CIUDAD OBREGON

After recovering from the Holidays, it was time once again for what has become my annual ducking & dove hunting trip down to my Amigo Gabino's hunting lodge in Obregon, Sonora,Mexico. On Jan 16 I packed up the 150 and took off for Albuquerque to meet up with buddy & hunting partner, Jared Cahill. With snow choking the high passes south, & more on the way, I left a day early and took the long way via Cortez, Shiprock, Farmington, on to Albuquerque.

Jared & KK's lil William sure had grown since last year. Now he was up walking & talking up a storm. With a day to kill, Jared & I hit The Sportsman's Warehouse where William acquired his first pair of midget hip boots & a new camo hat. On the morning of the 18th, Jared & I loaded up for the airport and a quick flight to Phoenix, to make our Mexico connections.

WILLIAM SPORTS A VT HAT

From Phoenix our flight took us to Hermosillo, then on to Ciudad Obregon, where we landed just at sunset to find Jose's smiling face waiting for us. Luckily my guns and all our bags arrived and Jose checked the guns thru with the military boys. Arriving at Gabino's lodge is always a treat. George, the lodge Manager, always offers the first greeting, but Tony, the barkeep, is waiting with a fresh batch of margaritas to quench your thirst. Viva George!! Viva Tony!!

GEORGE & TONY PUT A SMILE ON JARED

One hunting trip to Gabino's seems to make you a member of the family so to speak, because they roll out the red carpet for you and treat you like family. The lodge is Frank's boyhood home that is adorned with all kinds of mounted trophies. Frank's latest was the full body mount of his Alaskan grizzly, complete with salmon. Jared took an unusual interest in the griz.

After getting unpacked in our room, first order of business was to get back to the bar for a refill from Tony and meet the other hunters. We had a group from Jackson, Miss. , a group from Alabama, and a bunch of boys from Huston-13 in all for the three day hunt.

TONY TOPS ME UP

Liabated up, next order of business was to slip in the back office to see the two beautiful gals that make Frank's operation work like a clock. Celina [ Frank's wife] & Marisol [his personal assistant] , take care of all the bookings and handle the details. Celina speaks no English, but Marisol is bilingual , and both are absolutely charming.

CELINA & MARISOL

Big George Parda is Frank's lodge manager, who is responsible for making sure all the hunters are comfortable as well as arranging all the hunts. In the off season, Frank & George
take advantage of the great bass fishing on nearby Lake Bacarrac, when they don't have any fishing parties. Last year George landed a huge 19# lunker that he had mounted for the lodge. Check out the pic below. If you want a shot at a big bass, I can line up a trip for you down to Frank's where you can partake of true Mexican hospitality and some hot fishing.

BIG GEORGE & HIS LUNKER

A most important part of any hunt is "la comida", the food that is served. Frank has two excellent chefs that have been with him for years. Conchita & Carlitos are masters of the kitchen, putting out the best food at each meal you ever wanted to sit to. I always visit with them in the kitchen to thank them for their delicious servings and converse as best I can in my halting Espanol. If you ever book a hunt to Gabino's you will get to experience their epicurean delights.

CARLITOS & CONCHITA

After dinner each nite, George usually lays out the plan of action for the following day and gives you the wakeup times for either dove , duck, or quail hunting. Some sit up late drinking in Tony's bar, some elect to hit the local nite spots, and some, like Jared & me, hit the sack early in anticipation of the next days gunning.

GEORGE LAYS OUT THE BATTLEPLAN

An integral part of your hunting experience at Gabino's are the drivers. Frank has 3 big vans that easily carry 7 hunters and all their gear. The dinners are responsible for all the guns and ammo, as well as getting you to and from your hunt location. I have usually ridden with Jose, who is a delight, but this year we got to ride with both Danny & Gabriel. Danny had been a bird boy for several years and I got to hunt with him twice before. His English is excellent and a nice young man to boot. This season he was moved up to a driver position and we enjoyed our time with him. Gabriel, aka "Squirrel", is a delightful young feller with a twinkle in his eye who just joined Gabino. He has lived in New York, Arizona, & California and speaks excellent English. We rode with him one day and he kept us entertained with his quick wit. Riding with Gabe one day, we were pulled over by the Federales who wanted to check gun permits, licenses, & such. Gabe was a slick talker and quickly put their minds at ease. On a hunt with Frank, Jose, Danny, & Gabe will look out for you.

