Come out to the Youth Fishing and Outdoor Clinic

Bring your youngster(s) to Mittry Lake on March 24th when the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club holds its Youth Fishing and Outdoor Clinic, much bigger this year than ever before. Everything is free for youngsters, accompanied by parent(s) or other responsible adults, from ages 1 through 17 to try their hand at the fishing, face painting, jumpers, archery and BB gun ranges, hay rides and to get in on the lure making as well plus free lunch for everyone attending. Kids will also receive a free rod and reel, and a T-shirt with lots of prizes on hand. Sign up at 5:30 a.m. to fish and have a world of fun. Final weigh-in will be at 11 a.m. Sponsors are always welcome and appreciated. Volunteers are never turned down. Call Dave Parrish (all 928) 941-6168, Richard Gill Jr. 580-5646, Billy Morgan 210-1378 or Brant Barksdale 210-4275.

But March 24 isn’t done yet! When your family finishes the event at Mittry Lake, pack a bag and head out to Phoenix to the Ben Avery Shooting facility to take advantage of the rest of the weekend to taking in the Annual Game and Fish Outdoor Expo, also free and well worth the travel. The event offers loads of activities, presentations and exhibits for everyone from novices to seasons outdoor recreationists. There is also free camping for those with tents, etc., and free parking for the weekend.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 25. For more information, visit www.azgfd. gov/expo.

Hunt happenings

• 2018 Becoming an Outdoors Woman Event: If you are interested in BOW, the registration for the April 13-15 workshops event is now open. No experience is necessary and BOW is for women of all ages and fitness levels with the location at Friendly Pines Camp near Prescott beginning on Friday noon, ending at Noon Sunday with a variety of classes to choose from.

The fee is $250 that includes lodging in rustic cabins with full bathrooms and electricity, delicious meals and most classroom materials. For a registration packet visit online at www.azwildlife.org or call Kimberlee at 480-644-0077. After this camp, the next one is Sept. 7-9th. Be sure to ask about the scholarships, available to attend the camps.

• The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has completed its random draw for 2018 elk and pronghorn hunts. The results are now available for those who have a free AZGFD portal account, or by calling the department at (602) 942-3000, pressing “2” and following the prompts. Be prepared to provide a Social Security or Department ID number, and date of birth. This service is free of charge.

To open a portal account, visit https://accounts.azgfd.com/Account/ Register and complete the required fields. A portal account allows customers to create a secure account where they can view and manage their contact information, as well as their licenses, draw results history and bonus points in their personal “My AZGFD Dashboard” section. For questions about creating a portal account, call the department at (602) 942-3000 and press “7.”

By the numbers: 26,190: The total number of hunt permit-tags issued, 178,323: The total number of those who applied for hunts or bonus points (96 percent of all applicants applied online), 126,145: The total number of applications submitted (paper and online). All hunt permittags for successful applicants, along with refund warrants for those who were unsuccessful in the random draw, are expected to be mailed to applicants. Check with Game and Fish for information on left over permit-tags remaining.

Some of the leftover elk hunt permit-tags are for Hopi hunt open areas and are available to everyone, both tribal members and non-tribal members, through the first-come, first-served process. A number of leftover elk hunt permit-tags remain for military hunts at Camp Navajo, for those who qualify. For more information, visit https://dema.az.gov/ army-national-guard/camp-navajo/ garrison-operations/camp-navajohunting-information.

Fishing clubs

• Desert Bass Anglers “The Fun Way to Fish”: Keep your fishing in the water to stay in practice for the next competition on April 7th at Mittry Lake — more information forthcoming or call Mac or Bobbi McDermott at 726-1984.

• Stay in practice for the 3/17 Jimmy Phipps Memorial Bass Derby hosted by the Rod and Gun Club, launching out of Fisher’s Landing. All anglers are welcome to attend. Call Clint Fraser at 580-3231 or Danny Woods at 448-8476 for details.

• Desert Draw Series Pro/ Am Bass Fishing Club: This club promises to be well worth taking part in with their next “open” bass tournament planned for March 31 at Mittry Lake. Sign up 3/30 at Sportsmen’s Hideaway until 5 p.m. for the draw that will follow. For details, call Michael Obney at 928 750-7081.

