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Turner's Shooting Sports Fair will have fully-automatic guns this year

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service. May 16, 2007

NORCO -- Full auto.

Nothing quite makes a recreational shooters' ears perk up like those two words. Veterans of full-auto firearms say sending full clip of 9mms or .223s downrange in a couple of seconds with a single, long press of the trigger is one of shooting's greatest experiences. It's just pure fun.

For the first time in the history of the Turner's Outdoorsman Shooting Sports Fair held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises here in Norco, there will be fully-automatic firearms available for shooting all three days of the June 1-3 event.

Firearms Training Associates will have Heckler & Koch (HK) military and police specialty firearms on hand for the public to shoot -- including fully-auto and suppressed fully-auto firearms.

As if full auto wasn't enough, you and I will also be able to shoot full-auto suppressed guns. Just writing that gave me a chill. For those of you not up on the lingo, "suppressed" means "silenced," like in the James Bond movies. No noise. They can be shot without hearing protection. The only sound you hear is the cycling of the action, the brass clinking on the ground, and the sound of slugs whapping steel plates.

The HK guns being shot at this year's Shooting Sports Fair including in MP5 in both 9mm and 40 caliber, and MP5 suppressed guns. These are two of the most popular models used by police and military.

While full-auto and suppressed guns are illegal for civilian ownership without special permits, Firearms Training Associates (FTA), which has an extensive slate of firearms instruction programs for law enforcement, military, and civilians, will be allowing those who attend the Sports Fair to shoot these specialty guns under close supervision, according to Bill Murphy, owner of FTA.

Murphy is a leading authority on firearms training and concealed carry. A 26-year veteran of police service, Murphy has spent the last 18 years with the Huntington Beach police as a senior patrol officer and SWAT team member. He has just completed a new book, "The Concealed Carry Survival Guide" with Eric Magness, and Murphy will be on hand each day to talk with those attending the Sports Fair about the classes available to civilians through FTA. His new book, a great primer on defensive handgun use and concealed carry, will also be available at the show.

A strong supporter of the Second Amendment, it was Murphy's idea to add fully-auto and suppressed guns to this booth this year. He's even set up a side-by-side steel plate competition so shooting buddies can compete against each other with the fully-auto guns.

"These guns are so cool," said Don Small, Turner's Outdoorsman's CEO, who has just returned from Gunsite Academy where he spent a week shooting a variety of guns -- including the full auto models. "I'll bet there will be long lines at the FTA booth every day of the show."

That is likely an understatement. With fully automatic guns a forbidden fruit for shooters since the 1930s without an elaborate special permit process, and this will be John Q. Public's opportunity to taste that forbidden fruit.

This year's Shooting Sports Fair will also bring back a number of long-popular events, according o Small.

Gone since the general .50 caliber rifle ban in California a couple of years ago, the big .50's are back. At the Shooting Sports Alliance bay, gun enthusiasts can shoot both .50 BMG "sniper rifles" and .50 Smith & Wesson revolvers, the world's most powerful factory handgun. Ron and Nora Jung, SSA owners, will also have tactical shotguns and reactive targets.

Two of the nation's most highly-acclaimed handgun shooters will be giving daily exhibitions -- Rob Leatham with Springfield Armory and Todd Jarrett with Para Ordinance. The pair put on dazzling displays of speed pistol shooting on steel targets. Leatham and Jarrett are argued by many to be the two best handgun shooters in the world, it's just a question as to which one would hold the No. 1. In addition, Benelli's Tim Bradley will conduct his famous shotgun shooting exhibition that includes the creation of one of the most unique "tossed salads" ever whipped up.

"We're trying to bring back many of the elements that made the old Sports Fairs so popular, and add some new twists," said Mike Raahauge. "We're really glad to have the big 50's back at the show, and the fully auto guns are a first for the Fair."

The Sports Fair is the only hands-on public gun show in the West. Firearm enthusiasts can shoot virtually all of the firearms on the marketplace from all of the major makers -- including Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Browning, Beretta, Benelli, Springfield, Marlin, Glock, Mossberg, Savage, Sigarms, HK, and many others. All the shooting is under controlled conditions and the whole program is set up for the whole family. Even people who've never fired a gun before will find the Sports Fair a good venue for their first experience.

Hours and prices for this year's Shooting Sports Fair are as follows. The show will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, June 1, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 2, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 3. Admission to the show is $12 for adults per day, with kids 14 and under admitted free, and parking is $5 this year (which also enters you in a drawings for a $1,000 Howa rifle and Nikko-Sterling scope package or a Cannon Gun vault). There are $2 off admission discount coupons available at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores, the Turner's web site http://www.turners.com, and Raahauge's web site http://www.raahauges.com. With each paid admission you will also be entered to win a Cannon gun safe. On Friday, all women are admitted free. For more information or directions, call Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises at 951-735-7981.

NEW KNIVES SHARPER AND STAY THAT WAY ­ jim matthews column ­ 9may07

Friction forging makes knives stay sharper longer, but not without a price

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service

FRAZIER PARK ­ More and more new technology is incorporated into outdoor gear every year. It wasn't long ago that no one had heard of GPS (Global Positioning System) units, now it's a rare hunter or fisherman who doesn't understand GPS and many own them. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I remember the first graphite fishing rod.

(For you kids, a brief history lesson: Fishing rods were made with fiberglass for years before graphite came on the scene, thanks to the aerospace industry.)

Some of the new technology just makes little improvements in performance or the ease with which we can do things in the field. Other things have very significant impacts in improving products.

This week I have been using a new knife with a blade that is made with a new process called "friction forging." Remember that process. Using heat caused by pressure and rotation, the process reduces the grain structure of steel while making it harder at the same time. It doesn't melt the steel, it becomes plasticized and its properties change. The technical specifications of how this happens are fascinating and took a panel of five metallurgical experts about two hours to explain.

The process is less important than what it does to knife blade steel. In a nutshell, this new super knife blade can be made extremely sharp, but more importantly, it holds that edge for magnitudes longer than any other steel used to make knife blades. It is also more durable. Hunters know that most steel knives dull after the dressing and skinning process of a single deer. The new friction-forged blade may never need sharpening by the average deer hunter who shoot a deer or two a year.

As a bonus, the edge of the blade is corrosion-proof because of the high chromium content, but it is not made from stainless steel. This means that rust won't dull the blade either.

The new knives will be marketed under the name of Diamond Blade. Charles E. Allen, the president and founder of Knives of Alaska, a 12-year-old Texas company that supplies over 100,000 high-quality hunting knives a year to the hunting marketplace, is the principal who's pulled together the team for this new undertaking.

Utilizing the research efforts over the past decade by Brigham Young University metallurgists Dr. Tracy Nelson and Dr. Carl Sorensen, the technology was adapted to knife blades to create what Nelson calls "the biggest legitimate improvement in the knife industry in over 40 years."

