If you own hunting dogs, early fall should be the "shape-up" season for both you and the pooch. It is unrealistic to expect you or your hard-working canine athlete to leap into hunting season in top form and deliver peak performance after loafing through the "dog days" all summer long. Run a bit of the weight off both of you. Refresh obedience training and handling commands. Because it is still pretty warm in the early fall, schedule these exercise periods early in the morning to avoid overheating either one of you. Because you'll be taking your dog to new places and possibly hunting with other dogs after opening day, you need to take Fido to the vet for a health check and refresh necessary vaccinations before hunting season. Low-fat diets help pare away ounces during the training. However, later in the season, when the real work and sometimes real cold begins, consider a higher protein diet for hard-working hunting dogs.

Everyone likes to see a beautiful autumn sunset over a field or meadow. Late in the deer season, that's all you are likely to see from a stand overlooking an open field. Bucks, particularly big ones, avoid open areas most times and are particularly shy about leaving cover during hunting season. However, the food is where the does congregate and does are mighty attractive to a big buck. If a field is where he must go to find female companionship, then so be it -- but he probably won't come out until after dark. So where is Mr. Buck in the waning hours of shooting light? He's hanging out in the woods adjacent to the field edge. Look for thick patches of cover in open woods near fields. Often these "staging areas" are easily identifiable by abundant buck sign such as rubs and scrapes. If such areas also show trails converging from heavy cover, brushy ravines or such, you may have discovered Mr. Big's "happy-hour" hangout.

Hunters with an unfilled tag as the season winds down are going to have to hunt harder and smarter to find a trophy buck. The food and the doe concentrations of early autumn are gone. The primary rut is over. And, the bucks are well-educated to the ways of men in orange. Where to go and what to do? Go deeper and thicker. The bucks will stick close to their core "refuge" areas as winter diminishes cover. Look also at out-of-the-way nooks and crannies of cover. Many a buck has survived the season in a spot of cover most hunters go past. Understand the "late rut" and how to hunt it. Young does come into "season" a few weeks after the adult does indulge in the primary rut. The action won't be as fast or furious in this secondary rut but some rut-hunting strategies will increase your odds. Watch for developing winter food sources that concentrate hungry deer. Winter cover crops are particularly good bets in the late season.

Dove season is a big deal because it is usually the first wingshooting of the fall, and almost everyone is on hand for opening day. A good dove gun is essential for bagging a limit. The best gauges are 12, 16 and 20. Leave the 28 gauge and the .410 bore to the experts. Most say modified choke is best all-around. However, on opening day, with rusty shooting skills and doves that aren't yet too wary, improved cylinder might be a better bet. Avoid super-lightweight guns, their recoil can be punishing if there's a lot of shooting. Autoloading shotguns weigh a bit more than other repeaters and operate by using powder gases to cycle their action. Both factors reduce recoil. However, any reliable repeater will work for dove shooting. One ounce of shot is a good opening-day load and is available in 12-, 16- and 20-gauge loads. Shot sizes #7 1/2 or #8 provide good, dense patterns for the small targets.

If you can tear yourself away from the fall hunting season, you might want to pick up a fishing pole for a few last casts. In the autumn, fishing picks up again. Many species, particularly panfish, seem just as eager to bite as they did in the spring. Crappie, in particular, commence to congregate and suspend around bridge pilings and abutments. Usually the whole school will be hanging out at the same depth. Using jigs and grubs, try the "count-down" method to connect. Cast and count as the lure sinks. Keep increasing the count before retrieving until you get a strike. Now you know how deep the fish are. Besides crappie, many other species "wake up" for a bit of fall feeding before winter dormancy sets in. Bass, trout, walleye and even bream action heats up as the water cools down. However, part of the summer pattern hangs on. Disliking the light penetration of the high-angle midday sun, most species hang close to shady cover and bite best early and late.