Missouri’s regular spring turkey season kicked off Monday, and as of mid-day Wednesday, things weren’t looking too good.
Statewide, the harvest is down significantly from last year, and even the year before.
So far, hunters across the state have taken 7,352 birds, falling far short of the 11,347 over the same period last year and even sitting well behind the 9,674 taken in the first three days of the 2019 season.
Locally, every county except one is well off the pace.
Wayne County leads the region with 65 birds taken, but at this point last year, 90 had been taken there.
In Stoddard County, 51 turkeys have been tagged compared to 85 a year ago.
In Ripley County, the tally so far is 43 birds, down from 57 last year.
Reynolds County hunters have taken 31 turkeys so far, down from 46 in 2020.
In Carter County, hunters have tagged 35 turkeys, still well below the 49 three days into last year’s season.
In Butler County, 18 birds have taken a ride home, just a bit more than half of last year’s 32 at this point.
The lone bright spot in the area, if you can call it that, is Dunklin County. Hunters there have taken six birds compared to three a year ago.
Gobbling has been very sparse. While scouting Saturday morning, I heard only three birds, and on Sunday morning, three more in a different location.
On opening day, with no wind and perfect conditions, I heard absolutely nothing in Wayne County … no gobbling at daylight, no shots, nothing.
After a stint on a long ridge I’ve had success on before, I moved to a familiar creek bottom where birds sometimes pass through in the late morning for some cold calling.
At 10:45, I heard a bird clucking behind me about 75 yards away, but nothing ever materialized.
A half hour later, I started getting aggressive with a slate call and heard a single, half-hearted gobble about 100 yards away. Thirty seconds later, the bird came into view on my right side (luckily I’m a left-handed shooter). He got to 45 yards, never made another sound and wouldn’t budge further, so a load a TSS pellets ended it.
I went with a friend Tuesday and it was the same as Monday - zero gobbling. We hunted right up until 1 p.m. and never heard a thing.
The season continues through May 9 with a two-bird limit, and if things don’t improve, maybe the conservation commission will finally do something about a regulation change instead of relying on “tradition” for green-lighting the same season framework every year.
The Poplar Bluff Trap Team traveled to Linn Creek over the weekend to compete in the annual Paul Larson Memorial Shoot.
The event, according to coach Sandy Pike, featured 880 youth shooters, including 21 from Poplar Bluff.
Poplar Bluff’s team earned three plaques, Pike said.
In the junior high division, Poplar Bluff’s squad took first place with shooters Sam Johnson, Jack Wesemann, Madison Cash, Cooper Rideout and Logan Hart.
In the high school division, Poplar Bluff earned a second-place finish with shooters Blaine Birdsong, Trenton Patterson, Jaydon Everts, Eli DePew and Garret Cooper.
Poplar Bluff captured third place in the ladies division with shooters Kaylee Floyd, Shannon Popp, Abby Prewitt, Kenna Mills and Emma DeGaris.
“This is a shoot we look forward to every year, and as usual, our shooters did not disappoint. They gave it their all, as usual, and we couldn’t be more proud of every one of them,” said Pike.
The Poplar Bluff team will compete next at its self-hosted ATA Shoot on May 1. That event is open to any Amateur Trapshooting Association member and you can register by emailing Pike at sandypike359@gmail.com. You also can register the day of the shoot.
Both Wappapello and Clearwater lakes are essentially back to normal levels, and crappie fishing, by all reports has been pretty good.
Most anglers I’ve talked to report catching fish in shallow water near the bank.
In the next week or so, if it hasn’t begun already, the spring white bass runs in each lake will get going, and fishing in the upper reaches of either should produce some good catches.
The 20th annual Chris Sifford Memorial Crappie Tournament will be held Saturday on Wappapello Lake.
You may recall Sifford, a Puxico native, was an assistant to Gov. Mel Carnahan when their airplane went down in a storm in Jefferson County, killing him, the governor and his son, Randy.
Based out of the Sundowner Marina, the event will kick off at 7 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m.
All anglers will need to be in line at the marina by 3 p.m. to be scored.
The event is open to anyone, as long as the team consists of two anglers. There is an eight-pole limit and a maximum of seven fish can be weighed.
The entry fee is $100 per boat, plus another $10 if you want in on the big fish pot.
Payback will include 70% of the entry fees and 100% of the big fish pot.
You can register by calling Anthony Sifford at 573-718-4523, picking up a form at First Midwest Bank of Puxico or at the Sundowner Marina between 5:30-6:30 a.m. the morning of the event.
If competitive bass fishing is more your thing, the Wappapello Bass Circuit also will host a tournament Saturday.
Based out of the Redman Creek ramp, fishing is slated to begin at 6 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m.
A pre-tournament meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at the Wappapello VFW off Highway D to assign boat numbers.
To register or get more information, call Justun Buchanan at 573-429-6312.
Paul Davis is the outdoors editor for the Daily American Republic and can be reached at pdavis.dar@gmail.com.