By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
A new regulation restricting the collection of live bait below the Wappapello and Clearwater dams will go into effect next Wednesday (Aug. 30), according the Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Paul Cieslewicz.
"Dave (Knuth) and I made this proposal as a proactive measure to prevent Asian carp from getting into the lakes," Cieslewicz said. "We're just trying to stop the accidental introduction of Asian carp into Wappapello and Clearwater lakes.
What they are afraid will happen is someone will collect bait in the rivers below the dams and then dump any leftover bait in the lake when they're done fishing, including young Asian carp, which closely resemble shad.
"When they're small, they're so easy to misidentify," said Cieslewicz of the invasive carp.
The St. Francis River below the Wappapello dam already has Asian carp, he noted, and there have been a few scattered reports of fish at Clearwater as well.
The problem, Cieslewicz emphasized, is "if those fish get into the lakes, they'll do well, and since they're filter feeders, they'll compete with the gizzard shad and smaller fish. They would have a tremendous detrimental effect on game fish populations."
Once the new regulation goes into effect, the only legal method to collect live bait will be with pole and line in the restricted areas. That means casting nets and minnow traps specifically will be forbidden.
The restricted zone below Wappapello runs from the spillway outlet downstream to the County Road 517 bridge, while at Clearwater, it will go from the spillway outlet down to the Highway 34 bridge.
"Instead of saying you can't collect a within a certain distance, like 1,000 feet, we made it easier by using hard structures," he said.
While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers already has signs posted below the dam at Wappapello, MDC will install additional signs both there and at Clearwater to remind anglers of the regulation.
As always, Cieslewicz invites anglers with questions or concerns to contact either himself or Knuth at MDC's Southeast Regional Office at 573-290-5730, or by email at paul.cieslewicz@mdc.mo.gov or dave.knuth@mdc.mo.gov.
Good Fishing
Speaking of fishing, it remains good at Wappapello, with decent numbers of bass and crappie being taken. The spillway discharge is back up slightly, so the fishing should improve in the river as well.
Over at Clearwater, Cieslewicz reported anglers are "catching pretty much everything in the spillway."
White bass, catfish, walleyes, crappie, bluegills, largemouth bass - all are being caught in good numbers.
In the lake, he said, the crappie fishing has really been good lately, with stringers of big black crappies common.
"I think they had a good shad spawn," he added, and that will only help the fishing.
Huge Turnout
A whopping 71 teams fished Saturday's Wappapello Bass Circuit tournament under sunny skies and high temperatures.
At the 2 p.m. weigh-in, the team of Manion and Manion had the top weight, bringing 18.79 pounds to the scales. That's actually 1 pound less than their actual weight because of a dead-fish penalty.
The pair also had the day's second-largest fish, which weighed 5.06 pounds.
In second place was the team of Livingston and Livingston with 14.85 pounds, and third place went to Walker and Strobel with 13.86 pounds.
Pyles and Miller captured the fourth position with their haul of 13.8 pounds, while Allison and Allison rounded out the top five with a weight of 12.79 pounds.
The big fish of the day was caught by brothers Adam and Ryan Hutson and weighed in at 5.25 pounds.
The Wappapello Bass Circuit's next tournament will be its Classic on Sept. 16-17.
River Tourney
Coming up Saturday, the Current River Smallmouth Association will host a tournament out of Van Buren, Mo.
Launch time should be at 7 a.m. at the Watercress ramp, and the weigh-in at 5 p.m., but you might want to call Paul Henderson at 573-686-5476 to double check.
Duck Numbers
According to numbers released last week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, duck hunters in the region should see pretty decent hunting this fall and winter, assuming weather conditions cooperate.
During aerial surveys conducted by the USFWS and the Canadian Wildlife Service, an estimated 47.3 million breeding ducks were noted. That's down only slightly from last year's count of 48.4 million. While the overall number is lower, it remains 34 percent above the long-term average, dating back to 1955.
Mallards, the most sought-after duck across the country, saw an 11-percent decrease and numbered 10.488 million this summer. Again, that number remains well above the long-term average.
American Wigeon numbers dropped off 19 percent to 2.777 million, and green-winged teal numbers also fell 16 percent to 3.605 million.
Another species with declining numbers this year is the redhead, which fell 13 percent to 1.115 million birds.
Canvasback numbers fell just 1 percent to 0.733 million birds, and the scaup population dropped 12 percent to 4.372 million.
While those species saw population declines, others made up the difference with big gains.
Blue-winged teal numbers are up 18 percent this year at 7.889 million, while Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail counts both are up 10 percent, to 4.353 million and 2.889 million, respectively.
Ironically, hunters are restricted to one pintail this year in Missouri, based on numbers from last year's count.
Gadwall numbers also saw a nice bump, jumping 13 percent to 4.18 million birds.
The aerial surveys also counted the number of May ponds, where ducks raise their young, and found a 22-percent higher number this spring than a year ago, at 6.096 million.
Good Showing
A few local youngsters did well in the recent Missouri State Coon Hunters Association championships, hosted by the Butler County Coon Club.
Ellsinore, Mo.'s Micah Thompson took third place in the show with Gun Slingin Lakota, while ninth place went to Poplar Bluff's Garrett Halcumb with Big Cain Insane Paine. Taking the 10th spot was Poplar Bluff's Matt Dollins with Johnny's Light Foot Rowdy.
Trap Team
Demonstration
Finally, if you have a youngster who may be interested in the Poplar Bluff High School or Junior High trap teams, they will be hosting a demonstration event and new shooter sign-ups beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Poplar Bluff Gun Club. The event should wrap up around 1 p.m.
To get there, head up Highway NN off Business Highway 60 east of town, then turn on County Road 546.