OUTDOOR BRIEFS

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

Introduction to fly-fishing class scheduled

Personnel from the Nevada Department of Wildlife will have a free introduction to fly-fishing class on Jan. 31. The class will be presented in two parts, with the first beginning at 8 a.m. at the NDOW office at 4747 Vegas Drive. In this session, participants will learn basics, such as knot-tying and terminology. They also will be introduced to the equipment needed to fly-fish.

For the second session, participants will move to Floyd Lamb Park, where they will be introduced to fly-casting techniques in a practical setting. For more information and registration, contact Ivy Santee at 486-5127, Ext. 3503. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Monday

GET READY

Time to apply for spring turkey tags

Here is a quick hunting quiz: What challenging Nevada game bird can fly up to 60 miles an hour and has eyesight and hearing sharp enough to spot hunters from great distances? Not sure? Does the phrase "gobble, gobble" help?

That's right. One of the toughest game birds in Nevada is actually the wild turkey. Craig Mortimore, Nevada Department of Wildlife game biologist, points to several attributes that make the turkey such a formidable target.

"They possess all the skills necessary to evade a hunter," said Mortimore. "They can achieve flight of up to 60 miles an hour. They are exceptionally fast runners. They have excellent eyesight and tremendously good hearing. They usually group in large numbers and are very difficult to entice within gun range."

With spring wild turkey season opening March 25, hunters are reminded to pick up an application as soon as possible to avoid the last minute sprint to the post office. Applications for the spring wild turkey tag draw are available at license agents, NDOW offices and on the Internet at www.ndow.org. Online applications are available at www.huntnevada.com, except for the Paradise Valley of Humboldt County hunt.

Completed paper applications must be mailed to Wildlife Administrative Services by 5 p.m. on Feb. 17. Hand-delivered applications will not be accepted.

While challenging, Mortimore points out that the benefits at the table definitely outweigh the challenges in the field. "Those that are successful in obtaining a turkey are rewarded with some fantastic table fare. This is definitely not a Butterball right out of the freezer."

Wild turkeys were introduced to Nevada in 1960, but the program was not successful until the late 1980s when NDOW began releasing the Rio Grande subspecies of wild turkey. Mortimore reports that from those humble beginnings turkeys are now well established in eight counties in Nevada.