September's Sporting Song Sounds Off

Father and Son enjoy a 2012 Labor Day dove hunt

Waterfowler and teal limit from September 2012

The sound of wingbeats signaling the return of early-season migratory bird hunting is worthy of celebration. Bands of hunters will search out where gamebirds and fowl are congregating and take steps to harvest them in a legal and sustainable fashion. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approves these seasonal dates, but the song that reaches the willing ears of wingshooters is a tune born of deep-rooted timing and traditions. The 2013 – 2014 mourning dove season starts September 2 – 7, which allows for a traditional Labor Day holiday hunting opportunity. During this opening week, the legal hunting hours are abbreviated from noon until sunset. Dove season continues September 8 through October 5 with shooting hours from thirty minutes before sunrise until sunset. The daily bag limit for doves is 15 birds per day. Dove hunting is a great way to get a youth or female introduced to the sport of wingshooting. A dove hunt carries a social aspect to it that allows the overall experience to shape their hunt memories. Shooting etiquette, how to carry a shotgun into and out of the field, and a few hours of outdoor enjoyment are some of the intangible dividends. Canada geese are increasing both their numbers and range in the Lowcountry, and scouting of agricultural areas should yield valuable information about where to hunt for them. Many of these Canada geese are resident birds and a liberal bag limit of 15 per day per hunter is intended to limit their expansion. Shooting hours are thirty minutes before sunrise until sunset, and both federal and state duck permits are required to hunt fowl. In further good news for wildlfowlers, blue-winged teal are also increasing their numbers, causing an increase in their bag limit and for more music to reach the ears of sportsmen. Early teal season runs from September 14 – 29 and in prior years the daily bag limit was four teal per day, but beginning in 2013 the bag limit was increased to six per day! A tricky regulation however is that September teal hunting hours are only from sunrise until sunset, and not thirty minutes prior to sunrise. The best Cast and Blast option for saltwater sportsmen comes with the early season for marsh hens from September 18 – 22. Poling flats boats for tailing redfish during a flood tide is common but gunning for king, clapper, sora and Virginia rails adds a wingshooting challenge. Shooting hours are thirty minutes before sunrise until sunset and a liberal bag of 15 birds per hunter can offer plenty of opportunity in exchange for time spent seeking out the sneaky refuge in the spartina marsh that these rails call home.

Scouting is essential to September goose hunting success

To read my feature article on September's Siren Song click Charleston Mercury.

Capt. Todd Stamps displays some 2012 marsh hen success

To view past blog entries about September hunting click dove, goose, teal and marsh hen.