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January 28, 2011
Lone✯Star Outdoor News
LSONews.com
HUNTING
Triple-teal trophy still savored
TROPHY: Rob Gokey of Richardson presents the rare three-teal trophy he downed last year near Buckeye. His “Texas Trifecta” is rare because the teal trio included one blue, one green and a cinnamon. The cinnamon is seldom found on the Texas coast. Photo by Rob Gokey.
By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS IT’S A WRAP: Mixed results were reported for the Texas waterfowl season, which wrapped up on Jan. 23. However, a lot of hunters reported great late-season shoots, thanks to early winter rainfall in the state. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Waterfowl season ends, results mixed By Conor Harrison LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Many hunters took advantage of late season rains to get in a few good shoots before the Texas waterfowl season ended last weekend across much of the state. In the goose country near the Texas coast, Wharton County Game Warden Chris Bird said the duck hunting was slow all season, with the exception of a “great” early teal season. “The bay is holding quite a few birds, but in Wharton County there just wasn’t many ducks or duck hunters this year,” Bird said. “The geese started out slow but they are here now. There are lots of snows and more sandhills than I’ve ever seen.” Bird said the goose hunting picked up the last three weeks of the season as more guides zeroed in on birds that had just arrived. “The geese showed up a lot later than normal this year,” Bird added. “Speaking with guides, goose numbers have been on a steady decline the past couple of years.” Hunters still can
shoot geese through Feb. 6 in the zones west of Interstate 35. Along the coast, hunters had good late-season outings over decoys around the bays near Rockport and Port O’Connor. In East Texas, late showers brought more ducks into the area during the late season, but rain also tended to spread the birds out because it gave them more areas to feed. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials were hopeful for a good season after abundant rains in the spring and early summer, but after the rains stopped in September, those expectations were dampened. Officials called the season “average at best,” especially in North Texas where the duck hunters struggled to find good hunting throughout the year. More mallards had moved into the northern part of the state during the last two weeks, which gave hunters in the central portion of the state some good shoots. In the Panhandle, hunters and guides were
reporting outstanding hunting after several major cold fronts pushed through the area late in the season. Several outfitter blogs reported high goose numbers around Lubbock. According to Marcus Collins, game warden for Hale and Floyd counties, the waterfowl hunting was outstanding, especially later in the season. “It’s been phenomenal,” Collins said. “It’s as good as I’ve seen it in years. I checked a lot of do-it-yourselfers and guided hunters and if you have any idea what you’re doing, it’s hard not to kill birds.” Collins said from November through the end of the season, more than 15 outfitters were working in the area and they all were having successful shoots. He said they were still doing well toward the end of the season, although the geese were starting to “get wiser.” “But overall,” he said, “it’s been very good for everyone.”
January is Rob Gokey’s favorite month. While he didn’t hunt much this season, last January is still on his mind. It was January a year ago that Gokey, hunting near Buckeye in Matagorda County, nailed a trifecta. In a single day, he shot three teal — one blue, one green and a duck that is rarely found on the Texas Coast, the cinnamon teal. “It is very uncommon to get all three species in one hunt,” Gokey said. “We call that the ‘Texas Trifecta’ because the cinnamon teal is pretty rare.” That is to say, rare on the Gulf Coast because they usually are found in the Pacific Flyway, although one might occasionally get confused and wind up in a flock of blue or green teal. The cinnamon teal is aptly named for the drake’s body — a rich shade of brown. Its range extends from southern British Columbia to South America, according to the “Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds.” The species sometimes appears in Texas, but usually in the western area of the state. It’s uncommon to find them near the Texas coast, where Gokey was a guest at a duck camp operated by Bill Ansell of Galveston, a regional vice president for Ducks Unlimited. Gokey, a businessman, has been active with DU for about 15 years, and See TRIPLE-TEAL, Page 7
More mule deer check station participation wanted By Bill Miller LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS
CHECKMATE: TPWD officials hope more hunters come to check stations to register their mule deer harvests next season. Photo by Morgan Tyler.
About 135 mule deer were brought to volunteer check stations last fall in the Trans-Pecos region, but the official in charge of the program believes it can be improved next season. Data collected at the stations helps monitor harvest intensity, herd conditions and age structures, and to develop revisions in regulations. The 2010 numbers still were being crunched in late January, said Shawn Gray, program leader for mule deer and pronghorn at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Meanwhile, Gray said he would study ways to encourage more hunter
participation at the check stations. He said the 135 entries would provide important information, but TPWD biologists will learn more in the future from a much bigger sample. The stations were set up during the weekends of Nov. 28-29 and Dec. 5-6 in Culberson, Jeff Davis, Ward, Pecos, Terrell and Brewster counties. Gray noted, however, the station at Monahans State Park was out of the way for some hunters. “I think we need to have them in areas where people are already stopping,” Gray said. Gray said he would seek out more places like taxidermist shops or deer processors for future check stations.
He added that other stations last season might have gotten more traffic if their road signs had been more prominent. Gray plans, therefore, to get larger signs and put them where hunters easily can see them while traveling highway speeds. “The data that we use from that person’s deer is going to be used for future mule deer management decisions,” Gray said. “So, each person’s deer is very important. “The better we understand mule deer in the state, the better we identify hunting regulations in the future.” The information includes age by tooth wear and replacement, num-
ber of antler points, antler inside spreads and basal circumferences, and field-dressed weights. Although last year’s check-station sample is smaller than Gray would like, he still expects it will confirm some good news. Biologists already believe the mule deer herd is quite healthy, thanks to wet weather earlier in 2010 that bolstered habitat from the Panhandle to the Trans Pecos. “I haven’t seen the hard data yet,” Gray said, “but our biologists said they saw a lot of nice deer, and it was a good year for antler development. “There were several 180- to 200class deer across West Texas.”