2020 Turkey Season Changes and Draw Hunt Deadline

Everyone is hoping that hen turkeys have improved
noting success in 2020

Dove hunting and duck hunting seasons ended on the last day of January, and for many the spring turkey season is next on the outdoors to do list. Small game season extends into February for quail, rabbit and snipe hunting but warmer than average weather can hinder those opportunities. The rules and regulations for hunting wild turkey in South Carolina continues to evolve with their populations lower than normal in many areas. The opening day for turkey hunting in the Lowcountry will be pushed back until March 22, with a new provision that no more than one gobbler be harvested during the first ten days of the season.

            

For veteran turkey hunters the long time historical opening day for hunting Lowcountry longbeards on March 15, looks more and more like a thing of the past. The opening day for the 2019 opening season was pushed back until March 20, and now in 2020 the Sunday March 22 date effectively shaves off the first potential Saturday of turkey hunting opportunity. The deeper dates on the calendar, and the new provision, are in tune with data from biologist studies that show mature gobblers being the most susceptible to turkey calling in the early season. The later start date and the trimming of the early harvest theoretically gives the gobblers a better chance to breed with hens in order to increase reproductive success.

            

More date changes for the 2020 turkey season include a youth hunting weekend on March 14 and 15, with a limit of one bid per hunter, and that turkey counting toward their season limit. The season limit for turkey hunters is three birds per hunter, and 2020 marks the first year that turkey tags are no longer free. South Carolina residents will pay a $5 fee for three turkey tags, and non-resident hunters will pay $100 for their limit of two turkey tags per hunter. Tags may be purchased on-line or by phone and will be mailed out beginning in mid-February. Tags will be available over the counter at SCDNR regional offices in March, and turkey tags must be in your possession when hunting.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries on turkey hunting click Grand Slam - Mark Prudhomme - Eddie Salter - Tony Chachere - H.S. Strut 

To view past blog entires about the Turkey Season Opener click 2016- 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2010 - 2009 

NFL 100 - Pro Bowl in Orlando; Super Bowl in Miami

The National Football League is finishing a stellar season to celebrate 100 years of history. Sunday’s divisional playoff games determined the participants for the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami, and the best of the rest of the NFL is heading to Orlando for the Pro Bowl on January 26. The Kansas City Chiefs will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl on February 2, with their last Super Bowl appearance 50 years ago. The San Francisco Forty-Niners will represent the NFC and were last in the Super Bowl in 2013. While both of the games remaining on the NFL calendar are within driving distance from the Lowcountry, finding a ticket to the Super Bowl would be the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass.

            

A quick recap of the divisional championship games reveals that the best offense, will meet the best defense in the 2020 Super Bowl. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the engine driving the Kansas City Chiefs, with the NFL’s best passing attack on display for all to see. The Chiefs dispatched the underdog Tennessee Titans with big play after big play leading to 35-points on the scoreboard. The San Francisco Forty-Niners blew out the veteran Green Bay Packers team 27 – 0 in the first half, and then cruised to victory. The Niners offense has got game, but their stout defense may carry them to victory. The old adage, defense wins championships, will be put to the test in Super Bowl LIV (54).

            

The NFL Pro Bowl game in Orlando takes place at 3 p.m. on January 26, but the NFL will celebrate its 100th season all week long with lots of talented players in tow. On Wednesday, January 22 the Pro Bowl skills showdown will pit the AFC vs. the NFC in a competition involving unique skill sets. A precision passing contest, best hands contest, gridiron gauntlet relay race and the thread the needle accuracy test are just some of the options. Cleveland’s Nick Chubb, Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward, Denver’s Von Miller, New England’s Stephon Gilmore, New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan and Detroit’s Darius Slay are all set to participate, with more players expected to join in from teams that did not advance in the playoffs.

To view this feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian. 

Ti view past blog entires from the NFL click on 2017 Preseason Panthers Vs. Jags

2020 Duck Hunt in Forked Deer River, West Tennessee

Duck Hunters in the 'Ol Hole waiting on mallards to swing by

Green-winged teal in the bag

Traveling to hunt ducks in the Mississippi Flyway requires many hours of drive time from the Lowcountry, with the destination operating on Central time. Willow Tail Farms in Dyer, Tennessee offer a family-owned operation for hunting ducks in flooded bottomland timber. Located above Memphis and just shy of the fabled duck hunting waters of Reelfoot Lake, the nuts and bolts of the area they own ensures that classic duck habitat and proper water control come standard with every hunt. 