How much better is it? Using the "shave test" criteria, the new Diamond Blade knife was tested against virtually all of the other steels used in knifes. They were all mechanically sharpened the same way, and a task was performed repeatedly (rope was cut) until the knife couldn't shave hair from skin. Most knives lost that ability with as few as 15 cuttings, and even the best steel lost it's edge after about 150 pieces of rope were cut. The new steel blade continued to hold its edge even after 250 pieces of rope had been cut and time curtailed more testing.

In a less formal test, Charles Allen tells how he and his staff kept performing cutting tasks with the new knife and then shaving hair off their skin. "I can tell you than none of us had any hair left on our bodies after about a week, and the knife was still sharp enough to shave hair." That may be too much information.

No, the knife isn't cheap. It will be in the $330 to $400 range, depending on the model, and all are presentation quality knives with exotic handles. But that is on par with or priced below most of the quality, custom knives on the market.

"We're not saying the edge is indestructible or that it never has to be sharpened. It's not going to have to be sharpened as often and it's more durable," said Allen.

Sorenson says the friction forging makes the steel able to start out at least 50 percent sharper at the beginning, and it can hold that sharpness several magnitudes greater than other steel.
It won't take 40 years for all other knife steel to become obsolete.

[Diamond Blade friction forged knives are already in production and available in limited supplies. For information, visit the web site http://www.diamondbladeknives.com or call 903-786-8044.]

TROUT OPENER UPDATE -- matthews-ONS -- 28apr07

Weather makes Sierra trout opener seem more like the Fourth of July

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service

MAMMOTH LAKES -- This wasn't the trout opener. It was the Fourth of July.

For anglers accustomed to freezing temperatures and howling winds for opening day of trout fishing season this past Saturday, it just didn't seem right. Temperatures were in the 70s and low 80s throughout the region. Snow? What snow? There was snow on the ground only at the highest elevation waters. None of the major lakes were frozen over, which is frequently not the case.

"No one is complaining about the weather," said Don Logue at Ernie's Sports in June Lake. "How could you beat it? It was in the mid-70s with almost no wind. This is mid-June weather."

Perhaps it was the downright balmy forecast that attracted so many people to the Sierra for this year's trout opener. Crowds were well above the past few openers. Logue said it was one of the best he remembers. "We've sold more fishing licenses that ever. I don't know what you can attribute that to, but the crowds are way up."

And the fishing was as good as the weather. At Lake Crowley, the focal point of the Eastern Sierra opener, the biggest fish recorded by early Saturday evening at the Crowley Lake Fish Camp was a four-pound, 15-ounce cutthroat trout landed by James Wurster, Los Angeles, while fishing with a Rapala. He was joined by an estimated 10,000 other anglers at Crowley this year, and most reported good fishing on one to two-pound rainbows. The last two years, the number of anglers estimated at Crowley for the opener was around 7,000.

Last fall, Crowley Lake was planted with 400,000 subcatchable trout of various varieties. These four- to six-inch fish had excellent growing conditions this year because the ice left Crowley so early, according to Curtis Milliron, a DFG biologist in Bishop. The bulk of the fish caught opening day are the Kamloops and Coleman-strain rainbows that will be in the 12 to 14-inch range and weigh about a pound. The cutthroats frequently holdover for two seasons or more before being caught, showing up as bigger trout.

"We're attempting to increase the allotment of cutthroat trout in the Eastern Sierra, including Crowley, because they do so well here," said Milliron.

The fact that a cutthroat was the biggest trout landed opening day at Crowley shows how well these trout are doing.

There was a buzz throughout the Eastern Sierra on Saturday that a huge brown trout had been caught. Gary Sauer of The Trout Fly in Mammoth Lakes said that he and several other people were trying to confirm that a 21-pound brown trout had been caught from Convict Lake.

"We've been hearing rumors of that fish all afternoon," said Sauer.

But they turned out to be rumors. Maybe a 21-inch brown grew into 21 pounds. But a fish that size is certainly not an impossibility in the Eastern Sierra. Big brown trout are usually caught from one of the two Twin Lakes at Bridgeport, but there were no brown larger than four pounds reported over the opener from the Twins, according to Jim Reed at Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport. Bridgeport Reservoir producted the biggest fish in that region with a seven-pound, 10-ounce brown landed by Reid Erey, Huntington Beach, while Kyle Selden, Moreno Valley, caught a six-pound, 10-ounce rainbow.

In the June Lake loop, Steve Brown, who didn't leave a hometown, caught an eight-pound, five-ounce rainbow, the biggest fish in the whole Sierra. Joe Alvarado, Ventura, caught a seven-pound, 15-ounce rainbow from Grant. The biggest brown trout confirmed Saturday in June Lake region was a seven-pound, six-ounce fish landed from Grant Lake by John Miller of Big Pine on a nightcrawler.

While Saturday was the opening hurrah, the trout season continues through November 15 in the region. Sauer said that anglers should think about coming earlier in the season than normal. The low snow pack and warmer-than-normal weather conditions, mean that summer and fall could be tough. Flows in most stream and rivers is already low.

"It looks like lake fall water levels now," said Sauer.

TROUT SEASON OPENER -- jim matthews column -- 25apr07

Eastern Sierra trout seasonopener a vestige of the past

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service

MAMMOTH LAKES -- It's not the same, but nothing ever is.

Once upon a time, trout season closed statewide in California. From the end of October through most of April, you couldnt fish for trout here, there, or anywhere. So the spring season opener was a big deal everywhere in the state. My dad and older brother would leave the house at dawn and drive up to fish the headwaters of the Santa Ana River when the season opened in the late 1950s. That was back before Highway 38 went all the way through to Big Bear, and South Fork Campground was called End Camp back then because it was at the end of the road. Some years they fished up through the historic cabins on the South Fork for brown trout and other years down through the beaver meadows on the main Santa Ana for the planted rainbows. It was the opener.

An old family friend used to tell tales about driving up Highway 395 in 1930s-vintage automobiles to float fish the upper Owens River opening weekend. It was before the runoff started, most years, and it was before Lake Crowley was created. He would float through the upper meadows and then down through the Owens River gorge catching big brown trout on big, wiggling wads of nightcrawlers or bass plugs. Chick Reed also used another bait. He was the first person to describe to me the intricacies of using field mice for bait for those big old browns. They would float them into back eddies and undercut banks on pieces of bark or sticks and then pull the mouse off into the water and hold on as it swam for shore. Six and eight pound browns were common.

Fishing on the opener was always an adventure, if not an actual expedition, and everyone went. You really couldnt call yourself a trout angler if you skipped opening day.

Regulations, rightly, began to change to allow year around fishing on low elevation lakes and streams in temperate climates. Urban lake managers in warm regions found they could plant trout in the winter when the water was cold and provide excellent trout fishing in what historically was the "closed" season. Increasingly, closed seasons were opened. -- except in the high country.

