The first split of Missouri's youth deer season will take place this weekend, just as the rut is starting to pick up steam and buck movement is increasing.
It also looks like the weather will be fair, with small chances of rain and temperatures cool enough to keep deer moving and warm enough to keep children in the field.
The youth-season limit, for hunters age 6-15, is one deer of either sex, and if a hunter takes an antlered buck, that's the only one they can take this fall with a firearm.
Youths will need a half-price firearms deer permit, and any adult escorting them also will need to have a firearms deer permit. The only exception is landowners hunting on their own land.
Unless they are hunter-education certified, youth-season hunters also must stay within the immediate presence of a licensed adult (MDC defines immediate presence as being close enough for a normal conversation without shouting).
Since the season is open to very young hunters, it's important to remember they must be able to hold, aim and fire their rifle by themselves.
As in the past, hunting hours will be one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset, and deer have to be telechecked by 10 p.m. on the day taken.
One thing to keep in mind is all deer hunters, including bowhunters, are required to wear hunter orange clothing this weekend.
Successful Hunt
Twenty-five hunters participated in last weekend's mobility-impaired deer hunt at Wappapello Lake.
"It went well," said Park Ranger Eric Lemons, "and we ended up with 12 deer."
Several others saw deer and had opportunities, Lemons said, though some missed shots and others waited for larger deer to show.
Getting Better
Deer movement is steadily picking up, and hunters are reaping the rewards of long hours in a stand.
As of yesterday afternoon, 22,635 deer had been taken by bowhunters across Missouri, a total which is well above last year at this point in the season.
Locally, hunters in Carter County have taken 327 deer, and in Ripley County, they've killed 320.
Butler County is well ahead of last year with 257 taken so far, and in Stoddard County, the tally is 230.
The harvest jumped considerably over the last week in Dunklin County to 39 deer, and in Wayne County, 450 have been tagged.
Rutting activity should start ramping up soon, and while the bigger bucks have yet to begin roaming widely in search of does, I have seen some smaller bucks trying to chase the ladies.
If you like to try antler rattling, it's getting to be a good time period to try it. While you'll likely attract way more younger bucks than older ones, the technique can be quite productive. I like to rattle in the early morning hours on calmer days, pretty much just to keep bucks circling downwind from winding me as the thermals rise.
Good Hunting
Young duck hunters last weekend had a good two-day youth duck season locally, with cool weather ensuring there were some birds around.
At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, 89 hunters on Saturday killed 281 ducks, and on Sunday, 69 hunters took 122 birds.
Information wasn't available from the Duck Creek Conservation Area, but it's probably safe to assume the hunting was good, even if they didn't have a lot of water.
Quick Draw
As mentioned before, if you want to apply for a Quick Draw hunt at the Otter Slough Conservation Area, the first day to do so will be tomorrow.
Drawings will take place at 4 p.m. on Mondays for hunts the following Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and at 4 p.m. Thursdays for the following Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursday.
You can apply up until 3 p.m. on drawing days, after which the system will be closed until the next day.
Getting picked in the Quick Draw system takes a bit of luck and persistence, so you have to keep after it. The latest data available, which is from the 2016-17 season, shows hunters had a 1.35-percent chance of being drawn at Otter Slough, and that percentage has gone down every year since the so-called pilot program began except for one.
Winding Down
There's now less than one week remaining in Missouri's fall firearms turkey hunting season, and to say it's been a dud would be a blatant understatement. For the second consecutive year, it looks like it might go down as the worst fall harvest on record.
As of now, the statewide harvest is barely more than half of last year's total, with 1,638 birds taken to date.
More Openers
If wingshooting tickles your fancy, there are a few seasons opening Nov. 1.
One is the statewide pheasant season. The daily limit is two male birds, and the season continues through Jan. 15.
There may still be a few remnant pheasants along the brushy ditches and other areas of Stoddard, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, but you'll likely have to cover a lot of ground to find them.
The quail season also opens next week, and there are at least a few of them around.
Conservation agents across the state drive established quail survey routes in their counties each August, and a quick poll of some local agents showed not a single one of them saw any quail during their surveys this summer. That doesn't mean there are no birds around - you just really have to work hard to find them.
The daily limit on quail remains unchanged from past seasons at eight birds.
For those who like something a little different, the crow season in Missouri also kicks off on Nov. 1.
Some people use electronic calls and decoys to lure the birds into range, where they shoot them with shotguns. Others prefer sniping them at long range with a small-caliber centerfire rifle (except during the firearms deer season, when you're limited to .22-caliber or smaller rimfires).
There's no daily limit on the number of crows you can take, and there's certainly no shortage of them.
Winter Trout Season
For those who like to fish at Missouri's four trout parks, your fun is about to end for the year when the parks close to daily fishing on Wednesday. However, when one door closes, another usually opens, and in this instance, it's MDC's winter trout program at some small lakes around the state.
Catch-and-release trout fishing at Rotary Lake in Jackson, Giessing Lake in Farmington and Legion Lake in Perry County kicks off Thursday and will continue through Jan. 31. After January, four trout may be kept from those lakes daily.
Crappie Winners
The cool temperature Saturday morning made for ideal conditions for crappie fishing, and 17 teams turned out for the Wappapello Crappie Club's tournament.
At the weigh-in, the stringer weights were remarkably close, but taking the win was the team of Botsch and Botsch. They had a total of 7.32 pounds.
Second place, with 7.00 pounds, went to Walker and Walker, while third place was earned by Chism and Chism with 6.96 pounds. They also had the day's big fish, which weighed in at 1.38 pounds.
Houchins and Houchins grabbed the the final paying position, fourth, with a stringer weight of 6.18 pounds.
The crappie club will fish next on Nov. 24.
Crappie Survey
Speaking of Wappapello crappies, Fisheries Management Biologist Dave Knuth has been working on his annual trapnetting survey this week, and I'll have his findings next week. I spent some time with him in the boat yesterday and things were looking better than they have in a good while.