Records continue to fall each year at the Shootin' for St. Jude archery event in Poplar Bluff, and this year's event, held last weekend, shattered organizers' expectations.
"I think it went phenomenal," said Poplar Bluff St. Jude Heroes team captain Miranda Fickert, who works in conjunction with the Indian Creek Bowhunters organization to conduct the event. "Our committee worked hard and promoted this for the last several months, and everything worked well."
Last year's event raised almost $100,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and the goal for this year's eighth annual event was to raise $125,000. And, just like every year in the past, the goal was exceeded.
"We're going to be above $130,000," Fickert said excitedly. "We sold a ton of tickets and tables, and the live auction brought about double the money over last year."
Friday night's sold out VIP Party at the Black River Coliseum, she said, had "probably close to 700 people," with 85 tables packed into the arena.
As in past events, several outdoor television personalities were on hand, and the hilarious tricycle race was won by local native Randy Birdsong and his "Headhunters TV" co-host, Nate Hosie.
Karon Campbell's Tasteful Creations served a steak dinner, which, Fickert said, "people just raved about. It's always an amazing meal."
Interestingly, Qulin, Mo., had an extended power outage earlier in the day and Campbell had to jump through several hoops to get the food prepared.
Travis Birdsong and Felix Baker, Fickert noted, donated their time to conduct the record-setting live auction.
"Our sponsor money was up about $12,000 over last year," she added.
Saturday's archery shoot featured 167 shooters on the 20-target course, plus several popular novelty shoots.
For the first time in the event's history, a shooter actually hit the long-shot novelty target. Delbert Smith center-punched the 3/4-inch spot at a range of 107 yards, winning $500 cash, which he immediately donated back to St. Jude.
In the coming weeks, all the money raised will be personally delivered to the Memphis hospital, Fickert said, and plans will begin to take shape for next year's event, which is scheduled for Aug. 9-10.
"It's pretty neat to see this get that big," Fickert said as she pondered the question, "how do we top it next year?"
Two in a Row
Nineteen teams fished last weekend's Wappapello Crappie Club His and Hers tournament, and all but one pair brought fish to the weigh-in.
The top team on the day was Natasha Botch and Brad Botch with 7.39 pounds. They had the second-largest fish of the tournament, weighing in at 1.55 pounds. The win also makes it two in a row for the pair after they won the club's July event.
Second place went to Rebecca Roper and Brody Roper with 5.87 pounds, and their effort was aided by the day's big fish, which weighed 1.65 pounds.
Third place was earned by Fisher and Degen with 4.96 pounds, and the fourth spot went to Chris Channell and Kelli Channel with 4.68 pounds.
The top five was rounded out by the team of Comfort and Comfort with an even 4 pounds.
The club's next event will be its annual Ben Kruse 18-Fore-Life tournament on Sept. 8.
Bass Circuit
The Wappapello Bass Circuit will host a tournament Saturday, based out of the Redman Creek ramp, which will be the organization's final event before it's Classic in September.
Fishing hours will be 6 a.m. until 2 p.m.
As always, the pre-event meeting to determine boat numbers will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at the Wappapello VFW, north of the dam.
If you need to get registered, give Justun Buchanan a call at 573-429-6312.
Fish Kill
If you've been along the walking trail at McLane Park in Poplar Bluff this week, you may have noticed a lot of debris and dead fish along the creek at the outflow of the pond.
It's obvious the pond has silted in quite a bit over time, likely because of construction work nearby, and when last week's heavy rains fell, it caused a turnover of the water and killed several bass and bluegills. The creek is home to several species of other small fish, and they likely were affected as well.
An explanation from an investigator with the state's Department of Natural Resources said the occurrence is pretty common in small ponds.
There still are some fish swimming in the pond, but last week's event did put a dent in the populations.
Duck Blind Drawing
If you hope to place a duck blind on Wappapello Lake for this fall's Middle Zone duck season, don't forget the annual drawing will be held Saturday.
The drawing will begin at 1 p.m. at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center, but Park Ranger Andrew Jefferson suggests if you want to enter, you should get there well before then.
There's a $15 fee to enter the drawing, which can be paid by cash, check or money order.
If you have never put a blind on the lake, certain standards must be met, and they are outlined in the lake's shoreline management plan, which can be found on its website. You also can get a copy of the standards at the lake's management office during normal business hours.
Banquet Reminder
Don't forget, Saturday is the date of the annual SEMO Friends of NRA banquet in Poplar Bluff.
The doors at the Black River Coliseum will open at 5 p.m., and the event will feature the usual games, raffles and auctions, plus dozens of gun giveaways and Tasteful Creations' steak dinner.
Tickets cost $40 per person and can be purchased at Shooters Shack in Poplar Bluff or by calling Albert Boeving at 573-718-9994 or Andrew Heuiser at 573-429-2423. They're also available online at www.friendsofnra.org/mo.