Waterfowl Hunts

The waterfowl outlook on the Texas coast has proved somewhat murky due to not having reliable duck counts, as well as large weather events impacting habitat. Still, there are few better ways to spend a sunrise.

Texas waterfowl hunting is much like deer hunting in the Lone Star state: Even in what biologists and land managers term “down” seasons, we’ve still got what the average hunter would deem “good” opportunities. With that being said, the current duck hunting outlook certainly has shaped up to be mostly murky at best due to a number of important factors. Most notably, the lingering COVID-19 pandemic completely

The normal large flights of birds such as pintails and redheads may be smaller for late-season hunters as ducks search out new habitat.

shut down biologist field work for more than a year and affected the accompanying data that provides vital overall estimates of the most important species of waterfowl. Simply put, biologists aren’t entirely sure how many ducks and geese may be headed south for hunters in the Central Flyway that includes Texas.

One notable estimate that was somewhat concerning heading into waterfowl seasons was the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual breeding duck survey which indicated a drop-off in wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region hot spot. More than a million water areas were documented in 2020 and roughly 200,000 were counted in 2021. That 80% drop was the largest single decrease noted in almost 75 years and is sure to mark a dip in overall ducks heading south.

Another key factor that undoubtedly will play a role in affecting the birds that do come down is whether or not multiple large-scale weather events including hurricanes will negatively disturb the vital habitat along the coast that typically harbors species en masse, including pintails and redheads.

When discussing waterfowl hunting in Texas, it’s also important to note that the landscape as a whole – especially along the coast and the traditional belt of rice prairie that always provided excellent shoots – has undergone huge manmade changes that simply have pushed birds out and kept them out in recent seasons.

Kevin Kraai, longtime waterfowl program leader with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, noted the duck and goose hunting your father or grandfather may have enjoyed looks very different today. However, that comes with the territory in many hunting pursuits, and luckily the Lone Star state will continue to be under “liberal” waterfowl regulations.

“The take-home message from our Central Flyway meeting (back in early fall) was that in light of two years of no waterfowl population survey (due to COVID-19 and the pandemic), and in light of a very significant drought throughout the breeding grounds, the modeling exercise conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife called for another year of liberal duck seasons, which is always a good thing for Texas hunters,” Kraai said.

“We’ve had the liberalized frameworks dating back to the mid-1990s, and the vast majority of Texas hunters have never experienced anything other than a 74-day season. Things look very different when your duck season is only 39 days.”

The overall winter waterfowl outlook always rests on spring and summer production, and despite the lingering drought in the Dakotas and other duck breeding locales, Texas duck hunters should still be in good shape overall.

“Going into this drought in the breeding grounds we were going on multiple years of very good production and great habitat, so it appears that pulled us through,” Kraai said.

“One silver lining is that the banding crews who were going throughout the Prairie Pothole Region were noticing more juvenile birds than they expected, which again just shows you these birds are really resilient, no matter the species, and they’re still doing quite well.”

Kraai noted that despite the setbacks from Mother Nature, this winter should still present good waterfowling opportunities for hunters who put in time and effort scouting and monitoring the conditions.

“While there are plenty of concerns as we head through the season, the overall conditions should put ducks where most hunters are on the Texas coast and in other hot spots,” Kraai said.

“Obviously with big hurricanes, storm surge is the one thing we hate because that’s a lot of saltwater moving into freshwater environments, literally poisoning the landscape and killing things that some land managers put in work growing specifically to attract waterfowl. If a storm is just a large rain event, it’s good for the native habitat if it’s dropping a bunch of moisture though. It can help drain the saltwater from those marshes and estuaries, too.

“The thing about the Texas coast is that through many generations of settlement, the landscape has been designed to shed

water as fast as possible, while also allowing for moisture to grow the foods that will attract ducks. We have been in good shape in terms of laying out the buffet that will bring in waterfowl.

“And it can also be beneficial in some ways if conditions have dried out heading through the fall and winter because it can help concentrate birds. In drier years, bay hunters on the Texas coast usually tend to actually have a better season. Those conditions push more pintails and redheads out into habitat where there’s forage sources, so that is a positive way to look at changing conditions for hunters.”

It’s always tough to predict just how late-season hunts may turn out, but pintails continue to be one slight cause of concern for waterfowl biologists.

“Some prairie-nesting species like pintails certainly are affected by drought, and that probably leads to the assumption that there would certainly be fewer juvenile pintails,” Kraai said. “Pintails have seen lower numbers than other species, lower than the long-term average for a number of years, so that’s obviously one we’re keeping an eye on. Fewer pintails is definitely something that could affect hunts along the Texas coast.”

As with other manmade changes to native habitat, such as the changing nature of water flows in traditional waterfowl hot spots, human encroachment has a tendency of altering the hunting conditions for redheads and pintails in particular, Kraai noted.

“All of our migratory species are becoming more and more sensitive to human encroachment on a very large scale,” Kraai said. “Luckily for waterfowl, there are more than a million stock ponds in the middle of Texas where they can go to get away and hide out.”