Since the mid-1970s I've been coming to the Eastern Sierra Nevada for the trout season opener. For a long time it was like a great hitting streak, and I came every year to rub shoulders with family, friends and strangers on Hot Creek, the upper Owens River, and Lake Crowley. Then I missed a year. Then another. There was spring baseball with the boys and way leads on to way. We'd go when it fit into the schedule, which wasn't very often. I haven't been here for nearly a decade.

When I first starting coming to the Sierra for the trout opener, it was estimated that something on the order of 20,000 to 25,000 anglers congregated on Lake Crowley, and while the fishing is arguably better today than it has ever been, the estimate has been closer to 8,000 anglers the last couple of years. Most of us think that is pretty generous.

I have photos of Hot Creek with at least 50 anglers standing along its banks in one short stretch. We always figured there would be between 200 and 300 guys on the reach of water from the Hot Creek Ranch down to the hot springs, and another 30 or 40 fly-casting from the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery down to the upper end of the ranch. After a couple of openers, you got to where you knew all of the fly anglers by sight if not actually by name. But back then, it was the only place fly-fishermen congregated, and if you stood on the lip of the canyon and actually watched, you'd realize only about 15 percent of the guys were actually fishing. The rest were standing in clusters talking, laughing, looking at flies and rods, and eating or sipping apricot brandy.

But the trout opener has always been about more than just the fishing. It's a social event steeped in a long outdoor tradition. It's about family. It's about long-term friendships. On any given year, you can wander through one of the crowded campgrounds at Convict Lake or in the June Lake Loop and find a family with four generations of anglers, bundled up to the evening cold, standing together roasting marshmallows around a campfire. There will be groups of fishing buddies who can claim 20 to 50 years of consecutive openers together. And, oh, the fish stories -- the glue that binds it all together.

Our boys are getting to the age where Becky and I don't get to have them both together with us as often as we might like, and the trout opener trip was planned this year as an excuse. Becky's brother R.G. , my longest and best fishing buddy, will be going, too. The opener is not the same as it used to be, but I realize I've missed what it always has been and always will be.

MORE NON-LEAD AMMO, FGC DELAYS DECISION -- matthews column -- 18apr07

Fish and Game Commission delays decision on banning lead big game ammunition

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service     

The Fish and Game Commission delayed its decision on whether or not to ban lead big game hunting ammunition as a means of protecting endangered California condors and other wildlife that feeds on the remains of hunter-shot game left in the field.     

The move makes it less likely that a ban on lead ammunition would go into effect for this year's hunting seasons, but it doesn't rule out that possibility.     

At it's meeting last Friday in Bodega Bay, the Commission asked the Department of Fish and Game to prepare a report addressing a wide variety of concerns brought up by both supporters and opponents of the proposed lead ammunition ban. This report will be presented to the Commission during its early May meeting, and a final decision on a lead bullet ban is unlikely until June.     

At it's Feb. 2 meeting in Monterey, the Commission voted unanimously to serve notice of its intent to amend the hunting regulations for a three-year period (2007-2010) to include the ban, and the hunting regulations will be adopted in a teleconference meeting the end of

The Department of Fish and Game's hunting application booklets and hunting regulations for this fall, which have to be printed and issued according to set time frame, will not have any final information on the proposed ban on lead big game ammunition in the "method of take" portion of the regulations. This adds a layer of difficulty for the Commission should it decide it wants to adopt a lead ban for this fall because there would be inadequate time to inform the hunting public about the change. It would be more likely the Commission would merely adopt any change for the 2008-09 hunting seasons.     

This, however, brings up the aura of a lawsuit to force the Commission to enact the lead ban for this fall to protect condors. There is already a pending lawsuit by a coalition of conservation groups trying to force the Commission to act. If brought before a judge, it is conceivable there could be a temporary restraining order issued that -- in the worse case scenario -- could close big game hunting in condor range.     

Knowing that is a possibility, the Commission might opt to ban lead big game hunting ammunition for this fall and jump through the hoops needed to alert the public to the changes.     

The report being prepared by the DFG will look at issues raised in the public comment process, including expanding the ban to include historic and future condor range, the enforceability of the ban, the availability of alternative ammunition, the status and effectiveness of voluntary efforts to educate hunters, and a host of other issues that were not adequately addressed in the original proposal. While its clear the Commissioners believe the science is compelling on the dangers of lead big game ammunition, they felt there were a lot of questions still unanswered.     

The proposed ban is primarily intended to protect California condors. The big vultures frequently feed on carcasses and gut piles of game left in the field by hunters. Scientists have documented that this carrion is usually laced with small lead bullet fragments -- more than enough to have serious health impacts on the condors that feed on the carcass or gut pile. Since 1997, five condors have died from lead poisoning, and an additional 26 condors suspected of being poisoned by bullet fragments have received treatment to reduce toxic lead levels. Virtually all of the condors in the wild have elevated levels of lead in their systems.     

If the Commission does adopt a lead bullet ban, it would likely apply only to centerfire cartridge bullets, muzzeloading bullets, shotgun slugs or buckshot used for big game hunting. The current proposal does not include shotgun ammunition with small shot used for bird hunting or rimfire ammunition used for small game and varmint hunting.     

NOSLER-WINCHESTER ANNOUNCE NON-LEAD BULLET: Since October of last year, Nosler and Winchester have jointly been working on a new non-lead big game hunting bullet. The development process was accelerated because of California's proposed lead bullet ban, and the new E-Tip bullet was announced late last week at the National Rifle Association's convention.     

Winchester expects to have loaded ammunition available in its Supreme line for this fall, but the loadings will all be designed around a single, 180-grain E-Tip bullet loaded in .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .300 Winchester Short Magnum rounds.     

The new bullet is made from gilding metal, a copper alloy made with 95 percent copper and five percent zinc, that is slightly softer than all-copper bullets like the Triple Shock X-Bullets made by Barnes.   

Should the California Fish and Game Commission ban lead big game hunting bullets in condor range, the new Nosler-Winchester product increases the number of alternative hunting bullets available to hunters. Currently, Barnes all-copper, non-lead bullets are available in factory ammunition from Federal and Weatherby in a wide variety of different cartridges.     

While Winchester-Nosler did not have a timeframe for new product introductions, company spokespeople thought that .270 and 7mm E-Tip bullets and ammunition would likely be available within a year. Winchester also has a new non-lead shotgun slug (XP3 Supreme loading) that will also be available this fall. This is a copper jacketed, tin core bullet.

TROUT OPENER UPDATE:

"What snow pack?" Those words were grumbled by Rick Gieser at Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport this week.     

Anglers who head up for the Saturday, April 28, trout opener in the Eastern Sierra next week will find conditions far different than usual. The snow pack is a pittance of normal, most of the waters in the region will be ice-free, runoff will be brief and insignificant, and lake levels are low in many places and expected to get a lot lower this year.     

In the Bishop Creek drainage, South Lake is ice-free, Sabrina has a lot of open water and is expected to be ice-free by opener, and even North Lake could be mostly, if not entirely, ice free. Roads to all three waters will be open, barring a massive storm between now and then.     

