Cate after a very warm morning hunt in the Red River breaks.
Squirrel season opens October 1 in most East Texas counties. However, in the timbered hills and draws along the Red River, in a few north Texas counties where Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah meet to form some of the best fox squirrel habitat anywhere, the season never officially closes, though summer heat keeps hunters out of the woods June through August and most of September.Last week, with early morning temperatures in the low 60s, Cate and I hit a certain section of woods - post oak, blackjack oak, pecan, elm, cedar, and Osage orange - for a couple of warm-up hunts.
We did, in fact, warm up.
We started at first light, and by 9 o'clock I was drenched in sweat and Cate was stepping on her tongue. Compared to gray squirrels, fox squirrels are late risers.
Still, we had a fine time, and Cate worked well in spite of the heat. She treed several times, but the squirrels were very hard to see up there in the dense leaves. It's pretty tough for a single hunter and a dog this time of year. I blew a couple of easy shots.
But cooler days are coming. We'll try to get out a day or two this week.
3 comments:
We really need to get together and get these dogs together, too.
Rina will certainly chase squirrels up trees (catch them if they're not quick enough) but I'm not sure how well she tracks them---mostly a sight hound, she is!
Cate can teach her how the nose works.
BTW: Cate looks fantastic!
Now that is a perfect picture of a happy dog!
I agree, Matt. Thanks for your kind words about Cate.
Mike, she was a happy dog indeed. And a sleepy dog later that afternoon.
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