Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

132 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

HUNTING

from the decoys,” he says.

I agree. Often, I’ll downwind

myself slightly; that is, set the blinds

downwind of the spread. And I’ll

always, early or later, quarter my

blind(s) to the spread, opting to

shoot left-to-right or right-to-left,

depending on where I expect the

birds to come from.

Something else I’ll do with early

geese is to forget the feed. September

here means mild weather, and the

birds are living large. No need – not

now – for high caloric intake on their

part, so instead of focusing on food

sources, I’m scouting loafing areas,

e.g. quiet ponds or backwaters, tidal

flats, sand beaches, or mowed pastures

adjacent to water of some sort. Even

if the birds leave the roost before

daylight. And even if they grab just a

nibble here or there; doesn’t matter.

Eventually, midmorning, they’ll find

their way to a favorite loafing spot,

where they’ll spend the day sleeping.

Yeah, generally sleeping.

Nice thing about loafs is the birds

typically don’t arrive en masse; rather,

small family groups often trickle in

throughout the morning, providing

semi-steady shooting opportunities

up until it’s time to go pound those

doughnuts and a bologna sandwich

back at the rig.

DOVES

I love dove hunting. I love the social

aspect. The cool mornings. The hot

mornings. The humid mornings. I

love how the birds can make even the

most competent wingshooter look,

well, incompetent. Dove hunting is a

fantastic way to train that new pup,

or give an older hound a refresher

prior to the waterfowl opener.

Mourners take me to great places

with great people, and have a way,

I’ll admit, of reminding me I’m no

Tom Roster or Kim Rhode when it

comes to handling a shotgun. Quite

humbling, they are. Quite humbling.

Oh, and did I mention incredible on

the grill when done up as poppers,

complete with half a jalapeño and

wrapped in fat bacon? Oh, yeah!

Where to go? Don’t get me wrong.

I love it here on the Lower Columbia,

but this isn’t where I’d hunt doves. A

small group of Eurasian collared doves,

maybe. And bandtail pigeons, open for

nine mid-September days, definitely.

But mourning doves? Sure, you can

occasionally find a handful here and

there. Sometimes, more.

But if it’s a barrel-burner of a dove

hunt you’re looking for, I’d suggest

Eastern Washington and Eastern

Oregon. Where the weather’s warm,

there’s a bit of water, some good

Russian olive roost trees, and spilled

grain, e.g wheat, winter wheat, and

the like. Smaller cereal grains. Put

’em all together, and you have the

makings of a top-notch dove shoot.

It might take most of a box of shells to bag a few, but mourning doves

are on the table in September too. Best bets include Washington’s

southern and Oregon’s northern Columbia Basin counties, northern

Malheur County, and Southwest Idaho. (JULIA JOHNSON)