are already behind the proposal, and it should be able to hit the ground running this summer.

The plan to use Adventure Pass money to improve the plight of wildlife on the forests has its roots in annual pass sales. Leonard said that Turner’s Outdoorsman sells more annual passes than just about any seller (only Big 5 sells more). And all of those passes sold at Turner’s stores are sold to hunters and fishermen. Leonard starting talking with this huge constituency group and found one of their biggest concerns was the neglect of wildlife and habitat on the forest. She also found that sporting conservation groups like Quail Unlimited were willing to match U.S. Forest Service funding dollar for dollar to double the amount of on-the-ground work that could be done. And their volunteer network could increase the value a hundred-fold. If the Department of Fish and Game jumps on this bus, the amount of positive work that could be done for wildlife could be staggering -- perhaps even unprecedented in scope.

The DFG is on the verge of killing a wildlife habitat crew program funded out of Upland Bird Stamp monies (the stamp is required of all hunters who hunt upland birds and doves). The DFG program for Southern California was budgeted for just two years. But the DFG didn’t fill all the positions on the crew until the beginning of the second year. It took over a year to requisition and fund the necessary equipment purchases. By then it was already rumored that the crew was destined to be disbanded and staff started taking other positions, leaving vacancies. The habitat work that could have been done by the crew on state lands (where it was directed they do their work) was stymied by the lack of management plans for these places. The official kill date of this program is July 1.

That means the $500,000 in equipment purchased for habitat improvement work -- vehicles, water tankers, tractors, and other equipment -- will be sitting idle because the agency didn’t have the foresight to see that the program would take longer than two years to get off the ground. The DFG has basically wasted a huge chunk of our upland stamp monies. Or it is about to waste the money. It could salvage the program. The DFG needs to step forward and join in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to do wildlife work on the federal lands were most of the state’s hunters spend their time. The Adventure Pass money paired with DFG Upland Stamp habitat crew funding, along with the money and effort from hunter conservation groups, could mark a new era in cooperation and really get things done for wildlife on public lands.

Many of us who publicly supported both the Upland Bird Stamp and Adventure Pass when they were first proposed caught a lot of flack from people who thought they were just going to be another tax without any benefit back to those of us paying out the cash. Using these monies to fund water maintenance on our local public lands for wildlife is exactly how many of us envisioned the money would be spent. It can happen now. You might even be able to help speed the process with a few, well-placed calls to your local state and federal elected representatives. With the USFS ready to come on line with this great program, it is the state DFG that needs a kick in the butt to get on board.

SHOOTING SPORTS FAIR: -- 24may

`Hands-On' Shooting Sports Fair to be held June 2-4 at Raahauge's

NORCO -- We take it for granted that when buying a new car, there will be a test drive involved so we can actually see if the beast handles and has the pep that we like in our vehicles. We want to make sure the seat is comfortable while we're operating the car and not just sitting in the showroom. When buying a new firearm, a lot of us go through months of anguish worrying about whether or not a certain new gun is actually what we want. We drive our local gun shop dealer a little batty, showing up once or twice a week to get fingerprints all over the new shotgun or lightweight revolver, peering through the sights, checking its fit in our hands. If we could just step out back behind the gun shop and shoot a box of ammo, the deal would be cemented in our minds much quicker. The 2000 version of the Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair to be held June 2-4 at Raahauge's facility in Norco is your opportunity to test drive the gun of your dreams. The Sports Fair remains the largest hands-on gun show in the nation where you can actually shoot the firearms on display. This is the ultimate test drive because you can shoot dozens of different firearms at the same place.

Virtually all of the nation's major firearms makers will be in attendance, and it offers gun enthusiasts a unique opportunity to not only handle the products, but also to shoot them under supervised conditions to see how the guns will perform on the range and in the field. New shooters can get practical instruction and learn the fun of the shooting sports. Just some of the reasons to attend the event:

-- You are thinking of getting one of your kids his or her first shotgun for the dove opener this year and to use when they tag along with you to the shotgun range each weekend to shoot sporting clays. Here you will have the opportunity to let the kid try out a whole host of different stock-size and gauge guns to see which ones fit them the best and minimizes the recoil factor.

-- You've read about the new short-barreled Smith & Wesson or Taurus titanium handguns in .41 magnum or .44 Special and the idea of such a light, powerful gun appeals to you, but you weren't sure if you could handle the recoil or muzzle blast from such a light gun. Well, here you can shoot a couple of cylinders-full of ammunition and make an informed decision

-- You will want to stop by the California Sporting Goods Association's booth and spin the wheel of fortune a time or two. "You'll get a nice prize worth more than the $5 donation to spin the wheel, but more importantly, you'll be contributing to a war chest to battle the anti-gun politicians and the anti-gun media blitz we've been seeing this year. Watch for pro-gun billboards on a freeway near you and pro-gun commercials coming to your Southern California television set, soon," said Andy McCormick of Turner's Outdoorsman.

-- Knowing that bird season is coming up, and remembering how your arms ached when lumbering after chukar with your 7 1/2-pound Model 870 pump, you will want to heft and shoot a whole host of double-barrel -- both the over-and-unders and side-by-sides -- in 20 and 28 gauge. Some of the new guns weigh between five and six pounds. The average chukar hunt involves something over 5,000 steps during the course of the day, and your legs are effectively lifting that shotgun with each step. Cut two pounds off the weight of the gun (or your gut) and that's five tons less you'll have to lift during the course of a chukar hunt

-- Or you might want to go just to shoot a genuine, restored Gatlin gun, cranking out a 20, 50 or 100 rounds. (we don't want to know what you're imagining when you do that.) Maybe you just want to shoot the new Ruger .454 Casull to say you've fired the world's most powerful handgun round. Maybe you have an elk hunt scheduled for this fall and want to actually shoot one of the new Remington Model 700 .300 Ultra Mags before buying one. Or do you want to test the new Marlin .450 lever gun to see if it truly lives up to its billing as the ultimate bear and pig gun. In addition to the opportunity to shoot just about any firearm made today, the Sports Fair will have a whole host of shooting related activities, seminars, demonstrations and displays that have made many visitors decide to come back for a second day when they found they couldn't do and see everything at the show in a single day. Three of the most popular aspects of last year's show will return for 2000. The Turner's Outdoorsman Women's and Youth Shooting Booth allows women and youngsters an opportunity to shoot .22 rimfires and 20 gauge shotguns while getting instruction in gun safety and shooting techniques. It's a good first stop for families before heading to other shooting stations.

The kid's air rifle booth was a blast for both kids and adults. Joel DePoli, who has run the booth, has expanded the booth size so the lines don't get too long and the kids can shoot even more at this free shooting booth. John Cloherty, one of the most versatile trick shooters who uses rifles, handguns and shotguns, will put on daily shooting exhibitions that include creation of the half-acre salad in a dazzling display of shotgun shooting. Admission to the show is $12 for adults per day, and parking is free this year. There is a $5 fee for preferred parking, with all of the proceeds for this parking fee going to the California Sporting Goods Association to battle anti-gun politicians. You can pick up a $2 off admission discount coupon at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. On Friday, all women and kids get in free, and kids 14 and under are free all days of the event. There will also be a National Rifle Association booth outside the show grounds, and if you sign up for NRA membership, you will gain free admittance to the show. Show hours are noon to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 6. For more information or directions, call Raahauge's Shotgun Sports at (909) 735-7981.

SHOOTING SPORTS FAIR: JOHN CLOHERTY FEATURE -- 24may

John Cloherty sees the world through rose-colored glasses.

NORCO -- John Cloherty buys aspirin by the hundreds but he doesn't use them to ease the pain of headaches. In fact, he might give a few headaches as he shoots the aspirin out of the air with a .22 rifle. But he also likes to blast clay targets in flight with his revolver, and he prefers making his tossed salads with a shotgun. While some people might see this activity as a bit odd, Cloherty is seeing the world through rose-colored glasses -- both figuratively and literally. The 45-year-old Pasadena resident has the reputation as one of the finest exhibition shooters in the West, reviving the era when all of the major firearm manufacturers had traveling road shows with trick shooters who used shotguns, rifles and pistols in their often incredible displays of marksmanship. It's like living a dream for the long-time shooter and hunter.

"This career has developed well past my wildest dreams," said Cloherty, who will be returning the weekend of June 2-4 to the place where his career was launched 13 years ago. "I watched Dan Carlisle, one of the best exhibition shooters in the world, perform here. I was just amazed, and 10 minutes later I decided I wanted to learn how to do some of those tricks." Cloherty had watched Carlisle, an Olympic medalist in shotgun shooting, at the Raahauge's Shooting and Hunting Sports Fair. This year, Cloherty will return to the Sports Fair as the headlining exhibition shooter at this annual event. And he's adding some new twists to the succession of outstanding exhibition shooting programs that have been a benchmark of this show since its inception. "I'm trying to bring a wider range of guns into my act than has ever been done in recent years,'" said Cloherty of his daily performances. "Using shotguns, rifles, and handguns hasn't been done since the 1920s and 30s." Cloherty, who set a world record at the Sports Fair for the most clay targets broken in one hour at 4,551, also sees his exhibitions as a benefit to the shooting sports and gun ownership in general.

"This is a way for all people to see that those of us who like to use guns are not insane whackos in a tower some where. We are just people who like to go out with their guns and have fun," said Cloherty. He uses the booming growth of sporting clays shotgun shooting, as an example of a tremendously fun and safe sport that can be enjoyed by the whole family. The Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair, which was the first firearms show in the nation that was a hands-on affair, allowing those attending the show to both look at and shoot the latest in firearms, has never had an exhibition shooter that used anything other than shotguns in his program. Cloherty uses a .22 rifle to break a succession of smaller targets in the air, finishing with Alka-Seltzer and aspirin tablets. He also uses a .45 auto handgun to break aerial targets. But shotgun shooting is his specialty. His trademarks are a brilliant-colored gun and an over-the-head shooting style. He can also break targets shooting between his legs like a football center, while holding the gun upside down. He calls this stunt the "quarterback's nightmare."

The perennial favorite of his program is something all of the shotgun exhibition shooters call the "quarter-acre salad." There is something about watching cabbages and watermelons explode that delights an audience. Attendees of the Shooting Sports Fair have watched Dan Carlisle, John Satterwhite, and Tom Knapp do their versions of the salad in the past. Cloherty says "I do believe that I'm 10 times messier than anyone who does it. It just has gotten messier and messier over the years. I go through a supermarket now and wonder, `how would that blow up?' Everyone loves it." Cloherty brings more than a visual element to the show. He has found that shotgun-exploded onions add a wonderful aroma to the program. In fact, it brings tears to your eyes. But for Cloherty, who wears rose-colored shooting glasses, they are tears of joy because it has allowed him to turn his avocation into a career.

SHOOTING SPORTS FAIR: HARRY BOYLE MINI FEATURE -- 24may

`King of Quack' to give daily seminars at Shooting Sports Fair

NORCO -- Harry Boyle, described as "the king of quack" for his prowess with a duck call, will be giving daily seminars at the Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair June 2-4. The northern California-based hunter said his wide-ranging seminars will cover everything from beginning duck calling to advanced calling techniques for whitefront geese, which Boyle calls "the filet mignon of the sky." He'll discuss dogs, decoys, and shooting techniques with steel shot and the new non-toxics. Boyle, designer with the P.S. Olt Company of the "California Call" and many instructional audio tapes, made his mark in the field with ducks as judges of his experience and -- judging by the results -- stands atop the duck calling elite list. In 1991, the release of "Working Birds" presented by the California Waterfowl Association drew national attention to Boyle, and the tape is still one of the top videos in the nation. A veteran of years as a featured and popular headliner speaker at the International Sportsman's Expos, Ducks Unlimited, and California Waterfowl Association shows, Boyle is a licensed and bonded guide in California, owner of several duck clubs, a director emeritus of the California Waterfowl Association, and winner of the coveted Gold Teal Award given by Ducks Unlimited for having donated in excess of $500,000 to Ducks Unlimited over the years. He was also named "Best in the West" by Western Outdoors Magazine in 1985.

Known as an aggressive, open-water caller, Boyle has developed a simple five-step process for calling successfully, and it is this process he will be teaching at the Sports Fair. "My system won't win a duck calling contest," said Boyle, "But it will win every time in the field with the ducks doing the judging." San Francisco Chronicle outdoor writer Jim Freeman simply called Boyle, "the Benny Goodman of duck calling." Boyle will conduct at least one seminar each day of the Shooting Sports Fair. Hours are from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, June 2, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 3, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 4. Admission to the show is $10 for adults per day, and parking is free this year. There are $2 off admission discount coupon at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. For more information or directions, call Raahauge's Shotgun Sports at (909) 735-7981 or (909) 735-2361.

SHOOTING SPORTS FAIR: SEMINARS ROUNDUP -- 24may

Free seminars, demonstrations highlight the 2000 Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair

NORCO -- The seminar and exhibition slate at the Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair is worth the price of admission, according to Mike Raahauge, organizer of the event.
"You'd normally have to pay more than the price of admission to the fair to see any of these exhibitions or attend a seminar by these people," said Raahauge of the June 2-4 event held at his ranges here.
Here's a listing of the daily exhibition and seminar slate:
-- John Cloherty will give shooting exhibitions that feature his rifle, handgun, and shotgun shooting skills. His claim to fame is the creation of the "half-acre salad" with his shotgun, and he set a record for the most clay targets broken in one hour at 4,451 at a previous Shooting Sports Fair.
-- Harry Boyle, the "King of Quack," will be giving daily seminars on the A to Z of waterfowl hunting. Boyle, who works for Federal and Benelli, is best known for his incredible duck calling skills.
-- The Safari Club will have its portable, hands-on moving exhibit called the "Sensory Safari" at the fair. The mobile trailer features an exhibit of donated animal mounts, skulls, skins, and horns and provides a unique opportunity for children and the sight-impaired to experience the size of a grizzly bear, the shaggy mane of a lion, or the teeth of an alligator.
-- Gil Gera, known as "Cisco" in the Cowboy Action Shooting Society, will give a fast draw exhibition.
-- Steve Puppe of Hunter Specialties will give daily seminars on turkey calling and hunting and elk calling and techniques.
-- Ken Sakamoto of RCBS will give seminars on reloading for both beginners and veteran reloaders, showing new products and giving tips to make quality reloads.
-- Paul Caccatori of Starlight Kennels will be giving daily seminars on hunting dog selection, training and care.
-- Jim Matthews, guns and hunting editor at Western Outdoor News, will be giving seminars on both hog hunting and upland bird hunting in Southern California and the West and the resources available to hunters.
-- There will be a quail calling seminar put on by Quail Unlimited. The group will also show hunters how to make their own calls.
-- The Shooting Sports Alliance will have a shooting booth where they will show and demonstrate Steel Challenge Race Guns and allow the guns to be shot.
The Shooting Sports Fair is open from noon to 6 p.m. Fris to two trout and 15 bluegill. The bluegill are starting into a good bite with fish to 1-8 reported. For more information, call (760) 240-1107.

MILLION MOM MARCH -- matthews column 17may00

The Million Mom March has come and gone, and a lot of what I saw and read from the mothers interviewed in the march echoed what gun owners have said for decades about firearms, their use, and safety. The one phrase you heard a lot was "common sense." That is exactly what gun owners and the National Rifle Association has been preaching for decades. Unfortunately, gun control advocates who organized the march don't use common sense when approaching the firearms debate. There were a lot of analogies to MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and commentators suggested that the Million Mom March would have the same impact on common sense measures on firearms.

The difference is that MADD has almost exclusively targeted people who misuse alcohol and automobiles, while the gun control advocates are targeting those using firearms legally. If MADD had approached the drunk driving issues the same way the Million Mom March folks are approaching the gun control debate. This is what we would have seen from MADD. Booze Locks: All alcoholic beverages would be sold with locking devices so kids couldn't get access. We probably also should have a law that mandates that beer kept in the `fridge be stored in a smart-locked section, which only could be opened by the authorized user. One Bottle Per Month: Since we all know that most drunks get that way because they drink too much, all buyers would be restricted to designated size serving of their favorite hard liquor per month (see below).

