Photo by Mike Marsh.

It's been over a decade since Ohio's modern mourning dove hunting season was reintroduced. Many sportsmen recall the political upheaval created in 1995 and the tempers that flared on both sides of the dove-hunting issue. But the question was settled by public vote. Thanks to the efforts of the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW), hunting doves in the Buckeye State has never been better.

"What's important for doves is a quality food source, good weather, roosting sites and timing," said Gary Ludwig, an ODOW wildlife biologist out of Wildlife District One.

"Our Sept. 1 opener allows time for crops to ripen in the dove fields. We mow, disk and burn the fields to begin attracting resident doves by mid-August. And by opening day, they start showing up in numbers."

Many times, a cold weather front up north puts birds on the move throughout Ohio, said Ludwig. If the front hits three or four days before the opener, most birds may be gone before hunters can go afield. If the front is here only a day or two before the opener, bring an extra box of shells. The shooting will be hot and heavy.

Over the past several years, over 40 dove fields have been established on Ohio's public hunting areas.

Here's a look at several topnotch public lands where dove hunting should be excellent this fall:

BIG ISLAND WILDLIFE AREA
This area is biologist Ludwig's top pick for mourning dove hunting in Ohio. A lot of ODOW effort goes into making it a top destination for both doves and hunters.

"We plant an average of five dove fields here every year, but the primary purpose of the area is establishing grass and wetland habitats so the area is wet in the spring," he said. "That can complicate matters when it comes to planting the fields, and occasionally our fields aren't the best."

But good fields or bad, Big Island is still the top spot for all of central Ohio's wildlife areas, with a consistently high harvest rate of doves from year to year.

There may be heavy hunting pressure on the first couple of days. But it's impossible to predict exactly when birds will settle into the fields. Ludwig has seen tremendous opening days, only to see hunters skunked on day two -- and vice versa.

"It's the classic dove dilemma," he said, "with the birds here and then gone in the blink of an eye, regardless of the quality of the fields."

The Big Island WA covers 5,032 acres in Marion County. Dove fields lie north and south of intersecting state Route 95 on the area's east end. Several ponds on the area help attract the birds in September.

For more information, contact the ODOW's District One office at (614) 644-3925.

DELAWARE WA
The Delaware Wildlife Area comes in as a close second to Big Island. Biologist Ludwig has found that shooters see more birds over a longer period of time but the hunting can be unpredictable.

"We plant an average of seven dove fields on Delaware WA every year," said Ludwig. "And last season, we probably had the best-looking fields we've ever had, but the birds still didn't show up in great numbers, even on opening day."

A lot of work goes into creating a good field.

"We like to girdle several large trees around the fields to create deadwood perching sites," said Ludwig. "Doves will concentrate in large numbers in these dead trees before committing to feeding in the field. They like to build up a little confidence by going in as a group instead of individually."

That's where pre-scouting a field comes into play. Hunters are advised to visit the fields a few days ahead of time to find out which areas the doves are using. Simply showing up early opening morning without having done a little scouting can mean going home empty-handed.

The Delaware Wildlife Area may be reached from U.S. Route 23 and state routes 98 and 229 four miles north of Delaware in Marion and Delaware counties.

For more information, contact the ODOW's District One office at (614) 644-3925.

KILLDEER PLAINS WA
"We'll have dove fields at both Killdeer and Resthaven this year," said Scott Butterworth, and ODOW wildlife biologist.

"The fields average 10 acres in size and are planted with multiple lure crops. The fields are open under early migratory bird hunting regulations, and usually hunters do very well for the first several days of the season."