Sporting Clays

I had a really good dove shoot last weekend with Jim Keith and Eric Clay of Pasadena. This was my third consecutive above-average dove hunt since the season began Sept. 1.Before last weekend, Wayne Albaugh and I enjoyed some great mourning dove action in Carroll County by shooting over recently chopped cornfields.This last hunt with Keith and Clay was in a gravel pit bordered by a combination of standing sunflowers and silage cut corn at a spot near Bristol, in the southern portion of Anne Arundel County.

6TC SHOWSToday: Fly Fishing Book and Tackle Fair at the state farm show complex in Harrisburg, Pa. Demonstrations, lectures, custom rod builders, tying and casting lessons, new and antique tackle, reels, waders, tying materials, gadgets, free tackle appraisal, etc. Some classes may require advance registration. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (1-800) 848-1020July 24, 25, 26: Buck Fever, The Hunting Show at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. Featured speaker is scheduled to be Dan Fitzgerald, acknowledged expert of white tail deer.

There's a dandy little dove season bearing down on us that you may want to consider. This one lasts only six days, beginning tomorrow and continuing through Saturday.I have to admit that I sort of stumbled onto this late dove hunt only when the pheasant hunting around Carroll County went bust. Hungry for some decent bird shooting close to home, I noticed that a respectable number of doves seemed to be using the recently harvested cornfield across the road from my home.The thing to keep close to mind throughout this holiday hunt is that doves are migratory.

*TC The boss tells me that I'm supposed to use this week' outdoors column to introduce myself. The problem is that I don't really know how to go about it.About a dozen years ago, I began a weekly hunting and fishing column in Carroll County, and in the early '80s I did a couple of pages a week for an all-sports paper called SportsFirst by The News American.My first columns just jumped into the middle of the season in progress.Besides, with the rockfish season kicking into gear last week while flounder, bluefish, spot, and Spanish mackerel are still nothing short of great, I hate the idea of boring you with personal facts.

TWO YEARS AGO, Brett Finneran, 17, preferred the indoors, where he could watch television and read. Today, the first words he uses to describe himself are "outdoorsy" and "active." Brett, a Westminster High School senior who is bound for Cornell University, credits his new appreciation for the outdoors to Venturing Crew 202 from Carroll County, a group that specializes in adventure, learning about natural resources and community service. "To members of Crew 202, the term `getting high' has a different meaning," said Paul Kazyak, a Westminster resident and co-adviser for the group.

There's a dandy little dove season bearing down on us that you may want to consider now that you have your deer in the freezer, or will surely have it by Saturday's season close.The dove season lasts only six days, Dec. 21-26.I sort of stumbled on to this late dove hunt only when the pheasant hunting around my home territory went bust.Hungry for some decent bird shooting close to home, I noticed that a respectable number of doves seemed to be using the recently harvested cornfield across the road from my home.

SHOWSJuly 11-12: Fly Fishing Book and Tackle Fair at the state farm show complex in Harrisburg, Pa. Demonstrations, lectures, custom rod builders, tying and casting lessons, new and antique tackle, reels, waders, tying materials, gadgets, free tackle appraisal, etc. Some classes may require advance registration. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (800) 848-1020.July 24, 25, 26: Buck Fever, The Hunting Show at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. Featured speaker is scheduled to be Dan Fitzgerald, acknowledged expert of whitetail deer.

Despite another year of dire goose predictions, numbers appear to be reasonably good on the lower Eastern Shore this year.In fact, Ray Marshall, who runs one of the top waterfowl guide services in the nation, told me that for the first time in a number of years his early-season bookings aren't looking too bad."Of course, I've had to revise my operation a little in order to attract gunners. A couple of years ago, you'll recall, I began offering released mallard shoots that have proven to be quite successful," he said.

SHOWSThrough Sept. 26: Opening of Chesapeake Changes, a natural history exhibit that focuses on the geology, geography, wildlife and human settlement in the 64,000 square-mile watershed of the bay, Explorers Hall of the National Geographic Society, 17 and M Streets NW, Washington, D.C.May 7, 8, 9: Havre de Grace Decoy Festival, Havre de Grace Middle School and High School. Show opens at 6 p.m. Friday and at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5 daily or $8 for three-day pass. Children under 12 will be admitted free.

SHOWSSept. 11-13: Norfolk, Va., in-the-water boat show at Waterside Marina. Call (215) 449-9910.Sept. 24-27: Sunfest Boat Show at Shantytown Village in West Ocean City. Show opens daily at noon. No admission. More than 100 boats on display. Call (410) 213-1121.Sept. 24-27: Penn's Landing in-the-water boat show, Penn's Landing Boat Basin in Philadelphia. Call (215) 449-9910.Oct. 9-12: U.S. Sailboat Show at the city docks in Annapolis.Oct. 16-18: U.S. Powerboat Show at the city docks in Annapolis.