The 2013 waterfowl season got off to a good start with local hunters bagging limits of resident birds and some early migrants, but the action slowed quickly as those birds moved out and balmy temperatures lingered over Southern Nevada. This has waterfowl hunters hoping that a weather front will come in from the northwest and begin pushing a few ducks and geese our way.
In The Outdoors
Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own.
intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com
As I sit down to write this column, the smell of bacon hangs in the air, the breeze is blowing through the juniper trees, and the ragged cliffs of the Schell Creek Range rise up to the east. Around remains of what once was the morning’s cooking fire sit three of my friends, men I enjoy spending time with in the field. Not everyone fills the bill.
Regardless of your philosophy when it comes to the federal government shutdown and the politics driving it, one thing is certain: Nevada’s outdoor enthusiasts will be impacted. The question is just how much of an impact the shutdown will have and in what way.
Recent rainstorms have greenery popping up across much of Southern Nevada, and that should provide a nourishing boost to the area’s quail, chukar and rabbit populations. The rains probably came a little late for hunters hoping to put a few of those critters on the dinner table this hunting season.
Thunderstorms that pounded Southern Nevada the past few weeks brought much-needed water to the desert but also put a damper on the mourning dove hunt. Doves that migrated into the area between storms quickly were pushed out with the arrival of the next round of thunder and lightning.
Hold on to your hats, folks. Our western neighbor is about to step off the political and fiscal cliff, and no doubt there are some people who hope Nevada follows suit. If that happens, the state’s hunters and recreational shooters could end up paying much more for their hunting ammunition, but only if they can find enough to meet their needs, and if they can afford to buy it once they find it.
There is good news for hunters who have been waiting for opening day of Nevada’s waterfowl season. According to the 2013 Report on Trends in Duck Breeding Populations, hunters can expect to see bird numbers similar to those of last year. The overall duck population is about 45.6 million birds, according to the report published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Even though she was hoping to find him, the hog still caught Heather Pratt off guard when it strolled past the ground blind where she had been pondering the beauty of nature.
The morning sun had yet to light up the red-orange sand that lines the shoreline when Roger and I motored away from the launch ramp at Southern Utah’s Sand Hollow Reservoir. We had found quick action for small but scrappy largemouth bass the previous afternoon and looked forward to picking up where we left off when the setting sun forced us off the water.
While mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep get most of the attention when it comes to big-game hunting in Nevada, the pursuit of pronghorn antelope can be challenging and rewarding.
If there was a common focus among the manufacturers’ exhibits at the 2013 edition of ICAST — the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades — it was the umbrella rig, or products like it. From the Booyah Bait Co. to the rod builders at G. Loomis, nearly all the major players and many small companies introduced some product designed either to mimic the umbrella rig design or facilitate its use.