Texas Dove Season Early Report

By RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News
rsasser@dallasnews.com

Dove season opened with a flurry Monday in Texas' North and Central zones, and prospects west of Dallas, beyond the influence of Hurricane Gustav, remain good for the weekend hunt.

Good dove numbers were reported around Brownwood and Coleman counties, where limit hunts were common. Brownwood hunting outfitter David Davis said there some slow fields, but others ranked an 8 ½ on a scale of 1 to 10.

Nearer Dallas, Bill Bowles of Trinity Outfitters said a third of his hunters filled limits in sunflower fields around Ennis. "Everybody got in a lot of shooting," Bowles said. "Some folks weren't shooting as well as others."

Bowles and Davis said prospects were good for the weekend hunt. Cory Anderson reported good hunts in Fort Worth and also near Bellevue, in Clay County.

Roy Wilson of Texas Best Outfitters reported one of the top five opening days he's experienced in 25 years. Wilson was hunting in Haskell County and in northeast Jones County.

"I have a dozen fields leased, and at least eight of them could be ranked from good to great," Wilson said. "We have a field full of white-winged doves in Haskell County, and some of my hunters said it was so good it reminded them of hunting in Mexico or Argentina."

Opening day hunting pressure is expected to shift doves around by the weekend. Weather that spins off the hurricane could also play a factor in dove movements.