Perfect weather draws big numbers of anglers to the water, and nowhere was that more apparent than during Saturday's rescheduled Wappapello Bass Circuit tournament when 64 teams competed.
Pierce and Moser were the big winners of the day, hauling in a five-fish stringer weighing 17.04 pounds. They also had the day's second-largest bass, which weighed 6.14 pounds.
The second-place team of Allison and Allison was close behind with 16.81 pounds, and third place was earned by Hackworth and Ballard with 16.58 pounds. They also had the biggest fish of the day, weighing a solid 6.38 pounds.
Akers and McIntosh grabbed the fourth spot with 15.77 pounds, and fifth place went to Ladyman and Jewell with 15.45 pounds.
Sixth place was earned by Holmes and Young with 15.19 pounds, and in seventh place was Harty and Blackburn with 12.79 pounds.
Scott and Isabell took the eighth position with 12.68 pounds, while Thurston and Thurston grabbed ninth with 11.92 pounds. Rounding out the top 10 spots was the team of Flanery and Owens, who had a stringer weight of 10.63 pounds.
In all, 125 fish were brought to the weigh-in, with 12 of them weighing more than 4 pounds.
The club's next event will take place June 24.
Angler's
Choice
In Sunday's Angler's Choice tournament on Wappapello, 35 teams fished.
Taking the top spot with 17.63 pounds was the team of Seiter and Hardin. Breckenridge and Cheatham were close behind in second place with 16.66 pounds.
Third place went to Thurston and Thurston with 15.56 pounds, and fourth place was earned by Thurman and Lynn with 14.98 pounds. They also had the day's big bass, which weighed 6.69 pounds.
Rounding out the top five spots was the team of Eyington and Harris with 13.65 pounds.
The Angler's Choice circuit will fish again on July 9.
Spillway's
the Spot
Other fishing around the lake hasn't been too bad, but pretty much the same old song and dance -- Catfish are biting well, and the crappies are small.
There have been some good numbers of crappies and other species being taken by anglers in the spillway and running a jig or minnow on a float rig in the slower water could prove to be productive.
Crappie
Tournament
The Wappapello Crappie Club will host its annual Take a Kid Fishing tournament on Saturday, and you can sign up any time this week or before 6 a.m. Saturday at Sundowner Marina.
The entry fee is $60 per team, and one team member should be under age 16.
The launch is scheduled for 6 a.m., and fishing ends at 1 p.m. Weigh-in is slated for 1-2 p.m. at the Wappapello VFW.
If you need more details, give Dave Maddux a call at 573-718-2756 or Sundowner Marina at 573-222-8622.
The other tournament scheduled on Wappapello this weekend, the Chaonia Volunteer Fire Department event, was canceled, and no other information was available.
His and Hers
Tournament
If smallmouth bass are more your thing, the Current River Smallmouth Association will be hosting its His and Hers tournament Saturday at Van Buren, Mo.
Launch time is set for 7 a.m. at the Watercress ramp.
Weigh-in will take place at 4 p.m., also at Watercress.
The club's next event will be on June 24, its first one of the season at Doniphan, Mo. If you need more information, call Paul Henderson at 573-686-5476 or Troy McAfee at 417-331-4831.
Tough
Hunting
Squirrel hunting, from the few reports I've heard, seems to be pretty slow, and I'm sure this week's heat and humidity isn't helping the situation.
Kent Bridges told me he and another hunter killed a dozen or so last week, and most of them were on the ground during that morning hunt. He surmised last fall's acorn crop has been depleted, and the squirrels were on the ground searching for other foods.
Another hunter said he went out early in the morning over the weekend and saw nothing moving, prompting a quick exit from the woods.
In another month, the squirrels should be feeding hard in the hickory trees and will be much more active, but until then, it looks like the hunting will be pretty tough.
Dexter
Banquet
The spring turkey season may be long past, but that doesn't mean you still can't think about turkeys, and with that in mind, the Crowley's Ridge Limbhangers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be hosting its annual Hunting Heritage Banquet Friday evening.
The doors at the Dexter Elks Lodge will open at 5:30 p.m. for a social hour with all the normal games, raffles and silent auction.
A dinner and live auction also are on the bill.
For tickets or information, call Kyle Ouzts at 573-258-0770.
Trapshooting
Championships
Poplar Bluff High School's trap team is heading back to Linn Creek, Mo., this weekend for the Scholastic Clay Target Program state championships, and the event promises to have hundreds of shooters and plenty of stiff competition.
The team is fresh off the SCTP shoot in Sparta, Ill., where several members achieved personal bests, and Cattarah Caringer was the top female shooter.
The team will compete again on July 1 at the Missouri State AIM championships.
Weekend
Programs
If you're looking for something to do this weekend, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff members at Wappapello Lake will be hosting two outdoor-oriented programs, one on Friday and the other on Saturday.
Friday's event is a basic Dutch-oven cooking class conducted by Park Ranger Jennifer Morse.
Dutch-oven desserts are on the menu, according to Natural Resources Specialist Andrew Jefferson.
There's no cost to attend the program, but if you go, you're asked to not wear open-toe shoes for safety reasons.
The class will begin at 7 p.m. at the Redman Creek Picnic Area.
Saturday's event, starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center, will be the "Spectacular Serpents" program.
"It's a snake program," said Jefferson, "and we'll have several non-venomous snakes there. Everyone will actually be able to touch them if they desire."
This program also is open to anyone at no cost, Jefferson said.
By the way, staff at the lake has rescheduled some of the events from May and early June, which had to be postponed because of high water.
The Kids to Parks Day, originally set for May 13, has been rescheduled to June 24. That event, Jefferson said, is designed to "get kids away from the television and get them outdoors" with various games and activities.
The Kids Fun Day, an annual fishing event originally scheduled for June 3, now will take place on Sept. 23 at the Lost Creek Recreation Area.