Monday was the opener for Missouri's fall firearms turkey season, and it looks like hunters will have a lot of work to do to find success.
"I wish I had better news," said Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle, "but the statewide poult-to-hen ratio was 0.9, on par with last year."
Poult production varied around the state, Isabelle said, with the northern regions more successful. In the Eastern Ozarks, the PHR was 0.8, matching last year, and in the Western Ozarks, it was a mere 0.7.
This marks the third consecutive year with lousy reproduction, Isabelle said.
"The data we're seeing suggests good reproduction comes in cycles," he noted, "and weather may not be as big a factor as we thought in the past.
"I really don't think we'll ever see production like we saw before."
The downward trend in poult production, Isabelle said, isn't limited to Missouri, as most midwestern states are experiencing the same decline.
You may recall last year's fall turkey season ended up being the worst on record for Missouri, with only 2,899 birds taken during the month-long season.
Isabelle expects about the same this season.
"It's going to be more challenging hunting than in the past," he emphasized. "I'm afraid we're going to be in a real tough stretch. All we can do is ride it out and hope things get better."
The fall turkey season has lost the allure it once had, with most hunters switching to bowhunting to occupy their time. In its heyday, hunters in Missouri killed 25,000-plus birds during the fall turkey season.
Typically during the fall season, hunters cover a lot of ground to find flocks of birds, which they then scatter. The idea is to call the young birds back to the break-up location before they gather back together. Another tactic is to simply position yourself ahead of a feeding flock and wait in ambush.
While gobblers are the only legal birds in the spring season, you can take any turkey in the fall, and hens and poults make up the vast majority of those taken in October.
The first week or two of the season, before acorns really start falling heavily in the big timber, is the best time to hunt turkeys because they are more visible as they feed primarily on grasshoppers in open fields. Once the acorns start falling, the birds usually stay in the woods and are much harder to locate.
A plugged shotgun with shells no larger than No. 4 is the weapon of choice for the fall season, and you're allowed two birds, which can both be taken on the same day.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset, and a fall firearms turkey hunting permit is required ($13 for residents, $110 for nonresidents).
Dramatic Increase
The weather over the weekend of Sept. . 22-24 sure made things messy and uncomfortable for bowhunters, but enough of them managed to get out and kill some deer to more than double the harvest from the entire first week of the season.
As of late Wednesday,Sept. 26, bowhunters had taken 5,015 deer statewide, which is significantly higher than at the same point last year.
In Butler County, 48 deer have been taken, and 50 have been tagged in Stoddard County.
Dunklin County bowhunters have arrowed four deer, and in Wayne County, the tally is 99.
In Carter County, 59 deer have been tagged so far, and in Ripley County, 57 have been killed.
It looks like the weather forecast is calling for afternoon temperatures in the upper 70s for the next week or so with some rain mixed in occasionally, so conditions should be decent overall for hunting.
Rabbit Season
If you're itching for something else to hunt, Missouri's rabbit season opened Oct. 1.
While most folks wait until a good frost has knocked down some underbrush before they pursue rabbits, the early opportunity is there for those who want it.
The daily limit is six, of which only two can be swamp rabbits.
There's certainly plenty of time to chase rabbits, whether you do it with beagles or you prefer kicking brush piles, because the season runs through Feb. 15.
Waterfowl Reservations
Monday, Oct. 1, also is the day the Department of Conservation publishes the results of the annual waterfowl reservation drawing.
To see if you were drawn, go to mdc.mo.gov and click on the reservations link on the front page. Enter your conservation number and date of birth and hopefully you'll see some good news.
If you don't get drawn in the reservation system, you can start applying for a QuickDraw at Otter Slough Conservation Area beginning Oct. 26.
Classic Winners
Despite some heavy rain at times, 76 teams hit the water on Sept. 22 to fish the Wappapello Bass Circuit's Classic event.
This year, more than $30,500 in prize money was doled out.
The team of Hampton and Carnahan took the title Sept. 22 with a winning weight of 25.08 pounds. They also had the day's big bass, weighing in at 5.80 pounds. The win earned the pair $10,000 in cash, plus another $1,000 for the big bass.
Second place was taken by Walker and Walker with 23.60 pounds, good for $5,000, while third place went to Hutson and Hutson with 21.36 pounds, who earned $3,000.
Taking home $2,500 for their fourth-pace finish was the team of Parker and Francis with a total weight of 20.28 pounds, while Green and Manion, with a weight of 20.17 pounds, took fifth place and $2,000.
Sixth place went to Thurston and Thurston with a weight of 19.25 pounds, and they had the second largest fish of the day, weighing in at 5.54 pounds.
Taking the seventh position was Hackworth and Ballard with 18.84 pounds, while the eighth-place finishers were Flannery and Holyfield with 18.57 pounds.
Ninth place was earned by Hughes and trout with 16.85 pounds, and rounding out the top 10 was the team of Carpenter and Slinkard with 16.60 pounds.