The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

I’m still acclimating for a very special trip to Alaska. A few days prior to my trip my son Joey (11) broke his foot and a toe goofing off at a friend’s house. He thought the toe was dislocated and he set the bone himself only later to find out it was broken. We had been training for months for the up coming football season. Yes we since my wife thought it would be nice for me to attend the conditioning training with my son. His season was over and he had some time on his hands so he started reading his hunters safety manual. When I returned home from AK, I learned that my son had taken and passed his hunters safety class. It’s a pretty tough test now and very few kids passed it in his class. I was pretty darn proud because they cover a lot of information. He was pumped upped and wanted to get a shotgun. I guess they come out excited about hunting and shooting. He had his heart set on a Charles Daly 20ga pump they demoed in the class.

So off we go to J&G gunsmith’s to see what we could find. Now he is what I call a tweener. Not quite and adult size and not quite a youth size. They had a nice selection of used guns to choose from and we checked them all out. Now I didn’t want to break the bank or get a piece of junk. So we just keep checking them until one of them called to us. We were lucky enough to find a Remington 870 Wingmaster 20ga pump in excellent condition. It was a little more than I wanted to spend but I know it was a quality gun that would last a lifetime. I didn’t think those 10 days would come fast enough because he just couldn’t wait.

The day arrives and we head to the store to pick up the gun. It seems there are almost as many signatures required as buying a house. Now here we are with a new gun and my son’s foot in a boot/cast. My son reminded me that there was only a 30 day warranty on the gun so we should go shoot to make sure it works.
So off we go to Coon Creek to shoot some trap. I was not sure how it would work with his foot in the cast but there was no way in hell he was going to let me test his gun without him. They were pretty open to him shooting as long as he could stand up. I made him watch the Pachmyer Trap and Skeet video’s prior to our trip. I took the first 3 shots and handed the gun to him. He broke his first target on his first try . He did pretty darn well for his first time and only thing we need to work on is a little trigger safety and awareness. I do enjoy shooting trap and skeet and now I have someone I can go with more often.

Now he’s been watching the hunting channel non-stop since he has had his hunter’s safety. I just realized that I am 44 years old and have never once in my life had a hunting license. I think I took hunter’s safety back in 1979 and still have the stub in my wallet. I don’t think there were many years that I did not have a fishing license if any at all. I think we will take it slow and after some practice I would like to go Pheasant hunting. We could hunt and take a bird, have a meal, tie some flies and catch some fish. Well my little boy is growing up and he out fishes me 9 times out of 10 times and soon will be out shooting me at the range. If you know of any programs to get youth started off right please let me know.

Dead birds & tight lines,

Jet

I can see a pheasant club in your future Joe....talk to Troutnut about WU....loads of good hunting places, not to mention the fishing up in the Burney area.

870? my kina kid.

Joe,

I work a lot with California Waterfowl Association and we host a number of Youth Camps every year to teach new hunter skills. Give the office a call and speak with George Oberstadt. The office number is (916)648-1406. These programs are outstanding for new hunters. I'll attach a link to one of the fliers. You can also look at the Events page on the www.calwaterfowl.org site to identify potential dates and times:

http://www...007_bird_haven_flyer.pdf

http://www...mps/clinicsandcampspdfs/

Phil

Jet,

The DFG has a number of Junior pheasant hunts every year, and they are all free.
You just need to sign up in advance. Some of the deadlines for signup have already passed, but there are a number of hunts through November.

In most cases, local hunters volunteer their time to lead the hunts, and usually bring along their dogs.

My boys really enjoyed these hunts and learned quite a bit.

Here is the link for the hunts & application form:

Hunts:
http://www...Reg2GBHSchedule07-08.pdf

Application:
http://www...rd/docs/Reg2%20jrapp.pdf

Buzz

My oldest is the same way... he can't wait for the first day he can actually shoot birds instead of tagging along!

I have to say after watching the two of you together that you are doing a fine job already,
there are quite a few youth hunter programs available and some are listed above.
good choice of shotgun as well

Mark

I usually hunt a public land area opening day for Pheasants. Strictly hit and miss. Most years we get a couple, but almost always see them.

You are welcome to join us, the area is Near Knight's Landing in Yolo County.

I am not sure I will make it this year to to the state of my wife's broken foot (she will take longer to heal than your son), but will definately give you directions, if I don't go.

If you want to Boot and Shoot planted birds, Knight's Landing Sportsman's Club is pretty popular around here.

Also, if you want to give your son a chance to shoot planted birds, Quail Point Hunt Club by Zamora is preety good. Opens Oct 13th. http://www.quailpoint.com/

Welcome to the club! And the 870 is hands down the best shotgun ever made. Will never shoot anything else, and it will be the first gun for my son and my daughter.

There are a number of upland game hunt clubs in your area.
The closest that I am aware of is Yankee Slough, about 5 miles up 65 from your town.

Here's a link:

http://yankeesloughhuntclub.com


Buzz