Northern Utah Fishing Report – August 1

August 1, 2014 - posted by Chris Jacobson

Has July been a hot one or what?! Summer heat is not great on anglers, but it hasn’t been all bad. There have been a lot of guys coming in and telling us about their stories of success all around the state. Earlier this summer, the DWR posted a blog report saying that they predicted this year to be one of the best years in recent memory for fishing. I didn’t believe it at the time, but it sure has turned into one of the best I can remember. In fact, we heard that the fishing was good over on Willard Bay so we decided to send two of our sporting goods employees out to check it out.

Hanna and Tyler with their catch from Willard Bay

Tyler and Hanna teamed up with Randy from our surplus department and took a trip out on the bay after work. They found that the fishing has slowed considerably in the last month, but they still caught fish. The Walleye were not biting at all, but the Wiper were still doing okay. They even got treated to a great sunset as they came in from fishing.

So what do I think is going to happen this next month? Well, here you go.

Fishing Willard Bay

Like I mentioned before, the bay has been slowing down with this hot weather. The bay isn’t nearly as deep as the walleye and wiper would like it to be. The water temperature has been in the mid to upper 80s and that makes the fish want to go to deeper water, but there isn’t any. This means that most of the Walleye and Wiper are most active at night; wipers are still being caught though. The best times are dawn and dusk. Be on the watch for boils too, we have heard that a few anglers have seen boils. The Rapalas are still the best lure out there; although bottom bouncers are also doing well.

Fishing Flaming Gorge and Strawberry Reservoir

Generally I like to highlight the close reservoirs around for other places to fish, but this month I have heard some great things coming out of Flaming Gorge and Strawberry Reservoir. These two reservoirs have been heating up with fishing activity lately. We even heard reports of a 6lb Kokanee being caught at Strawberry. That’s awesome! Flaming Gorge has been producing some big fish too, with some angler’s averages being in the 3lb range.

I got a visit the other day from Christenson Lakeshore Tackle and Rocky Mountain Tackle and they have some great dodgers and squids and they let me in on what they have seen as the best colors.

Both of them told me that a shattered glass dodger with a blue squid has been working really well. You can also try pink and green squids, as these are colors that work often as well.

Fishing should continue to be great in Utah this next month. Fishing is a great way to get out of the hot valley and get up in the mountains where it is a little cooler. Remember to send in pictures of your catch for our Braggin’ Board!

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A few of the pictures that got our attention this month were some great fish caught by Jake Gertsch who was fishing up in Fort Peck Lake in Montana. He caught a Pike and a Walleye on a fly rod! Great job Jake! Send in your pictures to info@smithandedwards.com and good luck out there!

Jake’s pike on the fly

Jake’s walleye on a fly rod

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Canning Tips and Fruit Stand Forecast

July 31, 2014 - posted by Rose Marion

Ah, the first of August! It’s that time of year: Time to turn the fragrant, tasty fruits of summer into beautiful bottled treats for the winter. That’s right, it’s canning season. And if you haven’t been up Highway 89 this summer, you’re really missing out!

Pettingill's Fruit Stand on Highway 89 in Willard, Utah

Take Exit 351 north off I-15 and head up Highway 89 to see the produce at Pettingill’s!

Jean Davis runs the southernmost fruit stand, Pettingill’s, with her family. Jean’s father built the farm back in 1947. Jean and her family have put together one of the finest fruit stands along the entire “Fruit Highway,” which is Highway 89 from the I-15 exit 351 north to Brigham City at the Eagle Mountain Golf Course in northern Utah.

There’s nothing better than local produce fresh from the farm: it’s excellent quality at good prices, and you’ll get to meet some great people at the fruit stand, too. They’re friendly and always happy to share uses & ideas for the produce that’s in-season… they may even tell you what’s coming around the corner!

I asked Jean what some of the best fruit and vegetables are best for a beginning canner. Apricots, she said. Apricots and Peaches. It’s a quick bottling process and easy to do.

And you don’t have to can all that produce to keep it for the winter. Sweet corn is excellent frozen. Peaches, nectarines, pears, tomatoes, apples, corn, and apricots are all wonderful dehydrated (more on dehydrating in a moment!)

