BIRD CALLS
Wing shooting season opens soon
Coming around the corner to my street in Titusville, Charlie the Brittany got antsy. So did I. He knows that when I flick the turn signal lever and he hears the clicking sound it’s time for me to slow down.
Smart dog, just as many of our canine pals, he’s also at the alert as soon as I lift the truck keys from the kitchen hook or start lugging hunting vests, gun cases and the day’s provisions to the vehicle that will take him on his idea of a great adventure.
A road trip means I roll down the passenger side window so he can eagerly thrust his head into the breeze, ears flapping and a happy dog that no doubt wonders in his doggie mind, “where are we going today, boss?”
I also perked up when I saw falling leaves, the first of the season, flittering down in the light wind under recent gloomy, dark skies.
The God-awful punishment that is August is on the wane for those who long for frosty fields, snowcovered deer woods, storm tossed duck or goose blinds and spray washed jetties when the stripers are in their last hurrah.
Meanwhile folks who wish for an endless summer, enjoy the Shore, bluefish trips, S’mores around the campfire…and the day most parents long for, when the kids go back to school.
The dogs may wait for the school bus to bring the kiddies home, but for the Labs, Chessies and Golden Retrievers that are not just house pets, the hint of autumn has them all aquiver.
No man or woman who has hunted over a bird dog will ever want to hunt alone again.
Sharing a sandwich sitting on an old blow-down tree trunk with a pheasant or grouse in the bag, or not, with your four-legged pal is one of the sweet spots in time.
The hunter’s moon calls, and that is not far off with the start of the early Canada goose season Sept. 2. Commercial preserves that stock pheasant, chukar and sometimes quail also open next month.
Dove season is coming, (alas, not in NJ) with often tee-shirt gunning and plenty of misses at these little missiles, but fun and a bird you can put in the pot.
Pennsy’s seasons are from Sept. 1-29, Oct. 27Nov. 24 and the final segment Dec. 26-Dec. 5.
By that latter time of year many of us are interested in putting venison in the freezer, but if you’re not a deer hunter, there are bird seasons galore to keep you out of the house between football Sundays.
On that note, the NFL started pre-season play last week. Thank all that is holy.
The early goose season, here and in the Keystone State, opens Labor Day weekend, it is aimed at culling the resident population, that poops all over public parks, corporate lawns, golf courses and the tow path along the D&R Canal.
Good idea, but finding a spot to have a shot at thinning the flock is difficult. Setting up and gunning for the pesty birds along the canal path would not be a good public relations move for hunters…joggers, bikers and walkers being somewhat frantic about guns mixing with their exercise routine. Trouble is also that corn is still up and high and not conducive to cupped wings coming into a blind that is better suited for when crops are down.
Some changes include a later duck season in the South Zone since some time was taken from the beginning of the season. The brant season is only 30 days and the scaup limit is 25 birds, but the canvasback, a lovely and legendary bird, limit was upped to two.
You can find all the regs on the division website at www.njfishandwildlife.com.
PERMITS & TAGS
I was relieved to get my Pennsy doe permit in the mail the other day, since it gives me a good chance at winter venison and that opportunity may be odds in my favor after cataract surgery next month.
It’s tough closing your left eye to look through a scope and see a blur out of your right. Probably why I missed three deer last season before dropping one I could hit with a rock; at least that’s my alibi.
Doe permits are sold out already in a dozen units in Pennsylvania. In New Jersey you can buy as many permits as your budget will stand.
Fall turkey permits, however, are still a lottery deal and are open here for applying until Aug. 31. The season, either sex birds, runs from Oct. 26-Nov. 2. If you have a permit coming, claim it by Sept. 29 or it goes into the grab bag and will be on sale starting Oct. 11.