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Texas Outdoor Digest Hunt. Fish. Travel. Eat. Join The Texas Outdoor Digest on the adventure today! That's a captive audience that knows what it wants.

The Texas Outdoor Digest features high-quality feature stories, columns, news reports, gear reviews and photography associated with hunting and fishing across Texas. Whether it’s duck hunting in Baffin Bay, striped bass fishing on Lake Texoma or deer hunting in the Hill Country, The Digest offers something for every hunter and angler in Texas and beyond. Here at The Texas Outdoor Digest, we believ

e there is a better way to communicate, to share the greatest of the great outdoors. The story, the experience, the adventure is king -- and we let the members of our outdoor community choose how, where and when they want to follow us. Our subscribers are active, engaged and invested in their vision of the best of the best, whether it's bigger bucks or bass, or simply the smell of salt spray and oak camp fires or the sound of a singing drag or turkey gobble. Did you know that more than 1 MILLION hunting licenses and 2 MILLION fishing licenses were sold last year in Texas? Did you also know that the outdoor recreation economy, including hunting, fishing and conservation efforts, generates $887 BILLION in consumer spending annually and supports 7.6 MILLION American jobs! (* Outdoor Industry Association annual report)

The most recent figures from the OIA also highlight the economic impact in Texas -- $28.7 BILLION In Consumer Spending, $8.9 BILLION In Wages and Salaries, and $1.9 MILLION In State And Local Tax Revenue. It's also an audience that we at The Texas Outdoor Digest are intimately familiar with. We can talk sponsorships, joint projects or campaigns or good old-fashioned advertising. Whichever way you prefer, The Texas Outdoor Digest offers multiple media platforms to help promote your interests.

“Why do you hunt?”It’s a straightforward question, but if you’re asked to reflect deeply on the query, it can be difficu...
07/10/2024

“Why do you hunt?”

It’s a straightforward question, but if you’re asked to reflect deeply on the query, it can be difficult to come up with a profound answer worthy of articulating.

Pose the inquiry to most hunters and you’ll get any number of good answers, ones that should generally suffice standing on their own merit: I hunt because I enjoy the outdoors; I hunt because I enjoy eating wild game and fowl; I hunt because I enjoy the pursuit of deer, doves, ducks or turkeys.

However, those responses and other similar replies are just pieces of a multi-layered pie, the easiest explanations for those among us who share our outdoor passions and the most common justifications when talking to those who don’t.

FOR ME PERSONALLY, THE BEST SUMMATION IS UNCOMPLICATED AND UNCOMPROMISING: “I HUNT BECAUSE I’M SELFISH.”

“Why do you hunt?” It’s a straightforward question, but if you’re asked to reflect deeply on the query, it can be difficult to come up with a profound answer worthy of articulating.

Texas is home to the largest and most diverse habitat complex in the entire country. From the meandering canyons of the ...
27/09/2024

Texas is home to the largest and most diverse habitat complex in the entire country. From the meandering canyons of the Panhandle to the rippling bay systems of the coast north to south, and from the dense Pineywoods thickets to the rugged mountains of the Trans-Pecos east to west, the Lone Star State harbors ecological wonders spanning an entire range of natural splendor.

That being said, the vast majority of our overall Texas landscapes exist on private land. However, one of the crown jewels of public outdoor opportunities open to the masses is the state’s Wildlife Management Area system.

https://willleschper.substack.com/p/texas-wildlife-management-areas-offer

The story of the Texas speckled trout fishery certainly is one of many ebbs and flows. It’s a history dotted with tales ...
25/09/2024

The story of the Texas speckled trout fishery certainly is one of many ebbs and flows. It’s a history dotted with tales of the “good old days” when anglers who ventured into the back reaches of the Laguna Madre could land untold numbers of 30-inch plus trout all day long and those who ventured onto piers at night anywhere could fill an entire cooler with legal 12-inch fish.

My how times have changed.

https://willleschper.substack.com/p/texas-speckled-trout-fishery-faces

The misidentification occurred years ago by a teenage deer hunter, but the mistake still rings true many more seasons we...
23/09/2024

The misidentification occurred years ago by a teenage deer hunter, but the mistake still rings true many more seasons well into adulthood.

Every time I think about the scenario I still get a sinking feeling, and while I broke no law and did nothing illegal, I perpetrated a cardinal sin in hunting: I pulled the trigger on the wrong target.

https://willleschper.substack.com/p/texas-deer-hunting-identification

White-winged dove hunting was a “Valley thing.”Years ago, it was a specialized pursuit that had Texans in metro areas dr...
09/09/2024

White-winged dove hunting was a “Valley thing.”

Years ago, it was a specialized pursuit that had Texans in metro areas driving 300 or 400 miles one-way to make it down to prized whitewing havens not far from the Mexican border in the Rio Grande Valley to blast at the high-flying quarry.