Bushels of tasty peaches at Pettingill’s

So what’s in the fruit stands right now? (As of July 31, 2014. Available produce will vary from month to month, year to year.)

What to Can in August

It’s pretty tough to say which tasty fruits and veggies will be in the fruit stands week-to-week… your best bet is just to drop in and see what’s there! Please note that all dates are as of August 1st. Generally speaking, here’s what you can expect for the month of August in the Fruit Stands this year:

Just finishing, get ’em now: Cherries and Apricots. Summer apples have about 3 weeks left!
Just in: Tomatoes and Sweet corn just came in – this is a great time to get your salsa, bottled tomatoes, and sauces going! Freeze your sweet corn today (you can also dry it!)

Pears will be coming in to Pettingill’s in about 10 days.

Cantaloupe and watermelon

Also in now: Watermelons, Anaheim peppers, Jalapenos, Yellow peppers, Cantaloupe, Raspberries, Zucchini, Beans, Beets, Peaches

Peppers, cucumber, and zucchini

Coming soon: Fall apples will start at the end of August and continue to the first week of October. Plums will come in September.

Summer Gold Apples at Pettingill’s – great for eating, baking, and making applesauce

Update August 9: Pickling cucumbers are in at Pettingills, and so are yummy Bartlett pears! Today was the first day for both!

All those yummy fruits and vegetables are in season now and ready for you to freeze, can, or dehydrate. You can get day-by-day updates on the Pettingill Facebook page!

We were so lucky this year to have an amazing cherry season in 2014. They’ve about wrapped up now… hope you got to make some delicious cherry cobbler, canned cherries, or crumbles with them!

Best Peaches for Canning

One question both Jean and Smith & Edwards get is “What peaches are best for canning?” It’s a tough question because Jean’s farm has 50 different varieties of peaches alone!

They all come on one after the other, and who could pick a favorite out of 50? So what Jean’s customers have said is the best canning peaches come on in August and September. The top 6 varieties of peaches for canning according to Pettingill’s customers are: Canadian Harmony, Rosa, Early Elberta, Angeles, Sun Princes, and Hales.

Besides fresh local fruit, Pettingill’s carries Utah and German chocolate, truffles, spicy cheese nuggets, syrups from every berry imaginable, vinaigrettes, local honey (in honey sticks, honey bears, and tubs), Farr West ice cream, and all sorts of sauces made from Pettingill’s produce. Plus they serve up shakes & hot dogs from 11-5:30pm. Just a mile north of Smith & Edwards, Pettingill’s fruit stand is a great local stop to visit all summer long!

Canning Tips from USU

Canning can be a lot of fun – well, at least it can be very rewarding! There’s nothing like digging in to your family’s favorite apple pie filling on a cold January Saturday morning. You can get better flavor through home processing, better nutritional content, and you can make food that fits your family’s special diet needs. Plus, once you’ve got a season under your belt – or friends, family, or church connections who can show you the ropes – you’ll have the canning process down pat.

Teresa Hunsaker from the USU Extension Office came to Smith & Edwards in July to teach a Food Preparedness seminar, part of our monthly preparedness series (see all events here). Afterward, she stayed at the store to test pressure canners, so you could be sure your pressure canner gauge is working properly!

Teresa Hunsaker educating people about canning and testing pressure canners at Smith and Edwards

Teresa had some great tips for us… here are a few:

Use citric acid to preserve tomatoes. Really! You only need 1/2 teaspoon citric acid for quarts, which means you get more of the sunny tomato flavor. Using vinegar, you’d need a whopping 4 tablespoons, or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Try it this year and see!

Bushels of ripe tomatoes at Pettingill’s – for salsa, canning, & BLTs!
Canning adjustments for our area: Weber County isn’t at the same elevation as most cooking & canning books are written for. For Ogden, Brigham City, Farr West, and other places in our area, we’re right around 4300 feet. At sea level water boils at 212°F, but at our altitude in Weber County, water boils at about 202°F. So it will take longer to get the necessary heat to the center of the jar to destroy molds and yeasts.
But it’s easy. If you’re using a Water Bath Canner, just add 5 minutes for a process time less than 15 minutes; or, add 10 minutes for a process time 20 minutes or more. If you’re Pressure Canning, have your dial gauge at 13 pounds between 4,001-6,000ft altitude, or 15 pounds on a weighted gauge for 4,001-6,000ft altitude.
Think all bottles have to be sterilized before using? Not anymore! If you’re pressure canning or water bath processing for at least 10 minutes, you don’t need to sterilize the jars. The jars should be filled with food. You do want to wash the jars before using, though!

