Former Gov. David Walters, an avid deer hunter, bagged a nice 10-pointer with two broken tines last Sunday on his land in Payne County on the Cimarron River.
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The processor estimated the buck at 150 pounds field dressed, Walters said.
"Seeing lots of pre-rut activity and many more bucks than usual," Walters stated in an e-mail. "They are eating like crazy getting ready for rut."
Walters plans to be in the field again this weekend for the opening of muzzleloader season.
• Another proud hunter, Tony Englandof Del City, called about harvesting the first buck of his life on the opening day of archery season: 19-pointer. Unfortunately, the photo of the buck was too dark to publish, but England arrowed the trophy deer in eastern Oklahoma near Panola.
England said he had returned from a stand to his four-wheeler that morning when the buck crossed a creek and walked through a thicket right in front of him.
"Right place at the right time," England said.
A member of the Capitol City Bow Hunter's Club, England had been bow hunting for three years without success before bagging this trophy. He is now in negotiations with his wife about where the mount will eventually be displayed. He suggested the wall above the television. She suggested the garage.
"It's going to be hanging somewhere," he said.
• Oklahoma's duck season opens for most of the state (zone two) on Saturday, and waterfowl are already migrating through. Unfortunately, few of them are staying.
The state Wildlife Department issued its first waterfowl report this week and almost every state lake had either low numbers of ducks and geese or none at all.
Some significant migrations have been seen in the last few days, but due to low lake and pond levels, it appears birds are moving on in search of better food conditions.
• In bass tournament news, Shonn Goodwin of Moore finished fifth in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League regional event last weekend in Texarkana, Texas.
The fifth-place finish qualifies Goodwin for the BFL's 2007 All-American tournament, which will be held on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., May 31-June 2. That tournament paid $140,000 to this year's winner, Robert Walser of South Carolina.
• Oklahoma State University finished third in last weekend's BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championships.
OSU anglers James Elam and Brandon Pedigo led going into the final day of the tourney, but were overtaken by North Carolina State and Eastern Kentucky.
Forty-one teams competed in the three-day tournament at Lake Lewisville, Texas.
The tournament was sponsored by BoatU.S. and FOX College Sports.
• BASS is returning to Lake Texoma in March for its first visit since holding the Bassmaster Classic there in 1979.
BASS announced it will hold the first of three Central Division tournaments on Lake Texoma in Denison, Texas.
The divisionals are open tournaments and a direct qualifying route to the Elite Series and Bassmaster Classic.
• Pro fishing fans have another Oklahoma angler to follow.
BASS Elite Series pro Mark Tyler has moved from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Vian.
Tyler has a 290-acre spread where he plans to do plenty of deer hunting this fall.
• Even though it's hunting season, don't forget about fall bass fishing. Oklahoma pro bass fisherman Ken Cook says the fall can be a great time to target bass as they begin feeding heavily on schooling bait fish.
"During the fall, bass will spend a good amount of their time gorging on baitfish like shad in the backs of creek channels," Cook said.
"Eventually, if there is deep, rocky habitat in the lake that you fish, the bass will wind up in the deeper portions of the lake near those rocks. If there is other cover like standing timber or boat docks nearby, these deep, rocky banks will be even more to a bass's liking."
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