Dove season opens with mixed results
By: ERNIE COWAN - For the North County Times | ∞
Opening weekend of dove season was feast or famine depending on where hunters chose to hunt. In general, the desert areas around Imperial, Niland and Brawley were hot, while many areas of eastern San Diego County were spotty and, in some cases, disappointing.
Father and son Don and Donnie Teufel of Ramona hunted near a feed lot in El Centro and were out of the field by 9 a.m., having both reached their limit exclusively with mourning dove, despite a heavy population of whitewings in the desert this year.
This was the second dove hunt for Donnie, 13, and the first time he bagged an opening day limit.
California Department of Fish and Game wardens said there were lots of hunters in the desert for the holiday weekend, but despite good bird numbers, there seemed to be fewer hunters with limits than usual.
At the desert fringe in the San Felipe Wildlife Area north of Julian, my son Chris Cowan of Escondido limited on opening day, but could only down five the following day.
"The hunting was good opening day, but we still had to work for the birds," Cowan said. "On Sunday, there were a lot fewer birds."
Dennis Cullen of Temecula hunted private land near Santa Ysabel and despite early scouting that showed good bird numbers, could only down two birds on opening day.
"The birds were just not there opening day," Cullen said. "Last week, we had flocks of hundreds of birds feeding on a good crop of dove weed, but they just vanished."
Mike Lange and Paul Jones from Escondido moved east into Arizona to escape some of the opening-day crowds and found mixed success. Opening morning, Lang said the hunting was not spectacular, but he did limit with 10 birds in 13 shots, using an original 1850 muzzleloader shotgun. The next morning he hunted with a friend about eight miles from Yuma and using a .410 shotgun reached his limit in just 16 minutes.
"The birds just kept coming. I've never seen that heavy of a concentration of dove," Lange said.
The advance of thunderstorms, as a result of Hurricane John, may well put a damper on the rest of the season. High winds and rain will drive dove from an area.
The first half of dove season continues through Sept. 15 with the second half of the season opening Nov. 11 and continuing through Dec. 25. Daily bag limit is 10 birds and no more than 20 in possession after opening day. A valid California hunting license and upland game stamp is required.
Hunter safety
The California Department of Fish and Game two-day hunter education class is being offered at the Escondido Fish & Game Club on Saturday and Sunday. The club range is located at the intersection of Old Guejito and Lake Wohlford roads in Valley Center. A hunter education certificate is required to obtain a hunting license in California. Class each day will run from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and includes classroom instruction and range time. For additional information or to sign up for the class, contact Frank Alessio at (760) 743-8718İor alessiof@pacbell.net.
Lobster class
A seminar on the use of hoop nets for catching lobster will be offered Sunday at the San Marcos Turner's Outdoorsman outlet. The comprehensive class will be given by Jim Salazar, a longtime Southern California kayak fishing guide who also works for hoop net maker Promar. The seminar is free and begins at 1 p.m.
Salazar will give a broad overview of hoop nets and their use for both crabs and lobster off the local coastline. His talk will include information about both lobster and crab regulations, hoop net selection, rigging, pulling and a demonstration of hoop nets.İİİ
Anglers can use only hoop nets to capture lobster and crabs in California. The baited hoop is lowered into the water and left down until the angler thinks lobster are on the bait. Then he pulls the hoop to the surface, using speed to create water pressure to hold the lobster in the net. Since lobster are nocturnal, the best activity is from sunset into the night, according to Salazar, with the best netting during periods of heavy tidal movement, swell or wind.
Lobster season kicks off the Saturday before the first Wednesday in October each year ---- making this year's opening day Sept. 30.
"Hoop netting is growing like crazy," said Salazar.İİİİ
Seating is limited at the San Marcos seminar, so anglers interested in hearing Salazar's presentation should call (760) 741-1570 to reserve a spot.
First caribou
Sometimes the successful hunter doesn't say much, but when a proud grandmother gets involved, the whole world knows. This is the case with Michael Spano, 15, who traveled with his father, Darren, to the caribou fields north of the Arctic Circle on his first hunt.
Grandmother Anna Elson of Encinitas is bursting at the seams with pride because young Michael downed his first caribou with a 350-yard shot, using a .308 Winchester.
The hunting pair traveled more than 2 miles from their camp after boating for 18 miles up the Ivashak River, about 800 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, on a five-day hunt.İ
Surf fishing
A few keeper halibut are showing up at North County beaches and at Agua Hedionda Lagoon, with the best action coming to those tossing plastics and Krocodile lures, according to Hugh Cobb at Pacific Coast Bait & Tackle in Oceanside. Undersize halibut fish have been abundant but legals scarce for some time.İ
Ken Frattini of Vista, "Sonny" Hostetter of Oceanside and Bob Olson of Carlsbad fished the south end of Camp Pendleton last week and did quite well on spotfin croaker and other assorted surf species. Frattini said they used razor clams for bait and took one spotfin that he estimated at about seven pounds. Croaker and corbina are still generating most of the shore angling interest, although at Oceanside Pier the bonito run is the big item.
-- Ernie Cowan is the outdoor writer for the North County Times. If you have an outdoor story of interest, call (760) 518-8050, or e-mail to ernie@packtrain.com.
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