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November 28, 2007 by Cary Jellison
I just returned from a great fall of guiding big game hunters in Nevada and California. Out of 19 hunters, 17 were successful and the two that weren't had to leave after two days of a 5 day hunt. Pictures are now in the photo gallery section of the site from this year. I had two elk hunters in California and both were successful and killed Roosevelt elk that will make the record book. Congratulations Larry and LaDonna. In Nevada both our elk hunters were successful taking 6 point bulls with the biggest one scoring 360 inches. We were seeing 340 to 360 class bulls most days on these hunts and they are something you should definitely apply for. Most days we were seeing 8 to 15 bulls and most of those were branch antlered bulls. This is a great hunt and I do have Nevada landowner elk tags available for the 2008 season but you need to book early because they don't last long.
I guided 4 antelope hunters in Nevada that all bought landowner tags and they were all successful. The antelope were 14 to 15 7/8 inches tall with the best one being 15 1/2 inches tall and grossing 81 2/8. I will have more Nevada landowner antelope tags available for the 2008 season if anyone is interested. These ranches are loaded with antelope and make for a very fun hunt. The question is not if you are going to get one, but how big he will be. These ranches have produced some record book animals in the past.
Our Nevada mule deer hunts were very successful again this year. This makes three years in a row that everyone that stayed more than 2 days on a 5 day hunt was successful. We had 9 out of 11 hunters take deer with several in the 24 to 26 inch range that were very tall. The best buck was a 26 inch 5×5 that was the heaviest horned buck we have ever had a client take. With the new late hunts starting this year and a lot fewer tags in the field, these hunts were great and I expect them to only get better. We've been averaging about 60% draw success in the nonresident guide draw and this is a great opportunity for a nonresident to draw an otherwise very difficult Nevada mule deer tag. I also have Nevada landowner deer tags available for 2008.
I did a 2 1/2 day chukar hunt in Nevada last Friday – Sunday and we got 4 in a 1/2 day of hunting on Friday and limited out on Saturday and Sunday for two hunters. It's a pretty bad chukar year but there are still plenty of birds in pockets if you know where to find them. Chukar season runs through the end of January and I do have openings left.
As soon as we get some snow in Nevada we'll be guiding lion hunts. This is the most exciting hunting I've ever done. There is nothing quite like being 10 feet from a mountain lion and having it open its mouth and hiss at you. Our guided lion hunts are 7 days and the cost is $4000 and it includes your meals and lodging. Your hunting license and lion tag can be purchased over the counter and you are allowed two lions per year. This is a great opportunity to get out and hunt during the winter and have a hunt you will not soon forget.
I'm leaving tomorrow for a week to go over and scout the G3 Goodale mule deer hunt in California. The Goodale hunt is probably the best mule deer hunt we have here in California and I just got Forest Service permits to start guiding deer hunts over there. Hopefully I will get some good photos of bucks and post them on my site when I return.
Fly fishing on the Yuba River is a little slow right now. I did a trip the other day and we caught 4 trout and lost 7 or 8. We did get a few fish to come up for big dries though and that was nice. The fish were good size with most of them being 14 – 18 inches and full of fight. Fishing should really start to pick up by mid February and we usually have good dry fly fishing and hatches in March and April.
I'll be posting more information when I get back from the G3 hunt.
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