|
The Past, Present and Future of Texas Duck Hunting When the Club was founded in 1912, the Texas Coast was sparsely populated and there were waterfowl of all kinds in great profusion. Until about 1925 there was no limit on ducks. Legend has it that early Club members used to ship their ducks home in barrels. The late I. C. Thurmond, an Amarillo businessman who was a charter member, spoke of Port Bay as the greatest hunting ground he's ever seen. "At the time," he said in later years, "ducks would fly over the bay about 10,000 at a time, almost blackening the sky. You could shoot in any direction and hit them. ...The first time I ever went hunting down [there], I journeyed to Swan Lake, two miles from this club, and shot 42 ducks in just five shots from my 12-gauge, automatic shotgun. That was enough ... I quit for the day." The first federal regulation came in the 1920s. The first limits were extraordinarily permissive by today's standards. Arthur Curry recalls: "Twenty-five used to be the daily bag limit, and as I recall you could ship 75 home. It was about 1929 that they cut the limit to 15, then to 10, and finally on down to four." Curry related that he started noticing the decline of ducks during the 1930s. The cause then was a severe drought in the Central U.S. and Canada. It was the great Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. It threatened to wipe out duck breeding grounds and raised the spectrum of extinction. Most active federal and state regulation dates from this dire time. The first federal duck stamp was introduced in 1934 and some of the monies from its sale went into wetlands purchases to preserve habitat. It was also during this time that Ducks Unlimited came into being (under a different name). But the weather cycle finally changed and ducks came back in large numbers once again, though in not quite the huge numbers that were seen in. the early 1900s. Conservation efforts have, been greatly expanded since that time; however, both state and federal agencies have extensive programs, assisted by private groups such as Ducks Unlimited 'and the Nature Conservancy. Conservation groups now own far larger wetlands acreage and plan to purchase more. Funding and environmental concern are at all time highs, and there is every reason to believe the ducks will come back in large numbers. Port Bay members have found they can live with and enjoy the waterfowl hunting experience at the Club. When the hunting is good, you get in a little earlier and have more afternoons for relaxation and leisure, and that is very nice. When the hunting is not so good, well, you work a little harder and hunt the afternoons. You still enjoy the comradeship, the good food and relaxation, and the welcomed respite from urban life that comes from being out in nature on the Bay or in the marshes. It is the total Port Bay experience of which hunting is a part that the Club is all about. In fact the members know of no better place to introduce our children and grandchildren to the joys of hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. What one also realizes after a while is that waterfowl hunting and fishing on the Texas Coast, as Texas develops and becomes more populated, is becoming increasingly more difficult and expensive to do. Indeed it is hard to imagine having the kind of comfortable, enjoyable waterfowl hunts - or fishing trips - that Port Bay makes possible for its members without support facilities of this kind offered by a well-established private club. Membership in a club like Port Bay must be limited and selective to preserve the Club's fraternal tradition, and to assure that its accommodations and services remain relatively unchanged through the years. That is the reason Port Bay's membership has remained limited from inception to present. Membership has its expense, but measured by more recently established hunting clubs along the Texas Coast, Port Bay membership remains very reasonable. Most members know and appreciate that the privileges of membership far outweigh the expense, and that the benefits of belonging to a tradition and establishment like Port Bay cannot be matched anywhere on the Texas Coast. As we approach our 100th year, we are certain changes will continue, but the character, spirit, and experience of Port Bay hunting and fishing will likely change very little. Preserving and enhancing that tradition is the guiding principle of the Club's members and management. Originally written by, Samuel E. Dunnam March 1990 Revised by John T. Cook James R. Davis & Tracy H. Stewart February 2004 Home Early History The Club Today The Port Bay Tradition The Hunting Experience at Port Bay Fishing at Port Bay The Past, Present and Future of Texas Duck Hunting Port Bay Club Amenities Pictures Jan.2006 Newspaper Article Sept.2006 Newspaper Article Jan.2007 Newspaper Article - KING OF CLUBS - NEW! Port Bay Club brochure - pdf format 
|
|
|
|
|