At points north, Rock Creek Lake still has ice cover, but there are growing open patches of water at both ends of the lake and in the coves. Convict Lake and Crowley Lake are both ice free. The Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Lakes basin are ice free, and the ice is leaving Mary, Mamie and George. Strong mountain winds this week are helping that process along. The road will only be plowed to the Twin Lakes, however.     

The June Lake loop is completely ice free, and the small walk-in lakes just off the loop, Parker and Walker lakes, are ice free. Lundy Lake, while very low because of dam work, is completely open except perhaps for some shoreline ice.     

The Virginia Lakes were still iced over this week, but the ice was rotting and there was open water along some of the shorelines and at the inlets and near the dam. Both upper and lower Twin Lake out of Bridgeport are open and have been for some time, and -- of course -- Bridgeport Reservoir is wide open.     

The DFG will plant 900,000 pounds of catchable-size trout in the Eastern Sierra this season, an increase of 40,000 pounds over last year. There will also be an additional 25,000 pounds of larger broodstock fish planted. And these totals don't include plants from private hatcheries and grow-out programs that have become so popular in the Sierra.

GETTING BACK TO 150-PLUS FISHING DAYS A YEAR -- jim matthews outdoor column -- 11apr07

Does fishing 300 days a year make it a job?

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service

My wife told some friends at dinner recently that before we got married I was fishing 300 days a year. That, of course, was a flagrant exaggeration. There was a four or five-year stretch there, on both sides of the wedding nearly 25 years ago, where I might have fished over 150 days annually, but I never was on the water more than 286 days in any single year.

I thought that was pretty good statistic until I read in the latest issue of California Fly Fisher that author and fly-fishing guru Russell Chatham fished every day for nearly 3,000 consecutive days -- more than eight years! -- and at least 300 days a year for the following 12 years after the long streak. And I thought I was an avid angler back then. I was an amateur.

A guy who fishes even as much as I did gets pretty good at it. Guys like Chatham become fish pied pipers. I know a couple of accomplished, Chatham-like anglers who've invested that kind of time in the sport, and I just enjoy watching them fish -- or more correctly, catch fish. It is exceedingly easy for them, effortless.

Weekend anglers know how tough fishing is most of the time. Seeing anglers like Chatham make me realize I squandered my youth by not fishing more and getting really good at it. (Is there is still time?) So what precipitated my wife's comment was my bragging that I'd actually fished four times in the last two weeks, a sort of modern day record for me. She was merely pointing out a faded reality.

This is the first spring in something like 18 years where my boys haven't been involved in some sort of youth sports. Then there were summer sports, then fall sports, then winter sports. Youth sports are to time what a trawler fleet is to tuna. There is nothing equitable or proportional about the consumption. A thousand tomorrows gone today.

It got to where I was lucky to fish a dozen times a year. But I have been noticing new-found time this year, and I'm slipping back into my old ways: rods are staying rigged up in the truck, a bucket of tackle and two vests are on the passenger seat floor, the knee boots, hip boots and waders are in a duffle in the back seat, and the float tube is inflated and waiting in the garage. Or is it in the bed of the truck? I can leave early tomorrow en route to a meeting and have an hour to hurl plastic worms to a few spawning bass at an urban lake, and it's almost warm enough for bluegill to start taking popping bugs at the park lake two miles from the house.

I was at Lake Perris Saturday and caught a three-pound bass. It's all coming back to me. If I keep up this pace, I can do the 150-day-plus thing again. It's only a couple of mornings or afternoons a week, the odd Saturday here or there, and a few weekend trips mixed in.

We all can do that.

STURGEON UPDATE: The two dozen sturgeon planted at Santa Ana River Lakes and Corona Lake apparently have adapted quite nicely to their new digs and are feeding. Between the two lakes anglers have managed to catch and release 10 of the 50- to 150-pound fish since they were planted two weeks ago. "We're had six landed so far, but a lot more people are breaking them off now -- even on 40-pound test. The fish are staying kind of shallow -- six or seven feet -- and people can see them, and they're saying they can see two or three lines where they've been hooked and lost," said Brad Hutchison, at the SARL tackle shop. The fish must be released at SARL, but anglers who land one get a package of fishing gear and lake passes valued at $200.

Meanwhile, Ed Rister at Hesperia Lake -- who thought he was going to get the 24 huge sturgeon planted at Santa Ana and Corona -- reported that he was getting a replacement plant of sturgeon this week, albeit smaller sturgeon. The plant on Thursday was slated to be mostly fish in the 25- to 30-pound class. The total plant was going to be in the 4,000-pound range, or however many sturgeon could safely be transported in the tanker. Rister figures there would be from 125 to 150 fish in the load, and he's still planning to allow anglers to keep the sturgeon they catch at Hesperia Lake.

FGC TO HEAR LEAD AMMO BAN TESTIMONY THIS WEEK: The Fish and Game Commission will receive its last public testimony on the controversial proposal to ban lead big game hunting ammunition within condor range at its meeting Friday in Bodega Bay. At it's Feb 2 in Monterey, the Commission voted unanimously to serve notice of its intent to amend the hunting regulations for 2007-2010 to include the ban. A final decision on the hunting regulations, and the lead ban, will be made the end of this month. Hunting groups have almost unanimously opposed the lead ammunition ban for a variety of reasons.

The California Rifle and Pistol Association contends that the single condor death directly attributable to lead poisoning in California is hardly grounds for a ban. The CRPA, recognizing that copper is also a toxin, asked the Commission if hunting subsequently would be completely banned if a condor died from copper poisoning. The CRPA knows there are no alternatives to copper and/or lead for hunting bullets.

Turner's Outdoorsman, a chain of 13 sporting goods stores in Southern California, argued in its comments that education and voluntary measures have not been tried or given an opportunity to work, and that a ban would disenfranchise hunters. Many sportsmen and groups simply believe the move is an anti-gun, anti-hunting effort. The proposed lead big game hunting bullet ban is intended to protect California condors. The big vultures frequently feed on carcasses and gut piles of game left in the field by hunters. Scientists have documented that this carrion is usually laced with small lead bullet fragments -- more than enough to have serious health impacts on the condors that feed on the carcass or gut pile. Since 1997, condor recovery scientists have monitored lead exposure in condors.

During this period, five condors have died from lead poisoning -- one in California, one in Utah, and three in Arizona. An additional 26 condors suspected of being poisoned by bullet fragments have received emergency chelation treatment to reduce toxic lead levels in their bodies and survived to be re-released into the wild, and virtually all of the tested birds in the wild have elevated levels of lead in their systems. The commission was considering three alternative actions on the lead big game bullets. They have already ruled out the "no change" option with their vote early this month. That leaves two other options on the table: ban lead big game hunting ammunition statewide, or ban the lead bullets only in the southern portion of the A zone and the D zones in the southern Sierra and Southern California where condors currently live.

