News Digest: VanDam Enters IGFA Hall of Fame, New World Record Fish, and More

As this is being written, the month of September has seen a wild run on the calendar with a partial lunar eclipse, the Harvest Full Moon, the Autumnal Equinox ushering in fall this past weekend and a big hurricane threat brewing for Florida this week.

There’s also plenty of hunting and fishing news to talk about, and with that, here’s this week’s edition of Game & Fish Magazine’s News Digest:

VanDam Enters IGFA Hall of Fame

After an iconic pro angling career, there aren't many more superlatives left to obtain for bass fishing's unquestioned GOAT, Kevin VanDam.

But one of the few things missing on the stellar resume of the now-retired fishing legend from Kalamazoo, Michigan, was filled in on September 14, 2024, when KVD was inducted into the International Game Fish Association’s Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024. In the shadow of Johnny Morris’ Bass Pro Shops headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, VanDam and four other HOF members were inducted this year as KVD’s wife Sherry, sons Jackson and Nicholas, and other family members and friends looked on.

The honor was a long coming because VanDam—who retired from competition last year after a 34-year career—had assembled a ledger of angling exploits that are unparalleled in the tournament bass fishing world. In all, KVD secured four Bassmaster Classic titles (2001, 2005, 2010-11) during his career, along with seven Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards, the 2001 FLW Tour Angler of the Year award, a total of 29 career wins (25 B.A.S.S. wins, one Bass Pro Tour win and three Major League Fishing Cup wins), and more than $7.2 million in career earnings according to our Outdoor Sportsman Group sister online site, BassFan.com.

The IGFA HOF induction ceremony was a fitting way for the Michigan man to wind down and get ready for fall deer hunting in a few weeks. Even in retirement, it’s been a busy year for KVD thanks to filming for his KVD brand, podcast appearances, a couple of 2024 tournaments (brought about by his qualifying for them last year), traveling the country for educational seminars and sponsor appearances, to do business at the recent ICAST fishing trade show in Orlando, and filming a new television show series for Outdoor Channel known as The VanDam Experience, a show that premieres in January 2025.

"What an unforgettable night!" noted the IGFA Facebook page. "On September 14th, anglers from around the world gathered in Springfield, Missouri, to celebrate at the prestigious IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame located inside Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. Together, we paid tribute to our five remarkable inductees, cementing their legacies in the history of sportfishing."

"Cheers to the class of 2024,” the IGFA added. “It was an honor to commemorate your achievements and your impact on the global fishing community!"

Joining KVD in receiving the prestigious HOF honor were the other four members of the Class of 2024. They include the late James A. Henshall (early American advocate for the black bass, namesake of the Alabama bass (Micropterus henshalli), and author of the famed Book of the Black Bass; Tom Pfleger (renowned saltwater light tackle and fly angler, in addition to being one of the founders of the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research); Nick Smith (a billfish legend who has released over 6,000 billfish caught on the fly); and Ralph "Agie" Vicente (an angling legend in the Caribbean and Latin American angling communities).

Two IGFA Fly Fishing World Records Set

On May 21, 2024, fly angler Randy Ritter was fishing the saltwater near Hopedale, Louisiana, with guide Miles LaRose. Ritter used a crab fly pattern and hooked a 6-pound, 13-ounce sheepshead, landed the fish on a fly rod and then returned to Skiff Supply Fly Shop to obtain a weight on a certified scale. A few days ago, the IGFA announced that the catch has been recognized as the organization's 6-kilogram (12 pounds) Tippet Class World Record for the species.

Similar news was announced a few months ago when another IGFA world record benchmark was set by a fly angler, this time in the Chesapeake Bay region renowned for its big striped bass.

"On December 30, 2023, IGFA Captain Tom Weaver was fishing out of Annapolis, Maryland, aboard his boat Miss Jimmy when this 102-centimeter striped bass struck his fly," notes the IGFA in a social media post. "After a 22-minute fight, Weaver boated the fish and quickly recorded a measurement on his Official IGFA Measuring Device before releasing the fish safely. With this fish, Tom has set the new IGFA All-Tackle Length Fly World Record for the species."

Good Prairie Grouse Hunting Season Unfolding

September doesn't just mean dove hunting down south and in Texas. It also means the arrival of the prairie grouse hunting seasons on the high plains and out in the Rocky Mountain West.

The current prairie grouse hunting seasons are underway out West and in the northern Great Plains, and according to outlooks from Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever, it’s a good year for hunting sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, and even chukars and gray (Hungarian) partridge to name a few. 

