The weather forecasts rain this weekend as a minor cold front waffles around, coming south next week. But that might not be bad news for outdoor enthusiasts. The precipitation probably won’t mean a deluge, and intermittent rain can mean terrific hunting and fishing.
The top of my agenda will be snipe hunting. Many veteran outdoor lovers still view this bird as a myth from childhood. You send the scared kid out into the woods with a bag and a stick and pretend to herd the big bad snipe to the frightened youngster. At some point you leave him to his fears. It builds character and many a laugh around the campfire. But there is a real snipe and it is one of the finest gamebirds in the world. The best time to hunt them is when it rains.
Snipe are flushing birds that can out fly the speediest duck. To hunt them you walk them up and attempt to shoot them when they jump up zigging and zagging at 70 miles an hour low to the flooded prairies where they live. They make a difficult target and will flush far ahead of the hunter on bluebird days. But when it rains they will sit tight and flush as you are about to step on them.
This habit doesn’t make them easier to bag but it does allow for shots before the bird zooms into the next county. Because snipe prefer flooded pasture land they are also one bird that private land owners will often grant permission to shoot. Snipe are a gourmet delight and I had some for supper the other night. They taste very good in Florida as well.
In the watery conditions, where snipe are found, ducks are often part of the game. The first phase of waterfowl season opens on Nov. 21 for a week. But the weather has been so warm that finding some ducks to go with that snipe dinner might be difficult. Reports indicate that Lake Okeechobee is loaded with ducks already so, perhaps, that is portent of good things to come closer to home.
Where fishing is concerned intermittent rain often produces a great bite. Snook and redfish that have been off their feed could perk up this weekend. The great flounder fishing of recent weeks will only get better. Look for these gourmet delights on hard bottoms near the passes. Pompano made a showing late in the week. They will also be found in the passes near white sand or hard bottoms. Good baits for both will be small jigs bumped along the bottom and live shrimp.
There are plenty of mackerel, kingfish and bonito in Tampa Bay and in the Gulf. But I wouldn’t brave the storms offshore. In the big bay there are bridges you can hide under and land is a short dash away. That should be the best for pelagics though they may not show well in the rain.
The other option is fishing the Manatee River docks for most inshore species. That will mean sheltered fishing at its best.
G.B. Knowles, outdoors writer, can be reached at 722-8349.
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