If adopted, the lead ban would apply only to centerfire cartridge bullets, muzzeloading bullets, shotgun slugs or buckshot used for hunting. It would not include shotgun ammunition with small shot used for bird hunting or rimfire ammunition used for small game and varmint hunting. Comments on the proposal, which may be read on the Commission's web site at www.fgc.ca.gov/2007/353ntc.pdf, must be made in writing and received by the Commission no later than this Friday, April 13. Comments should be sent via e-mail to fgc@fgc.ca.gov or they can be faxed to 916-653-5040.

MAJOR OUTDOOR COMPANIES SOLD: Two of the nation's largest outdoor companies have been sold over the past two weeks. Last week, Remington Arms was purchased by Cerberus Capital Management for $370 million. And this week, Pure Fishing, Inc. -- known for its popular brand names of Berkley, Fin Nor, Fenwick, Mitchell, and many others -- was purchased by the Jarden Corporation, which also owns Coleman, for $34.5 million. The Remington deal could rescue this 191-year-old American arms company, which has been rumored to be close to bankruptcy.

The sale purchased Remington for about $118 million with the remainder of the purchase assuming Remington's $252 million debt. Cerberus is known for taking over troubled firms and turning them into profitable companies again, but the changes often include layoffs, sale of assets, and restructuring. Jarden plans to combine Pure Fishing, which had 2006 revenue above $250 million, with its own Coleman Company Inc., which makes lanterns, stoves, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, coolers, outdoor furniture, and grills.

TROUT OPENER UPDATE: There is so little snow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada this year that at least one of the major fishing resorts in the region -- not normally open for the April 28 trout opener -- will already be showing it's "open" sign this year when trout season kicks off. Parchers Resort (www.parchersresort.net) on Bishop Creek will have its 14 cabins, five RV sites, and general store open, according to Jared Smith, owner of the resort. Parchers normally doesn't open until Memorial Day weekend the end of May. South Lake Boat Landing will also be open and -- even more incredibly -- renting boats. South Lake is frequently one of those waters where anglers ice fish on opening weekend. Not this year.

FISHING IS JUST A FORM OF HUNTING -- jim matthews outdoor column -- 04apr07

Spawning bass stimulate the inner predator

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service     

It was a quick exploratory trip. The run up to Silverwood Lake was to see if the bass were spawning yet. I arrived mid-morning when the lake was still slate-flat and I could see into the water with the Polaroid sunglasses. They were there. The male bass were cruising along the shoreline in the shallow water. A few had staked out spots and begun fanning out beds where they would hope to attract the bigger females to spawn. But most were still looking, adapting to the brighter, shallower water, and looking for the ideal place.     

If a fish could be glad, they were probably glad for the warming water that would ramp up their metabolisms, glad for the longer days that would stimulate the female bass to breed, glad to be a year older, bigger, and a rung higher up on the food chain. Using "glad" is probably stretching the whole anticipation thing beyond a bass' brain, but feeling warm sun on your back doesn't have to be anthropomorphized at all. They were feeling the warm sun on their backs and fining along the shore. I could see them there.     

Fishing is just another form of hunting. For the longest time I didn't realize that and wondered why I was drawn to certain types of fishing more than others. Early on, I became an avid fly-fisherman because I loved the sight of trout -- even tiny trout -- whacking small dry flies off the surface. I like watching bluegill suck rubber-legged poppers under water or seeing bass assault topwater hair bugs. But I also learned how to throw big, sinking lines and fish streamers and nymphs in deep water, appreciating the singular sensual nature of that style of fishing: you had to feel what was happening below the surface. It had to be almost intuitive. I got good at it, but it was too abstract to be fun. It was more like praying alone for hours instead of singing hymns with a joyous congregation.     

Then I had children and I rediscovered that fishing in deep water was best done with a bobber so all your senses could participate. My sinking fly lines havent been used in years. Hunting -- and fishing by extension -- is about spotting game. Stand hunters pick a likely spot and wait, watching for game to move past. Deep water fishermen pick a likely spot and soak a bait, watching the bobber, rod tip, or line for any movement, a sign of a fish taking the bait. Or you cast blindly to likely spots with lures, walk through country with lots of game sign hoping for the quick bolt of living lightning to strike. This is all hunting of last resort.     

When you can choose, still hunters move through the landscape in pursuit of game already spotted. Spring bass fishermen move along the shoreline fishing to visible bass. This is a visual activity, first and foremost.      

It was only a couple of years ago, that I had this fishing epiphany: I liked to cast to fish I could see. That was why I had been attracted to fly-fishing in the first place. It was the sight of fish that sent my blood pressure up. Just as with hunting, it was the sight of wildlife that put you in the hunter mode. The inner predator only really came out when you could see the quarry. I found my demeanor changed when game or fish were spotted. This was the real deal. This was like Moses talking to the burning bush -- direct contact, no abstracts.     

For me, spring fishing is sight fishing. It would be bass on beds now, then trout spawning in Crowley tributaries the end of the month, and then back to the lakes for bluegill spawning in the shallows, and then throughout the rest of the summer as the bass and bluegill held on weed beds and structure chasing dragonflies and damsels through the surface. My trip to Silverwood made me realize it was finally hunting season again. Well, you know what I mean.     

The other day I was riding in a truck with two other outdoorsmen in the middle of suburbia. We didn't notice the traffic, there was no radio on, and we were only making idle small talk because we were all sorting through the visual stimuli as we drove, and pointing out a perched hawk on a eucalyptus, a ground squirrel on the edge of a groomed lawn, a crow diving on another redtail perched on a light standard, and quickly identified a squashed road kill as a possum. Earlier in the day, a hen mallard flew over me quacking as I went into a building for a meeting. With just my voice, I mimicked her call and she immediately banked and flew back over me, quacking, craning her neck, looking for company. Even in the middle of the city, hunters watch and interact the natural denizens of our world, animals that refuse to be forced out. The hunters in us see them there, focus on them.     

When all the buffalo are gone we will hunt mice because we are hunters and we want our freedom. Chief Joseph said that over a century ago. It still applies today. We crave being a part of the natural landscape.     

Driving back home by myself, I thought that there were a lot of good, human predators wasting away in this urban world, people who don't even realize their own predatory nature: Our attention snaps to kids on street corners waving and spinning signs. A car door swings open in a parking lot and we jerk our head to watch. The foot comes off the gas, the brake is pressed when we catch the movement of a bicycle with our peripheral vision. If you think those responses are a trained attunement to this synthetic world we've created, you're delusional. Those are traits of a predator with binocular vision that can catch even the slightest movement, even at great distances. We've merely adapted the hunter in us to filter through the stimuli here, adapting to this environment. But the hunter in us still reacts to the stimuli reflexively. Movements out of the normalcy, not with the flow, grab out attention instinctively. Think not? Think you're something other than a smart chimp? Run the tip of your index finger over your canine teeth. We still show those teeth in friendly greeting, a smile, just like other predators, and give open-mouthed, teeth-flashing yells of intimidation in times of fighting.     