Need to know how much headspace to leave? Here you go:

1/4-inch headspace on Jams & Jellies
1/2-inch headspace on Fruits and Tomatoes
1 to 1-1/4 inches headspace on low acid foods

Canning Basics: Water Bath and Pressure Canning

The Ball Blue Book of Canning is the definitive resource on canning.

Canning may take a day out of your weekend, but those yummy pickled beets, salsa, and applesauce are so worth it in the wintertime.

Jean from Pettingill’s highly recommends the Ball Blue Book of Canning. It’s got everything you need to know about canning in it.

If you’re just starting out, Jean says, remember that you don’t have to go it alone! Ask your family, friends, neighbors, or friends from church or work if they want to come can with you. More people makes it more fun, you’ll learn from the wide experience they’ve had, and someone might bring a special ingredient or recipe that you’ll all wind up loving!

All-American pressure canners (click to see more)

There are 2 good methods for canning and bottling: Pressure canning and Water Bath canning. Use a pressure canner for vegetables, to avoid botulism. The modern pressure canners aren’t your grandmother’s canner, where the lid blows off! Today’s pressure canners are safe and have gauges and weights that will depressurize if needed. Plus, we always have Teresa from USU Extension come test pressure canner gauges at least once a year, so you can be sure you’re canning safely.

Fruits, jams, jellies, and tomatoes can be done in a water bath canner. Steam canners are available to use, but USDA and USU don’t recommend them due to lack of testing – most canning recipes don’t have adjustments for steam canners.

There are a couple good brands of pressure canners out there, Presto and All-American among them. Both are good, come in different sizes, and they will both last you a lifetime. Presto has one tray. The All-American 21.5 Quart canner comes 2 trays for your convenience, so you can double-stack the pints! All-American canners have the advantage of having an all-metal seal, so you don’t have to replace the rubber gasket. They’re made in the USA and precision manufactured and inspected, so there’s a reason behind the investment.

Canning this year?
Whether it’s your first time or you’ve got seasons of canning under your belt, we’d love to see how your bottling turned out this year! Email your canning pictures to info@smithandedwards.com.

Vickie’s Canning Tip

Vickie Maughan, the Kitchen & Canning buyer for Smith & Edwards, has an amazing tip for canning.

In the summer, it’s already hot, and then you’re cranking up the heat in the kitchen and making your air conditioner work doubletime. Plus there’s the heat and the mess to deal with in the kitchen, and maybe you have a glass stove top which means you have to be careful about which canners to use on it.

Vickie’s solution? Use your Camp Chef and do all the canning outside. It’s easier on the AC, it’s less mess and cleanup, and you can use just about any canning equipment on it. Come in to the store and check out Camp Chef stoves, it’s a real nice way to get your canning done!

Sure you can make chicken noodle soup on a Camp Chef – and you can can fruit on one, too!

Dehydrating Recommendations

Square Food Dehydrator at Smith and Edwards

Square food dehydrators are great for jerky!

When it comes to dehydrators, the higher the wattage, the faster it will dehydrate your food. You can get ones that heat from the top or the bottom. We’ve found the dehydrators that heat from the bottom work best for us – look for metal-bottom dehydrators for best results. Square dehydrators are best for jerky, because you can fit more on.

What can you dehydrate? Fruit of course, jerky, and herbs all are great to dehydrate. If you’re just starting, head over to a fruit stand and start simple with cherries and apricots. You can even try dehydrating zucchini – it’s fabulous with cheese sauce! You can even dehydrate beautiful flowers from your garden, like sunflowers, to keep as decorations.

Try dehydrating your own jerky, either with a jerky gun which uses ground meat, or slice thin strips of meat yourself.

Here’s another tip: an apple corer makes dehydrating easy. You can peel, slice, and core all at once and then put the apple slices right on your dehydrator!

Once your food is dehydrated, keep it safe from moisture in a ziploc bag in the fridge, the freezer, or a cold, dark space.