• American Bass – Yuma Division: Call Jeff Woods at (951) 824-0553 or Ray Mayo at (951) 616-0372 to become a member of ABA. Hope to have results soon from yesterday’s tournament that launched Hidden Shores.

• Yuma High School Bass Fishing Club: A great way for any High Schooler to learn all about fishing for bass. Members of both the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club and Desert Bass Anglers assist the kids in providing them with boats and equipment as well as guiding the youngsters in gaining a good share of fishing know-hows. Call Terry Hurt, school sponsor, at 580-6567 or visit StudentAnglerFoundation.com to get started. Any interested H.S. student will be a part of a exciting year for our next generation of anglers at Fisher’s Landing/Martinez Lake. • This bunch of great young people also help others with their fishing along the way by assisting at local youth events — watch for them in action at the Youth Fishing and outdoor Clinic at Mittry Lake on 3/24 — they are a great help with this event, just one of their many projects — true treasures!

Shooting sports

• 4-H shooting sports: For information on a great organization for youngsters, call the Yuma 4-H office at 726-3904 or Stan Gourley at 344-0740.

• Renegade Archers of Yuma: Please give us call — Kevin at 726-0953 or Jean at 247-4450 — if you’d like to shoot the trail of 3D animals at 9 a.m. most Sundays at the Foothills Archery Range. Bring your youngsters for free archery shooting instructions — we’ll be glad to assist in their learning (call ahead so we can bring along extra bows and arrows). The practice range at the Range is open (also free use) daylight hours all week for archers practice and enjoyment. You might be best satisfied bringing along your own target.

• Yuma Trap and Skeet Club: Anyone interested in trap and skeet? Shoot 8 a.m. to 12-noon Saturdays and Sundays. Tuesdays and Thursdays noon to 4 p.m. matches at Adair Park. Call Bob Avila at (928) 919-0622. For information on the Yuma Young Guns with the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), active at the trap and skeet range with practice dates and times forthcoming or call Head Coach H. McNutt at 928 580-0918.

• Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club: Regular “open” black powder matches are 1st and 3rd Saturday’s at the Adair Park range at 8:30 a.m. Call Roger Bickel at 726-7453 — ask about .22 matches.

• Cholla Gun Club: Shooting is ongoing at the Adair Park metallic silhouette range — get your firearms in order and join in the shooting. All shooters welcome. Sign-up at 8:30 a.m. for shooting at 9 a.m. sharp. Matches open to the public with instructions when necessary. All firearms must comply with NRA guidelines. Membership in NRA is not required. No belted magnums — cartridges must not result in damage to targets. Small bore defined as .22 long rifle. Ammunition (no .22mags). The club business meeting is 7 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday now through March at Villa Alameda RV Park. Pistol and rifle matches including a share of black powder, silhouette and vintage rifle matches held the 4th Saturdays and/or Sundays, alternating Tuesdays as well as Wednesdays and Fridays: Call Glenda Graves at (928) 580-0915 for shooting times.

• High Power Rifle and Pistol Club of Yuma: Check with joseph Murek at umpire1@q.com or Gerald Brooker at brookergerald@att.net or call 1-858-349-1311 or call Paul Lerma at 580-7456. Club junior “Whipper Snipers” shooters activities as well as a list of matches are listed on the club web site at hprifleyuma.net.

• Yuma Matchmasters: A variety of matches are offered each month at the range, all open to shooters at 7 a.m. with the steel challenge the 1st Saturday, Multi-gun matches the 1st Sunday. IPSC combat matches held the 2nd Sunday with the Cowboy Fast Draw the 3rd Saturday and SASS cowboy matches the 4th Saturday . Interested in Cowboy Action shooting? Call Irene Snyder at (209) 613-4598 or George Wagner at (719) 660-9466 with questions.

• Southwest Bowhunters Archery Club: Archery is offered to archers on Sundays with their practice range also open all week. Call Keith Parsels at 782-1097.

Contact Jean Wilson at jeanrenegade@ gmail.com or call 247-4450