Deniers and apologists make excuses for these real human traits, or they suggest that we've evolved past the need or use of our inner hunter. This is bunk. Most of our problems in the world today can be traced to being confused about what it means to be human, male or female, and part of a family and a community. Denying who we are fundamentally -- a hunter -- is the final breakdown of the whole human condition. We've eroded the concept and importance of community, family, and gender, and now there are those who try to deny the very makeup of our being. This has all happened before, and those who've advocated ignoring our human nature have been wrong. Always.    

Some of us don't buy in to the whole agenda. Never will. If you have a bird feeder or pet, you are reaching out to your wild soul. Spring bass on spawning beds remind me of the truth about who and what I am.     

When time suspends for an hour while I patiently watch a spawning bass on a bed, testing him with small jigs, flies, or a tiny, live crawdad, I know what it means to be fully alive and in my place. There is the faint smell of buckthorn and a grackle call pierces the morning. I can feel my neck turning red under the warm sun. I twitch the jig into the fishes' bed, his fins flare, he rushes forward, tilts downward slightly. I smile. Today, I'm a heron. Tomorrow, I'll be like a hawk, then a bobcat, or a gray fox. Later in the fall, a mountain lion. Always a hunter. Even where there are only mice.

HUGE STURGEON PLANTED -- jim matthews column -- 28mar07

Largest fish ever released for anglers turned loose at Santa Ana River Lakes

By JIM MATTHEWS Outdoor News Service     

The 150-pound sturgeon slid down the chute out of the tanker truck and into the clear water at Santa Ana River Lakes. Over a dozen fish from about 80 to 150 pounds were released into this popular Orange County fishing lake on Wednesday. The surplus brood-stock males came from a caviar hatchery in Galt.

    

They are the largest fish ever planted for sport anglers in Southern California and some witnessing the plant of these huge, prehistoric fish wondered if larger fish had ever been released for anglers anywhere in the world.
    
Not likely.     

"It's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Doug Elliott, who co-owns the Santa Ana River Lakes fishing concession with Bill Andrews. "I've been in the fishing business for 30 years and no one's ever offered me 100-pound sturgeon."     

So when the offer was made this year, Elliott bought them all. All 3,000 pounds of them. That number sounds more impressive than saying all two dozen of the white sturgeon the hatchery had available.   
  
Actually, Elliott didn't know what he was going to get. He didn't know how many fish or how big they would be. He just knew the hatchery would have some surplus, older male fish. It wasn't until the hatchery seined its ponds and the fish sexed last week that Elliott knew fish would be coming at all. He bought them without seeing the goods.    
 
Before the truck arrived, Elliott paced a little. "Well, they say they're from 100 to 150 pounds, but I really don't know. We'll just have to see when they get here."     

They were everything that was promised. When the first tank was opened, there were gasps from the small crowd that had gathered to watch as the large fish streamed out into the water. Lake manager Jim Davis, known as JD to all the anglers at the lake, was in chest waders pushing the big fish through the water to make sure they survived their seven-hour ride south in good condition. He strained to pick one of the medium-sized fish up for photos, the fish flexed, splashing water with its tail and knocking JD's hat off with its pointy, whiskered nose. One of the big sturgeon swam under the lake's big pontoon boat, it's head emerging from one side about the time its tail disappeared under the other side. These were big fish.     

"These are the largest freshwater fish anyone's ever going to catch, and we're making them all catch-and-release so everyone might get a chance to tie into one of these monsters," said Elliott.     

There's also a reward if you actually land one of the big sturgeon -- a $200-value prize package that includes two free gate passes ($40), a free pontoon boat rental ($85), and an Eagle Claw graphite catfish rod and spinning reel combo ($75). These are fish that could just keep costing Elliott money.     

RETURN APPEARANCE: While these are the biggest fish ever planted here or anyplace else in the region, this isn't the first time sturgeon have come to Santa Ana River Lakes.     

"We know they'll do well because we've had 'em in there before," said Elliott. "Back then we planted them as five and six pounders and they grew up to, oh, 30 or 40 pounds."     

They obviously get a lot bigger. The 150-pound class fish that were planted Wednesday at Santa Ana and its sister water Corona Lake, can reach 400 pounds or more. The current state record for white sturgeon is a 468 pounder caught from San Pablo Bay in 1983. As soon as someone lands one of the sturgeon bigger than 101 pounds at Santa Ana or Corona, that fish will become the largest freshwater fish ever caught in Southern California. The current record for biggest freshwater fish in this region is a state record, 101-pound blue catfish caught from San Vicente Reservoir in San Diego County in 2000.     

WHAT WILL CATCH A 100-POUND STURGEON:

After the stocking truck had left Santa Ana River Lakes, rolling on to plant it's remaining cargo at Corona Lake, three veteran SARL anglers stood on the bank talking about what they would use to catch big sturgeon. Bernard Lopez and his son Mike, both of Paramount, are no strangers to big fish. The elder Lopez held the lake record for rainbow trout with a 24-pound fish, and his son is now the lake record holder with a 28.1 pounder caught in 2005. Robert Vandevelde of Whittier also had the lake record for a time with a 26-pounder.     

They had been doing their homework when they heard the big sturgeon were coming. And they knew it was a bottom-feeding fish. The elder Lopez said he'd try mackerel. Vandevelde suggested skeins of rainbow trout eggs from a fresh-caught trout.  Mike Lopez said he'd heard anglers in the Delta use slabs of American shad and thought frozen threadfin shad would be a good bet.     

Both Bernard Lopez and Vandevelde had caught smaller sturgeon at SARL in the past. What did they use then? A nightcrawler and Power Bait. Trout baits. They would be targeting big fish this time.     

They all agreed they'd also have to upgrade their tackle, figuring the two-pound test line they use to land the 20-plus-pound trout might not be stout enough handle 150-pound sturgeon.  But all three thought they could handle the big fish with line no heavier than 15-pound test.     

"If Mikey can land a 28-pound trout on two-pound test, I think he can land one of these fish on 14 or 15 pound test line," said Bernard Lopez.     

WHAT WON'T CATCH STURGEON:

While they look big enough to make a meal of an elementary school kid splashing around in the shallows, sturgeon won't bother people.     

"Fortunately, it's a bottom feeder with a little, round hole for a mouth, so it won't eat anybody," said Elliott.     

HESPERIA LAKE ACED OUT:

Ed Rister, manager at Hesperia Lake in the High Desert, had been promoting a plant of 100 to 150-pound sturgeon in his lake since December. But that's not going to happen now. He'd been eyeing the same fish that ended up in Santa Ana River Lakes and Corona Lake.     

"I had a verbal commitment for these fish, but what are you going to do?" said Rister. "I'm not mad at Doug and Craig (Elliott), I'd have done the same thing. But it's a real let down, big time. We kind of got the carpet pulled out from under us."     