“Redheads are a great example of a bird that’s becoming intolerant of our activity. They just don’t react well to pressure, and it’s not just activities like hunting. There are a lot of people in our bay systems year-round recreating (fishing, hunting, rec-

Saltwater bay fishing boats turn into waterfowl supply lines during the winter on the Texas coast. You can never have too many decoys, but it also means you have to pick them all up!

reational boating), and those birds don’t like it. All the sources that we have show that redheads in particular are being pushed into northern Mexico. Those are birds that generally would have spent all their time in the fall and winter in our Texas bay systems.” Duck Bag Limit: 6/day in the aggregate to include no more than 5 mallards (of which only 2 may be hens), 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasback, 1 pintail, 1 scaup, 1 “dusky duck” (mottled, black or Mexican-like) may only be taken after the first 5 days of the season in the respective zones. Mergansers: 5/day with no more than 2 hooded mergansers. Coots: 15/day. Possession limit is 3 times the daily bag limit for all migratory game birds except snow geese which have no possession limit. Goose Bag Limit: 5 dark geese, to include no more than 2 white-fronted geese, 10 light geese (no possession limit on light geese). Sandhill Crane Bag Limit: Zones A and B: Bag The Baffin Bay area is always a haven for pintails, redheads Limit: 3, possession limit 9; Zone C: Bag Limit: 2, and other sought-after species, with hundreds of thousands of possession limit 6

birds migrating to the area and staying during the winter.

Texas Duck, Goose and Sandhill Crane Bag Limits

Knives In The Kitchen

By Judy Jurek

Hunters pride themselves with taking their bounty from the field to the kitchen table. Non-hunters, too, delight in creating delicious savory dining enjoyment with wild game brought to their kitchen by someone else. Both aspects bring us to knives— something you cannot live without as an outdoorsman or cook. Manufacturers make hundreds of blades of various elements designed to do anything and everything. As an avid hunter, wild game connoisseur, and somewhat accomplished chef, I’m discussing knives in the kitchen.

Everyone most likely has a favorite knife. It may be the biggest or smallest, a curved or straight edge, smooth or gripped handle, or a blade holding its edge well. Whichever knife gets chosen doesn’t make much difference as long as it gets the job done. Knives may be made of carbon steel, an alloy, ceramic, stainless steel, or something else. Handles may consist of wood, antler, plastic, bronze, steel, bone, or some man-made creation. To me, it’s about size, weight, how it cuts, and how it feels in my hand.

Like most cooks, I have a vast array of knives in my kitchen and travel trailer. As a country gal, I grew up doing the basics of cleaning game outside such as plucking birds or gutting, skinning, and quartering game from squirrels and

Some of the author’s many kitchen knives.

Left: The author’s solid 400-pound butcher block has “U.S. Army” stamped underneath. Gifted from a lifelong hunter, the author has used it 48 years.

Below: Keeping your knife sharp is important. Today there are various sharpener types, but the author still prefers a plain old whetstone (center).

rabbits to deer and hogs. Once that was done, everything else took place in the kitchen.

Today I still do it the same way. But now there’s running water in a heated or air-conditioned atmosphere with bright lights to help pick feathers, fur, or hair stuck to meat. There’s counter space to spread out everything I need to prepare game for a meal or the freezer. I have soap, hot water, and vinegar for cleanup, and my dog, “Zuke,” is always close if blood or meat hits the floor.

With proper knives, butchering and meat preparation is always easier, even with larger animals. Hindquarters, ribs, and shoulders are often completely deboned for grinding. Birds, small game, tenderloins and back straps are proportioned accordingly. And yes, I often start with one knife then switch to another (or more) as whatever task requires changing to a different blade.

How do you choose the right kitchen knife? It’s usually by trial and error. If you’re like me, you survey the task, such as deboning dove breasts. I’d choose a small, thin, short-bladed filet or paring knife. For a larger duck, goose or turkey breast, I’d likely stick with a filet knife, but one with a longer blade to reach farther down through the meat.

For deboning a large hindquarter, I’d select a long knife, which enables me to make deep cuts through the meat with little effort. Sectioning out the hindquarter inner muscles requires a more delicate blade that can clearly follow muscle lines while fitting comfortably in my hand. For quartering a rabbit or squirrel, I’d choose game shears because they snap through small bones and joints with ease. Yes, I know they’re not a knife, but they’re sure good to have in the kitchen.

Hunters in the kitchen can use several items in addition to knives. A small hand saw can cut through big bone, such as dividing a hindquarter in half. Possessing a good meat cleaver and a rubber mallet can be useful, as well. For example, a nice, fat feral hog produces great pork chops. Make your chop slice down to the bone with a sharp blade, then use the cleaver and mallet to cut cleanly through the bone. Voilà! Nice, thick, wild hog pork chops like those from the meat market.

Keeping a blade sharp is most important and there are multiple ways to do so. The ancient whetstone is still one of the very best ways to hone a knife or other blade. Electric sharpeners usually require a pass or two to get your blade precise again. And always remember a sharpened knife can cut you!

Here’s to outdoor success of hunters bringing wild game to the kitchen and the knives they use. Bon appétit!