By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
It's been a pretty cold and windy start to Missouri's spring turkey season, though it's finally starting to warm up, and despite the challenges, hunters are managing to have some limited success.
Unfortunately, as of late Wednesday afternoon, they had killed only 7,187 birds across the state, which is far less than the 11,437 they killed last year over the same period.
As you would expect after two poor nesting seasons, the harvest is slanted heavily toward older gobblers, with jakes making up only about 10 percent of the take so far. In fact, only three jakes have been taken so far in Butler, Carter and Wayne counties combined. In a more normal year, jakes would make up about a fourth of the total harvest.
Locally, hunters in Ripley County have taken 68 birds so far, and in Carter County, the tally is 49.
Hunters in Butler County have killed 27 birds to this point, and in Stoddard County, they've tagged 55.
The harvest so far in Wayne County is 82 birds, and four have been taken in Dunklin County.
Besides a general lack of birds, hunting has been hampered by cold morning temperatures, which finally broke yesterday, and lots of wind, making it difficult to hear.
The birds certainly are doing their thing, but they're mostly going about it quietly on those cold mornings. Some of that also can probably be attributed to mostly older gobblers, which aren't as vocal.
I scouted an area several days before the season and noted where some birds had roosted, and when I went back opening morning, the only sound in the air was the wind whipping through the trees.
I set up along the edge of a small field below the roost area, hoping the birds were there but not knowing for sure because there was zero gobbling.
Within minutes, a hen walked into the field, followed by a gobbler 100 yards behind her, and when he saw my jake decoy, his laid-back demeanor changed and he got into a fighting mood. He never gobbled, but he promptly marched in, strutted and started stomping that jake decoy to a pulp before I had to take him out. He was a 3-year-old weighing 22 pounds and sporting one and one-sixteenth inch spurs.
The weather forecast looks good for Saturday, but some rain is expected to roll in again on Sunday morning. That's not necessarily a bad thing though if you use it to your advantage.
The season continues through May 6.
Trap Win
Poplar Bluff High School's trap team A Squad kept several other local teams at bay Saturday morning to win the school's self-hosted Spring Break 'Em event at the Poplar Bluff Gun Club.
The A Squad, consisting of Franklin Davidson, Hunter Seal, Connor Becker, Hannah Cash and Dylan Hale, shot a score of 459 to beat out the B Squad in second place with 427. Tying for third place was Poplar Bluff Junior High's squad and Naylor High School's A Squad with scores of 420.
The day's individual high scorers were Poplar Bluff's Hunter Turner with a 98, Seal with a 97 and Walker Ray shooting a 96.
In the male high school division, Green County's Zack Williamson led the way, followed by Poplar Bluff's Hunter Gillean in second place and TJ Abney in third.
In the ladies division, Green County's Callie Newsom was the top shooter, followed by Poplar Bluff's Hannah Cash in second place and Naylor's Emma Moman in third.
In the junior high division, Poplar Bluff's Kason Henderson was the winner, topping teammates Austin Stoner in second and Brett McCoy in third.
Poplar Bluff's next event will be April 28, when the team travels to Linn Creek, Mo.
Banquet Success
By all accounts, Saturday's inaugural Black River Quail Forever banquet was a success.
The event grossed $33,000 for its planned habitat enhancement programs, according to chapter president John Blaich, and the money will stay local to help landowners who want assistance in improving their grounds.
Going into the banquet, Blaich said, it was his hope local landowners would seek the organization's habitat assistance for 1,000 acres, but they got well more than that.
"We've got requests for 2,450 acres," Blaich said. "It's more than we'd ever imagined."
Several guns and other items were given away during the event, and one of the highlights was hearing special guest Willis Corbett, the famous 92-year-old shooting sports ambassador who founded the Missouri Youth Sport Shooting Alliance.
The next event for the Quail Forever chapter likely will be an evening habitat seminar and a youth pollinator project.
Still Good
Wouldn't you know it, Wappapello Lake jumped back up again after about 2 inches of rain hit the region Friday night. At least it only rose about 4.5 feet this time before cresting mid-day Monday at just under 367 feet.
Clearwater Lake also rose, to the tune of a little more than 7 feet, before cresting at 511.22 feet early Tuesday.
Apparently, despite the constant up and down fluctuations in the water, crappie fishing has remained good.
"I've heard a lot of good reports," said Charlie Brotherton. "There's a lot of good-sized fish being caught."
I talked with MDC biologist Dave Knuth during the Earth Day activities at the dam Wednesday and he also reported seeing good numbers of large crappies lately.
Because of the cold water, most still are being caught in deep water, about 10 feet or more.
With the water up (at least for now), catfishing also has been good.
Currently, Wappapello is discharging 5,750 cfs at the dam, so the lake's level should come down pretty quickly.
By the way, the Greenville boat ramp on Wappapello will be closed from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday to accommodate the annual Blackpowder Rendezvous.
Sifford Tournament
It's time again for the annual Chris Sifford Memorial Crappie Tournament at Wappapello Lake, and this spring marks the 18th year for the event, which is named after the Puxico native and former Gov. Mel Carnahan chief of staff, who was killed along with the governor and his son when their plane crashed in Jefferson County.
This year's tournament, sponsored by the Wappapello Crappie Club, is set for Saturday, with fishing out of the Sundowner Marina ramp.
The launch time will be at 7 a.m., with the weigh-in later at 2 p.m.
The entry fee for a team of two (or three if the third person is under age 16) is $100, plus $10 per boat for the big fish pot.
The tournament is expected to pay back 70 percent of its proceeds to the top teams, and the big bass pot pays back 100 percent.
The remaining money raised will fund a scholarship for a graduating senior at the Puxico High School.
If you need more information on the tournament, give Sundowner Marine a call at 573-222-8622.