Then, in the 1980s, the whitewing population slowly started expanding north — first into areas such as Kingsville and Corpus Christi — and later into the southern reaches of San Antonio.

Today, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologists are close to declaring whitewings in nearly every one of our 254 counties, with roughly 90% of the breeding population occurring in urban areas.

Simply put, whitewing hunting is now a “Texas thing.”

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologists are close to declaring whitewings in nearly every one of our 254 counties, with roughly 90% of the breeding population occurring in urban areas

The numbers are out for waterfowl and things aren’t looking great. Overall duck counts are up 5% but two species that ar...
28/08/2024

The numbers are out for waterfowl and things aren’t looking great. Overall duck counts are up 5% but two species that are important especially for Texans — pintails and blue wings — are down. It should be an interesting trend to watch as fall and winter loom.

23/08/2024

Here are things to search for when scouting and preparing for your upcoming Texas dove hunting season

Now that more fall hunting seasons are rapidly approaching, it’s time to ante up for another 12 month of hunting opportu...
13/08/2024

Now that more fall hunting seasons are rapidly approaching, it’s time to ante up for another 12 month of hunting opportunities across the Lone Star State.

100% of revenue from license sales goes back into Texas hunting, fishing and conservation programs

Damn this is wild! Hurricanes do weird things to wildlife. Stay safe and get out of the water!
04/07/2024

Damn this is wild! Hurricanes do weird things to wildlife. Stay safe and get out of the water!

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The U.S. Coast Guard is advising beachgoers at South Padre Island to not go into the water after multiple shark attacks and sightings were reported. Sout…

Texas fisheries officials have proposed changing the speckled trout slot limit coastwide to 15 to 20 inches (currently 1...
24/01/2024

Texas fisheries officials have proposed changing the speckled trout slot limit coastwide to 15 to 20 inches (currently 15 to 25 inches) with a three-fish daily bag limit (currently five fish) and keeping the provision for one fish over 25 inches to be kept as part of the daily limit.

Members of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission are set to discuss and vote on adopting the regulation changes tomorrow at their regularly scheduled TPWD Commission January meeting in Austin. Online public comment is being accepted until 5 p.m. today.

Members of the TPWD Commission are set to discuss and vote on adopting regulation changes at their regularly scheduled January 2024 meeting in Austin

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/dove/how-to-hunt-doves-in-texas/Dove hunting in Texas is inexpensive, accessible ...
04/09/2023

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/dove/how-to-hunt-doves-in-texas/

Dove hunting in Texas is inexpensive, accessible and inclusive of every species of hunter in the Lone Star State.

It’s a pastime that caters to anyone and everyone willing to brave a steamy September afternoon, all the way from the Red River to the Rio Grande.

And, thanks to another liberal season across the north, central and south dove zones, maybe you’ll be the lucky fellow or lady who figures out that those birds that come down from Kansas in October or November are just as easy to hit during weekends when temperatures are hovering in the mid-50s.

Dove hunting in Texas is inexpensive, accessible and inclusive of every species of hunter in the Lone Star State

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/dove/dont-get-cited-for-texas-dove-hunting-violations/It’s a safe assumption the ...
29/08/2023

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/dove/dont-get-cited-for-texas-dove-hunting-violations/

It’s a safe assumption the majority of Texans are fully aware of the regulations associated with dove hunting, but there remain common violations that game wardens continue to see each September.

Most of them are easily avoidable, and in all reality, these issues rest at the heart of conservation: It’s up to responsible hunters to show youths and those who’ve never hunted how to conduct themselves legally and safely.

A previous look at citation figures compiled by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department highlight six areas that account for the majority of mourning dove and white-winged dove violations annually.

Here's an in-depth look at common hunting violations Texas game wardens continue to see each September during dove season

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/texas-dove-hunting-forecast-good-heading-toward-september-staple/If there’s one t...
28/08/2023

https://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/texas-dove-hunting-forecast-good-heading-toward-september-staple/

If there’s one thing hunters in the Lone Star State can count on, it’s that fall hunting seasons are almost here.
And once again, the dove hunting forecast is looking good.
Texas boasts fall dove populations in excess of tens of millions of birds and its roughly 300,000 dove hunters harvest more than 6 million mourning doves and white-winged doves or nearly 30% of all doves taken in the United States, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Dove hunting also contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the state economy, according to state and national hunting data.

If there's one thing hunters in Texas can count on, it's that fall hunting seasons are almost here, and once again, the dove hunting forecast is good

28/08/2023

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Videos

Doing deer lease chores and ran across my beautiful bastard of a buddy in the yard. Go kill all the rattlers you want, podnah.

