Kern River Report

Two Saturdays ago found us at the Kern River, flogging the water. We landed eleven fish, none over 12". That's just not right...

I admit, we were foolish to spend time on the bigger pools. After lunch, I decided to try the broken pocket water, which is were we caught most of the fish. The fly of choice was the Mormon Girl, fished deep with a sinking line.

Next year, maybe I'll pack in way up the Kern River, like these guys. I just hope it is a reasonable distance, not a death march.

Niland Dove Hunting Post

I apologize that this post comes so late, but I've been lazy lately.

The last day of August brought phone calls from friends out in Arizona. The message was, don't bother coming here. The dove hunting prospects in the CRIT reservation near Parker were dismal.

A quick change of plan sent us down to Brawley, arriving late at night on the 31st. After a short slumber at a lousy motel, we headed up towards Niland. Desert Wildlife Unlimited's fields 10, 11, and 12 provided fair dove shooting, and Mike and I finished the morning with limits, including some whitewing doves. The fields were basically undeveloped; I thought a seeding of milo during the spring would have brought a lot more birds in for opening day.

The next day saw us at field 24, which was not too bad either. We finished the day with another two limits, and drove out on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea. That is a strange landscape, with green water framed by dry desert peaks. A stop at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio for a fabulous (and reasonably priced) buffet lunch wrapped up the trip. The tri-tip beef was particularly good.