Container and Packaging Sizes: No more six-packs. A person can get drunk drinking a six-pack. All beer can only be sold in two-beer clips. Wine can only be sold in four-ounce containers, and hard liquor in shot-size containers. And remember, no more than one per month. Ban All Cheap Booze: Since we know that only street bums and teenagers buy cheap alcohol, leading to increases in teenage pregnancy and venereal disease, all cheap alcohol should be banned. License and Registration: All people buying alcoholic beverages would have to become licensed and registered, taking a 10-hour course in alcohol safety, storage, and legal consumption, and then pay an annual registration fee so they could buy alcohol. This would allow us to monitor those buying alcohol to make sure they didn't exceed their monthly allowance and tax them to pay for the bureaucracy created to enforce these laws.

Sue the Manufacturers: Lastly we should sue the alcoholic beverage companies for reckless marketing that encourages promiscuous behavior, drunken driven, and violence that leads to increased health care costs, unwanted babies, botched abortions, and a staggering number of traffic deaths each year. This type of logic is the "kill the messenger" mentality that simply doesn't work against offenders and only restricts the law-abiding.

What the Million Mom March supporters could do is support on-going efforts by the guns and hunting groups to reduce accidents and crime. The Moms should support the following two things: 1) Safety education. Our children need to be taught about firearms and how dangerous they can be when misused. The NRA's Eddie Eagle program is a prime example of how gun owners have stepped forward to push safety. Our hunter safety programs, mandatory in all 50 states today, have reduced hunting and gun accidents dramatically. But more could be done, and non-gun owning Moms could sure help educate the non-gun owning public. This includes advocating that firearms owners store their firearms securely with gun locks (which are already supplied with over 90 percent of all new firearms sold) or in gun safes.

2) Enforcing laws on misuse of firearms. There are already very good laws on the books that make parents responsible for firearms misused by children or family members in accidents or the commission of a crime. There are add-on penalties in most states for criminals who use firearms in crimes because of the huge potential for serious injury or death if the firearm is used. The Million Moms need to get behind these laws just as MADD has pushed for increased enforcement of drunk driving laws and more stringent penalties. They also need to get after the Clinton Administration and Congress to mandate enforcement of the Brady Bill so convicted felons who try to buy a gun legally are re-arrested for violation of their parole. Only a handful of the hundreds of thousands felons turned down by the background check law have been prosecuted.

These are common sense approaches that have a proven impact in reducing accidents and crime. Mandating the sale of safety locks and licensing and registration have no practical applications in this regard. If the Million Mom March organizers take this "common sense" approach, it will be effective in helping achieve the same goals hunters and shooters have long advocated to make our society safer. If they stick to the anti-gun agenda, it will be just more political rhetoric that won't save lives.

GPS SCRAMBLE, HUNTER LIGGETT, AND MORE -- matthews -- 10may00

As of Monday this week, the federal government is no longer scrambling the signals from Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), meaning the accuracy of hand-held GPS units will increase up to 10-fold, making them accurate to 50 to 125 feet. Differential GPS (DGPS) units will offer accuracy to within a few feet or less. I have been playing with GPS units for several years and believe they have great utility for people who spend much time outdoors. The problem was that their accuracy was often pretty dismal due to the military scramble, and a competent map reader with a compass could plot a more accurate location than the one given by a GPS unit, especially when paired with new mapping software run on home computers that will give you a latitude and longitude readout for any given point on a map. All that has changed this week.

Now you can take a GPS reading from a favorite backcountry campsite and pass that information on to a friend with his or her own GPS unit and know they’re going to find the same perfect spot where you pitched your tent. I dug out an ancient hand-held unit that was never very accurate. (In fact, one of the first coordinates I saved on it was for my house. Those coordinates put my house over a quarter mile away on the wrong side of a freeway when plotted on a map. That was only partially because of the military scramble.) But with the scramble gone, the reading it gave was within about 50 or 75 feet of true. It will now be possible to record and pass on accurate readings.

The uses are really pretty unlimited for hunters, fishermen, backpackers, and anyone who does things outdoors away from roads. With DGPS you can sit your fishing boat right a tiny rockpile time after time, or direct a bird hunting partner to a hidden guzzler you found out in the East Mojave. It will really shine on water or on flat ground where map-reading skills become far more difficult or moot. In the past, you felt lucky if the GPS coordinates from a unit got you within a couple hundred yards. The reality was that an original poor reading, amplified by the military scramble when trying to get back to that spot, would have you more than a quarter-mile away. The units will have more utility and less novelty now. Chalk one up for the federal government that agreed that “selective availability” (SA), the scrambling, was no longer necessary for national security.

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT CLOSURES: One of the most popular and productive public land hunting areas for wild pigs in California may shut down the hunting program. Fort Hunter Liggett on California’s Central Coast is going through a series of cutbacks that will close the campground and store at the base. Ironically, the cost-saving measure will be closing down operations that make money for the base. Ah, the wisdom of government. Vic Robinson, who has run the campground and store concession, said the base brass are insisting that the hunting program will continue but he fears that without the campground and check-station at the store, the program will dwindle and perhaps close completely. Robinson said they always sold more than $1,000 worth of permits per weekend, and that there is outrage among civilian users of the base that the campground, boat rentals, and store will be closed.

Just as a hunting footnote, there have been over 20 wild hogs taken on the base since the first of April, even with many of the major hunting areas closed because due to training. There is no public land area in the state that approaches this kind of success. This is another strike against the federal government.

NON-TOXIC RIFLE AMMO: It is increasingly looking like the federal government -- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service -- will be pushing to have jacketed lead bullets used for big game hunting banned in at least portions of Southern California. The voodoo science they tout that endangered condors have died after eating big game animals wounded and lost by hunters. Never mind that most big game is not lost. Never mind that most rifle ammunition penetrates completely through game. Some biologist with sketchy data speculated that it was a hunters’ slug that poisoned some condor so they want to ban all lead ammunition where condors live. Since it’s a well-known fact that condors have died after drinking break fluid that has leaked from a vehicle, we can only expect that vehicles using brake fluid will also be banned from roads that go through condor habitat. So here’s another strike against the feds. One step forward, two steps back. Sigh big with me right now, will you?

Crowley Lake opener survey shows increase in fish sizes.

Two mild winters in a row produced a banner year-2000 trout fishing season opener at Crowley Lake, according to a state Department of Fish and Game two-day lakeside survey. Curtis Milliron, DFG fisheries biologist in Bishop, said fingerling and subcatchable trout stocked in recent years had ample opportunity to gain size on an insect-rich diet during relatively mild winter months. The warm weather conditions provided larger nutrient quantities than the zooplankton browse usually available during cold months when ice covers the lake and insect populations are largely dormant. Just prior to the April 29-30 season opener, Milliron forecasted anglers would harvest a higher than usual number of trout limits, and fish larger overall than the norm; predictions that proved largely correct once angler survey figures were calculated. "Size of fish increased 15-20 percent from last year, and the catch rate was right on target," Milliron said. Average rainbow trout caught during the opener was 14.25 inches long and weighed 1.1 pounds.

A total of 10 DFG fisheries personnel interviewed 876 anglers during the weekend. They calculated 4,354.75 hours of angling effort expended for an estimated 1.02 fish per hour catch rate at Crowley. Approximately 19.7 percent of trout in the greater-than-15-inch size range were caught this year, nearly double the 10 percent average last season. In years past, prior to Eagle Lake trout introduction at the lake, the average catch of these larger fish was just in the three to five percent range. Milliron said Eagle Lake trout have accounted for a sizable number of fish taken in the 15-inch-plus category. The biologist said a large number of rainbow and Kamloops trout were hooked by anglers fishing Crowley Lake tributaries such as the upper Owens River, McGee Creek, Hilton Creek, Whiskey Creek and Crooked Creek. "Catch rates in the lower section of the upper Owens River were outstanding," said Milliron, "and should be very good throughout the season -- especially in June when trout return to Crowley after spawning."

Milliron estimated 470 boats and 5,000 anglers fishing Crowley this year on the Saturday morning opener. Last season, approximately 500 boats and a total 5,500 anglers were counted. Crowley Lake trout fishing season extends through July 31 with a five fish daily limit, and 10 fish possession limit following two or more days fishing. The Crowley season then reverts on Aug. 1 to a two-fish daily and possession limit through Oct. 31. During the August through October season, only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used, and an 18-inch total length size limit is in effect.

Lake Powell hosting $1 million tagged striped bass this month.

PAGE, Ariz. -- A single tagged striped bass in Lake Powell could be worth $1 million if caught by an angler during a tagged fish promotion ongoing through May 24. There are also be 19 other tagged stripers worth vacation packages as part of a Lake Powell Resorts and Marina promotion. The concession is hoping to generation interest in striped bass fishing to help reduce the numbers of fish in the lake. Nearly one million striper fingerlings were planted at Lake Powell 25 years ago. Since then, the population has grown to an estimated 2.5 million fish. There is no entry fee to fish in the event and only a valid Arizona or Nevada fishing license is required of those who fish the competition. If an angler catches the $1 million fish, he will be awarded with annual installments of $40,000 over 25 years. Contest details are available at www.visitlakepowell.com or by calling (800) 945-LAKE (5253).

WON Striper Derby set for May 12-14

LAKE HAVASU CITY -- Now entering it's 17th year, the Western Outdoor News Lake Havasu Striper Derby is set for May 12-14. The derby is a two-person team event fishing for striped bass on Lake Havasu. The headquarters hotel is the Nautical Inn Resort and Convention Center. More than $70,000 in prizes and trophies will be awarded, including a grand prize drawing for a fully rigged bass boat. The boat will be given away via drawing to one lucky contestant. Contestants don't even have to catch a fish to be eligible to win the boat. This annual derby attracts nearly 500 anglers each year and most are able to catch stripers on baits and lures. Lake Havasu has the one of the highest populations of striped bass of any waters in the nation. For more information and entry forms on the biggest striper derby in the country, call Kirk Sumida at (888) 966-4665, extension 30.

Team bass tournament set for Lake Isabella this Saturday

LAKE ISABELLA -- The first-ever WON BASS Open Team Tournament on Isabella Lake will be staged this Saturday, May 13, a joint event of the Central Coast and Mother Lode Regions of the WON BASS team tournament circuits. "Fishing has been absolutely awesome this year at Isabella with double-digit fish being taken and a couple of fish even hit the 16-pound mark," said Sid McDonald, tournament director. "This tournament could produce some all-time record weights for a team tournament." WON BASS membership is not required for this event, said McDonald, and there will be a $120 entry fee per two-person teams. There also will be option pools of $20 for big bass, $25 side option and $5 wild card option. Isabella Lake will be off-limits to tournament anglers for the five days preceding the tournament. For complete information about the tournament contact Sid McDonald at (559) 251-4983. Anglers also can pre-register for the event at Village Tackle, 6424 Lake Isabella Blvd. in Lake Isabella, starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 12, resuming from 3:30 a.m. to the tournament start on Saturday morning. Information also is available by calling Dave Priest of Village Tackle at (760) 376-4170. The tournament start will be held out of launch area 19, with the weigh-in at French Gulch Marina.

Hemet Valley Chapter of Ducks Unlimited hosting its 20th annual banquet May 13

PERRIS -- The Hemet Valley Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will be hosting its 20th annual fundraising banquet Saturday, May 13, at Harrison Hall in Perris. There will be over 20 guns raffled, along with other prizes, and a live and silent auction. Individual dinner tickets, which include an annual DU membership, are $50 per person or $75 a couple. Juniors (or greenwings) are $35. For more information or to order tickets, contact Slim or Glenda List at (909) 654-1450.

Quail Unlimited's National Celebrity Sporting Clays Tournament set for May 20-21 in Norco

NORCO -- The Quail Unlimited Dub Taylor National Celebrity Sporting Clays Tournament will be held May 20-21 at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises in Norco, attracting shooters from across the nation. There is a 200 target event for Saturday and Sunday (May 20-21). Shooters can register in the National Sporting Clays Association's registered division for $250 or the non-NSCA Hunter's Division for $75 to shoot the 200-target event. Each registered shooter will receive eight boxes of Winchester ammunition, target, admission to Saturday's shooters' party, and a regular membership in Quail Unlimited. There is also a small gauge tournament on Friday (May 19) with an entry fee of $50, which includes two boxes of ammunition and targets. The event is for 20 and 28 gauges only. Entry forms or more information are available from Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

Raahauge's hands-on Shooting Sports Fair 2000 set for June 2-4

NORCO -- The Raahauge's Shooting Sports Fair 2000 will return to Mike Raahauge Shooting Sports June 2-4. The event is one of the only hands-on gun shows in the nation where participants can shoot most of the firearms on display. The hands-on show will feature virtually all of the major firearms makers in this country -- Ruger, Remington, Winchester, Browning, Marlin, Savage, Mossberg, Beretta, Weatherby, Taurus, and others -- where those who attend the show can shoot the newest hunting, target shooting and self defense guns on the market. In addition, there are a whole series of seminars each of the three days of the show on gun safety, hunting, dog training, trick shooting, and general shooting techniques. Admission is $12 for adults, and $2-off coupons are available at all Turner's Outdoorsman locations. All kids 14 and under are free. For more information, call Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981 or (909) 735-2361,

CWA dinner banquet set for Friday, June 23

STUDIO CITY -- The California Waterfowl Association will be hosting a fundraising dinner and banquet Friday, June 23, at The Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City. The event begins at 6 p.m. and dinner will follow at 7:30 p.m. Cost to attend the event is $65 per person or $95 per couples. Juniors 17 and under at $35. CWA is a non-profit group dedicated to protecting and enhancing California's wetlands. For more information, contact Frank Zebell at (714) 893-2082.

PREJUDICE AND FIREARMS -- matthews column 03may00

When racism was a common belief in this country, when slavery was accepted by our government, people with black skin were often considered less than human. This made it easier to justify the bias in the minds of those who held racist beliefs, made racist laws, and enforced those laws. It is a type of bias based in ignorance that we are still battling in this nation. On many fronts. Today, white gun owners are gaining a new understanding of prejudice and bias because we are so often belittled and ridiculed by politicians and in the media with an absence of rational thought or facts. Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Jewish gun owners just see it as more prejudice by their government and a media that has lost its way.

This type of prejudice can happen because gun owners are members of the NRA, which the media and anti-gun politicians use as a four-letter word, or we belong to a gun club (probably called a "militia" to make it sound more sinister). We're no longer neighbors or co-workers or soccer coaches. It is a bias against gun owners as a group, and the assault is against the implements that we use for sport and self-defense. The gun, just like black skin, is somehow bad in and of itself to those who are prejudice. They cause us to do bad deeds, to be less than human. Just like gore-filled children's video games cause our kids to commit acts of violence against other children. Just like movies are to blame for anti-social behavior. Using this same logic, we can draw these correlations: It is marriage licenses that lead to divorce. Swimming pools lead to the deaths of children who can't swim. Beer companies are to blame for drunk driving deaths. And condoms are to blame for teenage pregnancy. Laugh darkly if you want, but the logic is the same, and just because it's not your ox that is being gored by the media and government right now, doesn't mean your day isn't coming.

Based on the huge media play of the recent story about a correlation between higher beer taxes (therefore higher beer prices) and a reduced rate of youth venereal disease, it is only a matter of time before we see legislation or other regulation that will tax and regulate beer manufacturers for their "unscrupulous" manufacturing and marketing programs that somehow promote youth venereal disease. Are you laughing? Such lawsuits against gun companies, all making a legal products to extremely high quality standards, are cropping up everywhere. Legislation that would ban certain types of ammunition, magazines, or firearms are introduced daily. Some politicians have become so emboldened as to suggest total bans on handguns. It is the "Kill the messenger" syndrome, where politicians can't effectively deal with youth gang violence or repeat criminals, so they blame the implements the criminals use in their illegal activities -- the guns.

If the government is successful in this effort to extort an industry and outlaw a Constitutionally guaranteed right (and over 95 percent of learned historical scholars agree that the Second Amendment is talking about the individual's right to own firearms), other assaults will follow. Already, there are steps being taken against makers of legal over-the-counter and prescription drugs, the television and movie industries, computer companies, and automobile manufacturers. It is discrimination, pure and simple. Politicians will argue their actions are for the good of society, but that was the same argument used to keep racism alive for decades, and that was the driving force behind prohibition. Both racism and prohibition are societal and political failures based on flawed logic.

