Bob Hood Passes Away

TF&G Staff

Texas Fish & Game Hunting Editor and longtime outdoors writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bob Hood died at his home at Possum Kingdom Lake.

Hood fought a battle with cancer for two years. He was 69.

According to the Star-Telegram, he was born June 28, 1944, in Fort Worth, to James O. and Ina Louise Hood. He was a fixture at the Star-Telegram well before he joined the staff full time on Sept. 21, 1962 as he had been delivering papers since he was 11.

He started covering the outdoors in 1968 and wrote for dozens of publications and was widely respected for his knowledge of the outdoors as well as his realistic view of what actually happened in the field.

“I first met Bob about 10 years ago and had the pleasure of going on a number of dove and hog hunts with him. He was the real deal and the reason his stories were so believable is because he was a legitimate well-rounded outdoorsman,” said TF&G Editor-In-Chief Chester Moore.

“On one hand he could talk in detail about waterfowl conservation and then have the same authority discussing mountain lions, whitetails or turkeys. There are few like him. I will miss him as a person and TF&G will miss him as a creative force.”
Outdoors writer Luke Clayton had the privilege of being one of Hood’s best friends and said he was the type of outdoorsman that made your hunting or fishing trip better.

“If there were a couple of deer stands to hunt and the trail camera on one had evidenced a big buck or better wild hog activity, you would have a tough time convincing him that he was to hunt there on the afternoon hunt,” he said.

“He would insist that you hunt the hotspot and arguing with him was usually a fruitless endeavor.”

In a special tribute penned by Clayton for fishgame.com, he noted the following about Hood’s turkey hunting prowess.
“When it comes to turkey hunting, Bob had no equal. He was there with his trusty old Ithaca single shot .12 gauge back in  sixties when Texas held’s  it’s first ever spring turkey season and in ensuing years, Bob never missed the thrill of watching multiple gobblers strut within shotgun range of his Ithaca.”

“A few years ago while hunting turkeys with Bob up in Hall County, after a great camp meal of smothered venison steak, rice and gravy, Bob and I were setting on the back porch of the old camp house, relaxing and making plans for the next morning hunt. Bob’s single shot was leaning against the far wall.”

“Bob, just how many turkeys have you killed with that old shotgun?” I quizzed.

In his thoughtful manner, Bob looked at the old shotgun and then at me.

“Luke, I’ll have to give that a bit of thought, I don’t know exactly but I can come close.”

After a few minutes of silence, to the best of my memory, Bob said, “Somewhere just over 200 gobblers, that’s not just in Texas but other states as well.”

Bob Hood was a loving husband, father, grandfather and truly great Texan.

(Editor’s Note: In honor of Bob, we are not replacing his Texas Hunting column. TF&G contributing editor Lou Marullo will expand his column to including practical and affordable tips for all forms of hunting under the new title “Bare Bones Hunting”. We are excited to see what he brings to the table now that he is not limited to archery and are honored to leave a lasting tribute to Bob Hood.)