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For a waterfowl and quail hunt that leaves both barrels smoking, head south to Mexico.

With a little preplanning, you can drive or fly to productive hunting areas, enjoy first-class accommodations and food and use shotguns provided by your outfitter. Specifically, duck and bobwhite quail hunting have compelled me to return time and time again to the fertile farmlands, freshwater lakes and coastal lagoons of Tamaulipas, where quality hunting is available just south of the border.

A recent trip is typical of what visitors new to hunting in Mexico can expect. Our first stop was Pintail Lodge, owned and operated by Gage Outdoor Expeditions. Last year, construction on a new lodge northeast of San Fernando began, and in November 2004 they welcomed their first guests. The new location is about 20 miles west of San Fernando near Carbonera on the shore of the vast Laguna Madre - only a two-hour drive from the Harlingen, Texas, airport.

The new facility includes a large lodge with a dining area, lounge, bar and hot tub overlooking the Laguna. The lodge is surrounded by six mobile suites, each with two single rooms and two private baths. The food was plentiful and first class, the service excellent and the bar was always open. Hunters board outboard powered boats or airboats to access areas in the Laguna Madre, or are transported by vehicle to freshwater ponds.

It was still dark 20 minutes later as we put our gear in a blind fashioned from chicken wire and palm fronds. While we organized our gear, our guide, Jose, placed the decoys - about 36 in front of the blind and another dozen trailing off to the left. As the first glow of light appeared on the horizon, a trio of redheads buzzed the decoys - appearing so quickly that we didn't fire.

Five minutes later another flock materialized, and a power dive brought them to the blocks. We shouldered our shotguns, picked a bird and pulled the trigger. Two shots sounded like one and two birds tumbled from the sky, cartwheeling across the surface of the Laguna - we were off to a good start!

Less than 10 minutes later, Jose pointed to the east and whispered, "Cabeza roja." A flock of 20 redheads was coming hard over the open bay.

We crouched low in the blind and watched as the birds banked into a steep roll and headed for the decoys. Jose startled me with a reedy purr-purr-purr- call that sounded exactly like the incoming redheads. Suddenly they were all over us - 10 birds tried to land, while 10 went around for a second pass. We tightened the grip on our over/unders and came up shooting. When the smoke cleared, three redheads were on the water.

After the sun rose into the cloudless sky, a few wigeon and pintails, more redheads and a pair of teal visited the decoys. At the end of the first hour, we had six birds each, and by the time the morning was over we had our 15-bird limits - a mixed bag dominated by redheads, along with wigeon, pintail and a single blue-winged teal.

The vast open waters of the Laguna Madre attract the largest wintering population of redheads in North America. The Laguna stretches from Corpus Christi, Texas, to La Pesca, Mexico, and during winter supports up to 1 million redheads. In addition to redheads, the area attracts awesome concentrations of blue-winged and green-winged teal, gadwall, pintail, wigeon, shoveler and Mexican ducks, along with both white-fronted and snow geese.

On the second morning, we switched gears and drove to a fresh-water pond. As we set out the decoys, the whistle of wings and dark silhouettes of birds overhead gave me an adrenaline rush only waterfowlers can appreciate.

Finally, Dan Bolek, hunting manager at Pintail lodge and our companion for the morning, whispered, "It's shooting time." Dan spotted a group of 12 birds in the distance and motioned us to get ready. We instinctively crouched deeper into the pit on the edge of the pond. The ensuing minutes seemed like hours as the flock winged closer.

The birds made a wide pass, and most of them headed east. Four remained interested, and after a few notes from our pintail whistles they turned into the wind and headed toward the decoys. Alan and I rose in unison. I shouldered my over/under, caught up to a target, swung past the dark form and pulled the trigger. Alan followed suit, and we both dropped a pintail on our first shot, then picked another looking for a double. The rest of the morning provided good mixed-bag shooting dominated by teal, wigeon and pintail.

After three days at Pintail Lodge, we headed south. Located near Lake Guerrero, Rancho Caracol was our second stop. Opened in August 1999, Rancho Caracol's owners, Barry and Dean Putegnat, have done an outstanding job of building a hunting resort and developing a shooting program. In 2001, Rancho Caracol become Mexico's only Orvis-endorsed wingshooting lodge.

With the feel of an old Mexican hacienda and all the comforts of home, including a pool/hot tub, open bar and well-appointed rooms, the upscale Rancho Caracol, only a three-hour drive from the Harlingen airport, sits atop a hill overlooking 11,000 deeded acres. Additionally, the managers have exclusive hunting rights on 160,000 acres as well as access to more than 500,000 acres. The lodge can accommodate 42 clients during the August to early October dove season, and between 10 to 20 during the November to February quail/mourning dove season. Each of five Texas-style quail rigs can accommodate from two to four hunters and carries up to eight dogs, an English-speaking guide and a dog handler.

Rancho Caracol has a kennel of 60 dogs, and each rig carries six or seven pointers plus a Lab to do the retrieving. Two pointers are on the ground most of the time, with the hunters following the dogs. Hunters can expect to flush from 20 to 30 coveys a day, depending on the year.

The first morning we left Rancho Caracol at dawn and headed south. At our first stop, the dogs ranged wide and, in no time, were working cover 200 yards ahead of us. Almost immediately one of the dogs went on point in a patch of tall grass and brush. The second dog was in position and holding the classic pose before we could reach the dogs. We moved in, and as we took several steps forward a pair of quail catapulted from the grass. Alan picked a bird and fired - it fell dead, while the other bird escaped. Seconds after the first shotgun blast, the balance of the covey flushed, providing 12 more targets. I managed a single, cleanly missing my chance at a double.

After the first quail was in the bag, we continued the hunt and enjoyed the superb dog work while also getting some good exercise. The next point came on the edge of a harvested sorghum field where both dogs locked up almost at the same instant, but 20 yards apart. I headed for one pointer while Alan headed for the other. Before either of us reached the dogs, a dozen bobwhites flushed between them.

Half of the covey headed my way, while the others winged toward Alan. I picked a bird almost overhead and managed to drop it in a puff of feathers; Alan picked up a single as well. We continued the hunt and tallied 10 birds each by noon. After a BBQ lunch in the field, we finished off our 15 bird limits by late afternoon.

As a hunting writer, I have been fortunate to travel the world, sampling many bird-shooting programs. In those travels, I have experienced only a handful of operations where the lodging, food, service, equipment, quality of hunting and attention to detail is as well honed as it is at Rancho Caracol. Simply put, it is one of the best wingsshooting lodges that I have had the pleasure to visit.

Hunting in Mexico is like stepping back in time when hunting areas were uncrowded, game birds and waterfowl were plentiful and out-of-town hunters were always welcomed. This winter, when the weather turns cold and the birds have moved south, extend your season and follow the birds to sunny Mexico. You won't be disappointed.