Those who argue for mindless gun control also do so on flawed logic and without supporting facts. There are simply no peer-reviewed studies that show restrictions on firearms lead to fewer deaths, either suicide or murder or accidental deaths, or less crime of any kind. None. Gun control proponents like to use correlation, as though it were causation, comparing apples and oranges. They will compare gun-restricted cultures like Japan or Sweden to the United States, for example, and try to come up with a correlation about how fewer guns mean less crime. Gun advocates, however, will point out that when you compare similar cultures (Australia to the United States, for example), the correlation shows that fewer guns in law-abiding citizens' hands leads to higher crime rates. Criminals know their victims are unarmed. History also shows us that when individuals have means to defend themselves, there is both less crime and less threat from governments to enslave the population with unjust laws and a heavy hand enforcing them.

You need to pay close attention to your rights the government is incrementally subverting. Whether you are a gun owner, a smoker, a beer drinker, or merely someone who eats meat or drives an SUV, you are being targeted by legislation that will restrict your rights for no rational reason. Don't put your head in the sand. Don't ignore the cross burning in your front yard -- and you don't want be disarmed when that cross is burning.

SIERRA TROUT OPENER NOTEBOOK -- compiled by Jim Matthews 26apr00

Trout season opens Saturday in the Sierra Nevada after being closed since November 1 last year. As usual, Crowley Lake will be the focal point for thousands of anglers who head north for a little spring fishing. There's a simple reason for that: It has the best fishing in the region. "Crowley was awesome last year, and it's going to be even better this year," said Curtis Milliron, a DFG fishery biologist in Bishop who also happens to be an avid fisherman. The fishing will be better than normal for two reasons. First, the lake is one of the most heavily planted waters in the state, but it generally receives small fish that grow to large sizes in the lake by feeding on the abundant natural forage -- mostly midge larvae. Second, a mild winter that saw virtually no ice cover ever form on Crowley allows for the fish to feed actively all winter in the slightly warmer water and they get bigger.

On years when ice covers the lake, the average trout from Crowley is around 12 inches, and on years when the lake has been ice free, the average fish is around two inches bigger. There are three strains of rainbow trout planted in Crowley Lake. The Coleman-strain fish are the most heavily harvested by anglers who fish in deeper water and troll. The Kamloops-strain are the brilliant-colored trout that stay close to the shorelines and are stacked up in the streams spawning for the opener. And the Eagle Lake rainbow is the trout that doesn't usually get caught the first year or two it's in the lake. No one knows why, but these are the bruisers that are in the 18- to 24-inch range and will weigh over four pounds. You get a big one, it's likely an Eagle Lake trout.

TONS OF TROUT PLANTED: There will be over 100,000 catchable trout planted in 47 different waters for this year's trout opener. The mild winter and open roads allowed the DFG stocking trucks to reach virtually all of the popular Sierra destinations.

GAS PRICES -- OUCH!: Anglers traveling north for the trout opener this weekend will find gas prices ranging from a low in the $1.80 per gallon range to the $2.10 range in some of the out-of-the-way places. This is at least 50 cents a gallon more than most stations were charging last year this time.

WATCH OUT FOR BEARS: The Sierra locals take the bears for granted. Steve Gomez at Kittridge Sports in Mammoth Lakes said he'd seen three or four different bears already this year around town. "They're definitely out of hibernation," said Gomez. Karen Koble at Lower Twin Lake Resort out of Bridgeport said they had their first bear in a dumpster 2 1/2 weeks ago, and "one broke into the back of our truck and there wasn't anything in there to eat." They live with the animals and try to keep garbage in bear-proof containers. For campers, the same advice would be good -- and don't leave food around where you will be sleeping. A bear accustomed to people isn't shy about opening up the side of a tent with it's claws and taking a Snickers bar out from under your pillow. Even if your head is on the pillow. The bears also like fresh trout.

GO WATCH THE DEER: With the snow off the lower elevation areas early this year, the deer herds that winter in the Owens Valley have begun moving back up into the mountains. There is a huge staging area from Convict Lake to Mammoth Lake on the flats on the west side of Highway 395, and anglers who want to see lots of deer can drive the dirt roads in this area and see literally dozens and dozens of deer early and late in the day.

INTERNET DELUGE: More and more of the resorts and business in the Sierra are gaining a presence on the Internet with their own web pages. Here are some good one's for anglers: The Trout Fly is Mammoth Lakes has a great site for fly-fisherman at www.thetroutfly.com, and a counterpart store in Bishop is Brock's which has a web presence (with a great fish report) at www.fbn-flyfish.com/brocks. The Convict Lake Resort can be found at www.convictlakeresort.com, and brown trout headquarters, the Lower Twin Lake Resort, has a site at www.lowertwinlakesresort.com. And lastly, you can get all you need to know about Crowley Lake from www.crowleylakefishcamp.com.

SNOW AND ICE UPDATE: Virtually all of the major waters in the region are ice free and there is almost no snow below 7,500 feet, only patchy snow up to the 8,500 feet elevation. At mid-week, all of the June Lake loop was ice-free, Twin Lakes at Bridgeport were ice free, Convict, Crowley, Bridgeport, and the Twin Lakes in Mammoth were also free of ice. Only the upper elevation lakes still carried rotten ice -- including Mary and Mamie in the Mammoth Lakes. What does that mean for anglers. Good access to most Sierra waters and good fishing in major lakes that have been open all winter or at least since early in the year.

BIGGER TROUT EXPECTED FOR OPENER: Anglers attending the year 2000 Eastern Sierra trout season opener this Saturday can expect to hook more than average numbers of large, trophy size trout this year. Chris Boone, manager at the state Department of Fish and Game Hot Creek Hatchery in Mammoth Lakes, said a mild 1999-2000 Eastern Sierra winter provided a greater than usual number of large, Coleman strain broodstock rainbow trout available for planting in waters north of Bishop. "Normally when we enter our rainbow trout spawning season, November through January, the snow is deep and lakes frozen in the high country, so we plant most excess broodstock in southern Owens Valley waters. But this year, because it was so mild right on through January, we were able to stock broodstock fish throughout the Eastern Sierra," said Boone.

Approximately 7,000 trophy-sized rainbow trout, each from four to seven pounds in size, were planted last winter in 17 waters north of Bishop. Crowley Lake, the upper Owens River, Bridgeport Reservoir, Convict Lake, Topaz Lake, Lundy Lake, Ellery Lake, Trumble Lake, both upper and lower twin lakes at Bridgeport, and Virginia lakes received the trophy trout. Hot Creek Hatchery broodstock fish were also stocked in the four June Lake Loop lakes: June, Grant, Gull and Silver. Since March of this year, Hot Creek Hatchery personnel have been busy planting surplus fingerling rainbow trout at Crowley Lake. Vern Carr, assistant hatchery manager at Hot Creek, said more than 145,320 fingerling trout were stocked at Crowley. Carr estimated the fish would grow to catchable size in time for the 2002 Eastern Sierra fishing season opener. Tiny fingerling baby trout range from two to four inches in length, and can grow to catchable size in Crowley Lake within two years' time.

PLEASANT VALLEY RESERVOIR GETS BONUS TROUT: Pleasant Valley Reservoir gets bonus trout: A year-around, shore-fishing-only lake for decades, Pleasant Valley Reservoir was opened to float tube anglers for the first time in 1999, increasing angler interest considerably, according to Department of Fish and Game observers. In an effort to step-up fishing opportunity and thereby accommodate the considerable rise in angler pressure, 5,000 six-inch-long, sub-catchable Eagle Lake strain rainbow trout were stocked for the first time last year at Pleasant Valley, along with ongoing catchable size rainbow trout plants, and an additional 5,000 Eagle Lakes are scheduled for planting in October. Jim Eichman, DFG Fish Springs Trout Hatchery manager in Big Pine, Inyo County, said both plants are intended to duplicate a successful experiment at Crowley Lake where Eagle Lake trout supplies a significant increase in Crowley's large-trout production.

Eagle Lake fish typically fail to show in Crowley anglers' creels until the third year following introduction. Unlike other trout strains often landed within a year of planting, Crowley Eagle Lake fish most often grow 18 to 24 inches long before anglers land them, often some three years following the initial plant. DFG biologists are not certain why Eagle Lake strain trout can avoid anglers' lures for so long at Crowley, but the hope is that trait will duplicate itself at Pleasant Valley. Eichman urged the few anglers who land small Eagle Lake trout at Pleasant Valley this season to release the fish. Allowed a little more time to grow in the nutrient-rich reservoir, biologists anticipate fish in the two to three pound size range may soon appear in sizable numbers. Eagle lake fish are distinguished from other rainbow trout by their fewer and larger side-body spots, Eichman said. "Next year we'll mark Eagle Lake trout by removing the adipose fin making it easier for anglers to identify those fish," said Eichman. A trout adipose is the small fin on the back located between the large dorsal fin and tail.

In addition to Eagle Lake sub-catchable trout plants, more than 1,000, half-pound catchable size rainbow trout are stocked weekly in Pleasant Valley Reservoir waters during every month save July and August, along with ongoing weekly stocks of eight, 2 to 4 pound trophy trout. Sub-catchable brown trout planted in past years can also be found in the lake. An additional 10,000 pounds of surplus subcatchable trout, each fish approximately six inches long, was stocked in March. Pleasant Valley Reservoir, a 115-surface-acre lake situated behind a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power dam, is located approximately seven miles north of Bishop along the east side of Highway 395 in Inyo County.

FORGET THE DRIVE?: The operators of Santa Ana River Lakes and Corona Lake think a lot of anglers would rather stay close to home than trek to the Sierra this weekend. This week's press release from the lakes says, "Gas is $1.75 a gallon. It takes six hours to drive there. You get gouged for winter motel or condo rates. The reality is that you can catch more, bigger, and more beautiful trout close to home." Lake operators brag that during their Sierra Grand Opening event, which runs Thursday through Sunday, there will be more trout over eight pounds caught this week at SARL and Corona than are caught in the entire Sierra Nevada for the whole fishing season. They are also boasting they have the most beautiful trout -- the Lightning Trout, a golden-hued rainbow trout selected for a rare color trait. Both waters' lake records are in jeopardy with the plants of trophy fish already made this week. The lake record at Santa Ana is 23.2 pounds, and the Corona Lake record, which stands at 21.7 pounds, nearly fell last week when a 21.5-pounder was caught. Well over 100 trout topping 10 pounds are expected to be caught from SARL and Corona, and Sierra angler will be lucky to see one or two trout that size caught for the opener. There is also a tagged trout event ongoing at the two Southern California waters where one angler could win a $1 million.

SMITH & WESSON AND GUN CONTROL -- matthews 19apr00

For about the past year, I had been saving my change so I could buy a titanium Smith & Wesson .44 special. But with the events of recent weeks, I've decided that the handgun I wanted to purchase as super-lightweight snake gun for fishing trips and a general outdoor, hunting, and tote-along sidearm won't be the S&W. When the change tally is enough, I'm going to buy the new titanium Taurus instead, or one of the other models out there. In fact, I doubt I'll ever buy a Smith & Wesson. Ever. Why? I simply can't forgive them for what they've done.

Smith & Wesson signed an agreement with the federal government that would make it exempt from the rash of government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded, political lawsuits against gun makers. (All of the lawsuits have lost in court when finally heard, but which have run several small gun makers out of business because they couldn't afford the litigation costs.) It has also resulted in a windfall of S&W sales to politically-controlled law enforcement agencies that are now giving S&W preference over other makers because they have agreed to rules that affect all law-abiding purchasers of firearms. You and I. Just some of the restrictions include the following: gun locks will be provided with all guns; no guns will be sold with clips that hold more than 10 rounds; all handguns have a visible indicator when a round is in the chamber; guns sales will be rationed; mandatory testing will be required for purchasers, and S&W agreed to use a portion of their income each year to develop "smart gun" technology (where the gun can only be fired by its owner). The company has also pledged certain behaviors on the part of licensed gun dealers, such as refraining from selling legal, but politically incorrect, semi-automatic rifles and ammunition magazines, a prohibition on selling firearms at any gun show where any legal private sale is conducted, and a requirement to include anti-gun propaganda with every firearm sold.

Virtually all of these restrictions have been proposed as national legislation and failed in Congress. But S&W rolled over and signed this agreement. The National Rifle Association's James Jay Baker, its chief lobbyist, said the S&W agreement was "a futile act of craven self-interest. In their rush to liquidate an inconvenient asset, executives at Tomkins PLC (the British firm which owns S&W) are jeopardizing an entire U.S. industry and undermining a Constitutionally guaranteed right. Lawmakers and citizens should be outraged at this unwelcome intrusion into the legislative process," said Baker, noting that Tomkins PLC has made it widely known it would like to sell the U.S. gun maker.

The Gun Owners of America (GOA) calls the disastrous accord the Clinton & Wesson agreement, and points out that dealers who agree to S&Ws terms of sale would have to agree to the restrictions on all firearms they sell. The GOA says the Clinton & Wesson agreement stipulates that participating gun retailers cannot sell any firearm until they receive definitive notice that the transferee is not a prohibited person under the 1968 Gun Control Act. Background checks to make sure the prospective gun buyer is not a felon or known spousal abuser take only a few minutes. Currently, if the FBI has not given a definitive "yes" or "no" reply on the background check, the dealer may proceed to consummate the sale at the end of 72 hours. Under the Clinton & Wesson agreement, the purchase can not go ahead unless the FBI changes its "delay" response to a definitive "yes" or "no." You could be denied the right to own a firearm through continuous "delay" responses, and the FBI could be asked to "delay" all checks under a presidential decree. As a response to these restrictions, which most firearm sellers believe infringes on fundamental business rights, many retailers and long-time S&W distributors have dropped the line of handguns. When this news was announced, federal and state governments launched an antitrust investigation into allegations that gun retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers were targeting Smith & Wesson in retaliation for signing the government agreement.

This is more government retaliation and harassment against those who own and sell firearms legally. And S&W is fanning these flames saying there has been a concerted industry effort against them. Firearms wholesaler, RSR Group Inc., one of the nation's largest distributors of Smith & Wesson products for more than 20 years, issued a statement that read, "we have come to the difficult conclusion that we cannot continue to do business with Smith & Wesson under the problematic terms of their current agreement." Meanwhile, the list of gun makers who have refused to sign on to Clinton & Wesson-type agreements continues to grow but gets little general media press. In the past three weeks, Sturm, Ruger & Company has joined the ranks of Beretta USA, Browning, Glock, Inc., and Taurus Firearms, Inc., in rejecting government offers to sign the same deal made by S&W.

Even the anti-gun Washington Post expressed concerns over use of anti-trust lawsuits and agreements with guns makers as a means of circumventing the legislative process. In an editorial on April 2 called "Government by Lawsuit..." The Post commented that using the courts to force agreements like the one signed by S&W is "prone to abuse," and is "generally speaking a bad way to make policy." Noting that the federal government has virtually unlimited resources it can bring to bear against any target it chooses, including "law-abiding companies that it happens to dislike," the editorial asks "where is the line between legitimate governance and extortion?" S&W knows you can't fight the government, but it didn't have to pay the ransom. I'll never buy a S&W.

LAKE MATHEWS BASS AND MORE -- matthews column 12apr00

For years my phone has jingled with anglers' questions about Lake Mathews, my lake, even though the name is misspelled. Most have wanted to know about fishing the lake, which is prohibited. Some have wanted to give me fishing reports about what they caught there after sneaking in to fish. Those latter reports have pretty much ceased in recent years. There was a flurry of interest recently. A couple of phone calls and e-mails reported a bunch of bass boats on the lake. "Was it finally opened?" everyone wanted to know. There were even photos on the counter at Clif's Specialized Hunting and Fishing, a little tackle shop in Perris, showed smiling anglers holding nice bass "from Lake Mathews."

So do you want to catch a few Lake Mathews bass? Well you can, right now. At Lake Skinner. Periodically, the Department of Fish and Game puts a few boats on the waters of Lake Mathews and has a group of anglers catch a bunch of fish to be relocated to other lakes in the region. The most recent rod and reel fish-out netted 640 largemouth, most in the two- to three-pound range, according to DFG biologist Mike Guisti. The bass were all released into Lake Skinner last Wednesday "to try and boost that population." The lucky anglers who fished Mathews reported catching a lot of small, skinny striped bass, a few huge catfish, a few crappie, and the largemouths.

Sounds great, eh? Survey work done over the past few years, show that Mathews isn't near the fishery it once was thanks to the massive and increasing amounts of copper sulfate (bluestone) applied to the lake to control blue-green algae. The bottom line here is that you wouldn't find the lake much of fishery after it had been opened to the public for a few months. The bottom of the food chain is wiped out and the bass that survive grow slowly. The only reason that it is good on these infrequent DFG fish-outs is because it never gets fished.