A word about Food Storage

Freeze Dried Meals for Emergency Preparedness

Home-canned or preserved foods can supplement freeze-dried vegetables or meals like Mountain House #10 cans… or even eliminate the need for them!

Teresa also had some great advice about Food Storage when she came, and it’s really practical advice to live by.

Having food canned and set aside in storage isn’t just about preparing for a “disaster.” While some people may seriously be preparing for the apocalypse, having food your family will eat in a stressed situation is beyond value and worth considering.

What types of stressed situations are there? Well, true, natural disaster is one. But if you’re preparing for an earthquake, glass bottling may need some extra steps to make that a good plan. A truck can spill or a train can derail, meaning that it may be 72-96 hours until grocery stores are replenished.

Or, even situations such as job loss, sudden or long-term illness, surgery, or the off-season for seasonal jobs are great times to appreciate the food preparation you’ve done ahead of time.

Canning may or may not be a part of your Food Storage plan. Maybe your family devours everything you can by the time temperatures are back in the 80s. But if your family is the type to put up loads of beans and then forget them: Let your Food Storage be your “What’s for Dinner?” backup plan!

If you really want to be prepared to use your Food Storage, keep it fresh and have a plan of what recipes to use by drawing from it regularly. This means you’ll keep it rotating, and you’ll never be stuck with the power out, thinking “How am I going to make a meal with dehydrated veggies, canned tomatoes, and wheat?”

(By the way, a Cooking with Food Storage class is coming up this September!!)

By making your Food Storage something you’re familiar with and something you’re comfortable using, you’re going to be a lot more prepared than someone who has food storage older than their youngest child and have never tried to cook with it…. I guarantee it!

Your Turn

Have canning tips to share with other Smith & Edwards customers? Have questions for Jean from Pettingill’s, Teresa from USU Extension, or Vickie & the gals in our Canning Department? Leave your questions & tips in the comments below!

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Make Sweet Campfire Treats with the Doughy Maker

July 25, 2014 - posted by Rose Marion

Last Saturday, Erik from DoughyMaker was generous enough to stand at the entrance of Smith & Edwards, celebrating our 67th Anniversary and handing out campfire treats!

Erik and his family have a lot of experience feeding Scout Camp and Girls Camps full of hungry mouths out in the woods here in Utah.

If you’ve been out with hungry campers, you know time is of the essence! Erik and his family came up with this amazing way to cook some sweet treats in a quick amount of time to keep the campers happy – and your family will love it, too.

A single Doughy Maker will make 10 biscuits, donut holes, or treats at a time.

Erik recommends Pillsbury dough to make campfire doughies: the baking powder in them will mean a faster cooking time and a lighter treat than others, like Rhodes.

Simply pop the biscuits in:

Then clamp the muffin tins together, and heat ’em up.

Erik’s perfected method is over a flame, 3-4 minutes, flipping from one side to the other every 5 seconds.

The DoughyMaker is designed for a campfire, and you can also use it on your gas grill, barbecue, or Camp Chef. (These summer days in Utah, you could probably use the hood of a hot car, too!)

Ok, check ’em! When the biscuits are a golden brown, they’re ready:

Here’s our favorite recipe: Cinnamon & Sugar Doughies.

Drop the hot doughies in melted butter:

Then roll them around in cinnamon & sugar:

Mmmmm! What a perfect camping treat!

Can you imagine what your family can come up with? Marshmallow s’mores, jalepeno doughies, cheese-stuffed doughies, carmel pecan, blueberry biscuits…. YUM!

Get a DoughyMaker of your very own here:

Doughy Maker at Smith & Edwards – available online and in-store!

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Scout Camp, Fishing & Camping Checklist

July 17, 2014 - posted by Rose Marion

It’s the right time of year for fishing, hiking, and camping. This time of year, we get a lot of people coming in and asking, “What gear do I need for…”

Whether you’re hiking, camping, fishing, or even sending your Cub Scout off to camp for a couple days, this checklist has everything you need to make it a great adventure here in Utah or in the mountains or lakes of our neighboring states.

If you’re camping or hiking, or sending a Scout to camp, here’s what you need:

If you’re sending a scout, remember his uniform, too!

For fishing:

Enjoy!

