For me dove hunting marks the start of hunting season, which is one of the things I spend a lot of time planning for, thinking about, obsessing over, preparing for and just flat enjoy.  Deer hunting is probably my favorite kind of hunting and what I spend the most time on, but dove hunting is a time you can get together with family and friends and spend time in the outdoors.  You really don’t even have to have that much gear – a good shotgun, some shells, some camo and a bird vest, and you’re ready.  You can even borrow a shotgun if you need to.  And it is hands down the best way to get kids excited about hunting.  You don’t have to be really quiet.  Movement can be important, but it won’t mess up an entire hunt, and there is usually some really good action.  Shooting at and killing dove are two very different things.  Dove like to dart and fly fast, and can be really challenging.  My advice is to take as many shells as you can and shoot a lot.   Patti and I had the opportunity to hunt with Angel and Wade Middleton on opening morning. It was a great time and a we all got our limits.  If you’ve never tried it, dove is delicious (and Angel has some great recipes!). What a great sport and family activity.  I hope you all get a chance to get out in the field in the next few weeks!

The rains have finally come to Texas! Over the past four or five years, Texas has experienced an historic drought, and I have heard many people say that the lakes in Texas would never fill up again.  I was always pretty hopeful as I’ve seen this cycle before.  In my life I have seen Lake Travis go up and down many times, and the fluctuating lake level and resulting vegetation growth is actually what keeps the lake good for bass fishing. This picture was taken before the rains, and you can see how low it was but can also see some of the vegetation behind me.  In fact, the extremely low lake levels in Central Texas have resulted in extensive vegetation growth.  Now that the lakes are up, that vegetation will be excellent habitat and cover for bass, and in the next year to three years the lakes that were really low will flourish.  I love to fish shallow cover, and in Texas over the next year, that is going to be a norm. It does have its challenges, but you just never know what you may catch!  I had the opportunity to go down to Coletto Creek in South Texas earlier this year and fish some flooded conditions. I had forgotten how much fun that really is, and I’m looking forward to many more fishing trips in Texas where I get to fish shallow cover.

As we get closer to dove season, there has been a lot of interest in us trying to do some hunting on live TV.  And what could possibly work better for live TV than South Texas white wing hunting?  When hunting white wings, they usually come out of their roost area and into the fields like clockwork.  I have hunted opening day the last four years down in South Texas, and it has just been incredible!  So if you can’t hunt opening morning, look for some live dove hunting from us.  I’ll keep you posted on the details!

Fishing during the dog days of late summer in Texas is not for the faint of heart.  It’s one of the toughest times to catch bass because of the high water temperatures.  It can be brutal on anglers as well.  Although fishing will be different on every body of water, the consistent thing that usually happens this time of year, even though temps are really hot, is the fish begin to move shallower.  They do this because of the water quality.  Out deep, the water doesn’t have as much oxygen in it.  Bait fish and bass alike move in, and in this hot shallow water, fish become lethargic, making them harder to catch. My favorite way to fish during these dog days is top water.  I like the Strike King Sexy Dawg, which is a walking bait that on clear water lakes can get a lot of bites.  Strike King buzz baits or the Sexy Frog can likewise catch a lot of fish.  And don’t forget to keep your eyes open for schooling fish breaking the water at the mouths of creeks and on the main lake.  But whatever you do, grab lots of water and sunscreen and get out there and go fishing!

One of my favorite places to go in all of Texas is Matagorda. Since I was 7 or 8 years old, every summer my family took a trip to Matagorda beach.  And since we’ve had our own families, my brother and I have continued the tradition.  As avid fishermen even then, my brother and I always tried to catch fish in the surf, but in recent years we graduated to the bay and eventually figured out a pretty good strategy for catching some nice reds and trout in the bay.  The only problem is we didn’t have a boat, so we took many a “jungle trek” (as my father-in-law calls it) into the bay to hunt and catch.  This year was different though.  I was able to take out the new Ranger P190 to film a show for Fishing and Hunting Texas.  After all those years of wade fishing, I had always wanted to see what the whole bay was like, and man, was I impressed.  Not long after being out there, I caught (and released) a giant speckled trout that measured 28” long.  We also caught a number of redfish, including some that were tailing.  All in all, we had a great trip.  If you’re thinking of taking a trip to the beach and you want to make fishing a part of the trip, consider Matagorda.  It’s a great place on the Texas coast.

One of the things I have the privilege to do as a professional angler/TV host is test product for Cabela’s.  The key to having really great products is putting them in the hands of and getting feedback from people who use them every day, whether in the field or on the water.   I do this type of testing nearly every day for Cabela’s.  They are outdoorsmen who want to have the best product out there.  And the only way to get that product is to take the ideas of guys who are out there every day and incorporate them in to the product.  It’s one of the things that makes Cabela’s the World’s Foremost Outfitter.

One of the questions I get asked the most is what is your favorite bait. Well the answer is actually very easy, but also very complicated. Here’s why. My answer is a Strike King jig. The problem is that there are so many different ones and they can all be very effective depending on the situation. First, there are flipping jigs, the Hack Attack heavy cover flipping jig, which I use in most all flipping and pitching applications. Then there are finesse jigs for clear rocky lakes when you are trying to imitate smaller prey. Next there is the Football Jig for dragging around in open water, ledges and brush piles. And finally, the Hack Attack Swim Jig, which is very effective nearly anywhere. With all of them I use either a Strike King Rage Craw or Rage Baby Craw as a trailer. There are tons of great color combinations and nearly all can be deadly. What a bait!

I just had the opportunity to head over to Toledo Bend for a day of fishing and filming for Fishing and Hunting Texas, and what a day it was! We left Austin at 2am Monday morning and got there about 7:30. My brother and I were like kids in a candy store about being there! Our enthusiasm waned just a little at first when we were greeted on the lake by gale force 30 mph winds. If you’ve ever been to Toledo Bend, it isn’t much fun running those boat lanes in wind like that. But even with that wind, we ended up having a phenomenal trip, catching one over 7, another over 5 and probably would have weighed in 23 plus pounds had we been fishing a tournament. Most of the fish we caught were on a Strike King Flipping Tube. We also caught a few on a Strike King Rage Bug and on a swim jig. What’s incredible about Toledo Bend is how dynamic it is. You go in one area and there are pads and buck bushes. The next area has hay grass and timber, and the next has submerged hydrilla, and all of it holds bass. If you haven’t been over there in a while, I encourage you to go check it out soon. What a lake!