One season winds down, another takes wing

TWRA urges boaters to stay safe over Labor Day weekend as Tennessee’s dove season brings hunters back to the fields

10:05 a.m. Sept. 3, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

There comes a weekend every year when you can feel the season starting to turn.

The boats are still hooked to the trucks. Coolers are still packed. Folks are squeezing in one more long weekend on the lake before summer begins easing toward the door.

But shotguns are coming out of the cabinet, too. Shells are being sorted, fields are being checked, and hunters are watching for that first gray flash cutting across the sky.

Labor Day lands right in the middle of it.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is preparing for heavy boating traffic Sept. 5-7, the final major holiday weekend of the summer boating season. At the same time, Tennessee’s 2026-27 mourning dove season is already underway after opening Sept. 1.

In Moore County, summer still has a little left in the tank, but fall is already stirring in the fields.

The holiday crowds are coming

TWRA game wardens will be out across Tennessee’s lakes and rivers throughout Labor Day weekend, watching for reckless operation, boating under the influence and other unsafe behavior.

The summer’s first two major boating holidays passed without a fatality on the water. Tennessee recorded none over Memorial Day weekend or the July Fourth holiday. Through early September, however, 15 people – including two on Tims Ford Lake – have died in boating-related incidents on state waters, compared with 17 at the same point last year.

TWRA is urging boaters to have a properly fitted life jacket available for everyone aboard. Children younger than 12 must wear one while a vessel is underway.

The agency is also asking boaters to keep an eye on the weather, mind their speed and watch their wake around other boats, swimmers and paddleboarders. Boating under the influence remains illegal and will be enforced.

Have your fun. Just make sure everybody who leaves the dock comes back.

A few miles away, the fields are waking up

Mourning dove season opened at noon Sept. 1, beginning the first of three hunting segments. The opening stretch runs through Sept. 28, followed by Oct. 10-Nov. 1 and Dec. 8-Jan. 15. The daily mourning dove limit is 15.

For hunters around Moore County, several public dove fields are within an easy drive.

In Lincoln County, the Williams leased field includes 40 acres of millet that has been hayed and top-sown with wheat. Hunts are scheduled there Sept. 1, 5, 6, 12 and 13.

Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area near Manchester has about 100 acres prepared for dove hunting with millet, corn and top-sown wheat. It is open with the statewide season, and a WMA small-game permit is required.

Mingo Swamp WMA also has a wrinkle for Labor Day weekend. Saturday, Sept. 5, is reserved for hunters ages 6-16 accompanied by a non-hunting adult. The area opens to hunters of all ages Sunday, Sept. 6, and remains open with the statewide season.

TWRA notes that some public fields can fill quickly depending on turnout, so hunters should check conditions and availability before pulling out of the driveway.

Before the first shot, take a closer look

A dove hunt does not require much – a stool, a shotgun, a box of shells and a good place along the edge of a field. The rules still matter.

Hunters need the proper Tennessee hunting license and migratory bird permit unless exempt. Hunter education requirements also apply, and the use of repeating or autoloading shotguns must be limited to three shells.

Baiting is one place where a little homework can save a lot of trouble.

Federal migratory bird rules prohibit taking doves over a baited area, and the responsibility falls on the hunter to know whether a field is legal. TWRA recommends looking over a field before hunting and watching for piles, rows or other suspicious concentrations of grain that do not appear to be part of a normal agricultural practice.

Permission from the landowner is also required when hunting private property.

By Tuesday, the rhythm starts to change

Labor Day has always been a weekend caught between seasons around here.

There is still time to hitch up the boat, find a stretch of water and squeeze a little more summer out of the year. But dove season is open now, and more hunters are beginning to turn toward fields, fence rows and cooler mornings.

Summer still has one more long weekend in it. Come Tuesday, the calendar starts leaning the other way.