Click here to download a printable PDF of both lists.

Did you have fun? Make sure and send us pictures for the Bragging Board!

These lists were made after we had lots of families looking for a Scout camp checklist for their boys about to go to camp. We find them useful as a camping checklist so we’re sure we’ve got the car packed with all the gear we need. These also work great for packing your gear even for a fishing getaway on a Friday afternoon!

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Brand new Kydex Holsters made in USA

July 15, 2014 - posted by Eric Halter

K Rounds makes both IWB and OWB holsters from Kydex

K Rounds makes both IWB (Inside the Waistband) and OWB (Outside the Wasitband) holsters out of Kydex.

I wanted to take a minute and tell you about a new holster line that we have added to our inventory here at Smith and Edwards. Kydex holsters by K Rounds LLC.

As the Hunting Department buyer, I see a lot of products in the industry and have developed a lot of opinions about holsters from my many years of carrying a firearm every day in my work.

Historically, I would have to admit that I am very much a “fine leather” kind of guy. Good leather holsters that are hand boned and fitted to a particular handgun has always been my first choice.

What I’ve seen before with Kydex

As Kydex started to come on the market, early versions that came my way did not impress me. In fact, some I have seen are very crude and not very well finished at all. Some were very poorly designed and assembled even worse and all had rough edges that would scratch you at best and always snagged on your clothing. Not good at all. But they simply would not disappear from the market.

A few months ago, Scott Thorsted, one of our product reps, brought in a few samples of Kydex holsters from a manufacturer that I had not heard of. These holsters were from K Rounds of Tukwila, Washington.

OWB (outside the waistband) Kydex holster by K Rounds

An advantage that Kydex has over leather is that it is more resistant to wear and won’t need cleaning or maintenance. Kydex is a hard plastic material that comes in flat sheets. So instead of making holsters that are injection molded, what they do is take the Kydex, heat it up in an oven until it is pliable, then they push it onto a mold as it cools, and cut it to shape.

How K Rounds Holsters are Different

It was apparent from the start that these K Rounds were fine holsters. The detail, engineering, fit and finish are excellent. The design of the OWI (Outside the Waistband) and the IWB (Inside the Waistband) is superbly done. Each has a tension screw that the user can adjust to increase or decrease the amount of tension you want from the holster on the handgun.

The fasteners are deeply blued and correctly chosen for the piece. One of my biggest pet peeves…scratchy rough edges…is non-existent. They also make mag-pouches and lite-pouches.

K Rounds Kydex concealment double magazine for .45 1911

They have a wide range of holsters made for specific handguns, including the Glock 42 and the Springfield XD(S).

Kydex Glock 42 .380 OWB holster with belt loop by K Rounds

Kydex K Rounds Springfield XD(S) Holster

Kydex Springfield XD(S) Holster by K Rounds

Back view: Kydex Springfield XD(S) IWB Holster by K Rounds

A little research on K Rounds reveals that all their holsters are hand made in Washington state by American craftsmen…imagine that! All their products offer a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

For pricing, we sell their products ranging from $29.99 to $59.99.

Stop by the store and let us show you this great new product.

Just announced: now you can win a Kydex holster FREE courtesy of K Rounds! Click here to enter.

Click the image and enter the Kydex Holster giveaway from K Rounds!

About our people

Eric Halter grew up in a family of gunsmiths and just kept the family tradition going. Recently he’s gotten into doing the Cerakote™ firearm coatings.

Eric is the Hunting buyer for Smith and Edwards, and he also wrote a great post about Cleaning Your Rifle.

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Range Day was a Blast!

July 11, 2014 - posted by Rose Marion

Wow… if you came to the Perry City Range on Friday, June 13th, you had an amazing start to Father’s Day weekend!

The Three Mile Creek Gun Range hosted about 250 people on Range Day, from people who came with their families to shoot, to Smith & Edwards staff, and even Karen Cronin, Perry City mayor.

Mayor Karen Cronin at Range Day 2014 in Perry, Utah

Perry Mayor Karen Cronin with Head Rangemaster Eric Halter (L) and Sporting Goods manager Mike Vause (R) from Smith & Edwards at the Three Mile Creek Range in Perry, Utah

Perry’s Three Mile Creek Range was Amazing!