That doesn't have to be the case, however. The lake could -- should! -- be opened at some level to the public, and it shouldn't get these massive levels of copper sulfate treatment any longer. With the completion of Diamond Valley Reservoir (that is the name this week isn't it?), and new water treatment facilities downstream from that reservoir, the old arguments about why Mathews should remain closed (water quality control) just don't hold water any longer. And with that new treatment facility, there's really no valid reason to cripple a great fishery with copper sulfate. We're pretty sure Metropolitan Water District and the DFG will come up with reasons why it won't be opened and that the copper sulfate will continue to damage what could be a great public fishery.

LAKE PERRIS DRAWDOWN: The water level in Lake Perris will fall about seven feet over the next two months as water flows into Diamond Valley. Perris has already been dropped about a 1 1/2 feet the past two weeks. This drawdown is happening when virtually all of the warmwater fish are spawning in the lake. Some anglers were concerned the bass spawn would be left high and dry by the falling water level, but biologist Guisti said the drawdown should be slow enough to allow most of the fry to be out of the nests when the water reaches them. That's the theory.

EXTENDED LAKE PERRIS HOURS: Lake Perris ranger Raphael Samuel, who also happens to be an avid bass fisherman (and one of those lucky guys who fished Lake Mathews earlier this month), said he was pushing for allowing extended boating hours at Lake Perris so anglers can fish from a boat past the current sunset curfew. The lake closes to day use at 10 p.m. throughout the summer, and Samuel said he thought the park staff would approve extending the boating hours until then, which would be good news for fishermen.

BIG FISHING EVENT FOR KIDS: In last week's column, I wrote about a host of cash fishing events throughout the region that could be worth up to $1 million for some lucky angler. This weekend at Lake Perris, ranger Samuel has kept alive a tradition that began 19 years ago. The Tommy Thompson Kid's Fishing Derby will be held beginning 7 a.m. Saturday in parking lots 11 and 12 at Perris. All kids from four to 15 are welcome and Samuel said all of them "will go home with some type of prize." The lake is being stocked at least once with DFG trout for the derby, and there will be prizes awarded for a host of big fish, little fish, no fish, and probably even tangled lines. It's not about big money. It's about getting kids out to the lake and teaching them how to fish and have fun. You busy Saturday morning?

SALTON SEA TOURNAMENT AND MORE -- matthews column 5apr00

In the days before Memorial Day weekend, Salton Sea guide Ray Garnett and tackle shop owner Gary Reagles will be catching a special batch of 50 corvina from the Salton Sea. The fish are all going to be released carefully after being tagged. One of those tagged corvina could win someone a cool $1 million at the end of the three-day weekend in the first ever Salton Sea Memorial Day Fishing Tournament.
"I had this brainstorm. We had been seeing all these million dollar shows on television, and I said, `we should have a million dollar fishing tournament to get some positive publicity for the Sea.' So we called an insurance company to see if they would do something like this," said Gary "Mack" Brenegar, a business owner in Salton City.

The rest is now history. He and Bart Lowery of Anaheim, who has organized big money one-shot golf events, set up this new fishing tournament and enlisted the West Shores Chamber of Commerce to help run the event. The event will take place May 27-29 and both boat and shore anglers are eligible to fish in the event. Entry fee is $35 in advance and $45 the weekend of the event. Anyone catching a tagged fish will need to rush the fish -- still alive -- to one of the official check stations positioned all around the sea. Once validated, that lucky angler will have a chance to win the $1 million. At the conclusion of the weekend, all those who have caught tagged corvina will gather to draw from a barrel containing 50 envelopes. Each envelope will contain a minimum of $500, and there will be $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 envelopes, too. One envelope will have the $1 million grand prize.

"If all 50 tagged corvina are caught over the weekend, someone will win the $1 million for sure -- and all the other money will be paid out, too," said Brenegar. "I want someone to win the $1 million, but more than that I want people to be aware of the Salton Sea and its wonderful fishing. I want people to come see how beautiful it is here," said Brenegar. To get an entry form, you can write to Desert Entertainment, Inc., P.O. Box 5351, Salton City, CA 92275, or call the toll free number 1-877-852-8877. "The insurance company said we shouldn't tell people where the tagged fish are being released," said Katrinka Brenegar. "But I really want someone to win the $1 million." She doesn't directly tell where the fish are being released, but she and Mack admit that Garnett and Reagles will be fishing and tagging fish in all "the popular fishing areas, not just out in the middle of the sea somewhere." And then she gave me Gary Reagles phone number and told me to ask him where he likes to fish.

So when you ask Reagles where, exactly, those popular spots might be, he doesn't hesitate to tell you that HE likes to fish off the north shore at the State Park and at Salt Creek, off Bombay and Red Hill at the south end, at the Target on the west side and, of course, off Riveria Keys, Freebie Point, and Desert Shores. You know, the popular spots. The 50 tagged corvina will be scattered in all these popular spots in hopes that one or more will get caught again, and that a lucky angler will win $1 million.

This is tournament time. Here are just a few of the other derbies and cash fishing events of note that will be ongoing in the coming weeks:

-- There is a $1 million tagged trout event slated to be held at Santa Ana River Lakes and Corona Lake beginning this Friday. Sponsored by Turner's Outdoorsman and Berkley, there is no additional fee to fish this event (just the regular lake fishing fee), but each angler must have a free validation from a Turner's store to qualify for any of the tagged fish cash and prizes. Two anglers catching tagged fish will qualify for a final drawing from 250 envelopes, and one of those envelopes will hold a check for $1 million. This event concludes May 7. For more information, contact SARL at (714) 632-7830, or log on to the web site at Santa Ana River Lakes.

-- The Sixth Annual Cachuma Lake Nature Center Trout Derby will be this Saturday and Sunday. Entry fee is $30 per person ($5 for kids six and under), and the highest numbered tag caught during the two days will be worth $3,000. The longest trout landed will win $2,000. For more information, call the Cachuma at (805) 961-3901 or the Cachuma boat dock at (805) 688-4040.

-- The Big Bear Lake May Trout Classic is set for May 20-21 and entry fee is $45. The event is limited to the first 400 anglers who sign up. One of the most popular trout fishing events in the region, the entry rooster fills earlier each year. If you want to participate, you should call today. Cash prizes are awarded for the nine largest trout caught ($1,800 for the biggest), and there is a special junior division for the kids of entrants. Tournament headquarters is Lin's Tackle Box at (909) 866-6260.

-- The Lake Isabella Trout Derby will be April 15-17. This is a tagged fish event, and the grand prize tagged fish will be worth $10,000. A total of $60,000 in cash and prizes are available on tagged trout. Entry fee is $10 individuals or $25 for a family (husband wife and up to three kids under 18). For more information, contact Kern Valley Visitor's Council at (760) 379-3867.

Most of these events are geared toward the family. The fishing will be good and the chance to win cash is just a bonus.

TURKEY OPENER FOLLOW -- matthews 29mar00

The opening weekend of this spring’s wild turkey hunting season was “spectacularly good,” according to John Massie, a Department of Fish and Game biologist in Ramona who said he had confirmed reports of seven gobblers taken by hunters in San Diego County, including four off public lands. The hunt in the San Bernardino Mountains was slightly less productive with only three birds confirmed. Scott Gossard, a Riverside area resident, may have taken the first bird of the season when he bagged a gobbler with a pair of beards, one 7 1/2-inches long and the other two inches long, just five minutes after the bird flew down from its roost tree in the San Bernardino Mountains. Gossard said he managed to bag a bird in the same area last fall, and it was one from a group of three gobblers.

So he knew there were birds in the area, and in pre-season scouting this year, he’d seen plenty of tracks in the snow to confirm he was in a good area. The area was over an hour hike from the nearest road, and he and his wife Michelle hoofed into the area in the dark. One hoot on his owl call started the big male bird gobbling on its roost, “and he never shut up until he flew down about an hour later.” Within five minutes after the bird flew down off the roost, the big gobbler mistook the hen calling Gossard was making for a real hen in the mood for love. When he strutted to within gun range, it was over quickly. After the shot, Gossard discovered the bird was banded, indicating it was one of the birds from South Dakota released by the DFG to augment the population in February, 1999.

Andy McCormick, who works for Turner’s Outdoorsman in Chino, said he called in five toms on Sunday but couldn’t kill one of them. The birds were gobbling and gobbling in response to McCormick’s calling, but they wouldn’t cross an unseen fence he and his partner couldn’t see. “All in all, I think it was a pretty good opener for the guys. At least the weather was good for a change this year,” said McCormick, referring to the past two seasons when there has been dismal weather for the turkey opener. The spring turkey hunting season continues through May 7 and the limit is three bearded birds for the season.

HELPING COLLECT TURKEY DATA: Jim Davis, a DFG biologist in the San Bernardino Mountains, said the DFG is requesting that successful hunters save the crop of any birds taken to assist in a food habitat study the DFG is conducting in the region. “We’re trying to collect as many crops as we can from hunter-killed birds throughout Southern California,” said Davis. He requested that hunters remove the crop, keeping the contents intact, put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. Successful hunters can call Davis at (909) 866-1549, and he will arrange to have the crop picked up.

COLORADO RIVER STRIPERS PUSHING RECORD BOOK: The third largest striped bass ever taken from the Colorado River was landed about midnight Friday this past week. The 55-pound, five-ounce striper was caught by Mike Pergola of Las Vegas on a 12-inch A.C. Plug. The current river record is a 67-pound, one-ounce fish, and the world record is a 78-pound, eight-ounce fish. Allan Cole, a former Lancaster resident who now lives in Boulder City, said he believes the world record is in jeopardy from a fish out of the Colorado River. Cole, who designed and markets the A.C. Plug, said Pergola’s fish was only 48-inches long and “kind of skinny.” Jeff Smith’s 67-1 river record was only 48 1/2-inches long, and Cole said a “really skinny” 53 1/2-pound striper caught in February was an incredible 52-inches long. “If that fish had fattened up like Smith’s fish, it’d be 70 or 80 pounds easy. That world record is going to fall here. I guarantee it. These stripers are getting bigger and bigger all the time,” said Cole.

Just in the past 10 days, the stretch of water from Cottonwood Cove on Lake Mohave and Willow Beach just below Boulder Dam has produced six stripers over 30 pounds, including Pergola’s 55-5, and a 51-pounder caught by Cole himself last Thursday. Cole will also remind you that all of them were been caught on his huge trout-like lure. In fact he has documented 62 stripers topping 40 pounds caught on his A.C. Plug. But the most incredible thing for Cole is that all of these fish being caught right now are relatively slim compared to how much they’ll weigh in another two months after they add eggs mass and fat from heavy feeding prior to the spawn in May and June. The stripers’ preference for rainbow trout as a food source is well know, but Cole said the big stripers apparently are regularly eating sizable carp to keep their bulky figures. He knows of two instances where three-pound carp were discovered in the bellies of stripers over 40 pounds. As most regular river visitors know, the carp population is massive in the river, but Cole doesn’t recall seeing many carp under about three pounds. Could it be because the stripers are eating most of them? Ever the creative thinker, Cole is now working on a version of his famous plug to mimic the chunky carp.

WEST MOJAVE ROAD CLOSURES -- matthews column 22mar00

The Bureau of Land Management wants to close another huge batch of roads in the West Mojave. Many of the roads pegged for closure are corridors into and through some of the best chukar and quail hunting areas of the Rands, El Paso, and Spangler mountain ranges south of Ridgecrest. The proposed road closures came as a huge surprise to individuals and groups that have been working with the BLM for some 10 years, as the agency tries to write its West Mojave Management Plan. Ten years to write a plan is bad enough. But for the agency staff to then try to push through a series of road closures without either environmental documentation or public input in the past month has users of the desert outraged.

Ron Schiller, a Ridgecrest resident who heads up the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, said that "the BLM wants these roads closed. It's that simple. Their goal is to close as many roads as possible without any justification." Schiller said word of the BLM's road closure map is extensive, leaving only handful of roads open. Schiller said huge tracts of land south of Ridgecrest between Highway 14 and the boundary to the military base to the west is already closed, being included in huge wilderness areas created by the Desert Protection Act. This new round of proposed closures would leave many areas simply inaccessible in this area.

The guise to close the roads has changed. First, BLM staff used tortoises as the excuse, but Schiller pressed them on the issue and they admitted the area is not critical tortoise habitat. Then they used the excuse of potential raptor roosting sites. So he asked for the documentation that shows occasional vehicle use near a roost site disturbed the birds. So far Schiller has been unable to get any documentation why the roads need to be closed from the BLM. Schiller has stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition to the plan, and there will be a public meeting 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Kerr-McGee Center, 100 California Avenue, Ridgecrest. If you want to be kept appraised of actions that affect access and use of the desert, you can get on Schiller's e-mail update list by sending him a message at schiller@ridgecrest.ca.us.

Catfish Tales: The 101-pound state record blue catfish that was caught at San Vicente Reservoir was released back there early this week. The fish was caught by Roger Rohrback of Lakeside almost two weeks ago, kept alive in large tanks, and endured the gawking of thousands of anglers during the Fred Hall Show in Del Mar this past weekend before being released. Imagine the tales that fish has to tell.

New Salton Sea Regulations: The Salton Sea has a new 18-inch minimum size restriction on corvina. We remind anglers of this because the bite has been wide open this past week with corvina to 22 pounds caught by anglers. No one is catching fish under the 18-inch minimum now, but wardens will be on the lookout for anglers who mistake juvenile corvina for croaker. Croaker have underslung mouths, sort of like a sucker, while the corvina have a mouth on the front of their head, like a trout or bass. Salton Sea Mythology: It doesn't seem like a week passes when I don't hear from someone who asks breathlessly if I actually go fishing at the Salton Sea. "Aren't the fish dangerous to eat and isn't the water polluted?" they ask. No. No! The fish are healthier than anything you'll catch out of the Pacific Ocean or the Colorado River or Lake Perris. By a lot. The water is Class One water. If it weren't so salty, you could drink it.

Bizarre Promotion of the Week: The Tejon Ranch, with its headquarters just off Interstate 5 in Lebec, will be hosting a "Pig-O-Rama" where hunters who pay a $300 weekend hunting fee will be allowed to shoot one of the feral pigs on the ranch. This is lower than their normal pig hunting fee, and the biggest hog taken during Memorial Day weekend will win $1,000. For more information, call Don Geivet at (661) 248-6774.

Free Shotgun Event: It's effectively free to compete in Quail Unlimited's National Celebrity Sporting Clays Tournament set for May 20-21 at Raahauge's in Norco. Or at least that's how local shotgunners are viewing the event. Entry fee for the 200-target hunter's division event is only $75. That includes all targets, all shotguns shells, and a regular membership to Quail Unlimited. Entry forms are available at Raahauge's, and you can call (909) 735-7981 for more information.

Turkey Season Opens Saturday: The spring turkey hunting season opens this Saturday throughout the state. Some Department of Fish and Game staff say birds are swarming throughout the San Bernardino Mountains and San Diego County. I've seen tracks and a few birds (but never with a shotgun in my hands). That's hardly a swarm. I'd sure like to hear your reports and see photos of birds taken this opener. I'm not saying the DFG is lying mind you, but I'm a little suspicious that the birds aren't doing quite as well as they say. And yes, I am still practicing with that diaphragm turkey call, and with little progress I might add. Thank you for asking.

STATE RECORD CATFISH -- matthews column 15mar00

Roger Rohrbouck is on the left (in sunglasses) with his brother Jeff on the right.

Catfish don't get no respect. When Roger Rohrbouck of Lakeside hooked and landed the 101-pound blue catfish that will eventually be crowned the state and lake record for the species, he admitted he was disappointed it wasn't a largemouth bass. Fishing with his brother, Jeff, of Alliance, Neb., Rohrbouck hooked the big catfish while fishing with a shiner in San Vicente Reservoir on Sunday. Using only 10-pound test line, he managed to battle the big cat up to the boat where it took four attempts for he and his brother to wrestle the fish into the rental boat. The pair were hoping to catch a trophy largemouth or two, and when they saw the monster catfish on the end of the line, their dreams of a monster largemouth were dashed.

