Since Tri-County is not a participant in the dove reserve hunt, its mode of operation is a little different.

"We're a little more restrictive," Roth said. The reason for this is to keep the birds around longer. After the first day of the season, Roth said Tri-County typically allows hunting for doves on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Roth noted that by stretching out the days between hunts the entire supply of doves will not be consumed in three to four days, as is typical on other properties.

There's room for about 35 to 40 dove hunters at Tri-County and there is a draw held at 11 a.m. (local time). For more information on Tri-County, call (574) 834-4461.

MISSISSINEWA LAKE
Mississinewa Lake is part of a reservoir-management program that was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers to reduce flood stages in the upper Wabash Basin. It is also a feature-rich DNR property that encompasses over 15,000 acres of land and provides a broad spectrum of activities that includes dove hunting. Not insignificantly, Mississinewa Lake -- the actual body of water -- is over 3,000 acres. Of course, it is one of the focal points of this property.

Mississinewa Lake is part of the reserved dove hunts, and last year, 2,569 doves were taken at this large property. Larry Brown is the property manager at Mississinewa; he said that the size of the dove fields at his facility can vary in size, but the main goal is to keep the number of hunting prospects the same.

"It varies from year to year with the number of large and small fields, but we have the same number of hunting opportunities each year. We try to have 100 spots available," Brown said.

Brown also mentioned something that is very important to persons who get selected in the Dove Hunt Reservation Drawing. "Selected hunters can bring one buddy with them," he emphasized.

PUBLIC-LAND DOVE HARVESTS
Fish & Wildlife Areas	2003	2004	+/-
Atterbury	529	764	+235
Bluegrass	653	304	-349
Chinook	84	42	-42
Glendale	72	39	-33
Hillenbrand	304	202	-102
Jasper-Pulaski	2,409	5,482	+3,073
Kankakee	3,905	7,915	+4,010
Kingsbury	3,514	3,885	+371
LaSalle	1,278	2,094	+816
Minnehaha	582	94	-488
Pigeon River	2,174	2,941	+767
Tri-County	2,203	1,667	-535
Willow Slough	7,845	7,864	+19
Winamac	1,281	1,724	+443
Reservoir Properties	2003	2004	+/-
Brookville	501	842	+341
Hardy Lake	721	1,825	+1,104
J. Edward Roush	1,818	2,967	+1,104
Monroe	93	145	+52
Mississinewa	2,417	2,569	+152
Patoka	599	1,021	+422
Salamonie	1,371	3,537	+2,166

This means that at Mississinewa (potentially) 200 persons could hunt, but Brown said, "Some hunters like to hunt alone."

This type of buddy system is used on all of the fish and wildlife areas and reservoirs that participate in the dove reserve hunt. Please see the Indiana Hunting and Trapping Guide for details. Brown also notes that more persons are trying for the no-show draw (also known as standby hunts), which goes to show you how popular dove hunting is.

In terms of the type of doves that are available at Mississinewa, Brown said, "We shot some of both resident and migrant."

As far as how many doves will be at Mississinewa, Brown said that it's dependent on the weather and any crop failure that might have incurred due to flooding. Since Mississinewa is a reservoir-type property, flooding is always a real concern. If there isn't any flooding and the weather holds out, this year should be another good one for doves at Mississinewa. For more information on Mississinewa, call (765) 473-6528.

WILLOW SLOUGH FWA
The Willow Slough FWA is a large FWA that spans out over almost 10,000 acres. Located near the small town of Morocco in Newton County, Willow Slough was edged out by Kankakee FWA for most doves harvested in 2004. Kankakee hunters shot 7,915 birds last season, while Willow Slough was right behind with 7,864, a difference of only 51 birds.

Willow Slough's strength in dove hunting lies in the sheer size of its dove-hunting program. Mike Schoonveld, the assistant property manager at Willow Slough, said that the size of the dove-hunting program is a key factor in the ability of this FWA to consistently be in the top five public-land dove-hunting facilities in the state year after year.