Kentucky Lake
"If we have cold weather, we'll have ducks," said guide Garry Mason at Kentucky Lake. Looking forward to the upcoming hunt, Mason said it's always his policy to have a good outlook. He added it's hard to complain about the opportunity to hunt every day. With duck hunting, he said we're always the eternal optimists before the shooting starts and then the eternal pessimists when the season is over. Mason said the early reports from friends in places like South Dakota find wet conditions pointing toward good duck numbers this year. However, as Mason also pointed out, rain makes ducks -- but we need real cold weather to see them.

Mason said the first week of the season traditionally offers some good duck shooting on Kentucky Lake. After that, he said he really likes the hunting around the last week of the season in late January. As a matter of fact, the last few youth hunts associated with the first weekend of February have offered some of the best opportunities of the year the last few seasons. Mason said it's not only an exceptional hunt, but also a sight to see when the kids have some good shooting.

Weather patterns that hunters should key on for Kentucky Lake are associated with cold fronts, cold fronts and then warm fronts, Mason said. He explained that cold fronts have always been key, but in the last few years, with the warmer late duck hunting, the latter part of the season can be good as ducks move back up the flyway. He said it's nothing for ducks to fly a couple hundred miles to avoid a warm spell and return back to a comfort zone. To experience the best that Kentucky Lake has to offer during cold and hot hunting, call Mason at (731) 593-5429.

Resident Geese And More
The reigning State Champion Goose Caller J.R. Adkins said he's excited about the prospects of the upcoming goose hunting. Based on the good spring hatch, he thinks hunters are in for a good season in 2007.

Adkins said he personally likes the last two weeks of the goose season best. The biggest reason is that in the recent years, we didn't have any serious cold fronts until after mid-January. Another factor is that there's reduced hunting pressure late in the season, and it's also the time that we start seeing a few migrators in the mix. Adkins said you don't start seeing any banded birds until after the middle of January.

As for resident geese and weather patterns, Adkins said local birds don't move very early when it's real cold. Mild weather is best for resident shooting as they'll stay on routine feeding flights and can be more easily patterned. Still, Adkins likes to see a few big cold fronts because of the opportunity it brings for migrators but knows super cold fronts hurt resident goose movements. That's a little of both worlds. J.R Adkins is a member of the Bass Pro Shops hunting pro staff; this fall and winter, he will do seminars at the Bass Pro Shops Sevierville store.