Karen Cronin, Mayor of Perry City, said that Range Day was “extremely successful!” “We owe a big thank you to Smith & Edwards and to all the employees that made it happen.”

Range Day was “the first big event that we’ve partnered with private industry on so it was pretty exciting from the get go,” Karen said. “What was really neat was the opportunities it gave the public to try out different guns, try out the gun range, and I hope it was helpful for Smith and Edwards to get the public exposed to the guns they carry.”

“Now that Smith and Edwards has taken the first step, maybe different businesses will try it out and give shooters the experience of trying out their equipment at our Range.”

Mayor Karen was happy to see the different families that came to see the Range and try out the guns and equipment at the range. “It was way cool,” she said, to see kids with their parents in a “safe, controlled environment with the rangemasters there.”

Head Rangemaster Eric Halter said the Range Day was a “smashing success.” He said the goals of the Perry City Range are to introduce youth to shooting sports, and to host competitions and matches – and Range Day demonstrated that the Three Mile Creek Range is the perfect spot for that. Also a Smith & Edwards employee, Eric said he was thrilled to see shooters of all ages at the event, from families and novices to experienced shooters.

Mike Vause, Sporting Goods buyer at Smith & Edwards, organized Range Day with the help of Perry City and Three Mile Creek Gun Range representatives, as well as manufacturers. “People had no idea that the event was going to have such support from manufacturers.” Representatives from Springfield Armory, Browning, Crimson Trace, Desert Tech, NEMO, Spirit Ammunition, and Taylor Targets were there to support the event all day that Friday at the range.

About half the people Mike talked to had never realized that there was such a great gun range this close – a great gun range in Utah, right here in our back yard.

All 20 lanes at the Three Mile Creek Range had a gun to try out, and each lane had a Rangemaster, manufacturer’s representative, or a Smith & Edwards employee to load the ammunition, help spot the targets, and if needed, guide the shooter on the gun they were trying.

We were happy to help guide novice shooters and families who were teaching their kids how to shoot!

Each lane has a concrete bench in great condition, and the Three Mile Creek Range features targets out to 500 yards. The plan is to have 1000 yard targets in the future!

The Range has 2 big sets of bleachers for families to watch the shoot. The parking lot is nice and had enough spots for us at Range Day. Plus, there’s a speaker system so it was clear when shooting stopped for us to repaint targets.

The Perry shooting range is a great place to teach your kids to shoot, and target practice. It’s a perfect spot for shooters of all ages.

Smith & Edwards’ Range Day was the first major event held at the Perry shooting range. We’re excited to see what more comes to Perry’s Three Mile Creek Gun Range in the future!

What Happened at the Gun Range on Range Day

There were challenges:

Justin nailed a 500 yard target on his first shot!

Justin won this awesome hat from Desert Tech! He was the first to shoot a target at 500 yards on his first shot using the 308. Way to go Justin!!

There were giveaways:

We gave away 5 buckets of Remington 22s at the Range, and we had lots of other giveaways: 9mm and 45 ACP ammo from Spirit Ammunition, a TruGlo SCP TAC 30mm Scope, and a TruGlo 5 MOA Reticle.

Springfield Armory even gave us an XD-S pistol to give away in support of Range Day! Here’s the lucky fella –

We had a lot of help….

There were representatives from Springfield Armory, Browning, Spirit Ammunition, Desert Tech, Taylor Targets, Crimson Trace, and Nemo.

Trying out the Crimson Trace on the first lane – see the green dot?

Checking out what NEMO brought to Range Day

Blaine from Springfield Armory assisting

Bob with Spirit Ammunition, a Utah ammunition manufacturer, came out to show what ammo of his we stock at Smith & Edwards!

Our Browning rep helped man a lane for Range Day

Browning rifles on display

And of course, there was food!

Mike and Eric ready to pass out pizza at Range Day

Lunch is ready!

What shooters thought of Range Day

We asked Connor Squires what he liked about Range Day:

The shooting. I love to shoot.

We asked Connor what handguns were his favorite. He said “All of the 9’s.” Rifles? “The 22s and the 223s. I loved them all.”
Brett Farrin said:

Where else can you take your 15 year old son and introduce him to some of the best guns on the market in a safe and healthy environment. We had a blast. Thank you Smith and Edwards for putting this together. We will definitely be supporting the 2nd annual Range Day!

