By the time you are reading this, you won’t need me to remind you of the blast of Arctic air that pushed through the state this week. Just step outside; but better put your longjohns before you do.
It’s early Sunday morning and I’m comfy and warm at my computer. Just watched the weatherman state without hesitation that we are about to get our first really cold weather of the winter. I have a very busy day planned that I want to tell you about. We hunters never really know how a hunt will unfold, especially when it’s timed to coincide with the arrival with a blast of frigid air accompanied by strong winds.
I will be joining my good friends Edgar and David Cotton on Edgar’s ranch in Kaufman County this afternoon. Two other great friends, Larry Weishuhn and Rick Lambert (Miranda’s Dad), will be joining us for what might be an afternoon hunt in deer stands with howling north winds or … possibly a good visit around a warm fire at the camp house.
One thing I do know is that we will be eating high on the hog. Edgar has some ribeyes marinating and I have all the fixings to make a big Dutch kettle cobbler. No telling what the other guys might have in store. I’m hoping Rick will bring his guitar and sing a few tunes after we eat. It’s easy to see where Miranda gets her talent. He likes to joke that he pays his way by entertaining but in truth Rick is just a nice fellow with lots of interesting stories to tell. We won’t hold his feet to the fire about the entertaining.
And what can I say about my friend Larry Weishuhn, a.k.a. Mr. Whitetail? For the past 18 years Larry has been a big part of my weekly radio show “Catfish Radio,” and for the past 5 years, the digital TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” with our friend Jeff RIce. I’m often asked, “Luke, what’s it like to actually spend time and hunt with Larry?” I reply that it’s exactly like spending time with one of the best friends you ever had. I greatly respect all that Larry has done to better the outdoor lifestyle we all love but I truly believe we would be friends regardless of the careers we chose. The fact that he is an outdoor legend has absolutely zero to do with our friendship.
I’ve been friends with the Cottons a couple years but it seems as though I’ve known them a lifetime. That’s the way it often is with folks that share a true love for the outdoors. During the time we have been friends, we enjoyed lots of fun time hunting, fishing and cooking. I’ve heard folks say, “I wish we’d know each other earlier in life.” Well, as the Bible teaches, there is a time and a season for everything and to my way of thinking, now is the appointed time for us to spend together.
One thing all my buddies have in common is their love of a tasty peach cobbler cooked on oak coals in a Dutch kettle. At our yearly outdoor rendezvous in Greenville at the Top Rail Cowboy Church, I have been ordered not to show up without my 14-inch Dutch kettle and ingredients for a big cobbler. I thought I’d surprise my friends this evening. The only challenge I have is finding a spot sheltered from that freezing north wind so that the coals can do their job.
The Cotton Ranch is on a Texas Parks and Wildlife management plan that Weishuhn helps set up each year. Hunting on these ranches is allowed through February, but the general deer season ended this past weekend. With the close of the general season comes muzzleloader season and the special youth season (Jan. 6-19). Make sure and check the TWPD site for regulations regarding the county you are hunting.
When hunting late-season deer, finding the food source is key. Locate what the deer are eating, and you will be on your way to some late season venison steaks and roasts. At the Cotton Ranch as well as most of the state, the acorn crop is gone, and deer are hitting food plots and corn feeders with regularity. Some of those mossy-horned old bucks that have been sticking tight to cover except for the peak of rutting activity will be coming out of the brush and now is a great time to take a mature animal.
A lot is said about hunting the peak of the rut and it is a great time to see lots of deer in general, but patterning a particular buck during the rut is iffy at best — he might be frequenting the area you have seen him on trail cameras previously or, he might be a couple miles away in pursuit of a receptive doe.
Late-season deer hunting is different. At the Cotton Ranch we will be hunting big food plots or green fields as we used to call them back in the day. Each plot has a feeder throwing corn a couple of times each day as well and these are the areas we will be hunting.
On our hunt later today, conditions will be both good and bad. Frigid weather gets deer up and moving but deer lose much of their safety mechanisms when a steady strong wind is blowing. The wind rattles the bushes, which limits their ability to detect approaching danger with their eyes or noses. And deer often seek sheltered areas at the onset of a really cold spell with wind.
Setting here at my computer, I would predict little deer activity this afternoon with the strong cold north winds but I’ve been hunting deer way too long to bet on what deer will do. The biggest buck of the season might venture out into one of the food plots just before dark, wind or no wind. So I’m debating on whether to head out to one of the elevated blinds on the ranch where the north wind will be whistling or stick around the camp house, get the campfire going on the sheltered side of the camp and prepare my cobbler.
At the moment, I’m leaning toward tending the fire and cooking cobbler but who knows, I’ll probably get excited when I join my buddies and head to a stand. Regardless this promises to be a great hunt cookout. I’ll devote a little space in next week’s column to let you know how the evening went. Knowing me, I’ll probably wind up shooting a hog from camp and having some backstrap grilling on the fire when my buddies get back from their hunt.
I have a muzzleloader hunt planned with my CVA .50 caliber Optima later this week up in Wood County with my friend and plan on getting a fat doe or spike after the passage of this blue Norther.
Remember our sixth annual outdoor Rendezvous March 1 on the grounds of the Top Rail Cowboy Church in Greenville. Booth space is available. There is live music and plenty of campfires. All my friends mentioned in my column this week will be there around the campfire to share their tales with you. To learn more or to reserve your booth spot, contact the Rev. Charlie Nassar at the church by calling (903) 217-3778.
