by John Jefferson
It’s said that the only ones who try to predict Texas weather are fools or Yankees. The closest I came to growing up in the North was spending my formative years in north Jefferson County, Texas. So, if I’m talking about the weather, that pretty well defines me.
What brought this to mind was a recent press release saying said weather conditions were promising for dove season. If it meant that we would have weather for dove season, they were 100 % right. Whether it would be weather favorable to dove hunters is another matter.
And history has something to say about it.
A man I knew wondered how many late Augusts in history it had rained. Why?
Well, August is traditionally a dry month, and all water holes start drying up. This year was no exception. Lakes, creeks, and stock ponds across the state were getting lower by the day. Or, were. When that happens, doves and other wildlife tend to congregate around remaining water sources. They feed in grain fields but sooner or later, they’ll come to water. That makes doves easier to pattern.
That man I referred to, T.D. Carroll, was a perceptive gentleman and felt like it had rained several years right before dove season, scattering the birds. He checked the records and confirmed his hunch was right. A dry summer “without a drop of rain”, as Robert Earl Keen wrote into a song, had ended the last week of August with substantial rain, to the woe of 300,000 Texas dove hunters — and a passel of Louisiana men armed with shotguns and coolers.
I’ve forgotten exactly what his research revealed, but I’m confident it had rained in late August over half the years. I remember enough days sitting in the truck watching it rain to argue against his conclusion. And what’s it doing this year? Hurricane Laura scarred us, but only dropped about an inch on southeast Texas. That’s enough to change the birds’ patterns. At press deadline, opening day was still a few days away, but it’ll be here before you read this. Let’s hope this isn’t one of those last August rain years – at lease for most of Texas.
According to TPWD, Texas has roughly 25 million mourning doves and another 15 million whitewings. The daily bag limit is 15 doves in the aggregate. That means you can’t exceed 15 total doves. If you shoot a pump shotgun like I do, or a semi-automatic, it has to be plugged to hold no more than three shells. And a new hunting license is mandatory along with a Texas migratory bird endorsement and a HIP certification. Without those last two items, your hunting is illegal.
The press release referred to says that above-average spring rainfall favored nesting, so the birds are here. As the weather cools in the north, more will migrate through. Where they’ll be on opening day, though, is anybody’s guess. Some scattered with the storm. Here’s hoping you find a limit among the rest.
JJ
