Another banner year for deer expected




AUSTIN – Despite unseasonably warm temperatures in the forecast for much of the state, Texas deer season opener didn’t deter hunters from participating in this time-honored tradition.

Hunting prospects are expected to be good across the state, regardless of the weather, according to wildlife biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).

The general deer hunting season opens Saturday, and runs through Jan. 7, 2018 in North Texas; Jan. 21, 2018 in South Texas. A late youth-only season is also slated for Jan. 8-21, 2018. For additional late season deer hunting opportunities and county specific regulations, consult the 2017-18 Outdoor Annual of hunting and fishing regulations.

Generally speaking, white-tailed deer in Texas have fared well in recent years with a stable population of about 4.3 million, according to Alan Cain, TPWD whitetail deer program leader. “The vast majority of the state had a good habitat conditions going into last winter and early spring, which helped bucks recover from the rigors of the rut, and gave them a good foundation to start the antler growth cycle this year,” he said.

However, unlike the previous two years where widespread consistent rain and good habitat conditions persisted through the summer for much the state, 2017 saw dry weather patterns take hold in May and continue into late August. These drier conditions late in the season will likely have some impact on final stages of antler development, body weights, and possibly fawn production, Cain explained, but hunters should still expect a good hunting season.

“Dry conditions were not uniform across the state and spotty rains from May through July left patches of green across the landscape in the western two-thirds of the state,” said Cain. “Landowners and hunters with properties lucky enough to receive some of early summer rains and that have remained green may expect better than average deer quality this fall.”

Hunters are reminded of new regulations for the 2017-18 season, including the establishment of chronic wasting disease (CWD) management zones. Hunters who harvest mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, red deer, or other CWD susceptible species within the Trans-Pecos, Panhandle, and South-Central Texas CWD Containment and Surveillance Zones are required to bring their animals to a TPWD check station within 48 hours of harvest. TPWD also urges voluntary sampling of hunter harvested deer outside of these zones.

Hunters should also be aware of rules banning importation of certain deer, elk, and other CWD susceptible species carcass parts from states where the disease has been detected, as well as the movement of the same carcass parts from CWD zones. The rules are part of the state’s comprehensive CWD management plan to determine the prevalence and geographic extent of the disease and to contain the disease to the areas where it is known to exist. More information about CWD Management and Regulations for Hunters is available on TPWD’s web site.

 




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Lake Texoma Weather Forecast

Wednesday

Partly Sunny

Hi: 58

Wednesday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 44

Thursday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 65

Thursday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 54

Friday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 71

Friday Night

Breezy

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Saturday

Mostly Cloudy

Hi: 76

Saturday Night

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Lake Texoma

Fishing Report from TPWD (Mar. 20)

GOOD. Water normal stain; 57 degrees; 1.35 feet below pool. Striped bass fishing is good using live shad on main lake ledges and flats in 30-40 feet of water. The bite has improved drastically around 10:30-11:00 A.M. each day, so stick it out if you are not seeing active fish early. Backs of coves and around the mouths of the rivers are good with swimbaits in 8-15 feet of water where the water is dirty and warmer. Catfish are slow, anchor in shallow water near the rivers where the inflow is using whole gizzard shad or cut buffalo for big fish. Smaller fish showing up on the flats in 20-30 feet of water. Crappie are fair in the creeks in 1-5 feet of water using jigs and minnows on brush sticking up or lay downs from the bank. Mo glo and black/chartreuse on a slip cork in shallow creeks. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are fair on swimbaits along the bluffs and on sandy points with stumps in 5-8 feet of water. Topwater bite will be on soon! Report by Jacob Orr, Guaranteed Guide Service Lake Texoma. Striped bass continue to be caught with Alabama rigs or sassy shad targeting structure. Somedays fish are in 5 feet and some in 40 feet of water. The water clarity is clear near the dam and muddy where rivers enter the lake. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

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