By Gary Joiner
TFB Radio Network Manager
Improved pheasant numbers and conditions in the Texas Panhandle are combining for a favorable outlook for the pheasant hunting season that opens in December.
The general pheasant hunting season is available in 37 Panhandle counties Dec. 7 through Jan. 5, 2020.
“I would say that the conditions are favorable, as well as prospects. It looks like we’re slightly up from last year, as far as numbers go, from our surveys we just completed,” Brad Simpson, Panhandle district leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “We run 44 survey routes from October to November, and our results, so far, look like they’re slightly up, about half-a-bird per route this year. Along with the conditions, it should be pretty good, pretty decent hunting for pheasants in some areas.”
Simpson noted there are good numbers of pheasants in particular counties.
“Dallam and Hartley counties are probably still the best bets in the Panhandle, but we’ve got good reports from Parmer and Deaf Smith counties and Hale County, as well,” Simpson said. “And a surprise this year is Ochiltree County. Ochiltree County has more birds than they’ve seen in the last four years, so it could be a pretty decent year up there, as well.”
He said the survey routes are 20 miles in length, with observations made shortly before sun-up while driving about 20 miles per hour. All of the birds seen on that route are counted.
He said the routes were established about 25 years ago, and they’re used every year to help document trend information.
“We are down from our 10-year average, just slightly. But it is up from the last couple of years, so there’s more birds out there than we’ve had in the last couple of years. If you’ve been out there in the last couple of years, you’ve got some type of comparison to look at,” Simpson said. “Last fall was a wet fall, followed by mild winter and a wet spring. So, nesting conditions were good, and we hit a hot dry spell there in July and August. But they were able to produce some more birds, it seems like.”
Pheasant hunters should think about good cover areas to improve the chances of success.
“Obviously, the bird numbers are going to be around the cover, and some of those covers look good around the playas up here. The spring rains that we had, put a lot of cover on around those playas. We see a lot of pheasant hanging around those areas. I think just looking for those dense cover areas around playas or centerfield corners could be very productive, as well,” he said.
The daily bag limit this season is three male birds. It is unlawful to possess a pheasant with proof of sex removed. Proof of sex must accompany the pheasant until it reaches its final destination and is finally processed.
Acceptable proof of sex is one leg, including the spur, attached to the pheasant carcass or the entire plumage attached to the pheasant carcass.