shadow
01-02-2003, 09:40 AM
Dove hunting late in season can be blast
January 2, 2003
Outdoors writer David Sikes' column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 886-3616 or sikesd@caller.com
I'm not necessarily recommending anyone go in search of woodcock or snipe next weekend, both of which are legal to hunt well into the new year.
I couldn't begin to tell you where to look.
But plenty other viable wingshooting opportunities remain this season for South Texas shotgunners. The list of legal fowl includes, at least for a while, ducks, geese, sandhill crane, turkey, pheasant (in seven coastal counties), quail and the elusive chachalca, in five Rio Grande Valley counties.
But what about doves?
In many places outside of South Texas, doves are pursued throughout a long split season. For reasons I don't fully understand, South Texas tradition compels most hunters to store away their light-load shotgun shells within the first two weeks of the September dove opener.
They're missing out, perhaps this season more than ever.
Heavy rains have resulted in lots of waste grain in area fields, which seems to have concentrated native and lazy migrant birds in the Coastal Bend. Unfortunately, your Texas Parks & Wildlife public hunting permit is useless in most South Zone dove patches, because farmers have begun cultivating their fields and those leases have expired. Public hunting exceptions can be found mostly in the Rio Grande Valley, and mostly in the Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area in Cameron, Willacy and Hidalgo counties. Check your map booklet for details and directions.
For those unaware, the second half of the South Zone dove season opened Dec. 21 and runs through Jan. 14. This short second season seems to go almost unnoticed around here.
During a recent goose hunt, while watching hundreds of dove buzz our decoy spread, outfitter Jeremy Spears and I discussed the reasons why the second split is overlooked. Obvious by the number of dove we saw, I dismissed the excuse that there are not enough birds to hunt. I accept that late bird concentrations can be spotty.
We can blame the shortage of late-season wingshooters on the diversity of game available during winter months. December and January are for deer, I've heard hunters say.
But I believe neglect is more a matter of habit than anything else. Perhaps if those habitual neglectors could see what Spears has over the years, they might purchase a few extra boxes of 7 1/2-shot for the late season.
Spears told me with a degree of certainty that even in years when the September start is good, often the Dec./Jan. season is better in certain fields just north of town. He's built a substantial business on this premise. As you might expect, many of his clients are from out of town or out of state.
So I postponed my holiday vacation plans and took up his offer to hunt the Dec. 21 opener.
Just before daylight, a buddy and I followed Spears to a big machine shed, surrounded by acres of crop fields not far from Mathis. A stand of scrub trees and brush stood near the barn.
"Just position yourself around those trees and wait," Spears told a group of four hunters. "Within a few minutes of sunrise, you should know if you're in the right spot."
By the time the four of us could prepare and get situated, it was obvious we were where hundreds of dove wanted to be. The stream of birds was virtually endless for the next three or four hours.
From every direction, mourning dove swirled and darted overhead, undeterred by the amount of lead we threw at them. The most difficult prospect for us was holding aim without being distracted by the blurry barrage of other incoming doves that came into view. Reloading became a fumbling affair until nerves calmed.
After a while, I fired only at birds that would fall within easy retrieval and on clean ground. Opportunities such as this are rare and cherished.
I became a late season convert.
As the morning wore on, more hunters arrived, fathers with young sons along with older sons repaying their dads in kind, the way it ought to be. The ample supply of birds could have kept dozens more hunters occupied.
I'm told this scene was replicated at several other Coastal Bend fields where Spears had placed hunters. It was a perfect scene savored by all. Not once did I cool my barrels while sitting in the camp chair I had brought.
January 2, 2003
Outdoors writer David Sikes' column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 886-3616 or sikesd@caller.com
I'm not necessarily recommending anyone go in search of woodcock or snipe next weekend, both of which are legal to hunt well into the new year.
I couldn't begin to tell you where to look.
But plenty other viable wingshooting opportunities remain this season for South Texas shotgunners. The list of legal fowl includes, at least for a while, ducks, geese, sandhill crane, turkey, pheasant (in seven coastal counties), quail and the elusive chachalca, in five Rio Grande Valley counties.
But what about doves?
In many places outside of South Texas, doves are pursued throughout a long split season. For reasons I don't fully understand, South Texas tradition compels most hunters to store away their light-load shotgun shells within the first two weeks of the September dove opener.
They're missing out, perhaps this season more than ever.
Heavy rains have resulted in lots of waste grain in area fields, which seems to have concentrated native and lazy migrant birds in the Coastal Bend. Unfortunately, your Texas Parks & Wildlife public hunting permit is useless in most South Zone dove patches, because farmers have begun cultivating their fields and those leases have expired. Public hunting exceptions can be found mostly in the Rio Grande Valley, and mostly in the Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area in Cameron, Willacy and Hidalgo counties. Check your map booklet for details and directions.
For those unaware, the second half of the South Zone dove season opened Dec. 21 and runs through Jan. 14. This short second season seems to go almost unnoticed around here.
During a recent goose hunt, while watching hundreds of dove buzz our decoy spread, outfitter Jeremy Spears and I discussed the reasons why the second split is overlooked. Obvious by the number of dove we saw, I dismissed the excuse that there are not enough birds to hunt. I accept that late bird concentrations can be spotty.
We can blame the shortage of late-season wingshooters on the diversity of game available during winter months. December and January are for deer, I've heard hunters say.
But I believe neglect is more a matter of habit than anything else. Perhaps if those habitual neglectors could see what Spears has over the years, they might purchase a few extra boxes of 7 1/2-shot for the late season.
Spears told me with a degree of certainty that even in years when the September start is good, often the Dec./Jan. season is better in certain fields just north of town. He's built a substantial business on this premise. As you might expect, many of his clients are from out of town or out of state.
So I postponed my holiday vacation plans and took up his offer to hunt the Dec. 21 opener.
Just before daylight, a buddy and I followed Spears to a big machine shed, surrounded by acres of crop fields not far from Mathis. A stand of scrub trees and brush stood near the barn.
"Just position yourself around those trees and wait," Spears told a group of four hunters. "Within a few minutes of sunrise, you should know if you're in the right spot."
By the time the four of us could prepare and get situated, it was obvious we were where hundreds of dove wanted to be. The stream of birds was virtually endless for the next three or four hours.
From every direction, mourning dove swirled and darted overhead, undeterred by the amount of lead we threw at them. The most difficult prospect for us was holding aim without being distracted by the blurry barrage of other incoming doves that came into view. Reloading became a fumbling affair until nerves calmed.
After a while, I fired only at birds that would fall within easy retrieval and on clean ground. Opportunities such as this are rare and cherished.
I became a late season convert.
As the morning wore on, more hunters arrived, fathers with young sons along with older sons repaying their dads in kind, the way it ought to be. The ample supply of birds could have kept dozens more hunters occupied.
I'm told this scene was replicated at several other Coastal Bend fields where Spears had placed hunters. It was a perfect scene savored by all. Not once did I cool my barrels while sitting in the camp chair I had brought.