It’s never too hot to think about hunting season

The mercury in the thermometer shows temperatures creeping towards triple digits

and everybody you look at appears to have just emerged from a swimming pool. The

heat waves along the road and the hood of my truck cannot dampen my enthusiasm as I raise my

binoculars to get a better look at a few mottled ducks along a secluded marsh pond. The very sight of

ducks right now coupled with the fact that we just flipped another calendar page is enough to put a

smile on my face. A few quick seconds to work the math out in my head lets me know we are just over

60 days away from early teal season. Let it be known that we have officially started the countdown to

September at my house and all is right with the world.

I know I am getting ahead of myself but after suffering through months of no

hunting it’s great to actually hear about topics concerning the sport. Hunters

all over the state begin to get restless as the heat of summer makes us all long

for cooler days and open seasons. The census count on teal is high enough to

provide for the longer season but that may be just a product of skewed numbers.

Last years ultra high population is carrying over to this year’s numbers and

that means birds that are 1 year older and 1 year wiser, much the same way snow

geese get season after season. The amount of young birds will be less than last

year and the effect that has on season success remains to be seen.

Locally a few hunters have already begun to stake out claims on prime marsh

ponds and some have even begun to improve vegetation surrounding potential blind

locations. Hunters who take the time and effort to make the area around their

blinds look as natural as possible will almost always kill more birds. Synthetic

materials and blinds made out in the wide open that resemble “taco stands” may

be easily accessible but they don’t produce, more often than not they actually

flare more birds away than anything. Hunters need to realize these birds have

seen so many set up’s along the migration south that attention to detail is

critical. By starting on these projects well in advance of the season opener

hunters can perfect the set up and spend more time scouting as opening day gets

closer.

Another very important part of the upcoming season that needs to be accounted

for is your dogs conditioning. Summer heat is tough on dogs so limit training

sessions to early and late in the day to minimize the stress caused by heat.

Frequent short training sessions are much better than prolonged efforts in high

heat, keep an eye on your dog and be sure to have plenty of water on hand. Some

dogs get out of shape during the off season and just like the owners gain a few

extra pounds so this is the perfect time to get your dog back down to hunting

season weight. As much as we all like to bring our dogs with us when we head out

to the lease please be aware of the alligator situation at this time of the

year. The local marshes are full of gators right now and the big lakes have

their fair share of the big reptiles as well so please be wary. Nothing in the

world is worse for a hunter than to lose their dog and losing one to a gator

has got to be perhaps the worst way you could lose one.

In the mean time we will all be staring at the calendar with high hopes and expectations while looking

forward to September and the opportunities that come along with that month. There is no time like the

present to start preparing because opening day will be here before you know it.