If you love upland hunting in the northern Great Plains or in the West, give the forecast a look before heading out the door this fall. While conditions vary from different regions—and even state to state in general—this appears to be a good year to grab the pointer, lace up the bird hunting boots and drop a couple of shells in the side-by-side shotgun as you get outside and seek some of the country’s best wingshooting action.

"Every year is a good year to hunt prairie grouse,” notes the organization's writer and editor Tom Carpenter. “Go again. Go back. Go for the first time. There is nothing like the shortgrass and plum brush and snowberries and sage in autumn and a horizon that stretches to the rim of the world.

"And nothing like God’s Birds."

Amen to that, especially in a good year of prairie grouse wingshooting.

For tips on hunting sharp-tailed grouse, Andrew McKean's article can provide some great insight to make the most of your hunt. 

Big Dove Season Continues in Texas

As we’ve noted here before, there aren't too many poor dove seasons in Texas, no matter the year. And that includes the 2024-25 season that is underway in all three of the Lone Star State’s dove hunting zones.

Suffice it to say that Texas is in record territory for this year's mourning dove and white-winged dove populations, both of which have fully rebounded from the disastrous February 2022 freeze that gripped the state and last year's searing summertime heat and dry weather.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, agency biologists and staff found that when the annual TPWD dove population survey was conducted this past spring, there were an estimated 34.3 million mourning doves between the Red River and the Rio Grande—the third-highest mourning dove population figure in the big state's history. 

And when white-winged dove numbers were tallied, their numbers had increased by some four percent from a year ago, checking in at 12.8 million whitewings this year. That's a record high water mark for the state in terms of whitewing population figures.

Add in the few million invasive Eurasian collared doves that fly throughout the state, and now is a great time to be a dove hunter in Texas. Because there are so many doves, you'll never get lonesome out in a Texas dove field--sorry for the pun, I couldn't resist.

"Given the conditions and the number of birds, as long as the weather holds this month, hunters should expect a very good early season throughout most of the state,” said Owen Fitzsimmons, TPWD Webless Migratory Game Bird Program Leader, in a news release. “Summer rains should also result in a good late crop of native forbs (weeds and flowering plants) seeding out just in time for some late season hunting for anyone still chasing doves after September.” 

Even though the 2024 openers have come and gone, Fitzsimmons has steadily told yours truly over the past several years that the dove hunting in Texas is actually really good later on, although many hunters have moved on to other hunting challenges.

When they do so, they are missing out on some of the year's best shooting. 

So, whether you hunt early on when the local birds are around or later on when the migrant birds arrive—the so-called “Kansas birds” in Texas hunting vernacular—this is definitely a year to give Texas dove hunting a try in the regular seasons that continue for several more weeks or in the late season split later this fall and winter. 

And if you need some help in deciphering where the "X" spot is in a particular field this season, Game & Fish magazine has you covered in locating the best spot to take a limit of Texas doves.

Final Days of Early Teal Threatened by Potential Hurricane

On Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, all eyes are on the U.S. Gulf Coast as what seems destined to become Hurricane Helene develops in the northern Caribbean.

The current forecast shows it becoming a major hurricane threatening the Florida panhandle coastline and is expected to be a large-diameter storm with significant winds and higher tides across much of the northern Gulf of Mexico region. This threatens not only life and property but also the final days of early teal season in southern states now bracing for Helene's impact.

In Florida, which appears to be the landfall ground zero for this storm, the early teal and wood duck season is running from September 21-25 this week, followed by the early teal-only portion of the season from September 26-29. 

To the west, in Alabama, the special teal season is ongoing through September 29, while in Georgia, hunters are chasing early teal from September 14-29 this year.

Even further to the west of Helene's expected landfall zone, Mississippi hunters are also watching the weather maps as the Magnolia State's early teal season runs from September 14-29. In Louisiana, the same September 14-29 dates apply for hunters, even though Helene's impacts should be less in those two states before this week's anticipated landfall.

If you're able to safely get out and chase early teal somewhere around the southern U.S. as Helene forms and heads for shore, here are a few tips that should help you be in a winning position to take a last-second limit. With the incoming tropical cyclone though, the upcoming weather change could alter migration patterns a bit around the South, leading to a final-week wingshooting bonanza for some and an end-of-season washout for others.

Stay safe, follow local emergency management recommendations, and turn to the National Hurricane Center for storm updates as the week rolls on.

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