Hitting a fast moving target, be it made of clay or feathers, is a daunting task that has challenged shotgunners since the day someone first discovered that lead pellets pushed by a charge of powder was the proper means for shooting flying targets. I’ve been shooting scatterguns for fifty years and can truly state that I still don’t have it figured out. The concept is simple; begin your shotgun swing behind the bird or clay target, push the barrel past the moving target so that the shot column and target arrive at the same place at the same time. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

The sun was just beginning to break over the eastern horizon, a welcome sight to Jacob Sands and myself as we huddled low in the marsh grass, waiting for legal shooting light. The temperature was in the low twenties and a brisk northwest wind made it seem colder. Whistling wings could be heard overhead as teal, pintail, mallards and an assortment of diving ducks stirred from their night’s rest on the water. Across the wetland, the sound of a big flock of geese, a mixture of snows, white front and Canada’s could be heard as the big birds stirred and took flight from their night’s roost and headed to a distant field to feed. The day was coming to life and legal shooting time was seconds away.

A mature redfish is built like a torpedo with a boat paddle tail. A brute of a fish, a mature or ‘Bull Red’ as the big females are called, is one of the hardest fighting fish in salt water and beyond question, the hardest fighting of all fish in freshwater. Granted, redfish (red drum) are not native to freshwater lakes but several years ago, Texas Parks and Wildlife began an aggressive stocking program on a few power plant freshwater reservoirs in Texas. The top two largest freshwater redfish in the state came from Fairfield and, after fishing the lake yesterday with guide Cory Vinson and my friend outdoors writer Bob Hood, I can testify that the big fish are on a good bite.

This morning, I was sharing the blind with a great wingshot who I had watched on many previous hunts make some astounding shots.  Between the two of us, we strapped a total of 4 ducks today. Granted, we both missed a couple of shots that should have been made, but that always seems to be the case. The morning was foggy with just enough wind to keep the decoys moving, pretty close to perfect conditions for duck hunting. They were plenty of birds in the air, especially within the first hour of shooting time.

We are now in the coldest period of the year and we’re all waiting for the spring warm up to head back to our favored waters in quest of bass, catfish and stripers, right? Granted, many anglers do wait for spring and warming weather but, with a little knowledge and preparation, there’s some line sizzling action to be had, and RIGHT NOW!  If you’re looking for a cure for cabin fever and the very real opportunity to catch some of the biggest fish of the year, let me introduce you to my top winter fishing destinations.

Hunting season has been underway for over 3 months now and chances are good many of you have a freezer well stocked with everything from dove breasts to venison steaks. Game meat is far more nutritious than domestic but it does require different cooking techniques. Take venison, for example. Venison is very lean and what fat there is in the meat should be removed; it’s the fat that sometimes contributes to the ‘gamey’ taste that some folks complain about.