By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
Picture this scenario: You're standing in knee-deep water, hidden amongst flooded willow trees, just as dawn breaks on the eastern horizon. Frogs are croaking all around, mosquitoes are thick and you're distracted by a fear of big cottonmouth snakes, which you are convinced are lurking nearby. In an instant, you're startled by what sounds like a fighter jet buzzing overhead, and when you regain your composure, you grip your shotgun tight as a flock of blue-winged teal settles into your decoys. Legal shooting time is still 10 minutes off, so you wait impatiently until your watch says it's go-time, hoping the birds don't leave before then.
Sounds fun, right? This is what happens every September during Missouri's early teal season, which opens Saturday and runs through Sept. 24.
While the teal season gets nowhere near the attention from hunters as the regular duck season, it can be especially productive, or especially frustrating. When conditions are right and there are plenty of birds around, the hunting can be downright spectacular. Either way, it's good practice for later in the year
The good thing about teal hunting is very little equipment is needed. In the regular duck season, you may set out several dozen decoys, but for teal, a half dozen set in a few inches of water will do the job.
Early-season teal also are suckers for movement, so a spinning-wing decoy is a good thing to have along.
At the Duck Creek Conservation Area, there will be no draw for the teal season, meaning hunting spots will be on a first come, first served basis.
Hunters, area manager Keith Cordell said, will have to sign in at the headquarters building before hunting, and sign back out again when they're done.
Teal hunting at Duck Creek is usually limited to the far upper reaches of Pool 1 and along the meandering sloughs in Unit A.
"I'm working on getting the distribution channel in Unit A flooded this week," Cordell said, "and it should be good to go by Saturday."
There are a few pockets of open, shallow water in Unit B as well, he said.
At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, a draw will take place at 5 a.m. every morning.
According to area manager Kevin Brunke, there will be about 20 hunting positions open, with about 16 being managed for teal and the rest being borrow ditches and the like.
"We had about 500 to 1,000 birds last week," Brunke said, "but we picked up some more over the weekend."
At southern Butler County's Coon Island Conservation Area, habitat conditions resulting from summer flooding likely will limit teal hunting a bit. Still, any open hole of water or the borrow ditches along the levees should be good spots to hunt.
"We do have some trapped water in Pool 6," Brunke said of Coon Island, but he's not sure if it will remain throughout the season.
If you go to Coon Island, remember you can't go onto the area until 4 a.m.
Teal hunting hours are sunrise until sunset. This is done to ensure hunters can positively identify birds as teal, since they're the only legal species. You'll have to be careful because there likely will be a few pintails, wood ducks and shovelers around as well.
The daily limit is six birds, in any combination of blue-winged, green-winged or cinnamon teal (a western species you'll likely never see around here).
Teal, more than any other duck species, are very temperature sensitive, and they'll migrate with the smallest change in the thermometer.
The much cooler mornings this week could prove interesting. Birds already in the area might move out, but the cool weather should push more our way. The situation can change daily, and even in the same day. You may see nothing at daylight, but get swarmed by buzzing flocks of teal mid-morning as they arrive locally.
To hunt teal, you'll need a hunting license, a state migratory bird permit and a federal duck stamp. And, just like all migratory bird hunting, you'll need to ensure the plug is in your shotgun so it can hold only three rounds total (must be nontoxic shot).
Final Warm-up
The Indian Creek Bowhunters organization will host its final 3-D archery shoot of the summer on Saturday, a timely warm-up for the upcoming archery deer season.
As in the past, the event will take place at the archery range off County Road 546, northeast of Poplar Bluff.
Registration and shooting for the 20-target course will begin at 8 a.m., and shooters can begin any time before noon.
The 3-D event is open to anyone, and the cost to shoot will be $15 for those who compete in the trophy class, or $10 for those in the fun class. Youth shooters age 12 and under can shoot for free.
For information, call Tony Harwell at 573-718-7135 or Brad Massey at 573-785-0647.
Ben Kruse
Tournament
Saturday is a big day for crappie fishermen at Wappapello Lake, and that's when the Wappapello Crappie Club will host the 7th annual Ben Kruse 18 Fore Life tournament.
Anglers can begin fishing at 7 a.m., but must quit at 1 p.m.
They also must be in the weigh-in line at the Sundowner ramp by 2 p.m.
Bait will be available before the launch, and Charlie Brotherton also will have his shop open for those who need anything.
If you need to get registered, give Bruce Christian a call at 573-820-6111 or stop by Sundowner Marina.
Big "O"
One of the oldest and largest bass tournaments to be held on Wappapello Lake each year is scheduled for Sunday.
Anglers fishing the Big "O" Bassmasters Classic Buddy Bass Tournament will launch out of Chaonia Landing at safe light.
Depending on the number of entries, cash prizes are expected to be paid out through at least 8th place and likely more. First place should get $1,500, plus trophies and jackets, and the payouts will scale down from there.
As in the past, a pre-event meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at Chaonia Landing, and specific launch and weigh-in times will be determined then.
You can get registered for the tournament by calling Dallas Rich at Chaonia Landing, 573-297-3206, or calling Rick Robertson at 573-429-3396.
Almost Time
Finally, as Missouri's archery deer and turkey seasons approach, most bowhunters likely have been practicing to get ready for their hunts, with deer especially filling their thoughts. I'll talk with the state's deer and turkey biologists next week and let you know what they expect for this fall.