While Rister is miffed at the sturgeon hatchery manager, he's still hoping he'll be able to get some smaller, 30-pound sturgeon for anglers at his lake, but a plant hadn't been confirmed Wednesday.     

What would have been different if the big sturgeon had been planted at Hesperia Lake? Rister said anglers would have been allowed to keep the monster fish if they landed one. "I was going to let 'em keep 'em, even if there were only 24 fish. When they're gone, they would have been gone," said Rister.     

"Could you image seeing one of those fish going home with a guy tied on top of a Volkswagen? That would have been great."     
OUTDOOR CALENDAR     

MARCH 30-APRIL 1 WATER-FOR-WILDLIFE PROJECT: The Mojave Preserve Water-for-Wildlife Volunteer Group will have it's first 2007 project in the Mojave National Preserve to repair and refurbish guzzlers about 20 miles north of Goffs Friday through Sunday. Volunteers are needed for the weekend event. Food will be provided two evenings and two mornings, but everyone should bring water, firewood, snacks, and gloves. For more information and directions to the camp site, contact Cliff McDonald at 760-326-2935 or via e-mail at bigmc@citlink.net.     

APRIL 1 NRA FAMILY SHOOTING SPORTS CAMP: There will be a National Rifle Association shooting sports camp and open house at the Lemon Grove Rod & Gun Club's Alpine range, Sunday, April 1. The event is designed to give non-shooters and novice shooters an introduction to firearms in a controlled environment. Participants will get a safety briefing, and then have the opportunity to shoot pellet guns, .22 rifles and handguns, and shotguns under the supervision of one of our coaches. This free event is geared for families. Tim Bradley, a Tom Knapp protege, will put on a shotgun demonstration at 1 pm. Contact Jerry Shiller at 760 436-4629 or idogeology@cox.net or Jim Smith at 619 464-5073 or deerlover@cox.net.     

APRIL 4 BIGHORN SHEEP WATER PROJECT: The Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep needs volunteers for a mid-week, short-notice work project to install a new bighorn sheep watering tank in the Bristol Mountains Wednesday, April 4. The project will take about six hours if 10 volunteers make the trip. Volunteers should bring water, lunch, and gloves. Contact Gary Thomas at 909-981-5487 or g.cranky@verizon.net.     

APRIL 7 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person.  Next class dates are April 21, May 12, June 9, July 7, August 4, 11, 18, 25, and 26, September 8, October 6 and 13, November 3, and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.     

APRIL 7 TURKEY FEDERATION FUND-RAISER: The High Desert Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will have its inaugural fund-raising banquet April 7 at the Terrace Room, Hesperia. For ticket prices and information, contact Dave Recce at 760-956-7092     

APRIL 14-15 DEL MAR GUN SHOW: The Crossroads of the West Del Mar Gun Show will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 15, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar. Admission is $10. Information and $1 off coupons available at www.crossroadsgunshows.com .     

APRIL 21 CALIFORNIA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION SHOOT: The California Waterfowl Association will be hosting its sixth annual shoot and BBQ at Triple B's Clays, 831 North Rosemead Blvd., South El Monte. Cost of the shoot is $100, and includes a membership in CWA. The event features 50 rounds of sporting clays, 25 rounds of skeet, 25 rounds of trap, a western style BBQ, and a CWA hat. Squads will be in groups of five so bring four friends. Team and individual prizes will be awarded. There will be a raffle, silent auction, live auction, and shooting games. Contact Adam Weleba at 626-353-4592 or 626-446-9246 or e-mail at kweleba08@earthlink.net.     

APRIL 21 RIVERSIDE DUCKS UNLIMITED DINNER: The Riverside Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will have its annual fund-raising dinner beginning 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21 in Riverside. Contact Mickey Barrett at 951-244-0527 for information and tickets.     

APRIL 21 SOUTH NEVADA FRIENDS OF NRA: The South Nevada Friends of the National Rifle Association fund-raiser dinner will be held at Sam's Town Casino beginning 4:30 p.m., Saturday, April 21. This event is famous for tons of prizes, including the NRA-engraved S&W 460XVR, Kimber .338 Federal Rifle, Marlin 336XLR .30-30, a custom .40 built on a Caspian frame, and more. Dinner tickets are $50. Contact Joe Luby at 702-451-1158 or via e-mail at joe.luby@lpl.com.     

APRIL 21 CARLSBAD DUCKS UNLIMITED DINNER: The North County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will have its annual fund-raising banquet beginning 6 p.m., Saturday, April 21 in Carlsbad. Contact Todd Webster 619-719-7591 for information and tickets.     

APRIL 21 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person.  Next class dates are May 12, June 9, July 7, August 4, 11, 18, 25, and 26, September 8, October 6 and 13, November 3, and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.     

APRIL 21-22 CONCEALED CARRY WEAPON COURSE: A 16-hour California Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) course is being offered by Firearms Training Associates at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises this Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $180 per person. This course meets the state requirement for 16 hours of training to qualify for a CCW. Other CCW classes will be held March 3-4, April 21-22. Contact FTA at 714-701-9918 or 877-544-4867. The web site is www.ftatv.com .     

APRIL 27 COACHELLA VALLEY FRIENDS OF NRA: One of only two Friends of the NRA banquets in Riverside County. If you missed last year, the merchandise package for this event includes the 2007 NRA Gun of the Year, Print of the Year, and Knife of the Year, and a selection of NRA collectibles from 2006 offered at this event only! The event will be 6 p.m., Friday, April 27, at the Spotlight29 Casino, 46200 Harrison Street, Coachella. Tickets are $45 each. Contact Matt McCue at 760-861-5814 or via e-mail at mmccue@lundandguttry.com.     

APRIL 27 LONG BEACH DUCKS UNLIMITED DINNER: The Long Beach Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will have its annual fund-raising dinner beginning 7 p.m., Saturday, April 27 in Long Beach. Contact Brian Meehan at 949-306-4755 for information and tickets.     

APRIL 28 SAN DIEGO FRIENDS OF NRA: Tom Ham's Lighthouse Restaurant at 2150 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, is the new setting for this year's annual fund-raiser. Doors open at 6:30 pm Saturday, April 28. Special drawing for a Springfield XD .40 and other great firearms. Tickets are $45. Contact Doug Oliver at 619-933-9687 or via e-mail at rangerdoug@sbcglobal.net.     

MAY 4 SANTA BARBARA DUCKS UNLIMITED DINNER: The Santa Barbara Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will have its annual fund-raising dinner beginning 6 p.m., Friday, May 4, in Santa Barbara. Contact Jean-Paul Demeure at 805-698-8022 for information and tickets.     

