Unsettled weather conditions and cold temperatures associated with recent storm activity has provided waterfowl hunters with good wing shooting in recent days at both the Key Pittman and Overton Wildlife Management Areas.
In The Outdoors
Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own.
intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com
Today many of us will sit down with family and friends to break bread and, in some cases, give thanks. After all, it is Thanksgiving Day.
Why do you fish? Have you ever wondered? Or, if you don’t fish, have you ever asked yourself why not?
There is something special about those quiet moments found only in the outdoors, times when everything man-made seems to fade into the distance and you become enveloped in the music nature provides. If you stop long enough to pay attention, you will find yourself in the middle of a symphony whose individual notes tell their own story.
Statistically speaking, hunting is near the top of the list when it comes to safest recreational pursuits. According to a report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, hunting with firearms holds the third position on the top 10 list of safest activities, right between the high-adrenaline sports of billiards and bowling.
Back in the old days, I worked my way through college as a member of the university’s grounds crew. While many of my student co-workers loathed such work, I actually enjoyed it.
Heat, rain and low-hung clouds thick enough to make deer hunting little better than futile.
The road to Kolob Terrace winds its way from the red dirt of the valley floor past sandstone bluffs that mark the western edge of Zion National Park in southern Utah. It climbs steadily in elevation until it passes through stands of quaking aspen scattered among mountain meadows. Follow the road far enough, and you will arrive at Kolob Reservoir, at times an angler’s paradise.
When we left Dale Rust’s cabin at Sunnyside, the hour was so early that it was still nighttime. Well, at least it seemed to be. The temperature was cold enough, as they say, that one could hang beef. If one could find a tree somewhere to hang it in.
The daytime high in downtown Ely this afternoon should be 76 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Farther north, that number is expected to be a little lower but not by much. The high temperature in Elko should reach 71 degrees, and nighttime temperatures will hover in the vicinity of 40 degrees in both places.
For the past several years, Nevada’s hunters, anglers, ranchers and other outdoorsmen have anxiously awaited an official decision regarding the possible listing of sage grouse as an endangered species.
Hunters looking to bag a few chukars this fall may want to turn at least part of their hunting attention north and east to the Beehive State. Utah’s chukar numbers are the highest they have been in 17 years.
Almost 400 miles north of Las Vegas and just over the hill from Elko is one of Nevada’s natural treasures, a mountain range with 10 jagged peaks that climb past 10,000 feet in elevation. The highest tops out at 11,387 feet. Some call these mountains the Swiss Alps of Nevada, but their true name is the Ruby Mountains.
With opening day of dove season behind us, it is probably safe to assume that the quick-flying birds humbled more than a few hunters. Some may even be counting the number of shots they took and asking how they can improve their bird-per-shot ratio.
With mourning dove season beginning Tuesday and the waterfowl hunting seasons not far behind, some readers are asking, “Where can I go?”
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