Passport to Texas

Mourning Dove

Research | Hunt: Learning From Dove Lethality Study Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lead shot is the most common load used when hunting dove in Texas. In high accumulations it is a potential environmental toxin. Texas carried out a two-year study to evaluate effectiveness of lead versus non-toxic shot, should ammunition regulations change in the future.

02—We went into this study no knowing what we would find.

Corey Mason, Wildlife Region Three Director says it was a double blind study.

23— Everyone that was in the field – the observer recording the data and the hunter pulling the trigger – they did not know what kind of ammunition they were shooting. All of the ammunition looked identical on the exterior: all in the same brass, the same hole. No one knew what they were shooting. So, it removed all of that potential bias so that the study results are as objective as they can possibly be.

Mason says Texas needed to determine if a non-toxic ammunition alternative would be as effective as lead.

19—Secondly, we needed to know that information because of our harvest management strategies in which we base the number of days, the daily bag [limit], the opportunities to hunt these birds based on current knowns. And so, if those efficiency and wounding rates were to change it could potentially have an impact on the number of days in dove season, the daily bag – all those sorts of things.

Mason says the final analysis shows virtually no difference in effectiveness of lead versus steel shot. So, for now, it’s hunter’s choice.

03— We believe in hunter choice, but we want that to be an informed hunter choice.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Silhouette of dove hunters at end of day with sunset

Research | Hunt: Dove Lethality Study Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas leads the nation in dove hunting with roughly a quarter million hunters bagging 5 million mourning doves each fall.

03—Dove hunting is kind of a rite of passage for fall for many hunters.

Corey Mason is Wildlife Region Three Director. He says in December (2014), the agency released results of a two year study examining the lethality of lead versus non-toxic shot for mourning dove.

07— Long story short, what this [analysis] told us is that bagging, wounding and missing rates, they really did not differ across ammunition types.

Mason said the most commonly used shot is a 2 3/4-inch 12-guage shell, one and one-eighth ounce 7 1/2 lead shot.

10— We compared that to a one ounce seven steel, and a once ounce six steel. It came out with very comparable results. So that statistically speaking, there was really no difference.

Texas Parks and Wildlife staff, trained as observers, spent two years in the field collecting birds bagged by hunters at commercial hunting operations.

14—There were over 5-thousand shots fires; there were over 11-hundred birds bagged. Every bird that was shot was necropsied, x-rayed, and examined. We took information gained in the field – as well as the terminal ballistics – [to determine] the effects those particular pellets had on the birds.

Again, researchers discovered negligible differences between ammunition types. But why study this at all. That’s tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport fish Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Independence Hall, Washington-on-the-Brazos

History: Texas Independence Day Celebration Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Celebrate Texas Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site February 28 and March 1.

07—And, there’ll be lots of activities going on in the park. They’ll have special programs and demonstrations down at the Barrington Living History farm…

Houston McGaugh is director of the Star of the Republic Museum for Blinn College.

12— We’ll have some various demonstrations going on in the museum, and just lots of activities in the park. Food. And, it’s a free, two-day event for people to come out and enjoy and learn a little Texas history.

We remember The Alamo, and the Battle of San Jacinto and their roles in gaining independence for Texas, but what about Washington-on-the-Brazos? On March 2, 1836, it’s where delegates signed the declaration of independence from Mexico.

21— And, I think that’s something we always keep coming back to. That, you know, it’s not necessarily battles; it’s the documentation; it’s the representatives of the people that come together and say, you know what, we’re not going to do this anymore. We’re going to be a free and independent country, and have a democracy. And that’s really what we celebrate here, I think. It’s the birthplace of a democracy. The Republic of Texas.

Find details about this year’s Texas Independence Day celebration at Washington-on-the-Brazos on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Funding for our series provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Art Morris with his saltwater catch.

Fishing: Saltwater Fishing in 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Variety and quality – that’s what anglers can expect when fishing in Texas bays.

12— Spotted sea trout and red drum on any given cast. Throw on the occasional flounder and black drum…. There’s just tremendous opportunity there for any sort of skill level at any time of the year for that matter.

Art Morris, with coastal fisheries says his favorite is the Upper Laguna Madre.

24— I’ve been fishing it since I was a child, and it’s those trophy sized spotted sea trout that I like to go after. You’ve got clear water, shallow grass flats; you’ve got deep water reefs, and you use top waters and site cast the fish. And, oftentimes, it’s just the perfect setting for sport fishing on the Texas coast – for me, personally.

Each bay system is different and requires different tactics and baits.

25— As you move down the coast, the water tends to get clearer, so we tend to use more variety of stuff on the lower coast as far as artificial lures and bait. On the upper coast the water gets a little more turbid; you get more into live bait fishing, dead bait fishing. Some artificial use up there, but yeah, as you move down and up the coast, each bay is unique and have their own techniques that work best in those particular areas.

Want more? Check out Art Morris’ article on bay fishing in the digital fishing issue at tpwmagazine.com.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Caleb Harris enjoying the salt air.

Fishing: Expectations When Hiring a Fishing Guide Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Want to hire a fishing guide? Be clear with them about your expectations.

16—It’s going to be nebulous to just say, I’m going to hire a guide to go fishing on this lake. It would be better to say I want to learn how to catch a certain type of fish. Ask yourself exactly what you want to do, and then when you shop around for a guide, be very clear with that guide, I want to do this. I would say that’s the primary thing to consider.

Caleb Harris wrote an article about fishing with a guide for the TPW Magazine Digital Fishing Special. He says making this request of a guide can help you know if they’ll be a good fit.

07— Please describe a typical day of fishing with you. And then, let the guide describe that, and then you’ll have a really good idea of whether or not they’re a fit for what you want to do.

Avoid unexpected expenses and misunderstandings, by discussing the guide’s expectations in advance.

25— If you’re going to be using a boat, is the fuel included in the cost? If you’re going to be using bait, is the bait included in the cost? You know, if you’re going out for a whole day, is lunch provided? Do you need your own cooler? Who’s going to clean the fish? Is that a part of the fee? Is that extra? What sort of clothes do they suggest? It would be kind of shameful if you got there and the guide was expecting you to wade, and you didn’t clarify that and you show up with your nice shoes. That would set the day up for a bad experience. So, clarify as much as possible.

Find Caleb Harris’ article on fishing guides at tpwmagazine.com. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.