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Quail hunting tradition: A new spot to restart a favorite pastime
BY Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
As a youngster growing up in northeast Texas, quail hunting was a tradition.
Back in the 1960s and throughout much of the 1970s, quail were plentiful in the eastern part of the state. Not in the numbers that could be encountered in west and northwest Texas, but just about every farm had at least one resident covey of birds.
My brother-in-law, Billy Joplin, was a devout quail hunter and I tagged along on many of his weekend hunts this time of year.
Today, it's rare to find a covey of wild birds in east Texas.
The biologists haven't really determined the exact reasons, but most are quick to point out it's not the invasion of fire ants that wiped the birds out. Loss of habitat due to modern farming practices and the introduction of coastal Bermuda grasses are said to be primary reasons for the drastic drop in quail numbers, not only in the eastern part of Texas but across much of the south and southeast as well.
A few years ago, I all but gave up quail hunting.
Driving to west Texas to hunt the often scant number of quail that were barely hanging on in that rugged landscape just wasn't worth the effort any longer. The last time I hunted wild quail up in Jack County, I truly felt badly about thinning the one covey we encountered.
With five grandsons (ages 8-14), I needed to find a way of keeping this quail hunting tradition alive.
Fortunately, my daughter married into a quail-hunting family that also placed these sporty little birds in high esteem.
I remember 15 years ago her father-in-law, Phil Zimmerman, still had the dog kennel and a very old pointer that had served them well through the years, hunting wild birds around Aspermont. The old pointer has long since gone on to where good bird dogs go and the kennel has been replaced with a storage building, but the desire to hunt quail is still strong.
Three years ago, I discovered a way to keep the tradition of shooting quail alive.
Billy Burnett, owner of Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort in Yantis (hiddenlakeshuntingresort.com, 903-714-7574), a stone's throw off Lake Fork, invited me down to hunt his preserve.
I was working on a magazine article and Burnett took the time to show me the rearing pens where quail are raised in long flight pens with no contact with man. Burnett explained to me that he and his wife, Kathryn, traveled the country and hunted many shooting resorts when formulating a plan for their Hidden Lakes. They knew what they expected out of a bird hunting resort and their plan was to create a place where hunters could enjoy their day of wing shooting in safety and comfort. Hard flying quail, chuckars and pheasants were a must and great efforts were made to ensure that hunters experience birds that are a challenge to hunt.
"Thanks to the long flight pens, the birds we raise have the opportunity to fly every day and many of our hunters mistake them for wild quail," Burnett said. "We had five different coveys of wild birds hatch this past spring/summer and some of our hunters confused the liberated birds for the wild ones."
After a morning quail hunt with the boys, we could readily see how novice quail hunters could confuse the pen-raised birds for truly wild quail.
This was our second fall to hunt Hidden Lakes and the experience has already become a tradition.
The boys missed more birds than they bagged, but the new tradition of hunting quail at Hidden Lakes with our grandsons is not all about bagging birds; it's about exposing the youngsters to a sport that, in my opinion, is the finest of shooting experiences.
Hunters with their own dogs are welcome at Hidden Lakes, but for the two or three hunts we enjoy each year, I believe it far better to hunt with a guide that knows the fields. Watching the world-class pointers and setters work is a big part of a quail hunt and Hidden lakes has some of the finest dogs I've hunted over.
On this recent trip, guide Dennis Hyde began with a pre-hunt safety class for the boys.
Shooting upland birds over pointers is a challenging endeavor and it's also very exciting. Adrenaline is not in short supply when a group of youngsters, oldsters for that matter, walk up behind the dog for the flush. It's important for every shooter to know precisely the location of everyone in the field and before the flush, determine which directions they can shoot safely.
Hyde explained to avoid shooting low-flying birds to ensure the safety of the dogs.
Hyde did a great job overseeing the hunt and we two grandfathers served as assistant coaches and photographers.
I noted a marked improvement in the boys shooting skills this year.
The three 14 year olds, now in their second season of quail shooting, are becoming experienced wing shooters, but their younger brother/cousin Jack caught on quickly. This was Jack's first quail hunt and he took to the sport like a young pointer on his first hunt.
After the morning hunt, we enjoyed a meal prepared at the lodge by Joanne. We had quail, steak, roasted potatoes, an awesome salad and bread pudding. I've eaten at many hunting lodges across the country and can truly say I've never had better food than that served at Hidden Lakes. The boys talked all this past year about the food Joanne served last year and I'm betting they will continue bragging on her cooking in the months ahead.
We left the lodge with a big bag of dressed quail that will soon become the focal point for a big family meal.
Pheasant season is quickly approaching and rather than make a drive to the Panhandle or Kansas, we've decided to go to Hidden Lakes to shoot our Christmas pheasants.
My hat is off to the folks at Hidden Lakes.
They know how to make folks feel welcome from the time they arrive at the lodge until the birds are cleaned and it's time to head home. It's great to know the quail hunting tradition is still alive and well in east Texas. If you would like to once again experience the thrill of walking up behind a wired bird dog, consider planning a trip to Hidden Lakes.
I'll be back in a few weeks for round two with the pheasants.
Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton at: catfishradio.com. Email Luke via the website with hunting and fishing news from your neck of the woods.
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