MAY 4 INLAND EMPIRE FRIENDS OF NRA: The Inland Empire Friends of the NRA will have its annual fund-raising banquet beginning 6 p.m., Friday, May 4, at the San Bernardino Elks Lodge, 2055 Elks Dr., San Bernardino. Special drawing for a new Ruger .308 Scout rifle. Tickets are $40 per person. Contact Kurt Wampole at 909-586-5395 or via e-mail at kcw911@aol.com.     

MAY 5 SAN DIMAS CALIFORNIA WATERFOWL DINNER: The San Dimas California Waterfowl Association dinner will be held beginning 6 p.m., Saturday, May 5, at the Via Verde Country Club, 1400 Avenida Estrada, San Dimas. Tickets are $75 per person, $125 per couple, $50 for junior under 18. To print a dinner flyer, go to www.calwaterfowl.org . Contact Greg Pedrola at 909-599-7333.    

MAY 11 EL CAJON DUCKS UNLIMITED DINNER: The East County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will have its annual fund-raising dinner beginning 6 p.m., Friday, May 11, in El Cajon. Contact Vic Bermudes at 619-448-1800 for information and tickets.     

MAY 12 ELK FOUNDATION FUND-RAISING BANQUET: The Ridgecrest Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will have it 14th annual banquet Saturday, May 12, at the Kerr McGee Center in Ridgecrest. Contact Jerry Williams at 760-384-2822.     

MAY 12 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person.  Next class dates are June 9, July 7, August 4, 11, 18, 25, and 26, September 8, October 6 and 13, November 3, and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.     

MAY 18 ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA WATERFOWL DINNER: The Orange County California Waterfowl Association banquet will be held beginning 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 18, at the Westminister Manor Banquet House, 14041 Beach Blvd., Westminster. Tickets are $55 per person, $85 per couple and $45 per junior under 18. Contact Frank Theodoropoulos at 714-227-3304 or print a flyer at www.calwaterfowl.org .     

MAY 19-20 ONTARIO GUN SHOW: The Crossroads of the West Ontario Gun Show will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at the Ontario Convention Center, Ontario. Admission is $10. Information, directions, and $1 off coupons available at www.crossroadsgunshows.com .     

JUNE 9 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person.  Next class dates are July 7, August 4, 11, 18, 25, and 26, September 8, October 6 and 13, November 3, and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.

CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS     

The following is a list of hunting, shooting, and fishing clubs and organizations in Southern California with contact information and regular meeting dates:     

976-TUNA ROD AND REEL CLUB: The 976-Tuna Rod and Reel Club meets 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of east month at the National Sports Grill, 3210 W. Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance. Contact Phil Friedman at 310-328-8426.     

CALIFORNIA STATE VARMINT CALLERS ASSOCIATION: The California State Varmint Callers Association meets 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Denny's just north of the 210 freeway at Irwindale Ave., Irwindale. Contact Steven Childs at 626-407-8826 or steve@sdchilds.com. Web site: www.csvca.com .     

CERRITOS ROD & GUN CLUB: The Cerritos Rod & Gun Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at Heritage Park in Cerritos. Contact Charles Sharp at 714-317-8290 or fish_90605@yahoo.com.     

CLUB FISH: Club Fish, a 20-year-old fishing club, meets 7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Izaak Walton League Clubhouse, Santa Ana. The clubhouse is located at the entrance to Riverview Gold Course. Contact Mike Cross at 949-854-5258 or m_r_cross@yahoo.com.     

HIGHLAND PARK SPORTSMEN'S CLUB: The Highland Park Sportsmen's Club meets at 8 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month at 2035 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles. Contact Mauro Garcia at 323-254-0763 or incareal@juno.com.     

ORANCO BOWMEN: The ORANCO Bowmen meet the second Tuesday of each month at the club range, 17504 Pomona Rincon Rd., Chino (Euclid Avenue one block north of the 71 freeway). The range is open to the public on Sundays 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 909-597-7582. Web site: www.oranco.org .     

ORANGE COUNTY BASS CLUB: The Orange County Bass Club meets 7 p.m. the third Monday of each month at the Garden Grove Elk's Lodge. Contact Steve Pendergast at 949-651-8172 or prendergasts@netzero.com.     

PLUNGE CREEK COWBOYS: The Plunge Creek Cowboys, a new Cowboy Action Shooting club in the Inland Empire, has shoots the third Saturday of each month at the Inland Fish and Game range on Orange Street in East Highlands. Authentic or replica firearms and garb required. Information: www.plungecreekcowboys.com .     

PREDATOR CALLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY: The Predator Callers of Orange County meet 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Fountain Valley Turner's Outdoorsman store, 18808 Brookhurst, Fountain Valley. Contact Bob Peters via e-mail at bpi1@ca.rr.com or Don Jamroz at donjamroz@aol.com.     

QUAIL UNLIMITED (HIGH DESERT CHAPTER): The High Desert Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Apple Valley Gun Club. Contact Cruz Garcia at 760-949-6334 or  fathercruz@verizon.net.

QUAIL UNLIMITED (ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER): The Orange County Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Izaak Walton League Clubhouse (located at the entrance to Riverview Golf Course) in Santa Ana. Contact Craig Riedel at 714-282-1194 or criedel@mflex.com.     

QUAIL UNLIMITED (RIVERSIDE CHAPTER): The Riverside Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at Prado Olympic Shooting Park, 17501 Pomona Rincon Road, Chino (one block west of Euclid, just off the 71 freeway). Contact Ron Gibbons at 909-902-9814 or gibbent@gte.net. Web site: www.quriverside.com .     

QUAIL UNLIMITED (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY CHAPTER): The San Gabriel Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 6 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Triple B Clays in El Monte. Contact Tim Bovard at 866-206-9070, ext. 6715 or sgvqu@onebox.com.     

RIVERSIDE VARMINT CALLERS: The Riverside Varmint Callers meet 7 p.m. the last Saturday of each month at Flo's Country Kitchen, Riverside. Contact Lance Cochrane at 909-919-4309 or Ray Gauthier at 951-785-4986. Web site: www.californiavarmintcallers.com/chapters.html/ .     

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VARMINT CALLERS ASSOCIATION: The Southern California Varmint Callers Association meets 8 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at the Denny's Restaurant at Pioneer Blvd and Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Contact Granville Crow at 310-548-6221 or crowshot1@cox.net or Skip Gildner at 562-900-9020 or mtnhigh5@excite.com.   
  
TEMPLE CITY SPORTSMEN: The Temple City Sportsmen meet the first Thursday of each month at the Temple City Civic Center in Temple City. Contact Jim White at 626-201-7782 or TCSPresident2006@yahoo.com.     

TURNER'S OUTDOORSMAN ROD AND REEL CLUB: The Turner's Outdoorsman Rod and Reel Club meets 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Marie Calendars Restaurant, 2300 Foothill, Pasadena. Contact Richard Crowe at 626-960-9610.     

[Want your event or club listed here? Send the information to Jim Matthews, Outdoor News Service, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007 or e-mail it to odwriter@earthlink.net. Following the style used above for events and clubs makes our life easier and increases the likelihood of it being included here.]