By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
Hot and humid weather conditions certainly aren't what Missouri's archery-season deer hunters are hoping for, but, like it or not, that's how the season opens every year and hunters have to deal with it or stay home. Judging by the harvest so far, a few folks have been making it work just fine.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the statewide harvest was at 2,306 deer, a number which falls in line with last year's count at this point in the season, but is significantly behind the two years prior to that.
In Ripley County, bowhunters have taken 31 deer so far, and next door in Carter County, they've arrowed 38.
In Butler County, the harvest sits at 24 deer, and in Stoddard County, the tally is 27.
Dunklin County hunters are on the board with six deer taken so far, a good start for a county with less deer than others in the region.
As expected, hunters in Wayne County already have taken the harvest lead locally, with 42 deer killed less than a week into the season. That ranks fifth in the state this early in the game. Bollinger County, interestingly, is tied with St. Louis County for the state lead with 68 deer taken.
Also of note this early in the season, antlered bucks have made up about one third of the harvest, which is a little higher than normal.
Typically in the early season, evening sits are far more productive than morning stands as hunters catch deer moving toward feeding areas, but I suspect with the heat this week, a good bit of hunting has been done in the mornings. In fact, Butler County's first archery kill was a far better than average buck on opening morning.
One thing is for sure, if you kill a deer when it's this warm, you need to get it field dressed and cooled down as soon as possible. Don't drive around showing it off to everyone you know; instead, get the deer on ice so nothing is wasted.
The weather forecast looks to remain pretty hot, at least until late next week, and even then, the expected cool-down isn't much of one.
As far as bowhunters killing turkeys, the results are pretty much what you would expect.
So far, 150 turkeys have been taken by bowhunters across the state. Locally, two have come from Butler County, one from Carter County and two from Wayne County.
By the way, if you use the Mo. Hunting app on your phone, did you happen to see the big glitch after updating it last week? Apparently, it was a widespread thing, and when I updated mine, it told me I had four archery deer permits and no archery turkey permits.
By late that evening, however, all was good again. I guess technology is great ... when it works.
Almost Over
Missouri's teal hunting season continues to roll along, though not many hunters have been taking advantage of it since the opening weekend passed.
Unfortunately, the weather has been somewhat stagnant lately, with no good weather fronts from the north to move birds around.
Still, hunters are having some success.
At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, biologist Kevin Brunke reported a nearly two bird-per-hunter average last week, which is good for the middle of the season.
Teal harvest numbers weren't available from Duck Creek Conservation Area, but it's probably safe to assume they've been fairly low.
The teal season wraps up on Sunday, so you only have a few more days to get out. The next duck season to kick off locally will be the Middle Zone's first split, which will open on Nov. 4.
Smallmouth Winners
The Current River Smallmouth Association hosted a tournament Saturday out of Doniphan, Mo., and after it was all said and done, a pair of familiar faces were on top of the podium once again.
The team of McAfee and J. Rutledge were the day's winners, hauling in 9.81 pounds to the weigh-in.
Not far behind in second place, with 9.38 pounds, was the team of Barnes and Sullivan, while third place went to Caringer and A. Rutledge with 9.36 pounds.
Fourth place was earned by Rector and Yarber with 8.87 pounds, and Williams finished out the top five with a weight of 8.52 pounds.
Alex Rutledge caught the day's biggest bass, which weighed 2.52 pounds, barely edging out the second-largest fish, caught by Dalton Yarber and weighing 2.43 pounds.
The club has one more regular tournament, scheduled for Sept. 30, before its year-end Classic on Oct. 14.
Classic Winners
Sixty-two teams fished for the big money during last weekend's two-day Wappapello Bass Circuit Classic, and their were some impressive stringers at the weigh-ins.
At the final weigh-in on Sunday, the team of Isabell and Scott, with a total weight of 29.05 pounds, was crowned champions. With the win, they took home $10,000 in prize money. They also had the event's second-largest bass, which weighed 5.44 pounds and was worth another $500.
The Hutson brothers, Ryan and Adam, took the second spot with a two-day total of 28.7 pounds, which garnered them a cool $5,000.
Coming in third place was the team of Thurston and Henson with 25.37 pounds, good for $3,500.
Fourth place was earned by Breckenridge and Cheatem with 23.04 pounds, which earned them $2,400.
Rounding out the top five spots was the team of Jenkins and Harris with 22.75 pounds, good for $2,000.
The event's largest fish was a whopper 6.75-pounder caught by Laird and Laird.
Angler's Choice
The Angler's Choice/Bass Quest series will host a tournament on Wappapello Lake Sunday, with fishing from the Chaonia Landing ramp.
The event's launch time has been set for 6:30 a.m., and fishing will conclude at 3 p.m.
Tournament director Ken Owens has all the information you need to get registered at 573-820-3715.
Youth Event
If you want to get your youngster outdoors this weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake may have just the thing for you.
On Saturday, the Corps will host its annual Wappapello Kids Fun Fishing Day at the Lost Creek Pond, which can be found off the Pisos Point Road (County Road 523), north of the dam.
Fishing will begin at 8 a.m. and continue until about 10:30. Shortly after, the Corps will provide a free lunch to all those in attendance. After lunch, visitors are encouraged to stick around for more fishing if they wish.
The event, according to Park Ranger Jennifer Morse, is "absolutely free, and we supply everything."
For more information on this or other events at the lake, call the Wappapello Project Office at 573-222-8562.