Sportsmans News

By John Bleh

Hiking up the trail, I reflected on the fact that this was one kind of fishing almost everyone loved; small, off-the-beaten path waters with a feeling of real wilderness.  There’s always a chance to stumble across some wildlife, and feel a sense that this creek, and its valley, were pretty much unchanged since the last ice age.  Maybe the fish wouldn’t be huge, but they would be eager, and they would probably be eating dry flies. Broadacres Ranch manager Dave Marlin and I were making the trek along with renown fishing photographer Jim Levison in the hopes of getting some good photos for use on the ranch website, and the weather was definitely cooperating.  Although the forecast hinted at rain for the afternoon, there was scarcely a cloud in the azure sky as we worked our way closer to the fishable water. Continue Reading

By Jason Campbell

David half whispered, half yelled up at me as I was ascending the chute.

“ROCK!”

I quickly looked up to see a baseball sized “Jason Killer” bouncing down the mountain. Mike was up ahead of me and I was getting a little restless and starting up the next jump before he had cleared the top. The rock bounced past me and it turned out just fine, this time anyway. Continue Reading

By Kent Danjanovich
Senior Editor

Shaped by the staggering force of massive glaciers millions of years ago, Alaska’s Inside Passage boasts wildlife-filled fjords and lush island scenery, perfect habitat for bears, bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises and whales. Its mountains are carpeted with majestic forests, with the Tongass National forest home to Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Indians whose history is reflected in towering totem poles. Continue Reading

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By Kent Danjanovich
Senior Editor

It’s funny how dreams formulate in each of us.  Now I know some dreams are way more important than others, but each one finds a place in our psyche and just keeps working us over until we have an opportunity to live out that dream; Sometimes successfully and sometimes not!

I have had the chance to hunt and fish in many parts of the country and the world over the years and during that time, I have caught and bagged many great trophies.  For me, it has not always been the size of the fish or animal that determines the level of success.  Sure it’s nice to have a big elk mounted on the wall or the picture of a giant rainbow hanging in my office, but ultimately I come away from those experiences with many more precious memories of the hunt and those I had the experience with more than anything else.  Now back to THAT dream! Continue Reading

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By Mike Deming

As I made my 23rd stalk with my bow in hand in just 3 days, I knew that I was experiencing something special.  I was on a 10,000 acre private ranch hunting antelope with A Double J Outfitters. I was experiencing exactly what owners Rusty and Chris Bogers said I would when I booked the trip.  “You will get 7 to 10 stalks a day at bucks in the 68 to 75 inch range” was the exact comment I remember.
Our job is to travel the world and evaluate outfitters operations.  We search for the best the world has to offer for our readers and this is one such place.  I was able to put my tag on a great 13” antelope that scored right at 70”.  Everyone in camp had similar opportunities and we were 100% success on archery. We had great accommodations and food that rivaled the best cowboy cooking the west can provide. Continue Reading

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Cover photo by Burke Williams: Jesse Peterson 66”, Ryan Wheeler 70 1/2”, Jaimie Kassman 65 1/2”

By Mike Deming

I have talked to many people who have made the trek to Alaska for brown bear and heard their wonderful stories about those successful hunts on Kodiak Island or the peninsula with monster bears everywhere which turns out to be more like bear shopping than hunting.  These stories used to be what made me want to follow in these guy’s shoes and put one of those huge bruins on the ground for myself. Continue Reading

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Cover Photo Caption: Parke Berolzheimer with his 148-inch “Mendicino Monster” blacktail.

By Michael Deming

The blacktail deer is considered to be a subspecies of the mule deer by many.  It was originally considered that the blacktail bucks had bred whitetail does creating what we call the mule deer of today.  However with the evolution of DNA testing, it is now considered that it was the whitetail bucks breeding blacktail does which gave us the much larger mule deer as we know it today.  One quick web search will provide you with a lot of information on the subject.  I’m not a scientist, but I’m having a hard time figuring out why it is called a subspecies when it was the originating breed.  The one thing that I do know about the Columbia blacktail is that they are extremely challenging and exciting to hunt.    Continue Reading

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By Collin Dalley

We arrived Monday evening in Ft. Collins, Colorado to start our three day hunt with Stillwater Outfitters.  Stillwater Outfitters has been around for 26 years, but Travis Teinninger and Chris Guccione have been hunting geese their whole lives.  They have a total of 32 private areas throughout the Ft. Collins and Denver area, to ensure that you have plenty of opportunities of filling your daily limits. Continue Reading

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By Josh Harris

For most big game hunters, spring is the time of year to put the rifle away and look forward to fall’s hunting season. While most spring hunting involves hunting smaller game, there is or in this case, there used to be, very little to hunt in the “Big Game Category” this time of year. Well look no further folks! Fair Chase Barbary Sheep is the name of the game, and West Texas in the Chinati Mountains, with Steve Jones of Back Country Hunts is the place!