That was then. Now, Roger has been with the fish daily since the opening of the Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Wednesday. The monster catfish is alive and well in a huge bin where everyone who attends the event can see the state record catfish. He must be developing an affection for the huge fish, which is just 10 pounds shy of the world record for the species. Jim Brown, who manages the San Diego city lakes recreation program, said the blue cat is the largest freshwater fish ever landed in California, breaking the old state record from Irvine Lake (89.2 pounds) on blue cats by over 10 pounds. But there are even bigger catfish in San Diego County. "Even at that weight, it is smaller than the one we shocked two years ago at Otay.

Larry (Bottroff, the city lakes fishery biologist) was sure it broke the all-tackle world record," said Brown of a fish they captured and released in a lake survey. But catfish are only a notch up from carp on the California fresh water angler's scale, however foolish that might be. The various types of catfish routinely get bigger by two, three or four times than George Perry's world record largemouth and put up just as spirited a tussle on the line, yet bass are king. Go figure. They are also available in virtually every major water in the region and grow to huge proportions in even the smallest of lakes. From now through the fall, there will be 20-pound catfish caught every week, and once the water warms, it will take fish of 30 pounds or more to make the weekly fishing reports. The 20-pounders will just become too common. On the Colorado River, there is a small but dedicated group of anglers who fish live bluegill and tilapia that weigh 1/2-pound or more in hopes of hooking and landing one of the giant flathead cats that live in the river.

Flatheads are relative newcomers to the river, having been introduced just 30 years ago or so, and they are just now reaching their peak potential for growth. Most of the river veterans insist there are 100-pounders throughout the lower river from Lake Havasu to the Mexican border, but they all agree these fish are nearly impossible to land thanks to heavy current and lots of snags that give the big fish an almost insurmountable advantage. Most anglers use 80-pound test line and often wonder if that is enough. They know the world record rod and reel flathead cat is a 123-pounder caught in 1998 in a Kansas reservoir. Chicken liver is a popular bait for channel cats, but for fish that size you can use the whole chicken. Rohrbouck's fish might stimulate additional interest in catfish in this region. Having it alive at the Fred Hall show, which runs through Sunday, will allow anglers to see its size and beauty.

"This is really a prime specimen, a beautiful fish," said Brown. "You don't hear many people say catfish are beautiful, but it is stunningly beautiful." A clipped fin identified Rohrbouck's blue catfish as one that was handled as a two-pounder prior to being released into the lake. Bottroff was the guy who lopped off a fin 15 years ago in 1985 for identification purposes. "The two were reunited Sunday," said Brown of the catfish and Bottroff. After the show, Rohrbouck wants the fish released back into a lake where it can continue to live out its life -- and maybe thrill another angler or two. This is one catfish that has earned some respect.

TURKEY SEASON COMING -- matthews column 8mar00

I have spent the last several days gagging. Or more accurately, trying not to gag while learning how to use a latex diaphragm turkey call. The idea here is to put this horseshoe-shaped piece of metal, latex and plastic into your mouth, shove it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue, apply light pressure on the latex with your tongue, and then huff air between the latex and your tongue to make the sound of a hen turkey in a mood for love. Watch the video tapes and read the instructions, and it sounds simple, but I have been making gagging noises that don't sound anything at all like the video and audio tapes. I have reread the instructions a dozen or more times, and there's a stretch of video that I'm sure I've worn out because I've played and replayed it so many times, watching the way the instructor holds his mouth, and listening to the sounds he makes. The first time I made any sound, the Labradors jumped at the door to get outside and away from me. It was pouring rain and they still wanted outside. I'd be lying if I said it was coming along, that I was progressively getting better.

Turkey hunting sort of gets in your blood, and with the season opening Saturday, March 25, I sort of made up my mind that I wanted to learn how to use a diaphragm call this year. That was in case I actually ever had a bird in gun range and wanted to do one of those little clucks to freeze the bird so I could make a shot. If I had a bird in gun range now and made one of the noises that I've seemed to master with this call -- sort of a loud, screechy, let-go-of-a-full-balloon noise -- I've considered the possibility the bird might simply die of fright and I wouldn't need to shoot. There was a vote at our house the other evening, and in a very decisive three-to-one decision, I was banned from practicing indoors. The practice turkey calling sessions have been relegated to the garage, in the yard, or while I'm driving in the vehicle. The SUV is a good place to practice because I can have a tape playing. There, a cajoling Southern voice is reinforcing how to use the call, and I can hear the actual recordings of wild turkeys in the woods so I know how it's all supposed to sound. At a stop sign this week, a kindly lady rolled down her window and asked, rather animated and urgent, if I wanted her to call 9-1-1.

I actually thought about that for a second before answering her. I had nearly aspirated the call while gagging for the umpteenth hundred time, but the sound I'd made at that instance almost, sort of, sounded like a turkey on steroids. Apart from nearly choking to death, I thought there was some hope there. I haven't come close to that sound again. With a full two weeks before the season opens, I'm confident that I'll discover the secret. Well, the two secrets. First, how not to gag when you put something at the front of your throat where you're not really sure you can prevent it from sliding on down into your stomach. Second, how to make a noise like a turkey wanting a little romance rather than one getting eaten by a coyote.

I know that I'm not the only hunter out there having these same problems. Andy McCormick, an avid turkey hunter who doesn't gag on his diaphragm call and who is the public relations specialist at Turner's Outdoorsman, said their phone has been ringing off the hook this week about the seminar Turner's is hosting at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises this Saturday in Chino (call 909-735-7981 for information). Everyone wants to learn how to call turkeys, and the seminar is going to be packed. (There's also a dog training seminar this weekend, and I seriously considering going to that to see if I can figure out how to get the dogs to come to me again instead of running whenever I show up.)

Unfortunately, I can't make the turkey seminar, so I will be continuing to practice on my own. If things keep up the way they've been going, you'll be able to recognize me in the woods. I'll be the one that sounds like a cross between yipping coyote and trumpeting elephant. Since hunters often make loud, abrupt noises to make male turkeys sound off so we can pinpoint their position, I may fall back on the diaphragm to get the big male turkeys to shock gobble. If you see me out in the woods and hear soft purring and clucks coming from my position, don't assume I've mastered the diaphragm. I've already decided that the box call and slate or friction call will be in my calling gear. The major part. I may be stubborn, but I'm not completely stupid.

FISHING SEASON BEGINS, FRED HALL AND SPRING -- matthews column 1mar00

Fishing season begins this week.
This is nothing official because our fishing season really never closes here in Southern California. So this unofficial beginning has less to do with the calendar than California cabin fever, which means we haven't worn shorts for five days in a row for over two months.The days start to lengthen, the die-hard anglers head out and start making some incredible bass and yellowtail catches, and suddenly we all recognize that it's time to get back out there and make a few casts. Stand out in the morning sun for about two minutes and you'll feel it, just as surely as the bass are feeling those urges to move inshore and spawn. Fishing season is now open.

This recognition of fishing season always seems to coincide with the Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show which opened Wednesday in Long Beach. If you can't quite feel that it's time, a trip down to the Long Beach Convention Center between now and Sunday will cement the fact for you (for show hours and information, call 562-436-3661). This show is a festival, a celebration of fishing and all it's entrappings. The latest fishing tackle and boats and outdoor destinations around the world are on display here. You might even see your first bikini of the year.

For those of you who don't pour over the fishing report each week, you will be interested to know that two of the biggest bass in Southern California since last year this time were caught in the past week. Mike Long of Poway landed a 17 1/2-pound largemouth out of Lake Poway, and Steve Nicolson of Corona caught a 16-pound, six-ouncer at Lake Perris. There were at least a dozen other bass over 10 pounds caught at waters throughout the region. The four-week period from mid-February to mid-March probably produces more big largemouths than the remaining 48 weeks of the year.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, they are also coming out of their deep-water lairs and winter lethargy, and like us, haven't basked in the sun for a couple of months. Sun-warmed lake shallows and a desire for sex make them hungry. Second, bass this size generally make a living eating things a little bigger than a three-inch threadfin shad. This time of year, rainbow trout have been planted for the past couple of months and will be planted for another month longer in most of these bass waters. This is good for the bass, which really like to eat rainbow trout. It is also good for anglers who now have really good imitations of rainbow trout that the bass have a hard time discerning from the real thing.

Two other things happened Wednesday this week that help cement the idea that fishing season opened. New angling regulations for the Salton Sea took affect. From now on, there is a minimum size limit for corvina at the sea. You can't keep a corvina unless the fish is at least 18-inches long. The change seems to coincide with a fairly dramatic improvement in the fishing at this salty, desert lake. The corvina action has actually been good for at least a month in deep water at the southern end, but the bite has really expanded in recent days and moved into shallower water. Anglers trolling Thinfins and similar lures from Mecca Beach to Salt Creek off the state park are catching five-fish limits of corvina easily exceeding the minimum size. The fish are only in 10 to 12 feet of water.

Two weeks ago you couldn't catch one shallower than 25 feet. Second, rockfish season really has just reopened. After being closed for two months to protect declining stocks of these fish, sportfishing boats are able to head out again. While most anglers think of rockfish as a winter sport (and that is using the term "sport" very loosely), the new closure has added a measure of excitement to this month. In the past, most anglers were putting away their rockfish gear in March and thinking about yellowtail. But with the bulk of the ocean action still in a lull, rockfish are looking like a good alternative to catching nothing (except perhaps out of San Diego where the yellowtail action is very good at the Coronado Islands).

But most of all, true anglers can tell its time to start fishing if they just pay attention to those primal pulls of nature. It's a part of our genetic makeup, perhaps a remnant feeling from that time in our evolutionary past when we used to hibernate, crawl out of a burrow and head down to the river to eat scraps of prehistoric salmon left on the bank by prehistoric grizzly bears. It's just there. I know it, you know it. Both of my boys have pretty much been content to focus on homework, play Nintendo, and watch Lakers basketball for the past couple of months. Then just this week, they both independently decided that it was time to go fishing. And they don't even read the fish report. They just knew: "Dad, we need to go fishing." Well, OK, twist my arm.
Fishing season begins this week.

NEW TRENDS FOR HUNTERS -- matthews column 23feb00

It's taken me over a month to sift through all of the information I was bombarded with during January's Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOW) Show in Las Vegas. This event is the annual unveiling of the new products from the shooting and hunting industry. After over a decade of going to these shows, the challenge is trying to weed out the me-too products to find the real, innovative gems. The SHOT Show is where smaller companies emerge and show products that will be on the cutting edge of new trends. In the past decade, the SHOT Show was where small shops showed such innovative products as fluted or graphite rifle barrels, titanium actions to reduce weight and increase strength, new magnum cartridges based on non-belted cases, and even such things as bismuth shot. All these things are pretty common from major manufacturers now.

This year, I came across two new products at SHOT that I think will wedge their way into the general marketplace in the next couple of years. First is a product called Hevi-Shot made by Environ Metal, Inc. (P.O. Box 105, Albany, OR 97321, telephone 541-791-1819). This new shotshell pellet is actually heavier than lead with the hardness similar to standard steel shot. It is made from a tungsten alloy and the hardness and density allow hunters to use smaller shot sizes to get equivalent energy as in larger lead or steel pellets. Because the pellet is smaller, this allows for more pellet to be in a shotshell cartridge which makes for a denser pattern, increasing the likelihood of multiple hits on the target. Both penetration and retained velocity are also greater with these pellets. Darryl Amick, who holds the patent on the tungsten-nickel alloy used to make this new shot, said he set out to offer something heavier than lead that would be even more effective for hunters.

"My passion for this product is that I hate the fact that we wound these birds, that we have to shoot steel. I'm also absolutely committed to making this product as inexpensive as possible, and we'd like to be significantly under the other non-toxic alternatives to steel," said Amick. "It's going to perform better. I don't think anyone can argue that. It's just a matter of keeping costs down so guys can afford it," said Amick. You will be hearing more about Hevi-Shot in the near future as it becomes available for both reloaders and in loaded offerings.

Second, Lost River Ballistic Technologies (P.O. Box 801, Arco, ID 83213, telephone 208-527-8611) is building a new big game bullet called the J36, that combines controlled expansion technology (similar to the copper Barnes X-Bullet) with an extremely high ballistic coefficient design and metal tip that does not deform in flight. With all of the interest in long-range shooting for game and new super magnum cartridges -- the .300 Remington Ultra Mag and the newly introduced .338 Ultra Mag coming to mind -- most hunters forget that it is ultimately the bullet that does the job at those long ranges. Target shooters have been shooting ``very low drag'' (VLD) bullets in long range matches, but hunters still struggle with bullets that are really designed for shorter ranges both in terms of performance and accuracy.

As much as I dislike the whole concept of shooting game beyond 300 yards, today's firearms and optics, especially when paired with a laser rangefinder, are capable of making shots well beyond that range on calm days. While I still firmly believe that hunters should never shoot beyond 250 or 300 yards, especially if there is any wind (and not even that far if they don't have a rock solid rest), there are some who promote this type of shooting. It doesn't matter than 99 percent of the hunters out there can't shoot well enough in the field to kill game past 250 or 300 yards. I shoot a lot, and even with a solid rest, I'm generally unwilling to shot past 200 yards. Where the VLD bullets do improve a hunter's plight is when shooting at longer ranges and under windy conditions.

The Lost River bullets improve a hunter's odds when making these longer shots because these slugs drop less and are less affected by wind than standard hunting bullets, increasingly so as the ranges stretch out past 200 yards. Their accuracy is also on par with match grade bullets. While they cost over $1.50 per bullet, the price will come down if they make the jump into mass production for the general marketplace. Besides, for the dedicated hunter who might only shoot one or two shots at big game (versus a lot in practice) a season, that is a small price to pay. Heavier-than-lead shot for shotgunning and VLD hunting bullets are part of the next wave of new products that will become commonplace in the near future because they perform.

Pheasants Forever turkey tune-up this Saturday JULIAN --
The Southern California Chapter of Pheasants Forever and Eagle Peak Ranch are sponsoring a pheasant hunting tune up 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Cost for the event is $15 for adults and $5 for children under 16. The event includes a seminar on turkey hunting and a barbecue lunch. There will also be a raffle for a Benelli 12-gauge semiauto shotgun in full Advantage camo, a camo hunting bow, a full 3D camouflage hunting suit, and a turkey hunt at Eagle Peak. For more information or direction, call Eagle Peak at (619) 448-1679.

Pheasants Forever sixth annual banquet to be held March 4 SAN DIEGO
-- The sixth annual Pheasants Forever banquet and fund-raiser will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Scottish Rite Center Golden Eagle Auditorium, 1895 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego. Banquet tickets are $50 per person in advance or $60 at the door. A couples' ticket is $70. Each ticket includes annual membership in Pheasants Forever and dinner. Advance tickets must be purchased by March 1. The event will feature a donation drawing, a silent auction, and a general auction. For more information, contact David Ledinsky, Pheasants Forever president, at (760) 753-0922 or banquet chairman Jim Conrad at (858) 481-9292.

Women's shooting clinic set for March 19 at Prado Tiro
CHINO -- Women of all ages will learn the basics of firearms safety and target shooting at the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation's "A Day at the Range" clinic, slated to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, at the Prado-Tiro Olympic Shooting Park in Chino.
"We've known for a long time that women's participation in the shooting sports is really taking off, and we just can't seem to run enough of these introductory clinics," said Shari LeGate, WSSF executive director, who is also a member of the U.S. Shooting Team. "Once the fear and uncertainty of handling a firearm are gone, women are realizing that target shooting is an incredibly fun, challenging sport that they can participate in with family and friends alike. It's exciting to see so many women making the transition."

The clinic will offer instruction in various shotgun, pistol, and rifle target shooting sports. The admission fee is $35 per person, which includes the cost of ammunition, targets, lunch, and the use of a loaner gun. To register or get more information about the clinic, contact Chad Carlson at (909) 597-4794 or via e-mail at shootprado@aol.com. Hosted at gun clubs around the nation, the Foundation's "A Day at the Range" events are taught only by specially approved instructors with impeccable credentials. Founded in 1993, the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing more women into the hunting and target shooting family and serving as the collective voice of female hunters and shooters worldwide.

Hemet gun dog training seminar March 10-12
HEMET -- The Four Winds Pheasant Club will be hosting a gun dog training seminar by specialist dog trainer Rick Smith of south Texas' Mariposa Ranch the weekend of March 10-12. Smith teaches his nationally-known "silent command system" of training that works with all dogs or all ages, but it is meant to train trainers, not dogs. Space is limited for this weekend event, and it is designed as a hands-on program for hunters and their dogs. For more information, contact Rick Ellis at (854) 486-4600 or Rick Smith Seminars at (830) 216-4230.

