December 16, 2020
Three elk taken so far in Missouri
Three of the five Missourians drawn for the state’s inaugural elk hunt have punched their tags during the current firearms season, which opened Saturday. Joe Benthall of Mount Vernon was the first to score, taking his 5X5 bull on the season’s opening day near the Ozark National Scenic Riverways’ Log Yard area outside of Ellington...
Three of the five Missourians drawn for the state’s inaugural elk hunt have punched their tags during the current firearms season, which opened Saturday.
Joe Benthall of Mount Vernon was the first to score, taking his 5X5 bull on the season’s opening day near the Ozark National Scenic Riverways’ Log Yard area outside of Ellington.
Michael Buschjost of St. Thomas tagged his 5X6 bull elk Tuesday outside the refuge portion of the Peck Ranch Conservation Area, which is where the elk herd initially was released beginning in 2011.
Samuel Schultz of Winfield also took his bull on Tuesday, a 5X6. His bull was taken on private land in Shannon County.
That leaves Eugene Guilkey of Liberty and Van Buren landowner Bill Clark as the remaining two hunters with tags who haven’t taken bulls.
The season continues through Sunday, so they still have time to get the job done.
Getting Ducky
There are a decent number of ducks in Southeast Missouri, and mallards are making up more and more of the population as the days go by.
Duck Creek Conservation Area was holding 21,600 ducks on Monday, including 7,500 mallards and almost 9,400 gadwalls.
At the adjacent Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, biologist Brad Pendley reported 41,800 ducks on Monday, including 21,200 mallards.
The actual numbers at both locations likely are higher than that because mallards are starting to use the flooded timber, and it’s hard to see them there.
At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, biologist Luke Wehmhoff reported 38,000 ducks on the area, with a good mix of mallards, pintails, ringneck and ruddy ducks.
The largest concentration of ducks looks to be on the Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area, where biologist Keith Cordell counted more than 53,000 Monday. More than half, 30,000 of them, are mallards.
Even with decent duck numbers, hunters have struggled to find success in many areas, and they report dealing with mostly nocturnal birds that sit on refuge pools during daylight hours.
That, said MDC Migratory Game Bird Coordinator Andy Raedeke, is because they have been here a long time and learned quickly where they are safe. Also, he said, without any new rain or flooded habitat, there isn’t much reason for ducks to get up and explore.
Missouri’s Middle Zone season runs through Jan. 10, and its South Zone continues through the end of January.
Looming Record
Missouri’s bowhunters are inching closer to a new harvest record, and with basically a month to go in the season, they should easily surpass the old one.
The current record harvest was set last year, with 61,209 deer taken. As of Wednesday morning, bowhunters have taken 60,912 deer this season.
Locally, bowhunters have taken 626 deer in Butler County, 675 in Carter County, 99 in Dunklin County, 712 in Reynolds County, 679 in Ripley County, 650 in Stoddard County and 1,163 in Wayne County.
2021 Seasons Set
Speaking of deer hunting, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved the 2021-22 deer and turkey hunting season dates and frameworks last week.
And … nothing of any substance will change.
The youth spring turkey season will run April 10-11, followed by the regular spring season April 19-May 9.
The fall firearms turkey season will take place Oct. 1-31.
The archery deer and turkey season again will run Sept. 15 through Jan. 15, 2022.
The first segment of the youth deer season will take place Oct. 30-31, and the second will run Nov. 26-28.
The regular firearms deer season will run Nov. 13-23, and the alternative methods season will be held Dec. 25-Jan. 4, 2022.
The only real change is to the antlerless season, which gained a few extra days (ironically, that season used to be longer, then MDC shortened it. Now, they’ve extended it again). It will run Dec. 4-12 in a limited number of counties.
Going Up, Going Down
Staff at Wappapello Lake were to begin the lake’s annual winter drawdown this week, but recent rains put a kink in the plans, and the lake rose just a bit.
However, it is slowly falling now, and without a lot of more rain, it should reach winter pool in early January.
Back and Forth
Apparently, you just have to be there on the right day.
A friend who reported good crappie fishing last week at Wappapello Lake told me this week, his next trip was less than productive, with far fewer fish taken.
Weather fronts likely have a big role in that.
Still, fishing deep along the channel this time of year should be the best bet for success.
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