A Shotgun, a Fishing Pole and a Little Slice of Heavenly Pie,"
by Rory Aikens
After almost six decades of autumns, I have concluded that the universal signposts leading to paradise show a shotgun crossing a fishing pole.
In fact, a piece of heaven on earth is a fishing pole in one hand, a shotgun in the other, and a coin spinning in the air to decide which one to use on an autumn morning as the pungent smell of dewy sagebrush and Hopps
No. 9 fill the air. But the largest slice of heavenly pie is the luxury of choosing both.
For some, it’s called a cast-’n’-blast expedition. For others, it’s a fin-’n’-feathers or fur-’n’-fin outing. By any name, the Arizona autumn action is just as appetizing.
During the fall quail, waterfowl, grouse and tree-squirrel seasons and late dove season, I carry a shotgun in the bass boat when fishing, and fishing tackle in my truck or pack when hunting. I rarely suffer from the lack of a big game tag, when a computerized throw of the dice doesn’t tumble my way. I might have bonus points stacked up like jet planes over Sky Harbor at Thanksgiving, but I never lack for autumn smiles.
Fin, fur and feathers are such a fun mix that you can look forward to fall with great anticipation, big game tag or not. This is true especially if you have children: The multiple experiences of a cast-’n’-blast expedition can keep youth (and those who feel young) thoroughly engaged.
Plus, a combined hunting and fishing outing makes sense (or maybe that is cents?) from other perspectives. In these days of wallet-gouging gasoline prices, maximizing the value of your recreational time in the field saves money. And for most of us, time itself is a precious commodity. With our hectic lives, it is logical to optimize our time outdoors with as many activities as we can squeeze together (don’t forget your bird book, herpetological guide, binoculars and camera).
From a culinary sense, you can feel like a worldly gourmet having fresh-caught fish along with quail, duck, dove or even rabbit for the dinner table, especially if you are a better cook than I am. One of my favorite outdoor culinary experiences is chomping deep-fried green-chili burritos filled with tender tree-squirrel meat, wild onions and zesty black beans for appetizers as the intoxicating aroma of coal-roasted teal breasts and foil-wrapped rainbow trout rises from the crackling campfire. I don’t care who ya are, that there’s a mouth-watering image.
Add a few mountain-picked wild strawberries, or maybe some non-indigenous crayfish boiled in a pot with fresh-picked Indian corn, and presto, it’s taste bud-popping time again (wasn’t that a pop song in the ’60s?).
Hungry yet? Here are some cast-’n’-blast expeditions to consider.
Bartlett Lake
This convenient lake just 45 miles from downtown Phoenix is a superb close-to-home opportunity for bass, crappie, quail and waterfowl. It’s also a pleasing place for dispersed fall camping along the shoreline at Bartlett Flats. At this time of year, crappie fishing still should be viable at night, especially on moonless nights. During the late dove season, this can be a decent area to pick up some late-afternoon doves heading to water or roost along the ravines.
On many fall mornings in the past, I have begun the day at Bartlett Lake, where I harvested enough crappie and quail to pleasure the table for a fortnight or so, yet was able to drag my creaky old bones to work by late morning. Not a bad lifestyle for a semi-recycled hometown newspaper editor eking by in a major metropolitan area.
Alamo Lake
This desert lake west of Wickenburg is a fall hot spot for bass and crappie. Bring along a crappie light: Night crappie fishing can fill your livewell with speckled beauties. Alamo has good quail hunting some years, but possibly not this one. Still, you might flush a few Gambel’s along the hillsides, especially near cattle tanks or along the shoreline.
Don’t forget the decoys. Alamo typically attracts a robust population of waterfowl and there isn’t a lot of hunting pressure.
This is a delightful destination for fall camping in the temperate desert: Alamo Lake State Park has excellent facilities, and recreational boaters avoid this place (no high-test gas for their machines).