Indigenous to North Africa and introduced into the United States in 1924, the famed sheep known as the Barbary Sheep, otherwise known as “Aoudad” was what we were after on this trip. Some people do not recognize the word Aoudad or have even heard the word. It is actually a slang term that the local indigenous people of North Africa used for the African Barbary Sheep that runs wild in the Sahara Desert. They are rare in their native North Africa, but were introduced into the U.S. and have since done very well here. Aoudad’s are a hearty, desert sheep and have adapted well to the rough desert mountains of the Southwest and are very elusive. These sheep are free-ranging and occupy a large home range due to their nomadic nature. Aoudads have the ability to obtain water from dew and the sparse vegetation of the desert which greatly expands their range, due to their independence on surface water. They are a true trophy to pursue and that is exactly what we did on this particular hunt. Continue Reading

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By Mike Deming

Craig, Colorado is the epicenter of the northwest Corner of Colorado and has been around for well over a hundred years.  It is a quaint little town with a population of just over ten thousand.   That is true right up to the opening of hunting season. Once hunting season rolls around, people come from all over the world to experience some of the best big game hunting the west has to offer.  Some of these premium units take more than 20 years of bonus point building to even be considered in the draw and it is very well worth the wait. Continue Reading

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By John Bleh
Sportsman’s News Pro Staffer

There’s little in fishing to match the sense of anticipation that comes from casting into new water.  No expectations and yet, every expectation.   If you know anything at all about the water in front of you, you try to match those stories with what you actually see.  The wilder the stories, the greater the anticipation.  If you’re fishing Flaming Gorge Reservoir, you might think about the Utah state record 26-pound rainbow that Del Canty caught way back in 1979 and hope there just might be another fish that large swimming around.  Colorado anglers can’t help but remember that Lee Cox pulled a 19-pound rainbow from the waters of Morrow Point Reservoir in 2003.  That 34-inch fish is the current Colorado reigning state record. Continue Reading

By Kendra Petska

As I started to lay out my gear for the first bow hunt of my life, I watched big, wet snowflakes fall from the dreary Nebraska sky.  “How in the world am I going to stick a gobbler in this stuff?” I thought to myself.  It had been snowing off and on for three days now and I was supposed to head out tomorrow to start my turkey hunt.  The Nebraska turkey opener was March 25th and I had exactly four days to immerse this first-time archery turkey hunter in gobbling madness.  My task: to successfully harvest a Nebraska longbeard and get a story on the desk of Michael Deming of Sportsman’s News.  I had three tags in my pocket and anticipation ran high, although the sky overhead wasn’t exactly putting my mind at ease.  Then I reminded myself that IT IS the end of March and I DO LIVE in Nebraska.  One day you are running your heater and the next you are cranking up your air conditioning.  The forecast said it was going to warm up some, so I kept my fingers crossed and tried to keep a positive attitude. Continue Reading

By Kent Danjanovich
Senior Editor

There are hundreds and hundreds of lodges and outfitters scattered across the beautiful and rugged state of Alaska and our staff at the Sportsman’s News visits many of them each year.  Our Platinum Approved designation doesn’t come easy and we feel that each geographical area is well represented by operations that meet our high expectations.  We are always looking for places that offer a true “Total Package” and this month’s featured lodge offers just that on the island of Kodiak, Alaska.

Wilderness Beach Lodge is nestled on the shores of Kizhuyak Bay in the tiny village of Port Lions,  located on the north end of Kodiak Island.  Port Lions is named after the Lions Club International, the well known service group that helped to relocate and build the village after the devastating  Good Friday earthquake and tsunami of 1964.  This beautiful area is covered with spruce, birch, alder and willow trees, with mountainous terrain home to world class Sitka deer and monster brown bear and along with  its sheltered bays is home to  some of the best sport fishing in all of Alaska. Continue Reading

By Shawn Monson

The chains begin to rattle and shake, the familiar clicking sound begins as the hoist raises the last deer kill of my Alberta season.  With a final click the deer comes to rest in mid air.  The chains secure its height, and I stare at the carcass as it slowly sways back and forth.  The tools of the skinning shack are quickly snatched up and the sound of sharpening knives snap me out of my trance.  The bitter sweet sounds always remind me of the experience and relationships built every year we are there. Continue Reading

By Kent Danjanovich, Senior Editor Sportsman’s News

An Alaskan adventure is more than just fishing. Some of the most beautiful sites and settings in the world can be seen throughout Alaska and everyone should take the time to visit this land at least once in their lifetime. Now, although Alaska has many great attractions and adventures throughout, the reason that I take the trek North is for the fishin’. Nowhere else in the world can you have the opportunity to not only catch big numbers of fish, but just plain “big fish” are maybe more appropriately the two key words. Continue Reading

By Mike Deming

Ursus Americanus or Black Bear of North America, is one of the smartest adversaries walking the hunting woods today.   This statement is especially true if you are after a trophy animal.  A big male, which is called a boar, can live in excess of twenty years.  Once that bear has at least a dozen years under his belt, he usually has a huge blocky head, stands well over six feet tall and is a veteran of many hunting seasons.  He is usually fairly nocturnal, except during the months of May and early June, when he will travel many miles looking for a mate.  This is the prime time to harvest a great trophy because these guys will let their guard down, but it still isn’t a guarantee by any means.  Continue Reading