Deer Season In Full Swing




The leaves are dropping and the mornings have that familiar chill in the air, which means for a lot of hunters that deer season is in full swing. Across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, hunters are hitting woods and fields in the dark to try and chase that monster buck.

For deer hunters, it’s a familiar routine – hiking under starlight, watching first light break while sitting in the stand, warming up with coffee, paying close attention to the wind, moon and weather. Opening day is right up there with Christmas morning. There are many different styles of hunting and hunters, ranging from mountain archers to hardwood bottom muzzleloaders and open range snipers.

If you don’t bag your goal early in the season, then the hardcore hunters rise to the task of dedicated repetition. By December the insanity starts to set in… why am I doing this? Going out in all weather, over and over, countless dozens of hours logged in pursuit of what seems like a ghost. You see sign all over, you have pictures from the game camera, you may have even seen the deer you’re after with your very own eyes but not had the opportunity to take him. It seems like it’s never going to pan out for you, until that one frosty morning where he slips up and gives you the opportunity. Or he doesn’t, and he lives to scratch out a living for another year while you dream about him every night.

This is deer hunting. Sometimes the game comes to you – literally and figuratively – and you have a solid harvest on opening weekend. Other times it’s the toil and grind, putting in the work, the hours, and the miles. Sometimes all of that work pays off late in the season, which is one of the most rewarding experiences a hunter can have. Other times, you get skunked. As they say, it’s called “hunting” not “killing”. But that tenacity is what it takes to be a hunter, regardless of results.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” is a creed associated with the USPS letter carriers, but I think us hunters can adopt that creed as well. For those determined beyond weather, pain, cold or soreness, to those driving and hiking in the dark when everyone is still dreaming in Neverland, to those who can’t feel their fingers or toes by daybreak, I raise my travel coffee mug and salute you.





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Lake Fork Weather Forecast

Saturday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Saturday Night

Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 73

Sunday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Sunday Night

Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 75

Monday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Monday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 75

Tuesday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 95

Tuesday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 75


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Water Level on 7/12: 403.23 (+0.23)



Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Jul. 9)

GOOD. Water Stained; 82 degrees; 0.23 feet above pool. Fork : Top waters early around pond weed and grass with frogs and poppers still working . Mid morning chatter baits on the outside edge of grass in 3-5 ft is good as well as shaky heads . Best bite is Carolina rigs off shore on points , road beds and humps in 12-25 ft . Big worms and flukes are good . Deep Cranks are good over the same area when the fish are suspending 19-23 ft . Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Lily fields are filling in, hydrilla and milfoil are reaching for the surface. Fish this type of cover at mid day when bass are seeking cover. Frog patterns are working in the shallow vegetation early and late. Small fish patterns like a dock knocker are producing bass and crappie shallow near grass. Large bream have moved shallow, wooly buggers are producing good fish. Channel catfish are cruising 2-4 feet biting clousers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing has been super up and down this past week. The fish are stacked up on brush piles, lay downs, tire reefs and some trees. The bite is the tricky part. Some days the bite is good and the bigger fish show up. Some days the bite is just off and the short fish show up. Seems like the bite may be better on days we have a little breeze. If the winds are calm the bite is very slow. Minnows will get some bites but small 1/32nd ounce hand tied jigs with small bodies and tails are working well on fish that don’t want to bite. Best depths have been 18-13ft with most fish suspended on trees and loaded in the brush. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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