TURKEY RELOCATIONS HALTED -- matthews -- 16feb00

The Department of Fish and Game has halted its aggressive turkey relocation program for at least one year under threat of a lawsuit from the California Native Plant Society and the Sierra Club, according to Scott Gardner, the DFG's statewide turkey program coordinator. The two groups contend the DFG is violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by releasing birds without filing an environmental impact report that discloses the affects the releases of turkeys, a non-native bird, have on the environment. The Department has been releasing turkeys, believing they were covered under a categorical exemption granted the DFG for management of "resident" gamebirds. "Our legal counsel advised the Department that she would not support the categorical exemption based on precedent set in the San Diego case," said Gardner. "That means we're out of the turkey moving business for this year." The San Diego lawsuit, also filed by the Native Plant Society, was over releases in that county. In that case, the Department's environmental document, in this case a mitigated negative declaration, was challenged in court and found to be inadequate from a disclosure standpoint for the project to continue. Since then the DFG has continued to relocate turkeys to other locations throughout the state under the categorical exemption, even with the court precedent in San Diego.

The issue came to a head this year, when the staff at the Coachella Valley Mountain Conservancy, a state agency, wrote a letter to the Resources Secretary expressing concern over a proposed DFG turkey release in the San Bernardino National Forest, where there is an existing population of wild turkey. The Conservancy was concerned that the DFG was sending mixed messages to the public by not filing an environmental document on a project of its own, while playing hardball with people in the private sector over their projects. Concerned about procedural issues that violated CEQA, the Native Plants Society and the Sierra Club also contacted the DFG and suggested they were willing to again file a lawsuit if the state agency didn't meet its obligation under the law. This is when the DFG's legal counsel suggested their current course of action would not stand up in court. While this effectively stalled all releases for this winter, Gardner said the DFG was in the process of preparing environmental documents for all of the proposed release sites and he felt the program would resume next year. Gardner said the issue was mostly one over procedure rather than substantive concerns that turkeys would impact endangered plants. "Turkeys are never to make their living going around eating scarce, endangered plants," said Gardner.

While the two groups could still sue the agency after a full-blown EIR is filed for each release site, there is far less likelihood that it would succeed in court because the DFG would have met its requirements under the law. CEQA does not necessarily mandate complete protection of a species, just that there is disclosure about the impacts a project would have and if it is significant. The DFG believes all the evidence is firmly in its favor on turkeys in relation to endangered plants. In an ironic twist, the environmental staff at the Rancho Cuyamaca State Park -- outraged at the DFG for releasing turkeys so close to the park where they have now taken up residence and delight visitors -- have been pushing for the DFG to remove all the birds from the park. This staff has also been instrumental, within the Native Plant Society, in fighting new releases statewide. Now, with no CEQA-approved turkey release sites available this year, birds at Cuyamaca cannot be trapped and relocated. Gardner said that the Southern California locations would be the most difficult to reinstate for next year because there is a growing animosity between the environmental groups in this region that believe turkeys are a non-native species that simply do not belong in Southern California and the hunter-conservation groups and DFG that are pushing for more of the birds to be released to expand hunter opportunity.

TURKEYS ARE NATIVE -- short matthews column sidebar -- 16feb00

A small portion of the environmental community has been fighting turkey relocations in Southern California, and now throughout the state, based on the assumption that these great gamebirds are not native to the region. They argue that the birds could have serious impacts on true native species. There is good evidence that non-natives do have serious impacts. Zebra mussels, cheat grass, starlings, carp, and house cats are all good examples of non-natives introduced by man that have significant impacts on the natives species. The problem is the radicals definition of "native" doesn't jive with reality when it comes to turkeys, however. This isn't a bird from another continent that could have a horrible impact on other species. It is a bird that evolved in California's oak woodlands and grasslands. While land-use changes caused it to become extinct in California in relatively modern times, the bird was common in California in ecologically recent times. It is one of the most common birds in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, and the species there is not very different than those that are being relocated throughout the state.

The reality is that turkeys actually could be a benefit to some of the native plants in California, providing a means to help distribute and germinate seeds. That argument is perhaps more valid than suggesting they will be a detriment because most native plants in California evolved when turkeys were a part of this landscape. (As a side note, some scientists are suggesting that wild pigs in their rooting are playing the ecological same function once played by extinct grizzly bears in California in oak woodlands and may benefit the trees and surrounding grasslands, and there is work ongoing to see if that is actually the case.) The California Native Plants Society arguments that turkeys are non-native and could cause damage to sensitive plants is specious. The birds are a more natural part of the environment than cattle and horses, but the CNPS is not clamoring to eliminate cattle grazing or horseback riding (or Vibram-soled hiking boots) in wild areas statewide.

The reality is that there are some people who simply don't like the idea that the state wildlife agency would plants birds arguably for the sole purpose of later being hunted. Most sportsmen appreciate the idea that true non-natives can cause problems. Through our excise taxes and license fees, we have paid the Department of Fish and Game's substantial bill to try to eradicate northern pike from Davis Lake and have spent a lot of money containing white bass. Volunteer groups like Quail Unlimited have spent thousands of man-hours removing tamarisk from desert riparian areas. The Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep has been instrumental in pressing for and coordinating burro removals to protect native big game. The Native Plant Society is barking up the wrong tree on this one. Our advice to them: spend your precious money and time on efforts that will have an impact protecting endangered plants.

Annie Oakly Award winner makes women feel at home on the range

By KAREN KAUKOL For Outdoor News Service

Cheryl Hansen's life was already over-scheduled. The owner of three successful small businesses, Hansen was pregnant with her third child when she decided to take up sporting clays, a shotgun-shooting sport that simulates field hunting conditions. She won her first competition just a day before her daughter Catelyn, now nine, was born. Hansen went on to win a host of accolades as a competitor, earning three sporting clay all-American crowns, two California state championships, and five years on the Amateur Trapshooting Association's Central Zone team. In her free time, the Mojave resident volunteered as a 4-H shooting sports instructor. Balancing all that with school board meetings and junior high softball games would cause most people to come unglued. But for Hansen, it led to even more commitments. Smitten by the shooting sports and recognizing the need to educate women and children about firearms safety, she recruited four friends to help her launch a series of free or low cost shotgun-shooting clinics for California women in 1994. The program quickly took off.

``Our first ladies-only clinic had 17 participants,'' she said. ``Now we have to cut the registration off depending on the size of the facility. The word is out, and it's becoming difficult to accommodate the interest.'' Hansen has observed another interesting trend in her ``A Day at the Range'' and ``Ladies Only'' clinics. Young women are signing up in droves. ``At our last clinic, 30 percent of the class was under the age of 16,'' she said. ``They're enthusiastic about the sport and want to learn the fundamentals in a supportive environment. ``There's a certain beauty in having an all-female instructional and competitive environment. As instructors, we've been there. We were there when our husbands or fathers handed us a shotgun that was four inches too long, and they didn't understand why they had to pick us up off the ground after the first shot. Women are built differently; our center of gravity is different. We have needs and concerns that men just haven't encountered,'' said Hansen. Because most of her clinic participants are novices, Hansen emphasizes safety above and beyond anything else.

``Typically firearms are completely new to these women, so we tend to go overboard on the safety issues,'' she said. ``If they leave with nothing else, we want them to understand that safety always has to be their number one concern. You don't get any second chances in this sport, so you always have to be alert to potentially unsafe situations and the precautions that you need to take to prevent them.'' Hansen's commitment and achievements caught the attention of the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation, a 5,000-member charitable organization dedicated to promoting firearms safety education and women's involvement in the shooting sports. In recent weeks, the organization bestowed on Hansen its highest honor, the Annie Oakley Award. The prestigious award is given annually for lifetime achievement in fostering shooting sports education and participation among women. ``Cheryl has been a pioneer in women's education and instruction,'' said the Foundation's Executive Director Shari LeGate. ``She's a great mother, person, coach, and competitor, and we're fortunate to have someone of her caliber in the shooting sports family who is so willing to give back to the sport. She's an inspiration to all of us.'' Hansen admits that she never expected her efforts to receive such recognition.

``I'm totally committed to giving back to the sport that has given me so much, but there are so many people out there working toward the same goal,'' said the 34-year-old mom and coach. ``As shooters, it's our responsibility to promote education and provide services that allow women to learn and enjoy the sport. Most of us grew up believing that this was a man's sport. Well, like everything else, times have changed and there's no reason why women can't be just as involved and active in target shooting.'' She also acknowledges that part of her challenge is to help break down the stereotypes and myths associated with gun ownership. ``This sport is near and dear to my heart. It's provided my entire family with wonderful, wholesome experiences and introduced us to what I am certain are life-long friends,'' she said. ``We need to help the media and the public understand that a lot of good people own guns and use them for constructive sporting purposes. I'll do whatever it takes to help make this happen.'' So many projects, so little time. Indeed, Hansen shows no signs of slowing down in her quest to help more women feel at home on the range. She's currently organizing two more introductory clinics and is planning others. For information on becoming involved as a participant, instructor, or volunteer, contact Hansen at (661) 824-2674.

San Diego NWTF Chapter hosting a turkey tune-up on February 26

EL CAJON -- The San Diego Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) will be hosting is Turkey Tune Up 2000 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Project 2000 Shooting Range here. The event will feature instruction by Quaker Boy pro staffer Jimmy Rizzo, a Southern California-based Mississippi hunter who is well-known throughout the region for his turkey calling and story-telling techniques. Also the Department of Fish and Game will be on hand to discuss turkey hunting opportunities on public lands in San Diego County, and there will be a raffle for a fully guided turkey hunt on the Tejon Ranch in Kern County. Hunters are also encourage to bring their turkey shotguns to compete in a wild turkey shoot out and use the range to pattern their guns in preparation for the season. Cost for the event is $5 for adults and $2 for juniors. All NWTF members are free. The range is located at 2082 Willow Glen Drive, El Cajon. From Jamacha Road in Rancho San Diego go east on Willow Glen Drive approximately three miles. The Project 2000 range is located on the left. For more information, call Bill Trepanier at (619) 287-3462 or Stan Landess at (619) 293-3116.

Fred Hall Show kicks off March 1-5 in Long Beach

LONG BEACH -- The 54th Annual Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show will be held March 1-5 at the Long Beach Convention Center here. It will feature over 1,000 exhibits of new rods, reels, lures, fishing electronics, and camping gear along with the latest boats and booths on outdoor travel destinations around the world. The lists of hour seminars and daily presentations is a long one, and there is again a free kid's fishing pond. Hours are from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 per person with kids under 12 free. For more information or directions, call (562) 436-3661.

Two turkey hunting seminars in March

CHINO -- Two turkey hunting seminars will be conducted by Turner's Outdoorsman in March. The first will be March 9 at the San Marcos Turner's location, and the second will be March 11 at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises range in Norco, according to Andy McCormick with the Turner's main office here. Both events will feature Steve Puppe, Hunter Specialties Pro Staffer, who will give hunters tips on scouting, calling, decoys, camouflage, guns and other gear. The event at Raahauge's will be more extensive with shotgun patterning sessions (hunters are encouraged to bring their shotguns) and a five-stand shotgun event for those who want to participate. Members of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be on hand at both events to explain work the NWTF has done in the region and encourage hunters to join the non-profit group. For more information, contact the San Marcos Turner's at (760) 741-1570 or Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

Hemet gun dog training seminar March 10-12

HEMET -- The Four Winds Pheasant Club will be hosting a gun dog training seminar by specialist dog trainer Rick Smith of south Texas' Mariposa Ranch the weekend of March 10-12. Smith teaches his nationally-known "silent command system" of training that works with all dogs or all ages, but it is meant to train trainers, not dogs. Space is limited for this weekend event, and it is designed as a hands-on program for hunters and their dogs. For more information, contact Rick Ellis at (854) 486-4600 or Rick Smith Seminars at (830) 216-4230.

`Big Bertha' again a feature of the 14th annual Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby on April 8-9

SANTA MONICA -- The 14th Annual Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby will again feature a tagged halibut that if caught during the event could be worth $25,000 to a lucky angler during this April 8-9 event. The derby attracts nearly 2,000 anglers each year on a flotilla of more than 700 boats, and it is the largest event of its kind on the West Coast. The event's proceeds are donated to the Santa Monica Boys' and Girls' Club and other Los Angeles County youth organizations and since it's beginning in 1987, the non-profit, charity event has raised more than $450,000 for inner-city kids and fishery conservation efforts. Prior to the event, five legal halibut will be fitted with tags. Anglers who catch one of these tagged fish will have an opportunity to draw from one of five envelopes -- one worth $25,000 in cash. Entry fee is $50 per angler and covers both days of the event. There is also a banquet and awards ceremony April 15 that will cost $30 per person for those who choose to attend. For more information, call the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby hotline at (310) 450-5131.

Quail Unlimited's National Celebrity Sporting Clays Tournament set for May 20-21 in Norco

NORCO -- The Quail Unlimited Dub Taylor National Celebrity Sporting Clays Tournament will be held May 20-21 at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises in Norco, attracting shooters from across the nation. There is a 200 target event for Saturday and Sunday (May 20-21). Shooters can register in the National Sporting Clays Association's registered division for $250 or the non-NSCA Hunter's Division for $75 to shoot the 200-target event. Each registered shooter will receive eight boxes of Winchester ammunition, target, admission to Saturday's shooters' party, and a regular membership in Quail Unlimited. There is also a small gauge tournament on Friday (May 19) with an entry fee of $50, which includes two boxes of ammunition and targets. The event is for 20 and 28 gauges only. Entry forms or more information are available from Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

LIGHTNING TROUT DEBUT -- matthews 9feb00

ANAHEIM -- Early last Friday morning a special tanker truck carrying a precious cargo pulled into Santa Ana River Lakes and opened a chute that spilled cool water and gold into the catch-out pond at these lakes. Not that kind of gold, but a new golden-colored trout. The Lightning Trout, developed by Phil Mackey and his staff at Mt. Lassen Trout Farms in northern California, represent a chance occurrence in nature enhanced and isolated by a careful breeding program. These special rainbow trout wear a rich, golden color with brilliant crimson stripes along the lateral line and cheek. ``It's just a beautiful fish. I've never seen anything like it,'' said Bill Andrews, who co-owns the Santa Ana River Lakes concession along with Doug Elliott. ``It should be an exciting thing for the anglers to see this new strain of fish.''

Mackey flew down the night before the release to see the reaction of local media and officials to the Lightning Trout. He watched the people as they stood around the pond marveling at the fish that could be clearly seen even through the off-colored water. ``It's been a long time in coming,'' said Mackey. ``It's been very complicated to pull this one together.'' He explained that a hatchery worker noticed a variation of the pure gold coloration on a rainbow trout in their system. As luck would have it, this first gold-barred precursor to the Lightning Trout was a male, which allowed Mackey and his staff to breed the fish with hundreds of other normal-colored rainbows in hopes that one of them carried this unique gene and would produce similar offspring. When those first offspring hatched, Mackey and his staff were delighted to find that about 25 percentage exhibited a striking pure gold coloration -- the first true Lightning Trout. When two Lightning Trout were crossed with each other, the offspring were all the gold color. Through continued selective breeding and back-breeding to regular rainbows, Mackey has developed a strain that breeds true for the gold color and has maintained the vigor and health of a regular rainbow.

In nature, the color is perhaps a one-in-a-million color variation -- about as common as finding a thumb-sized gold nugget on the bank of a trout stream. But now, thanks to Mt. Lassen Trout Farms, the Lightning Trout it is not nearly so rare, allowing anglers to find the ``gold'' more readily. ``We're excited about it for a lot of different reasons,'' said Mackey. ``The biggest thing about it is that it is so different, and I think fishermen will be excited about this trout.'' Mackey said they are broadening the gene pool, so it doesn't develop problems from inbreeding. The fish have proven hardy and healthy, like other, normal-colored rainbow in their hatchery. The meat of the trout is brilliant red, like a salmon, which will also make them popular on the table. Lastly, he has been able to triploid the trout -- a process where the eggs are heat-shocked so they don't develop into fertile trout. This is what has made Mt. Lassen famous. It allows the trout to grow into trophy proportions quickly because they don't waste energy growing eggs or milt each year. They just get bigger.