When constructing the base of any Texas venison sausage recipe, an adequate dose of that sweet sauce concocted by brewmaster Lee Roy Leschper Sr. for @lonestarbeer is essential for locking in flavor and scraping up all the tasty bits 👍

Rolling hard in your Jeep without a care in the world ✅ Your best buddy and service animal riding shotgun ✅ Handing out delicious suds to loggers on the job ✅ Stuffing your pop tops back into the can ✅ Hamm’s and the 1970s knew how to live the good life 🐻 Hell I thought that was Robert Redford in the sequel to Jeremiah Johnson at first 😉

Pinks stacked up like cordwood. And one sneaky red king on the periphery. #texasoutdoordigest #alaska #salmon #wildlife #nature

Your Alaskan moment of Zen.

Based on my previous post, it looks like the speckled trout fishery is one that will bring up a lot of discussion … no matter what happens. This video highlights exactly what I saw along a tiny portion of the Laguna Madre near where I live after the historic February 2021 freeze. That being said, here are some of my notes taken directly from discussions with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials, as well as information I gleaned from public meetings and presentations from TPWD’s coastal fisheries team: • Changes to fishing regulations are typically done at the March TPWD Commission meeting, and if approved, go into effect beginning in September during the next license year. These trout proposals were based on wanting to get them enacted ahead of spawning season that begins in late spring in the areas affected by the freeze. The subsequent adoption would allow multiple spawning seasons under the new regs, and after that time, all data gleaned will be used in future fisheries management decisions. The regs sunset so would need to be revisited in August 2023. • The spring gillnet season runs 10 weeks from April to June each year. There is a missing piece of data due to the COVID-19 pandemic because biologists couldn’t get out and do samples in 2020. As such, the 2021 data was leaned on heavily in the decision to enact the new regulation proposals. The 2021 trout gillnet catch rates showed declines in every Texas bay system from the 10-year mean average, undoubtedly because of the freeze: o The Lower Laguna Madre was down about 31% o The Upper Laguna Madre was down about 27% o Aransas Bay was down about 10% o San Antonio Bay was down about 34% o Matagorda Bay was down about 44% o Galveston Bay was down about 1% o Sabine Lake was down about 14% • The only bay system that was up was Corpus Christi Bay at about +9% above the 10-year average. CC Bay is a deeper bay system than other bodies of water on the Texas coast and biologists think that aided i

Legendary … and in socks and slides. #floridaman #gator #boss

Block or charge? . Cali bears don’t mess around. Also, don’t mess with that maternal instinct or you might get dropped! . Amazing capture via @bakedlikepie

I firmly apologize for the language in advance (please don’t shadow ban me) but this reboot of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is intense! . If you don’t want to hear naughty words, please don’t click! . In all reality, if you’re living your best life in Houston, Texas, and you found yourself dealing with any type of large Bengal cat, what sidearm are you grabbing — other than reiterating “NO SIR” to that striped assassin with your 9mm? . And, if you ever need reading material about large, dangerous animals that result in large conservation initiatives (FUNDED BY HUNTERS), please read “Death in the Long Grass” by Peter Hathaway Capstick.

Many thanks to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels for a great show in Corpus Christi. The best part was seeing them from the backyard before we headed down to the Bayfront! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

In Alaska, humpback whales wave goodbye with a single flipper slap whenever you run by after a successful salmon run. It’s whale code. Look it up.

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Telling outdoors stories you need, the way you want them

The Texas Outdoor Digest features high-quality feature stories, columns, news reports, gear reviews and photography associated with hunting and fishing across Texas. Whether it’s duck hunting in Baffin Bay, striped bass fishing on Lake Texoma or deer hunting in the Hill Country, The Digest offers something for every hunter and angler in Texas and beyond. Here at The Texas Outdoor Digest, we believe there is a better way to communicate, to share the greatest of the great outdoors. The story, the experience, the adventure is king -- and we let the members of our outdoor community choose how, where and when they want to follow us. Our members are active, engaged and invested in their vision of the best of the best, whether it's bigger bucks or bass, or simply the smell of salt spray and oak camp fires or the sound of a singing drag or turkey gobble. Did you know that more than 1 MILLION hunting licenses and 2 MILLION fishing licenses were sold last year in Texas? Did you also know that the outdoor recreation economy, including hunting, fishing and conservation efforts, generates $887 BILLION in consumer spending annually and supports 7.6 MILLION American jobs! (* Outdoor Industry Association annual report) The most recent figures from the OIA also highlight the economic impact in Texas -- $28.7 BILLION In Consumer Spending, $8.9 BILLION In Wages and Salaries, and $1.9 MILLION In State And Local Tax Revenue. That's a captive audience that knows what it wants. It's also an audience that we at The Texas Outdoor Digest are intimately familiar with. We can talk sponsorships, joint projects or campaigns or good old-fashioned advertising. Whichever way you prefer, The Texas Outdoor Digest offers multiple media platforms to help promote your interests.