The Heartland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will host its annual banquet Saturday, March 5, in Poplar Bluff.
This year’s banquet will take place at The Grotto, 3102 Aad Grotto Road.
The doors to the event will open at 5 p.m. for a social hour, where several games, raffles and a silent auction will be held.
Following the social hour, Warren Bland will serve a pork steak and chicken dinner with all the normal trimmings.
A live auction will be held after the dinner for a variety of items, including an NWTF cooler, Grand Slam knife set, a decorative table and other furniture pieces, children’s mud truck, travel luggage set, the NWTF Knife of the Year, framed prints, hunting gear and more.
Several guns also will be given away over the course of the event, including the NWTF Gun of the Year, a Franchi 20-gauge shotgun.
Tickets to the event cost $50 for a single or $65 for a couple. Youth JAKES tickets cost $20.
In addition, sponsorships are available for $280 and include extra drawings and benefits.
Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling Toby Barton at 573-631-2285 or Clay Faries at 573-625-9003.
If you feel like making the drive, the National Wild Turkey Federation is hosting its annual convention through Sunday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
I’ve been there several times and if there’s something made for turkey hunting, you’ll find it there. Plan on doing a lot of walking if you go.
Those trapping furbearers in the region have just a few days left before the season closes Sunday on muskrats and river otters.
With that closure, the only remaining open trapping season will be for beavers and nutria, and that will run through March 31.
Right Place, Right Time
The number of anglers hitting the water at Wappapello Lake appears to have increased from the reports I’ve heard, but the catching still has been a hit-or-miss thing most days.
There still are some very nice crappies being taken, but nothing has proven to be very consistent, even using the same techniques in the same areas on successive days.
The upper lake remains the best place to be, especially near structure along the river channel.
If the upper watershed of Wappapello and Clearwater lakes gets as much rain as has been predicted this week, they could see minor rises, but probably nothing very significant.
If the archery bug is still pulling at you a month after the bowhunting season closed, you should be happy to know the Indian Creek Bowhunters has set its 3-D shoot schedule for the coming year.
The first event of the season will take place March 5, followed by others on April 2, May 14, Aug. 6 and Sept. 3.
All shoots are held at the MDC archery range off County Road 546, just northeast of Poplar Bluff, and instruction for beginners is always available.
Finally, congratulations go to MDC’s Matt Bowyer, who was named the agency’s Southeast Region Administrator this week (see MDC story on this page).
I’ve known Bowyer for a long time and I can honestly say he is the right man for the job. He’s had his finger on the pulse of everything in the region as the department’s wildlife division supervisor for several years, so he knows what’s going on.
I first met him years ago on a quail habitat restoration project in Stoddard County and could tell right away he was serious about his job, so I think the region will be in very good hands.