But trophy Lightning Trout are in the future. For this year, the biggest Lightning Trout anglers will see will be about 2 1/2 pounds, with most in the one to 1 1/2-pound range. The Lightning Trout will be released from the catch-out pond into the main lake at Santa Ana River Lakes very early Friday morning this week, and there will be a second truck come down from Mt. Lassen with another load of these special fish at the same time. Friday will be the first opportunity for anglers in Southern California to see and catch these trout. Andrews and Elliott invested in the research to develop this rare color-strain of rainbow and have an exclusive agreement with Mackey to plant the fish only at Santa Ana River Lakes and Corona Lake in Southern California. Corona will get it's first plant of Lightning Trout in March. Plants will be limited this year because there just aren't that many fish available yet. Next year, there will be more and bigger Lightning Trout in the two lakes. ``What about the year after that?'' Mackey is asked. He just grins, something clearly up his sleeve. His wife Nancy shakes her head and with a smile calls him the ``the mad trout scientist.''

OUTDOOR NEWS SHORTS -- matthews -- 9feb00

Lake Elsinore's first trout plant on Monday

LAKE ELSINORE -- The City of Lake Elsinore has contracted with an Idaho hatchery to plant the lake with 5,000 pound of rainbow trout Monday, Feb. 14. The plant will consist of 4,000 pounds of 1 1/2- to two-pound trout and 1,000 pounds of three- to five-pound rainbows, according to Dave Sapp, the community services director for the city. One of the trout will wear a special tag that will be worth a trolling motor, donated by Pro Marine in Lake Elsinore, said Sapp. The trout plants will take place at least two locations and possibly a third. The first location will be in Trout Cove on the south side of the lake at the levy (near the baseball stadium). Sapp said the levy has been opened for pedestrian access and additional parking has been made available in this area. The second location will be the city boat launch, an area that is closed to public access, but will allow the fish to spread throughout the lake without being caught out very quickly by anglers. The possible third location is at the city campground.

The city's effort to clean up the lake has led to dramatically improved water quality and oxygen levels, making the lake suitable for trout stocking during the winter months, according to Sapp. The city is still working with the Department of Fish and Game to plant the lake with an additional plant of 5,000 pounds of trout this year, but the DFG's share of a matching program will probably not be planted until November. Sapp said the city was working on a program to enhance the entire fishery, with construction of bass habitat and catfish breeding structures. He said the city would also be planting largemouth bass fry and catfish up to 40 pounds later this year. The catfish plants would be in conjunction with a special tagged fish event slated for late in the spring.

Record catch leads to victory at Lake Don Pedro tournament

LA GRANGE -- One expects to see 30-pound weights at tournaments on Clear Lake and the Delta, but Lake Don Pedro pulled one of the biggest surprises in tournament history on the first round of the WON BASS Invitational when Sonora angler Paul Prunchak came to the weigh-in with 4 bass totaling 31.86 pounds. A record field of 257 anglers hit the waters at Lake Don Pedro this past Saturday and Sunday as the WON BASS Miller High Life Tour opened its North Region for 2000. The second day was not kind to Prunchak, who got bit only three times but did not boat a fish. His amazing 18.12-pound lead, however, held up as it was just too much to overcome. Jack Van Grouw of Fresno did close the gap considerably as he finished with 27.35 pounds to win $6,500 for second place. Jack had consistent days of 13.53 and 13.82 pounds for daily limits.

Van Grouw reported catching his fish deep (47-67 feet) on Carolina rigged plastics, with 3/4 and 1-ounce weights. Third place and $4,500 went to defending Lake Don Pedro champion, Bob Perry of Fresno, who checked in with 25.23 pounds. He had limits weighing 11.66 and 13.57 pounds, taken on jigs worked ``up hill and very slowly'' in deep waters. First place earned Prunchak a new Ranger 518VX boat and trailer with a Mercury 175 outboard, Lowrance electronics and a MotorGuide trolling motor -- a package worth about $35,000. The first round of the tournament provided a record catch as Prunchak checked in with an incredible 31.86 pounds, the heaviest one-day catch under the five-bass limit allowed. Last year, Jim Reese of Ukiah set the record with 29.75 pounds for five bass at Clear Lake. And Prunchak had only four bass! His largest was an 11.15 pounder, but he backed that up with another one near 10 pounds and a pair in the five-pound range. Needless to say he, and AAA partner Tim Rosatelli of Potter Valley led their divisions -- by 18.12 pounds, the largest lead in the history of WON BASS tournaments and possibly the largest one-day lead ever recorded in a bass tournament.

Prunchak caught his fish on large swim baits fished off points in several areas of the lake. The rest of the field was tightly bunched on the first day with second through 30th place ranging only from 13.74 down to 10.01 pounds. In second spot were Pro Matt Garrett of Exeter and AAA John Neibel of San Jose with 13.74 pounds. Pro John White of San Luis Obispo and AAA Steve Marino of Salida were in third place with 13.67 pounds. Prunchak picked up $1,500 in Saturday's Miller High Life Daily Double with the day's largest bass at 11.15 pounds, while second place went to Marino with a six-pounder. Prunchak actually had the two largest bass, but anglers are eligible for only one big fish prize each day. Only a handful of anglers even had bass that approached the 4-pound range. The top bass of the second day earned Mark Naillon of San Jose a cash payoff $1,500 for another lunker bass, this one a 9.34 pounder, while $500 went to AAA angler Jerry Hole of Hanford with a 6.54 pounder.

The 257 anglers weighed in a total of 442 bass on the first day. The average fish was an even 2.00 pounds, well above the national average of 1.75 pounds. On the second day, the anglers bagged 415 bass with an average weight of 1.96 pounds. For both days, 98 percent of the bass were released alive after weighing. The next tournament on the 2000 WON BASS Miller High Life Tour is for the South Region and will be at Lake Mead on Feb. 26-27. The next North Region event is set for Shasta Lake on March 25-26. Entry fee for Pros is $350 and the AAA entry fee is $175. This also includes entry into the $4,000 Miller High Life Daily Double, the big bass award that offers $1,500 for the largest bass and $500 for the second largest bass on each of the two days of the tournament. To get tournament dates, results and angler points standings for both Pro/Am and team tournaments, see WON BASS on the Internet at www.wonbass.com or contact WON BASS at (714) 546-4370, ext. 38.

AGATE RESULTS -- WON BASS Tournament results -- 9feb00

WON BASS Miller High Life Don Pedro Invitational
LA GRANGE -- The following are the top ten place in the Pro and AAA divisions in the the WON BASS Miller High Life Clear Lake Invitation held Feb. 5-6 here.
Pro Division
Place, Angler Total Weight Winnings
1. Paul Prunchak, Sonora 31.86 $35,000 boat
2. Jack Van Grouw, Fresno 27.35 $6,500
3. Bob Perry, Fresno 25.23 $4,500
4. Loren Groux, Turlock 24.52 $3,000
5. John White, San Luis Obispo 23.85 $2,500
6. Matt Garrett, Exeter 23.16 $1,500
7. Steve Geffs, Fairoaks 23.08 $1,500
8. Aaron Martens, Castaic 22.77 $1,250
9. Buck Bauernfeind, Castaic 22.53 $1,250
10. Mark Naillon, San Jose 22.36 $1,250
AAA Division
Place, Angler Total Weight Winnings
1. Tim Rosatelli, Potter Valley 33.74 $1,000
2. Medley King, Danville 24.15 $800
3. John Neibel, San Jose 23.83 $700
4. John Perkins, Hollywood 23.56 $600
5. Ken Morioka, Chatsworth 22.45 $500
6. James E. Wilson, Brentwood 22.19 $400
7. Bob Morris, Fellows 21.11 $350
8. Chris Ricci, Sacramento 21.03 $300
9. Robbie Topie, La Grange 20.69 $300
10. Russell Baron, Madera 20.13 $300
Miller High Life Daily Double Big Bass Winners
Day 1: 1. Paul Prunchak, Sonora (Pro), 11.15; $1,500. 2. Steve Marino, Salida (AAA), 6.00, $500. Day 2: 1. Mark Naillon, San Jose (Pro), 9.34, $1,500; 2. Jerry Hole, Hanford (AAA), 6.54, $500.

`Big Bertha' again a feature of the 14th annual Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby on April 8-9 SANTA MONICA

The 14th Annual Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby will again feature a tagged halibut that if caught during the event could be worth $25,000 to a lucky angler during this April 8-9 event. The derby attracts nearly 2,000 anglers each year on a flotilla of more than 700 boats, and it is the largest event of its kind on the West Coast. The event's proceeds are donated to the Santa Monica Boys' and Girls' Club and other Los Angeles County youth organizations and since it's beginning in 1987, the non-profit, charity event has raised more than $450,000 for inner-city kids and fishery conservation efforts. Prior to the event, five legal halibut will be fitted with tags. Anglers who catch one of these tagged fish will have an opportunity to draw from one of five envelopes -- one worth $25,000 in cash. Entry fee is $50 per angler and covers both days of the event. There is also a banquet and awards ceremony April 15 that will cost $30 per person for those who choose to attend. For more information, call the Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby hotline at (310) 450-5131.

THE ROCKPILE: SPORTING CLAYS WITH ATTITUDE -- matthews 2feb2000

Sporting clays was designed as a hunter's game but has since been infiltrated by a growing element of the shotgun crowd that is more interested in talking about choke tube constriction and comb height. What happened to talking about quail hunting while walking between stations? The Rockpile, located in the mountains west of Perris between Interstates 215 and 15, is a sporting clays course with attitude, on a multitude of fronts. When Bill Sackwar, the owner and designer of the new range, told me his sporting clays course was tough, I didn't realize at the time that it wasn't because the targets were all that difficult. It's the crowd that's tough. In a friendly, heckling sort of way.

For those who are unfamiliar with sporting clays. It is a shotgun shooting event that features clay targets throw in the air and bounced on the ground to represent game birds and rabbits. Sackwar's course is for hunters. It's set up in the jumble of boulders and steep canyons that would make chukar and mountain quail feel at home. Wind whips over the hilltop in the afternoons and makes targets dip and dart like a dove on the fourth day of the season. There are a series of five ``stations'' where a shooter gets 10 targets, in singles and pairs. Since all of Sackwar's target throwers are mobile, the course changes each week -- especially if anyone breaks very many targets and starts to get cocky. To simulate actual field conditions, Sackwar is adding elements that make the game very much like field shooting -- maybe too much like field shooting: You sit on a rock and shoot targets at one station. It always happens this way in the field. Take a break and a bird flushes. Instead of just calling for the target at another spot, you have to reach down and throw a rock into a bush to flush the bird -- er -- target. There was discussion while I was there of a station where you have to shoot from a squatting position with your pants pulled down below your knees.

The day I shot the range, there was a pretty big group of shooters, and the tone was set when the verbal abuse at the first station almost exceeded target difficulty. There were a pair of bouncing ``rabbit'' targets that scooted across a small opening for about a second. I can't pump my 870 fast enough to shoot both targets, and the instruction was that you couldn't shoot a target once it went behind or past a set of boulders. I had been watching the other shooters miss these targets while talking with Sackwar. ``Hunters for some reason aren't clay bird shooters, and the trap and skeet shooters -- and guys who shoot other sporting clays courses -- don't like my course because it's too hard. This is a hunter's course. It's designed for actual field-type conditions," said Sackwar while we watched. My turn. I tried to cycle the pump gun fast enough just to get off two shots while the targets were bouncing across the opening. Never mind hitting anything, I just wanted to see if I could get the shots off. After two tries, it was clearly impossible. So I carefully tried to simply hit one of the targets. I missed, but one of the unscathed bouncing targets came out from behind the boulders, rolled up the hillside, and stopped. I swung over to it and shot.

The plan was to claim that shot was like a real hunting situation, where you'd take the best shot presented by a rabbit and take him home for the barbecue. The problem was I not only broke a gentleman's range rule by shooting on the other side of the rock, I missed the unmoving target. There were howls of laughter, and you can only imagine the barrage of comments I faced. They had been nice to me, the newcomer, until then. Now, I was a part of the group. I thought there was going to be a series of side bets set up on whether or not I'd break any targets, seeing as how I couldn't hit one laying on the ground. Someone else suggested I just go over and shoot a thrower filled with targets. ``That'd be like YOU'D ground-sluice a covey of quail.'' Ouch! How tough was the course? Two stations later, Dale Boothroyd of Mead Valley was made to shoot the entire station with a clay target covering his small bald spot, ostensibly so the glare wouldn't bother the rest of us. It's a really tough course. The Rockpile is like real hunting. The targets are unpredictable, and you miss a lot of them. Your partners heckle you relentlessly. But it's great hunter's practice -- and it's fun. I stayed to shoot a second round.

The Rockpile is open to the public each Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m., and by reservation on Wednesday evenings (it's lighted, which adds an eerie element to the shooting -- and banter). Groups can also reserve the course on other days. For information, call Sackwar at (909) 229-7659 or leave a message at (909) 735-1107.

WATER AND WILDLIFE MISMANAGEMENT -- matthews column 26jan00

I went out and stood in the rain Tuesday morning. It had been too long in coming. Normally, our foothills are covered in a carpet of green by early December, but this year it was too dry. Especially for the wildlife. Busting brush across Baldy Mesa late this hunting season looking for quail was more than futile, it was disheartening. The Labrador's usually uncanny nose was clogged with dust. It was dry and scent was fleeting. A gamebird guzzler was dry as a bone, but there were some fresh quail tracks in the dust nearby, and we followed them down the canyon. The Lab put up a cottontail, and I let him chase it until it's scent evaporated and he couldn't follow it. He didn't get more than 50 yards away.

Then R.G. called out ``birds,'' and I saw a single quail flush and sail over the sidehill. When I walked over to him, he said there had only been a pair, perhaps all that remained of a bigger covey I had seen here earlier in the season. These two birds were staying near the guzzler, seeming to know that if it ever rained this would be where the water would collect and they could get a drink. We didn't even bother to follow the pair. Trudging back to the truck, I was thinking the guzzler should be holding water, even if it meant hauling in the moist stuff. But the guzzler was in disrepair. The apron was in need of work and perhaps the tank was cracked. It held only a little water when I visited the spot early in the summer, but it was enough to hold at least two coveys of quail when I was there. But it hasn't rained until this week, and there was no means to reach the tank.

The U.S. Forest Service, in its infinite wisdom, had bulldozed the road that went to the guzzler to stop motorcycle access, effectively dooming the water source. No maintenance. No water deliveries. No birds. There was also an old water tank at the top of the ridge that once had a valve and open water for wildlife. Down along the southern foot of Baldy Mesa, there once was a series of cattle tanks that held water all year, all joined by a pipeline. All are dry now. Thanks to the Forest Service. Everywhere I've been this year bird hunting has been a succession of disappointments about water and what a dismal job the Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service (managers of the East Mojave National Preserve) are doing when it comes to providing on-the-ground benefits to wildlife. Several of the guzzlers I've visited needed work or were dry (or both). Perfectly good wildlife water sources have been abandoned or made nonfunctional by government agencies. I fear that the Park Service will remove all the windmills and stock tanks in the East Mojave.

If it were not for groups like Quail Unlimited, there would be no habitat work being done and no guzzler or spring maintenance. While I am proud of what the volunteers are doing, it is becoming less clear to me what the DFG is doing with our license money or what the USFS is doing with our tax dollars and Adventure Pass money. Are they really doing anything on the ground to benefit wildlife? I asked a biologist chum this week how much time he actually spent doing or supervising on-the-ground improvements that would help wildlife. Any wildlife, not just gamebirds. He was sarcastic when he said, ``Well, we only break out time down to the second. It was less than that." What about his compadres? I asked. He laughed, ``I've done more than anyone else.''

The message was clear: Wildlife wasn't important. This is the era of bureaucracy and politics in resource management. In addition, there is a whole generation of wildlife bureaucrats who believe that anything man-made or man-altered is wrong and should be removed. Never mind that natural water sources have all been destroyed, especially in the desert, thanks to groundwater pumping, diversions, and non-native burros. Yet, the BLM and Park Service want to remove windmills and guzzlers. Actually doing anything that would benefit wildlife is up to volunteers who bother to battle through the bureaucratic process to get permission to do on-the-ground work. It is a travesty. In the southern half of the state, water is the most important factor in maintaining or enhancing habitat for wildlife. It can open up huge areas of country to wildlife that would be devoid of the critters without water. We need to hammer on all the public agencies to make sure they maintain, restore, and enhance water. Their lack of effort in this regard has a huge negative impact on wildlife, especially in dry years like this one.

