Three Rivers Outdoors: Weather Woes and Hog Hassles

Howdy. Well it has been a while since I have written anything but in the interim, I have been hunting and fishing and roaming the area trying to keep up with how things have been going since I last reported.

The main event that the area experienced was a bunch of rain during the late summer/early fall. The area’s water supply in the lakes and ponds is excellent. The downside is that it set area farmers behind in getting their wheat sowed.

The past few weeks before the spell of rain and snow set in had folks busy spreading fertilizer and planting. Hopefully, the moisture conditions will ensure good stands of grain.

On the hunting front, with all the water, the ducks have been scattered; So far, since the seasons started, I have killed eight ducks. There have been reports of some good bucks being taken around the area; I am working on trying to get Lora onto an odd little buck, more news on that as the season goes along.

I see a few quail on my rounds but not many. Turkeys, on the other hand, seem to be everywhere with plenty of birds in the flocks.

Feral hog numbers have continued to increase with no real relief in sight. Some talk is still going on concerning a plan to poison them to control their numbers, but there is always the problem of collateral/unintentional poisoning of species you are not targeting. Add to that, issues of what to do with the carcasses. One program that has been in place in some counties in East Texas has been a “Bounty Program.” From what I have read, the counties in the program pay $5.00 per tail to hunters, and for trappers that sell to buyers, they take their receipt in and are paid the bounty on each hog they sell. It might be a program that Young and the surrounding counties should look at getting involved in.

On the fishing side of the coin, TP&W has begun their winter trout stocking program around the state. Lora’s and my favorite spot is the Brazos, below Possum Kingdom Dam. The daily limit is five fish per person; there is no size limit.

The fish can be caught on whole kernel corn, salmon eggs, power baits made for trout, small spinning lures and my various favorite patterns of flies using a fly rod.

Until next time, be safe and enjoy the outdoors.