The shoulder season and spring break are about to give way to the hands-on season and spring fever.
Athletics-wise, the local high school teams – and, to a certain extent, Fort Lewis College – shift into high gear starting next weekend after time away for spring break.
Sporting-wise, a pair of events next weekend also signal the coming of spring, and a more robust time for sporting types.
The annual Duranglers Fly Fishing Festival has become an annual rite of spring and an unofficial start to the fly fishing year – or at least it gets us thinking in that direction.
The festival kicks off with a social and presentation Friday, April 3, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Durango, followed by a full day of activities Saturday, April 4.
Most of the action is at Duranglers on Saturday morning, but the big draw promises to be casting and rod demos late Saturday morning to mid-afternoon on the Animas River at Santa Rita Park.
Then, after the festival wraps up at Duranglers late afternoon Saturday, the Fly Fishing Film Tour, which has been held in conjunction with the festival in recent years and features short fly-fishing films, will take center stage at 4 and 8 p.m. at the Durango Arts Center. Tickets are $13 at Duranglers.
For those who prefer the field over the stream and shotguns to fly rods, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is offering a free two-day workshop on turkey hunting for adults 18 and over Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4.
The workshop is designed to give adult hunting novices and beginning turkey hunters the basic skills required to try turkey hunting during the upcoming spring turkey season (April 11-May 24). Topics will include turkey biology and habitat; scouting and calling; safety, laws and ethics; shotgun shooting and ammo basics; camouflage and gear; and field dressing the harvested bird.
“It’s for people who are even turkey curious,” said Leigh Gillette, education coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Durango. “Even folks who have never fired a shotgun are invited to try it. We provide the guns, the ammo, the fake shooting range, the instructors, let them try their hand at turkey calling. There are amazing instructors for every subject, from calling to stalking.”
The classroom session is scheduled from 6-8 p.m., Friday at the Durango Recreation Center and the hands-on workshop is from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the old Fort Lewis/San Juan Basin Research Center in Hesperus. Those on hand for the Saturday workshop are asked to dress for a day outdoors and bring lunch and water.
While free, preregistration is required by Thursday.
“We have a great line-up of instructors, including professional turkey hunting guides, champion turkey callers, members of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and hunting and firearms instruction staff from Colorado Parks and Wildlife,” Gillette said.
For those interested in hunting, stalking turkeys is a good place to start. In Colorado, the spring turkey season is long, the weather is usually fairly balmy, and turkeys are abundant in the Four Corners area.
bpeterson@durangoherald.com