SHOT SHOW REVIEW -- matthews 19jan00

LAS VEGAS -- The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, the industry's annual unveiling of its new products, was marked this year by developments that utilized high technology to improve shooting and hunting products. Titanium is clearly the new hot material for making firearms and optical housings, and Remington's announcement of its new electronic trigger and ignition system were the highlights of this 22nd annual show, held here this week at the Sands Convention Center. Titanium, stronger and lighter than steel, and more difficult to machine, has been used in expensive, custom firearm applications for a decade or more, but in the past two years, Smith & Wesson and Taurus have introduced production revolvers, and now semi-automatic pistols, using this metal to reduce weigh and increase strength.

That trend was taken another step this year, when both Burris and Nikon announced rifle scopes with the optic housings made partially or entirely of titanium in their top-of-the-line models, products that will often cost much more than the hunting rifles they are intended to complement. Burris also announced a new lens coating that improves light transmission and is nearly as indestructible as the titanium scope barrel. Burris' Pat Beckett made a room-full of guns and hunting writers cringe when he took the new titanium scope with the special lens coatings and tried to scratch the lens with a pocket knife. He said cleaning a scope lens off with a gritty shirt tail will no longer damage the optics because of this new coating. Remington's new electronic ignition rifle system, called the EtronX, will offer improved accuracy because of a near-zero lock time, the amount of time between when the shooter squeezes the trigger and when the bullet exits the barrel. The EtronX Rifle System is housed in the familiar Model 700 action and rifle, so shooters will find few difference in the feeding, balance, and feel of the rifle.

While the high tech end of the business garnered a lot of interest, traditional hunting and recreational shooting sports, the core of the industry, is where most of the new products were focused. And sometimes ``new'' means the reintroduction of things very old. Winchester firearms continued its march back into the shotgun marketplace with an expansion of its X-2 autoloading shotgun line and brand new line of over-and-under shotguns called the Supreme line. It also announced it would revive the making the Model 1895 lever action, a gun that has been around for a century and was a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt, in the .405 Winchester caliber. Marlin is introducing a version of its Model 1895 lever gun in a brand new caliber for a classic line -- the 450 Marlin Magnum, a cartridge that falls midway between the classic .45-70 and the .458 Winchester Magnum in power. There were also two very neat new semi-automatic .22 rimfires announced. Browning took it's popular Buckmark pistols and utilized the same action to design a compact and accurate rifle, and a company long known for it's single shot pistols, rifles and muzzleloaders, took a unusual step and announced a quality semi-automatic .22. The new Thompson/Center .22 Classic is an elegant rimfire for hunters.

Two of the major ammunition companies, Winchester and Federal, seemed to focus their efforts this year at two extremes -- making high quality ammunition more affordable and expanding their top-of-the-line ammunition offerings. Federal announced a new big game hunting line featuring the new Deep-Shok bullet that offers performance on par with the most expensive premium slugs and ammunition at a far more affordable price. Winchester has announced an expansion its Xpert and Super-X lines of steel and lead shotshells, and its USA brand of varmint rifle ammunition. All give premium performance and promotional ammunition prices. Driven by real (gun control laws) and imagined (Y2K disasters) threats, created an ``interest in our products... (that) has fueled an excellent, if not an all-time record year for many in our industry,'' said Bob Delfay, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation about 1999. In spite of threats to firearms ownership and hunting, most people in the industry were positive about the next millennium, and the new products reflected that continued belief that the shooting and hunting sports would thrive well into the 2000s.

SB23 BANS HUNTING GUNS -- matthews column 12jan00

I had been trying to tell hunting and shooting chums that legislation passed this past year would ban sales of some of their favorite sporting guns. They scoffed. I have been called a wacko by friends who didn't really believe our legislature was trying to ban ``legitimate guns,'' just get those nasty, ugly ``assault guns'' off the streets. Well, now we're finding out that the legislature and Department of Justice can't define an assault gun without including a host of popular sporting guns in the definition. When SB23 passed, an expansion of the assault gun ban, and most hunters and shooters said, ``Ah, what do I care, I don't shoot those ugly guns.''

Well, under the DOJ definitions written the end of December, you and I just might own and shoot one of those guns. One of the largest sporting good store chains in Southern California -- Turner's Outdoorsman -- has interpreted the DOJ regulations to mean ANY semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine -- including many popular deer hunting and sporting rifles. Those now technically included in the list are Remington Model 7400s, Browning BARs with and without the BOSS system, Ruger Mini-14s and Mini-30s, Mossberg Camp Carbines in 9mm and .40 caliber, and a host of previously manufactured guns. Under the DOJ regs the way they are written now, you can't buy these guns, you can't sell them if you own one, and you have to register the gun, paying an annual fee. Major gun dealers throughout the state have stopped selling these guns so customers are not arrested and so they are not charged under the new law, which took effect Jan. 1.

Bill Lockyer, the attorney general, is howling that the sporting community is misrepresenting the issue and that it was not the intent of the regulation to ban sporting guns. The reality is that Lockyer is misrepresenting the issue, and he and his staff refuse to address the sporting communities' questions in an intelligent way. Tell us what is legal and what is not. Tell us why. Lockyer and the DOJ are unable to do that because the law is so moronic that definitions are impossible. But we already knew how ignorant Lockyer is about guns. He used scenes from the North Hollywood shootout in his political ads during his election campaign saying assault guns like those used in the shootout needed to be banned. Duh! The guns used in the Hollywood shootout were fully automatic weapons which have been banned for decades. Steve Helsley, with the National Rifle Association in Sacramento, said it was clear this was ``Larry and Moe doing gun control.'' How right he is.

I spent a frustrating day on the telephone with staff members with the Department of Justice and Lockyer's office. I spoke with just one person out of about a dozen who had even the most rudimentary knowledge about firearms. They kept trying to tell me that the DOJ description of ``a protruding pistol grip'' didn't mean what it said. And then they'd backpedal and say that if some sheriff and district attorney wanted to arrest and prosecute someone on the ruling, they wouldn't step in to side with a gun owner. For those unfamiliar with the law, a gun would be considered an ``assault weapon'' if it was a semi-automatic centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine and had any one or more of six other characteristics, one of those being a ``pistol grip protruding conspicuously beneath the action of the gun.'' When this legislation was passed, most of us had a concept of what that meant, even though it was not clearly defined in the law. It was up to the DOJ to define the term. While the legislation passed in July, it took the agency nearly six months to write a definition. It was not until the end of December, a scant few days before the legislation was to take affect, that the DOJ provided their definition of ``pistol grip protruding conspicuously...." It went like this:

``ANY COMPONENT that allows for the grasp, control, and fire of the firearm where the portion grasped is located beneath an imaginary line drawn parallel to the barrel that runs through the top of the exposed trigger.'' Whoa! That is the description of a gunstock. Virtually all long guns have a ``component'' (the gunstock) that is below this imaginary line that is used to hold and fire the gun. That's the purpose of the stock. There is no other way to interpret these words. So a whole host of sporting guns now are banned for sale, and if you own one, it must be registered. This is the same legislative crowd that is clamoring for handgun licensing and registration (as if that could stop criminal use of guns), and bans on small, inexpensive handguns. (I can't wait to see the definition of that one!) They call them Saturday Night Specials. I call them affordable protection for poor people. The reality is that they want to ban guns, all guns -- even sporting guns. Don't be fooled by the names the politicians use. My scoped big game rifle will be labeled a ``sniper rifle'' before long. Skeet shotguns will be called ``street sweepers.'' All .22s will be called ``assassin guns.'' Gun owners are facing the political firing squad, and we're getting mowed down one wall-full at a time under the mistaken premise that these laws will reduce crime. They don't, they can't, and they won't. But you and your pet gun are next.

You can call the DOJ at (916) 227-3694 to find out if you own a banned gun, and Lockyer's office at (916) 324-5437 to tell him what you think of the rules. Call your state legislator to let them know what you think of SB23, now that it is being implemented. You might to find out how they voted on the bill and remind them of that fact -- good or bad.

NEWS-FEATURE: HUNTING GUNS NOW BANNED UNDER SB23? -- 12jan00

CHINO -- Turner's Outdoorsman, which suspended the sales of most semi-automatic centerfire rifles from all of its stores effective January 1 because of the regulations written for SB23, the assault weapons ban passed in July this past year, announced Wednesday they would resume sales of some of these guns. During a Wednesday press conference by attorney general Bill Lockyer, he specifically said the guns Turner's believed to be illegal could be sold. Even those specific models could not be named as legal or illegal, the Department of Justice and Lockyer assured Turner's that sporting model were not included in the ban. Turner's spokesman Bill Ortiz said the company would resume selling many guns they still believe to be ``of questionable legality under the wording in the regulations'' starting Thursday (today).

Last week, Turner's and many other firearms retailers in the state, suspended sales of many popular hunting-style rifles because they believed they could be held criminally responsible under SB23. Firearms they believed were included in the ban were the Remington Model 7400, the Browning BAR big game rifles, the Ruger Mini 14, the Ruger Mini 30, Mossberg Camp Carbines, and several other models. All are popular sporting and hunting guns. Ortiz said the SB23 legislation was passed in July, but that the Department of Justice did not come up with regulations defining terminology and how the law was going to be enforced until 2 1/2 weeks ago. After reading the definitions in the DOJ regulations, Ortiz said they determined that virtually any centerfire semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine could be classed as an assault weapon.

``We didn't want to be put into the position of selling a firearm that some district attorney could say was an assault weapon. It was costing us money every day (not selling these guns), but we didn't want to get anyone arrested,'' said Ortiz. In a letter to attorney general Bill Lockyer, Shirley Andrews, president of Turner's Outdoorsman, wrote that ``we were, frankly, stunned.... (The regulation) appears to make `assault weapons' of all semi-automatic, centerfire, detachable magazine rifles. If our understanding is correct, our business will suffer serious damage, since we have acquired an inventory of firearms based on what we believed to be the legislature's intent regarding the definition of `assault weapon.' '' Under the legislation that was passed last year, a gun would be considered an assault weapon if it met the following criteria: 1) a centerfire, semi-automatic rifle that could accept a detachable magazine and any one or more of the following -- a pistol grip protruding conspicuously beneath the action of the gun, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, a forward pistol grip. 2) A semi-automatic centerfire rifle that had a fixed magazine that held more than 10 rounds. 3) A semi-automatic centerfire rifle less than 30-inches long.

Many sporting goods dealers and gun makers, Turner's included, believed that sporting guns with a regular stock and pistol grip would not be included. However, when the DOJ regulations came out toward the end of December, a ``pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon,'' was defined as follows: ``Any component that allows for the grasp, control, and fire of the firearm where the portion grasped is located beneath an imaginary line drawn parallel to the barrel that runs through the top of the exposed trigger.'' Turner's staff and most people within the firearm's industry believed that under this definition, virtually all semi-automatic centerfire rifles made today with detachable magazines could be classes as ``assault weapons,'' and they would be illegal to sell or transfer to another owner after January 1, and all those already in possession would need to be registered.

In a letter to the DOJ from Sturm, Ruger & Company, the nation's largest firearms maker, Robert L. Danaher, assistant general counsel, wrote, ``please note that virtually every rifle, even those without a protruding pistol grip, has a stock located beneath a line drawn parallel to the bore that runs through the top of the exposed trigger, and that it is the function of every stock to permit the `grasp, control, and fire' of a rifle.'' Steve Helsley with the National Rifle Association in Sacramento said, ``they're saying (the regulation) doesn't mean sporting guns, but there's no other way to interpret what the DOJ has written. ``This bill has been in the legislature for three years, and we constantly raised these questions. `What do you mean by `protruding pistol grip?' The legislators couldn't answer our questions, saying they'd let the DOJ decide what it meant.... They knew they couldn't do it, now the DOJ can't do it either. Once again, this is Larry and Moe doing gun control,'' said Helsley.

The attorney general and the DOJ had been flooded with telephone calls when stories about Turner's decision was reported last week in the news media, and this led to Wednesday's press conference when it was announced that the rules didn't mean that sporting guns would be banned. ``They still think their wording is perfect. Do I think there are still problems? Yes. But with the assurances we're received from the DOJ and the attorney general's announcement today, we're going to start selling these particular rifles starting Thursday,'' said Ortiz. Lockyer's office has continued to say they could not stop a local district attorney from prosecuting a case based on any interpretation of the DOJ's current writing of the regulations, and that these regulations could and probably will be modified after a public comment period that ends Feb. 28.

For clarification if a specific gun and model is now considered an ``assault gun'' and would be banned for sale or necessary to register, you can call the Department of Justice at (916) 227-3694 or (916) 227-3703. Turner's Outdoorsman is recommending that callers ask for all clarifications in writing in case they are cited when trying to purchase or resell a gun. To comment on the regulations, you can contact the attorney general's office at (916) 324-5437. The Turner's Outdoorsman web site (www.turners.com) has continued to update the status of the DOJ regulations.

MILLENNIUM DUCKS -- matthews column 5jan00

Mitch Southern slipped out of his truck a little after 4 p.m., put on his camouflage jacket, and slipped the shotgun out of its case. Rocket, Mitch's Labrador retriever, was anxious, pacing around the back of the truck and then at Mitch's feet after the tailgate was dropped. Three shells were slipped into the autoloader, and then Mitch walked down to the edge of the dairy pond, hunkering down the last few yards. He looked at his watch and noted that it was 4:30. He could hear the ducks on the water just before he stood up. Mitch was thinking this was the last duck hunt of the millennium.

Teal wheeled off the water and Mitch dropped a pair, and Rocket sprang into action on the drizzly evening of Dec. 31, 1999, retrieving the two birds. Within 10 minutes, Mitch had six ducks -- one bird shy of the limit. The sky was filled with flying birds and another group wheeled into the pond and landed on the water while he and Rocket stayed hidden in the brush beside the pond. Mitch looked at his watch again. Shooting time would end at 4:50 p.m. The ducks paddled on the water. The watch ticked over to 4:49. It was the last minute of shooting time in this century, in this millennium. He scratched the quivering, wet dog's ears. Rocket saw the ducks. Mitch waited a few more seconds, checked the safety on the gun, and then stood up.

It seemed like slow motion as the birds exploded off the water and the gun came up to his shoulder. Rocket was already leaping into the water to retrieve a bird that had not been shot yet. Mitch swung the gun on a teal and slapped the trigger, the gun boomed, and a bird tumbled out of the sky. A few seconds later, shooting time was legally over, and Rocket had brought the bird back to Mitch. "To me, it's a nice thing to believe I shot the last limit of ducks in the United States in this millennium,'' said Southern. ``Was it? I don't think we can ever know for sure.''

The next morning -- the first day of the new millennium -- Mitch was back out at the same dairy ponds with his 16-year-old son Weston. The weather, which had not been cooperating all season for waterfowl hunters here, was still drizzly and the ducks were flying. Shooting time began at 6:29 a.m., and Weston crept up to the edge of the same pond. The birds flew, Rocket retrieved, and more ducks came back to the pond. By 6:50 a.m. in the new millennium, Weston also had a limit of ducks. Maybe even the first limit.

Later that day, Mitch and his son would pose with the two straps of ducks for photos that would go in the family scrapbook. For the Southerns, the event was more an affirmation of a hunting heritage that spanned three generations on the dairies in Chino. It involved a friendship over the generations with the Osterkamp family. It began when Joe Osterkamp first let Gary Southern, Mitch's dad, hunt his dairy. Sons followed with Tom Osterkamp now running the dairy and Mitch hunting there. And the grandsons in the wings are poised to take their turns. Tom Osterkamp Jr. at 19 will run the dairy someday, and Weston hopefully will continue to hunt there.

First and last limits of the old and new millenniums mean less to Mitch than the heritage that is being kept alive. For the past 1,000 years, hunters have pursued ducks and built family relationships and friendships around the process. Hunting has been a fundamental part of the social structure and fabric of being human. Mitch, like so many hunters today, sees that fabric fraying. As we enter a new 1,000 years, we all wonder if there will be a family of hunters in the year 2999 hunkering down at the last shooting light, waiting to shoot the last ducks of this millennium. Will they return at dawn again in the year 3000 to affirm that men are hunters at heart as a message for mankind in the next 1000 years?

There are those who would have us all believe that men are not meant to be hunters and that it is time to leave that part of our makeup behind. For those of us who love hunting and the process, we know those people are denying an elemental part of our very makeup. It is like denying hunger pangs or passion or faith. In their own way, the Southerns were affirming that hunting heritage has and will stand the test of time.