Thursday, April 19, 2001

Rule changes are good news for S. Texas hunters

Regardless of where you hunt in Texas, white-tailed deer and Rio Grande turkey seasons will open simultaneously - Nov. 3.
   This new rule involves the general seasons only, according to changes adopted for the 2001-02 season by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission at its April meeting.
   This and other changes adopted by the commission take effect Sept. 1.
   Concurrent season openers are a far cry from pre-1983 Texas, when hunters faced a patchwork of season openings determined by county commissioners throughout the state. This was confusing and difficult to enforce.
   The new rule benefits hunters in South Texas most of all by giving us an additional two weeks of hunting compared with the rest of the state. The general deer season in South Texas traditionally opened the second Saturday in November.
   South Texas deer hunters can still hunt through the third Sunday in January, while the North Zone closes the first Sunday in January.
   The good news continues for South Texas, which enjoys the most liberal bag limit in the state - five deer, no more than three bucks. The commission added 12 South Texas counties to the 18 counties currently under the five-deer/three buck bag limit.
   The liberal bag limit will be expanded to include Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, Hidalgo, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr and Willacy counties.
   Fourteen counties in the Edwards Plateau also have been added to 25 counties in that area that enjoy a five-deer/three buck bag limit.
   Young hunters will benefit too (though not as much as they might have) from rule changes adopted this month. Currently, the weekend prior to the general deer season opener is set aside for youth hunting.
   Bowhunters rallied to oppose a proposal that would have expanded the deer and turkey youth-only seasons to include any or all weekends in October and the last three weekends in January.
   Bowhunters said this would result in a conflict between archers and gun hunters. The archery-only deer season is set for the entire month of October.
   A compromise was made. The October youth hunting proposal was scratched.
   For 2001-02, the youth-only season is set for the weekend prior to the general deer season and the third weekend in January in those counties where the general season has closed.
   The commission also adopted a change that would eliminate the possibility of deer and quail seasons opening simultaneously. We can't have that.
   Under the new rule, quail season opens statewide on the Saturday nearest Oct. 28. This year, quail hunters can take to the field Oct. 27, then enjoy the whitetail opener the following weekend.
   FLY MEETING: The Gulf Coast Fly Rodders will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Tejas Café, 2902 North Navarro in Victoria. Tom Kruft will talk about fly fishing Rockport. Call (361) 729-4246.
   NRA BENEFIT: The Karnes County Friends of NRA will sponsor a dinner/auction to benefit youth programs. The apolitical event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Falls City Community Hall. Dinner will be served 7:30 p.m. Auction items include limited edition guns, gun safes, wildlife art, etc. Tickets are $20 each; $30 couples. Call (830) 583-2406.
   LAND MANAGEMENT TALK: Jack Ward Thomas will speak on trends in the use of public lands held by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, etc. during a seminar Friday at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Call (361) 593-3922.
   HARVEY WEIL DINNER: Bill Negley will be honored as the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi's Harvey Weil Sportsman/Conservationist of the year Saturday at the Rob & Bessie Welder Wildlife Institute in Sinton. Silent auction and tours of the refuge begin at 4 p.m. Cocktails from 5:30-7:15 p.m., with dinner to follow. Proceeds will benefit the effort to enhance the tarpon fishery along the Texas coast. Call 887-9750.
  
   For a more comprehensive account of rule changes adopted at the April 5 Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/news/newsrel.htm.