A big plus for 2020 is the brand new hunting lodge at Willow Tail Farm, a two-story metal building that is finished inside with eye-popping ponderosa pine wood. The lodge features eight comfortable rooms with two beds each, and a bathroom with a sliding barn door. An open design kitchen area allows the home-cooked meals to spread out on the dining table in full view of the adjacent living room area and big-screen TV for end of day fellowship. Dining on barbecue and grits for supper underscores the southern fare served here.

After The Hunt at the NEW lodge

Head guide Ryan Fisher is the point man for booking hunts, orchestrating multiple hunt parties, and for striving to provide more value to the hunt than simply pulling the trigger. Fisher also operates as a fishing guide in Montana during the summer, and his brother Doug Fisher oversees the day to day operations back at the farm, including the new lodge construction project. To reach the Willow Tail Lodge call 731-431-7627 or visit WillowTailFarm.com on the Internet.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries on January duck hunts click on 2019 - 2018 - 2018 -2017- 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

Cooking breakfast in the duck blind

2020 Grand American Coon Hunt - Treeing Walker Wins

The Final Four at the 2020 Grand American

The 55th annual Grand American Coon Hunt came to Orangeburg over the weekend of January 3 – 5. The weather always seems to play a role in the coon hunting, and 2020 was no different with heavy rain Friday night followed by lots of wind on Saturday night. The Grand American serves as a kick-off to an entire year of United Kennel Club (UKC) sanctioned events, and it attracts scores of coon hunting enthusiasts from around the country. At the end of the Saturday night hunt-off, a coonhound based out of S.C. was declared the Overall Hunt Winner for 2020.

            

The format of coon hunting on Friday night and Saturday night produces a Final Four of top coonhounds, who then compete in the early hours of Sunday morning to determine the overall winner. A three-year old male Treeing Walker coonhound named PR Hypersonic Wipeout Danger, beat out the other three competitors in that final cast. The winning owners are Bruce and Christy Rabon from Galivants Ferry, South Carolina and the handlers are Patrick Cribb from Whiteville, N.C. and Ernest Jordan III. The Treeing Walker breed of coon hound was by the most popular at the Grand American in 2020, finishing as the top dogs in most hunt categories.

            

The second place coonhound on Saturday night was a four-year old Treeing Walker named PR Mountain Valley Shorty, handled by Jonathan Long of Taylors, S.C. Finishing in third place was a seven-year old female Treeing Walker, GRNITECH GRCH PR Eastridges Tar Heel Tina, handled by Anthony Hammonds from Kingsport, Tennessee. The fourth place finisher was a four-year old male Treeing Walker named GRNITECH GRCH PR The Tree Slamming Judge, handled by Franklin Card of Johnsonville, S.C. The dog Judge and handler Card combo, won the Friday night hunt cast, vaulting them into the Final Four hunt competition, while the other three entries qualified on Saturday night. 

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries from the Grand American click on 2019 - 2018- 2017 - 2016- 2015 - 2014-  2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 

Regional Flounder Numbers Fall Flat - S.C. Anglers To Take Survey

Southern flounder are commonly found in S.C.

The future of flounder fishing is looking flimsy according to a newly completed study. Earlier this year a comprehensive assessment of flounder numbers across N.C., S.C., Georgia and northern Florida ended with alarm bells ringing. Flounder are being found in historically low numbers, and it is likely that decades of overfishing for this popular resource is to blame. Changes in flounder fishing season dates, bag limits and size restrictions are likely coming soon, and SCDNR is asking all anglers to take an online survey concerning the state of the flatfish.

            

A common theme in saltwater fishing seems to be stress on these natural resources due to its popularity. There is more commercial fishing, more charter fishing and more recreational fishing than ever, and the natural resources are not able to remain sustainable without proactive regulation. Readers of the Colletonian recall that in 2017, SCDNR approved changes in decreased flounder limits as a path towards flounder recovery. The outlook for success wasn’t rosy but it seemed plausible. The 2019 flounder stock assessment findings are in stark contrast to that earlier optimism.

            

Biologists with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources out of the Fort Johnson Marine Lab have two long-term data sets on inshore fisheries to harvest flounder data from. Their electrofishing surveys and trammel net surveys both show the S.C. flounder numbers are the lowest they have been since these studies began in 1990. These studies catch fish for size measurements and DNA samples, before releasing the fish back into the estuary. Over time this creates a snapshot of the health of the fishery.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries about saltwater conservation click on 2019 Cobia Migration Via Satellite -  2018 Trout / Cold Concerns - 2017 Flounder Regulations - 2014 Oyster Recycling - 2013 Tarpon Law