With spring just around the corner, there are a few things to think about. Make sure your deer guns are cleaned up and prepared for the vault. We are in El Paso, and we "DO" pump water into our homes to keep the cool. Even refrigerated air increases the humidity in your home. So make sure that if you're putting your weapon away for an uncertain amount of time, make sure its well cleaned and oiled. Make sure to use a silicone based product to treat your weapon or store it in a silicone impregnated sock. You don't want to open your closet or vault next season and find a rusty gun. Also look into de-humidifiers for your vault. This is the desert and as much as we need the water, our guns don't.

 

 

I spoke a bit last month about turkey season, now it's all but here. Get your turkey gun out of the moth balls. Or if you're like me its still raring to go because it's the same gun I've been hunting coyote with all season (same choke guys). Or maybe you're a bow hunter and you need your bow tuned up, and some fresh arrows for the season, we are the place. Now that we are an authorized Mathews dealer we are excited to carry the Mathews and Mission line of bows, so whether you're looking for a Mathews Z7 Extreme for your elk or turkey hunt or a Mission Craze to shoot a few fish with, come on down and talk to us, we'll get you shooting straight.

 

See you in the store

 

Shane (Store Manager)

 

With Turkey season starting in April, many of you still have your bow set up for deer season so now is the time to go over your bow and equipment and make some minor adjustments to get you and your bow set up for turkey season.  Turkey hunting is a different style of hunting, most of the time you are going to be hunting from ground blinds so you need to practice shooting like you were in a blind or if you have one, set it up and get comfortable shooting from it again.  Some shooting positions you need to start working on are the seated and kneeling because these are the positions you will find yourself in while shooting out of a blind or during turkey season. Shooting from a blind is different because now you have a structure around you and there many blind spots and depending on your height, you might have to make adjustments with your stance to get you at the right height to shoot out the window.   With height in mind, this is a great time to re-sight your bow in because blind hunting requires lower shooting lines than deer hunting which a lot of times is done in a standing position or from a tree stand shooting down so take the time to go over shooting from a seated and kneeling position and make sure your still on target with all your yardage pins. 

These are few tips to get you going this turkey season, if you need help with any of your hunting needs come on by we are here to help.
 
Happy practicing!

Jorge
Archery Manager

 

Flies for Early Spring

   Early spring is a time when most fishermen get the itch to start fishing again.  Many of them unable to fish during the harsh winter start to get cabin fever, longing to get out the house.  This time of year can be tricky to fish; the warmer weather can trigger the run off at anytime. A cold front can move in from what seems out of no where, and dump snow or rain on you. If you plan ahead and stock your box properly you can make it an enjoyable experience.  These are some of my go to flies for early spring.
  Hatches can be light and sparse but you can always expect midge hatches. I like to have midge larvae in red, black, olive, cream and brown. I like to make simply ones with micro tubing, thread and a TMC 200R hook. You need to have them in sizes 18 to 22. I use these until I see the midges start to come off the water. If fish do not break the surface with their mouth, I know they must be taking the emergers just under the surface. I like to use RS2's and variants of this fly. Olive, brown and black are the most common colors I use. If the switch to the adults on the surface, I like to use parachute midge dry flies (like a tiny Parachute Adams) and Griffin's Gnats.
   There are two over hatches than can come off in the early spring, Baetis and Skawala Stone flies.  Baetis (Blue Wing Olives) will come off when the weather is slightly warmer and especially when a light snow or shower has just occurred. I have Pheasant Tail nymphs to represent the nymph stage and BWO Cripples for the emerging stage. I also keep BWO Parachutes for the adult stage. You can also use Parachute Adams to represent the darker adults. The Skawala Stone fly is a hard fly to predict when it will hatch. It is a small window but it is a good idea to have some in your box just in case. The Skawala stonefly is a smaller, darker stone fly that usually hatches in early spring before the run off. Most of the time the run off comes right as the hatches start and it kills the hatch. I have only hit this hatch once on the Green River and once on the Middle Provo. I had one day of this hatch on the Provo and it was amazing but when I returned the next day the run off had started. These are the biggest bugs of the early season so the trout love to gorge themselves on them. They are not as big as other stoneflies that will come later but after eating midges all winter long, they are a welcome feast for hungry trout.
   This next fly is not really a fly, nor is it a hatch but is worth mentioning, the egg pattern. Rainbow trout spawn in the spring and other trout and fish will try to eat the eggs. I like to have orange and other shades of orange to represent these eggs. Unlike the salmon eggs these eggs are lighter and smaller, I use a size 18 hook for these.
   Try putting some of these in your box this spring. We stock most of these and if we are out we can always get some ties up for you. For up to date reports please call or stop by the fly fishing department.

Private Fly Tying - $45/hour
6 Weeks Beginner Session $240

Basic Casting Classes $40/hour
7 Weeks Advanced Session $280 

 

 

About Us

 

At Sportsman's Elite Hunting, Fly Fishing and Gun Pro Shop, we are dedicated to providing quality name brand products in a comfortable and professional atmosphere with exceptional customer service. We look forward to being able to serve you!

Sportsman's Elite
7500 N. Mesa, Suite 105
El Paso, Texas 79912

 Phone: 915-587-4867
Fax: 915-584-7599  
www.sportsmanselite.com
info@sportsmanselite.com

Sportsman's Elite is sponsoring the 2nd annual rabbit and rattlesnake hunt.

Saturday April 30, 2011

More information can be be found on our website.