I am not sure how it would work but a shotgun trap shoot would have been fun. There are a couple of shot guns I would have liked to pulled the trigger on.

I really like the Springfield XD 40. It is on my wish list. It was so fun to be able to put some bullets through these guns.

The HMR .17 was a lot of fun. It is not something I would have purchased but having shot it, it was one of our favorites. We also shot the 5.62 from Springfield. Now that I could own.

About the Three Mile Creek Range

Construction of the Three Mile Creek Range began in 2012 and it now features 20 lanes and targets at 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards… and more expansion is planned, including an archery range, law enforcement training center, and 1000 yard targets.

If you’re looking for a Utah shooting range to call home, we highly recommend the Three Mile Creek Range!

The Perry Three Mile Creek Range offers day passes and year passes. The Range is open to all shooters Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00-5:00pm except the first Saturday of the month, closed for maintenance.

The Perry gun range is located just north of the weigh station/point of entry west of I-15. Simply take 2950 S and head west under the I-15 overpass, then follow the road south. Take the first right and you’re there – here’s a link to the range on Google Maps.

Mayor Karen Cronin tells us that through the summer, Perry is working to get the training facility at the Three Mile Creek Range operational. The Range is going to take the inside of the training facility and refurbish it to make it more conducive to do training like hunter’s safety for 30-50 people at a time. This includes an indoor classroom where groups could even do Powerpoint presentations for the class to bring the education portion of the sport to the Range, as well as a kitchenette for groups to host parties at the Range.

There may even be clay pigeon shooting at the Perry range in the future!

Here’s what Mayor Karen Cronin said about the Perry Three Mile Creek Range:

Some people put in swimming pools, some people put in skate parks, we have to make a decision if there’s something we want to sponsor. The gun range is a little out of the box, but we hope it’ll reach a lot of family and individuals, and help the sport of shooting.

Check out the Range on Perry City’s website here!

What do you think… Should we do it again?

Should Smith & Edwards collaborate with sponsors & Perry City again to bring back Range Day next year? Let us know in the comments below!

Thanks!

Thank YOU for coming and participating!
Thanks to Mayor Karen Cronin and the many people at Perry City and Three Mile Creek Range to help us put on the 2014 Smith & Edwards Range Day Event!
Thanks to our sponsors Springfield Armory, Crimson Trace, Tru Glo Optics, Nemo Firearms, Desert Tech, Taylor Targets, Browning, and Spirit Ammunition, for the prizes and time you donated to this event!
All of you helped us give our customers a fun event – THANK YOU!

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Willard Bay Fishing Report – July 1

July 1, 2014 - posted by Chris Jacobson

June has been a great month and we have seen a lot of fish being caught out on Willard. The stellar year of fishing has continued to produce some of the best fishing in recent memory.

A couple of our employees, including our own sporting goods employee Hanna, went out about mid-June and had a very good outing. They caught lots of Wiper and a few Walleye and had a blast doing it. They even stopped to pose with a few of their catch.

Nice job guys!! Although I don’t think licking it will taste very good!

Fishing at Willard Bay

In July we should see the fishing continue to be good, but it has slowed down in the last few weeks. As the weather and the water gets warmer, you will start to see the fish be more active in the mornings and evenings. The shad that are in the reservoir are getting bigger, and a lot of anglers are saying that is why we are seeing a slowdown in fishing activity. With the bigger shad, the fish aren’t as active and willing to chase the shad raps or bottom bouncers.

July is the month that we should start looking for some boils. We haven’t had reports of any good, consistent boils in a few years. Hopefully, with any luck, this year will be different. We would love to hear of any boils you guys see out there!

Don’t let the slowdown scare you though; the fish might not be as active, but you still can catch them using bottom bouncers with a worm harness or floating Rapala. You will want to fish in some of the deeper parts of the reservoir, although it is Willard and that means it’s not very deep at all.

At any rate, there is still some good fishing to be had out on Willard this year and July will be a great time to get out on the water!

Fishing at Other Reservoirs

Pineview Reservoir has started to become a little more active these last few weeks as anglers have been able to catch a few more Crappie from shore using a small jig and a bobber. This reservoir gets to be hard to troll with it being used by a lot of wakeboarders and skiers.

