Outdoors

Texas duck hunters have dodged a bullet when it comes to regulation changes and will, for the third year, be operating under a Hunters Choice option.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its waterfowl framework last week that includes a liberal or 74-day season. However, for every flyway other than the Central Flyway, hunters are looking at a closed season for canvasbacks and a limited season-within-a-season for scaup.

Half of the states that comprise the Central Flyway, including Texas, will remain under the Hunters Choice option that takes away a bird from the total bag, but doesn't include any closed or limited seasons.

The daily bag limit in Texas is proposed for five ducks with restrictions for species or sex: two scaup, two redhead, two wood ducks; and only one from this aggregate bag: hen mallard, pintail, canvasback, or dusky duck (mottled duck, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids). Hunters may take up to five of all others not listed.

Dave Morrison, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's waterfowl program leader, said the Central Flyway is in the third and final year of the Hunters Choice experiment, and with the support of the other flyways it was allowed one more year despite the concerns about some species.

One reason for the canvasback season will remain open is because there is a nationwide allowable for the harvest of 25,000 ducks. Under the Hunters Choice option the harvest has been about 15,000 the previous two seasons.

Morrison noted that while escaping the negatives, allowing the final year of the Hunters Choice did cost Texas hunters a third wood duck this year. The service did expand the limit on woodies in other states this year. Barring anything unexpected, Texas hunters should get the third wood duck in the 2009-10 bag limit.

Duck season in Texas North and South zones is proposed to open with a youth-only season Oct. 25-26. The regular season will run Nov. 1-30 and Dec. 13-Jan. 25.

Because the department adopted an expanded 16-day teal season in the High Plains Mallard Management Unit, the department is proposing an adjustment to the regular duck season from previous seasons. It is proposed to open with a youth-only season Oct. 18-19. The regular season will open Oct. 25-26 and Oct. 31-Jan. 25.

The department is proposing a later opening goose season in the West Zone. Proposed dates are Nov. 8-Feb. 8 for light and dark geese and Feb. 9-March 29 for the light geese conservation season. The change was made so the season would run concurrently with the sandhill crane season in Zone A.

The daily bag limit would remain 20 for light geese, four Canadas and one white-fronted.

In the East Zone the light geese and Canada goose season is proposed for Nov. 1-Jan. 25. A white-fronted goose season is proposed for Nov. 1-Jan. 11. The light goose conservation season is proposed for Jan. 26-March 29.

The daily bag limit would be 20 light geese, three Canada geese and two white-fronted geese.

The Northeast Texas Hunting Retriever Club will hold a dog desnaking clinic from 7:30 a.m. until noon Saturday.

The training, which teaches dogs to avoid snakes, is open to any breed dog six months-old or older.

Cost is $40 for a dog going through the program the first time, $35 for refreshers.

The clinic will be held on County Road 353 just south of Interstate-20 off U.S. 271.

For more information contact Grant Huff at 903-571-8875, Brock Watson at 903-343-5232 or Gary Sapp at 903-521-3454.

Mineola resident Shinichi Fukae will be among the field of 77 professional anglers competing for the million-dollar top prize in the Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 14-17 on South Carolina's Lake Murray.

A native of Osaka, Japan, Fukae has done well bass fishing in America having won two tournaments and more than $700,000 in prizes, fishing FLW events.

Other Texans fishing the event include David Curtis of Trinity, Jerry Green of Del Rio, Bud Pruitt of Houston and Clark Wendlandt of Leander.

Also qualifying is former Tyler resident Jay Yelas.

The Brookshire's Young Life Sporting Clays shoot is scheduled Aug. 16 at Prairie Creek Ranch near Gladewater.

The shoot benefits Young Life Tyler. The day begins with breakfast and registration at 7:30 a.m. and a shotgun start at 8. The shoot will end with a lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Cost of the event is $100 per gun and shooters are required to bring their ammunition.

There are sponsor opportunities, ranging from $250 to $1,000.

Young Life is a Christian-based youth organization. Money from the shoot will support activities for the group.

For more information, contact Garrick Bailey at 903-526-0550 or e-mail garrick@tyler.younglife.org.

They say you are never too old to try something new. The best person to ask whether that is true or not may be 91-year-old George Morgan of Benton, Ark., who was selected one of 26 elk hunters in Arkansas this fall.

Morgan's permit is for the December season in an area that is mostly the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area along the Buffalo River.

Morgan will be the oldest person to participate in the elk hunts, which will be in their 11th year this fall.

Morgan's son, Charles, also of Benton, said he has applied for a permit almost yearly since the hunts started in 1998. He sent in an application for his father too.

George Morgan has a hunting background going back to his first deer taken in 1933 in Oregon.

He's a World War II veteran and went ashore on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944. He was a sergeant in the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion and saw action all the way into Germany.

After the war, George Morgan settled in North Little Rock with his wife. He worked for Timex Corporation in Little Rock.

For the elk hunt, his son and a nephew will be helpers.

"Dad has a Savage .250 lever action rifle that he used for years deer hunting, but I think he'll use my .30-06 for this elk hunt. We are going to do a lot of scouting before the hunt," Charles Morgan said.

1. J.W. Harris, 5 bass, 14.25 pounds.

2. Gary Winton, 5 bass, 13.31 pounds.

3. Randy Parks, 2 bass, 7.94 pounds.

Big bass: Parks, 4-2.