Lees Ferry
This is the place for wild rainbow trout tail-dancing in the swift current while quick-flying ducks zip down the deep gorge. On the WOW scale of one to 10, it can be a 9.5 or better.
There are times when the ducks, especially mallards and goldeneyes, come whizzing down the sharp bends of Marble Canyon like jet fighters in full afterburner trying to escape radar detection. You can even hear the wind whistling off their wings as they pass (the ducks, that is). If you think about the shot, it’s too late.
Even though the fall trout angling is good at this world-class blue-ribbon fishery, for some mysterious reason autumn is the off-season. The cold, rushing Colorado and desert solitaire are an inspiring mix in this red-cliff gorge that serves as the watery entryway to the wonders of the Grand Canyon.
Mogollon Rim Lakes
Willow Springs Lake, Woods Canyon Lake, Knoll Lake, Bear Canyon Lake, Chevelon Lake and Blue Ridge Reservoir along the Mogollon Rim are terrific getaways for catching trout and hunting tree squirrels.
Squirrel hunting is a good way to introduce a young person to hunting. In squirrel habitat, the key is looking for “sign,” such as shucked pine cones, pine branch clippings, chewed acorns or walnuts, tracks or large leaf nests. Listening for that curious bark or call that signals the location of a squirrel is also productive.
The Mogollon Rim, which stretches east to west across the bulging middle of Arizona like a high and wide belt, contains the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world. It’s superb forest habitat for tree squirrel, turkey, elk and deer.
Patagonia or Parker Canyon Lakes
These two lakes in the rolling oak-grasslands of southern Arizona are terrific fisheries for bass. Both are bolstered with rainbow trout once winter stockings commence (stocking times are posted on the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Web site, www.azgfd.gov).
This section of the state might hold the highest-quality quail hunting this fall, especially for those seeking the quail trifecta: Mearns’, scaled and Gambel’s. Be sure to check the regulations: Mearns’ quail season doesn’t start until just before Thanksgiving.
Patagonia Lake has come on for some big bass, especially for those flippin’ and pitchin’ the abundant tulles. It’s a fun fish. Saguaro Lake fans will love this place.
White Mountains
Big Lake, Crescent Lake, Nelson Reservoir, Luna Lake, Lee Valley Lake and Hulsey Lake in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona offer some of the best cast-’n’-blast experiences in the state for trout, squirrel and dusky grouse, especially in mixed conifer and spruce habitats bordering the long, narrow alpine meadows. You might even encounter some geese or other waterfowl around the lakes, streams and marshy meadows while learning to think like a mountain, following in the boot prints of Aldo Leopold, the father of
modern-day conservation.
Keep in mind that Big Lake is all about salmonid diversity — it has rainbows, cutthroats, brookies and Apache trout.
There are also plenty of rushing streams stocked with golden-colored Apache trout, such as the East and West Forks of the Black River, the Little Colorado River in Greer and Silver Creek near Show Low.
Mt. Baldy, Escudilla Mountain and Hannagan Meadow areas are the best for grouse. A fall hike for grouse and glowing aspen above Terry Flats on Escudilla can literally and figuratively take your breath away — at 10,000 feet in elevation.
Lower Colorado River
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge can provide some of the best waterfowl hunting in the state and the adjacent river provides OK fishing for largemouth bass, striped bass and catfish.
Although there is limited hunting opportunity on Cibola itself, this well-run refuge attracts thousands of waterfowl. Lots of waterfowl hunters set themselves up along the adjacent Colorado River.
By the way, bring along your binoculars and a camera. Besides hosting thousands of snow and Canada geese by mid- to late winter, the luxuriant grain fields of Cibola also attract hundreds of clacking sandhill cranes that will delight and amuse you. As a watchable wildlife experience worth photographing, it will knock your socks off.
This article was published in the September-October 2007 issue of Arizona Wildlife Views magazine. To subscribe or give a gift, order online or call (800) 777-0015.
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