Mantua is still a good spot to go for some great bass fishing. Look for those bass to be hidden in any structure along the edges. Mantua has also been a pretty decent spot to catch some Rainbows while trolling. Wedding Rings or Pop Gear with a worm behind them have had the best success.

There has been some great fishing this in Northern Utah year and we look forward to it continuing.

I have been asking for you guys to send in your photos and you haven’t disappointed. Truman Holbrook sent in this pic of this big ol’ Wiper that he and his family caught in their secret spot!

Great catch guys! Be sure to keep these pics coming and we will put them on our bragging board and on our blog! Good Luck Fishing!

Hey – what do you want?

What do you want to hear about in these fishing reports? Any specific lakes or reservoirs, or any specific fish you want advice on? Leave a comment & let us know so we can get you what you need!

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Your Range Day Doctor’s Note

June 9, 2014 - posted by Rose Marion

OK, so you turned in your request for time off last week so you could have alllll of Friday off this week to come shoot our guns and ammo.

And what did your boss say? That you needed a DOCTOR’S NOTE?

That’s some nerve. But don’t worry, Range Day mastermind Mike Vause is all about making you happy. He’s got you covered.

Click here to print it out and get your day off.

Get your Ammo Passes so you can come Shoot our Guns & Ammo this Friday….

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Willard Bay Fishing Report – June 5

June 5, 2014 - posted by Chris Jacobson

May was a great month if you are an angler. Willard Bay has been on fire for any type of fish in the reservoir. Wiper and Walleye fishing has been and continues to be off the charts. Not to mention the Crappie fishing this year has been stellar, some anglers telling us that they caught the biggest crappie ever this year!

A coworker and I went out on his boat on June 2 and limited out on Walleye and Wiper. It was my best day ever on Willard Bay and my best trip so far this year for any lake.

Wiper – Willard Bay

Walleye – Willard Bay

We were trolling using shad Rapalas. We used some planer boards at first and did really well trolling about 2-3 mph for Walleye. The wind started to pick up so we pulled off the planer boards and started trolling a little faster at 3-5 mph and that’s when we started really getting into the wiper. We were using the same black and white/silver shad rap for both fish. The cool thing about it was that the total time on the water was a little over 3 hours and we had limited out. You can’t beat a day like that.

Now you might be saying “Enough about May, what does the fishing in June look like?” Here is what we are looking at for the next month. It should be just as good as the last!

Willard Bay

Willard should remain great fishing well into June. The Walleye and Wiper are hungry and will be looking for food. Shad colored Rapalas, including the shad rap or Rattling Rapala will work great.

As the weather gets warmer, look for the fish to mover lower in the water column. This means a bottom bouncer will be an awesome choice to get you down where the fish are. You can put a worm harness or even a floating Rapala on behind the bottom bouncer. For Walleye and Wiper, try varying the speed you are trolling. If you are catching Walleye but not Wiper, try speeding up. This could trigger a strike from a hungry Wiper that a slower speed might not.

Crappie fishing has started to taper off in the marinas, although you should still be able to catch some using a bobber and small jig throughout the summer.

One last bit of advice for fishing Willard: Make sure to pack the bug spray! The bugs can get bad no matter if you are fishing from the shore or in a boat.

Other Reservoirs

Pineview is starting to warm up and because of that, the fishing has picked up. Small mouth bass have been caught in Anderson Cove. Look for Crappie fishing to pick up early in June as the water gets warmer as well as the Tiger Muskie and Bullhead fishing.

Mantua will also be a good alternative reservoir to get some good fishing in. Trout fishing has picked up as the planters get bigger and as the water gets warmer the Bass fishing is always good there. You need to get on this reservoir early because the moss will soon become too thick to fish in most places.

The DWR predicted a great summer of fishing and so far it hasn’t disappointed! June is shaping up to be just as good as May! As always we are here to help you in the Fishing department here at Smith and Edwards.

We also love to hear your fishing stories and see your pics. Email them into us at info@smithandedwards.com and we will put them on our bragging board! Also email us or call us at 801-731-1120 if you have any questions or want the latest fishing reports!

One more tip for you…