The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The 2013-2014 hunting season has now officially begun and it could not have opened under better conditions. The weatherman cooperated and Texas hunters were greeted to chilly temperatures and plenty from the deer blind to the duck blind.

The annual opening morning for deer hunters is much anticipated event that thousands of hunters look forward to each year. The amount of traffic headed out of town and to parts unknown is staggering as hunters loaded with gear filled the highways starting early last Friday in anticipation of Saturday’s opener.

The majority of all the hunters I spoke with was really positive as many of them, especially here in east Texas, were impressed with the amount of animals they saw. There were some solid deer taken from the lakes area by local hunters keying in on acorn rich flats. Many hunters who opted for watching corn feeders got to see a show as well with the cooler temperatures increasing deer movement during the day.

The folks who went both south and west appear to be happy as late summer rains allowed for extra green foliage and browse to still exist as well as help out with body weights and antler growth. The numbers of animals and their overall condition was a common point of discussion with many hunters as they remarked on how good the overall deer herd looked. As of this column I haven’t seen any giant bucks that were taken opening weekend but you can bet a few hit the ground. Hopefully the cooler weather won’t stay away too long and will come back to help kick off the rut. Once the bucks start actively chasing does it’s just a matter of time before some real wall hangers start showing up.

Out on the water the story was nearly as good as a nice push of ducks showed up in our area ahead of the front. From public land to private leases the results were good. Plenty of gadwall and teal filled the majority of the straps along with wigeon and a few pintails. The populations of geese are still a little behind schedule but more speckled bellies are arriving daily.

Heading into this weekend it looks like we are going to have a little bit of rain and not quite as cool temperatures as last weekend but still very comfortable. Louisiana will open up their duck season starting Saturday morning and for the past week the marsh has been buzzing with both hunters and ducks.

Last minute blind maintenance has been tops on the list for most hunters. Many of the boats running in the bayous are piled full of cane and other materials along with hopeful hunters waiting on Saturday’s legal shooting time. The marsh looks to be in good shape and there are plenty of birds in the area. If you plan on making that run in the dark this weekend please remember there will be extra traffic so be sure all your lights work and you allow yourself enough time to get to the blind safely.