GEORGE WITH JOSE & DANNY

GABE aka SQUIRREL

Our hunt consisted of three dove hunts and three duck hunts. The first dove hunt, I was stationed on a hill top with Jovany my bird boy. 'Bout 7:45 the mourning doves started pouring over the hill heading to water, presenting only snap shots as they darted by. Took a bit to get on target, but by 8 the whitewings were flying and I started keeping Jovany busy in the brush. Sounded like a war in full progress as all 13 hunters brought their shooters into play. As if that morning couldn't have been a hotter shoot, the other two dove hunts proved to be better with more doves and faster shooting. Jared was in a particularly hot spot on one hunt and paid for it by being peppered more than once. Shooting was so hot & heavy that our shoulders were sore from shooting. After two dove shoots, Jared was experiencing excruciating headaches from firing so much, so he opted out of the third dove shoot to give his cabeza a break. He said if he was going to have a headache from shooting, he would rather have it on ducks.

A FEW PALOMAS

JOVANY TRIES MY BENELI

The duck hunts put you up at an early start in order to get in the blinds before light. Gabino hunts tidal estuaries off the Sea of Cortez and the only way to get around on any tide is by airboat. The first duck hunt was northwest where I experienced my first hunt with Frank. Riding out to the blinds it was downright cold, but pretty quicklike the patos started flying and the shooting warmed us up. Julio moved Jared & me once to a better spot where we had more birds, but that morning was really not up to par.

After lunch and a siesta we moved further north to another area I previously hunted. Julio put us in a blind built on a mud flat flanked by two channels back in the mangrove swamps and fast flying birds immediately started started to attack us. It was pretty steady shooting til near dark with patos decoying and giving us close in pass shooting.

The third duck hunt was south, down to Huatabampo & Etchajoa about 40 miles. The tide was out, but the birds were in. Knocking down a handful of Tylenol, Jared went to hammering away. Again, we got good decoying shooting, as well as pass shooting on those fast flyers.

THE AIRBOAT CREW

JARED WATCHES THE CORNER

DEE TAKES A PINTAIL

CAMOED UP

END OF A GREAT HUNT

Fiestas are a big part of Mexico and Frank throws a big one for you on the last night of your hunt. After many margaritas he throws a big steak cookout with all the fixings. The steaks are humongous and tender to slack huge appetites. During el postre [desert to you] a 13 piece Mariachi band, Los Hermanos Puentes, marches in to perform. The band is lead by Senor Puentes with all his sons, grandsons, & nephews in review. My favorite Mariachi tunes are Guadalajara and Malagena and he always plays them at my request. Frank, whom I refer to as "The Mexican Pavaroti" usually joins in to sing a number or two, but this time he was off to the Safari Club show in Reno and we missed the opportunity to hear his great voice.

LOS HERMANOS PUENTES

After three days enjoying the hospitality of Gabino's and all the hot gunning that goes along with it, saying "ADIOS" is really not high on my list. Settling up your final bill with Marisol, however, helps alleviate the end of hunt letdown. By 8AM Danny had us off to the airport for checkin. After saying "Nos Vemos" to Danny, a cute lil security gal wanted Jared & me to stick around Obregon, but we demurred.

It had been a fantastic trip, but homeward bound we were. By 5PM we arrived in Albuquerque and next AM I was off for the snow covered passes of Colorado where Lil Annee was waiting to bring me up to date on La Hacienda progress.

Can't wait to get back to hunt with the Gabino Gang once more. Am now working on putting together a hunt in September with Frank at his Gulf Coast whitewing lodge, Anyone interested?? Call me.

ITS FUN TO SETTLE WITH MARISOL

ADIOS TONY, GEORGE, & DANNY

OBREGON SECURITY