2009 California Elk Hunts

I just finished my most successful elk season ever in California. I guided 7 hunters on 4 different hunts and all of them took bulls with 6 of them scoring high enough to make the Boone and Crockett record book. Here's a quick run down of all the hunts. My first hunt was an archery hunt at Grizzly Island and my hunter took a Tule elk bull that is probably going to be the new SCI archery world record for Tule elk and either first or second in Pope and Young. The New York Times did an article on this hunt and you can read it if you go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/sports/13elk.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Jellison&st=cse Here's a photo of Walt Palmer's bull: 

Elk and Antelope Hunting Season

It's now elk and antelope hunting season. I just got back from Grizzly Island where we took a nice tule bull with a bow. It gross scored 320 and net was 312 5/8. It could come in first with Pope and Young, depending on what it scores after it dries and it will be number one with SCI archery.
I am off scouting for deer and guiding antelope hunters in Nevada. Then it's back to California to guide 4 elk hunts: 2 Northwestern hunts and the Del Norte hunt for Roosevelt bulls and East Park Reservoir for tule elk.

Hope everyone has a successful hunting season.

2008 Nevada Antelope and California Elk Hunts

My guided Nevada antelope and California Roosevelt elk hunts have gone really well this year.

In August, I spent a week out scouting for my Nevada mule deer hunts. I spent all of my time in central Nevada. The deer population is down from last year due to a fairly severe winter. I did however see some really nice bucks. The fawns from last year did not do well and many of them did not make it through the winter so there was a noticeable lack of forked horn bucks.  After that, I had three antelope hunters to guide in Nevada on a private ranch. I had bought these Nevada landowner antelope tags from this ranch for the second year in a row and was really looking forward to a fun hunt and wasn't disappointed. This ranch has more antelope than anywhere I've ever been. In twenty minutes all three hunters were done. Last year we chased one antelope for four days before we were able to take him. You just never know when you're hunting.

I guided three California Roosevelt elk hunts this year. My first guided California elk hunt was on the Del-Norte hunt (hunt 414) and my hunter took a nice 6×6 bull that I was able to call in to 15 yards and he was screaming the whole way. We had seen a bigger bull that would easily make Boone and Crockett but this bull was too nice and way too exciting for my hunter to pass. The bull got to 15 yards and then without any warning, turned and ran away and my hunter made a difficult running through the trees shot at 20 yards.  My second and third California elk hunts were on the Northwestern elk hunt (hunt 483) which was a new hunt last year. I was able to obtain a very good piece of private property (about 20,000 acres) to hunt on and was able to take a very nice bull and a huge bull in less than two days of total hunting. I called in 5 bulls and saw several other bulls in that time.

My first hunter took a nice 7x7 at about 180 yards. I actually called the bull in and it came on a dead run through the trees right at us. When the bull finally cleared the trees, I cow called and stopped the bull at 15 yards and he was staring right at us. The bull whirled around and left before she could get a shot. I cow called and stopped the bull at 180 yards and we moved over about 10 yards and she was able to make a good shot and take the bull. What a hunt, we had bulls screaming all around us.  My last hunter is one of the luckiest people in America. He drew the one and only nonresident elk tag in the entire state. Talk about hitting the lottery. I called him when I finished my first hunt because he was not scheduled to hunt for 4 more days. Jim August is a taxidermist in Portland and said he could come down early if the elk where vocal and they were definitely vocal. The next day I met Jim in town and we got settled into camp about 3 p.m. That evening we went out and in 45 minutes I called in a bull that we passed up and then called in the bull he ended up taking to 50 yards. I think it caught both of us by surprise. He had said that he wanted to take a record book bull and this fit the bill. Jim asked me what I thought and I said he's a book bull and was glassing him from only 50 yards trying to make sure he had all his points. I told Jim he was a 7×7 but I didn't see the two devil points he had coming off his brow tines. After about 60 seconds of discussion the bull turned and took off down into a draw. Jim and I walked over the edge and when he went up the other side, I cow called and stopped him and Jim shot. It turns out we both underestimated the bull, as it gross scored a little over 350 and will net around 337 or 338. Boone and Crockett minimum for Roosevelt elk is 290 so it will make the record book by over 45 inches. Congratulations Jim on a bull of a lifetime.

Check out the photo gallery for the newest pictures from these hunts.  Next up are my Nevada mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk and wild chukar hunts. I'll let you know how that goes when I get back in late November.

2008 Fall Hunting Season

It's finally my favorite time of year - “ hunting season! The season has been going well so far. I guided 3 Nevada antelope hunters last month and they all got their antelope within an hour of opening morning. Everyone was happy with their animal. Right now I'm guiding the California north coast elk hunts. My first client took a nice 6 x 6 bull on the Del Norte hunt. I start guiding for the Northwestern hunt tomorrow. I have access to some great private property and have seen some really nice bulls.

I'll be home the middle of September for a week or so before going out to Nevada to do some more scouting for deer season. While I'm home, I hope to get my 11-month-old yellow lab puppy on some quail. My older lab is now 7 years old, so I got a puppy to take over when my older dog retires. So far the puppy looks to be a great bird dog. She is a pointing lab so I've been learning a lot about pointing dogs. Both dogs will be raring to go come chukar season in Nevada. Chukar season starts in October, so if you're interested in booking a 3 day Nevada chukar hunt, let me know. My Nevada deer hunts start October 4 and run through November 5, but I still have room for some chukar hunters.

In November I'll be doing both elk hunts and chukar hunts in Nevada and plan on being home by Thanksgiving. Hope everyone has a great hunting season!

Fall Hunting & Fishing

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.