By PAUL DAVIS
Outdoors Editor
As expected, the Missouri Department of Conservation has made some pretty big changes to its hunter education certification program heading into this fall's hunting seasons.
New, as of Monday, is an all-online program for those ages 16 and up who need hunter education certification (anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1967).
"People learn in different ways now," said Missouri Department of Conservation Hunter Education/Shooting Range Coordinator Kyle Lairmore, "and we want to provide a more convenient option for adults."
The new program makes it easy for participants to complete the study material at any time and place, and at a pace which suits them.
"We're finding it opens more doors for those who might not have had the opportunity to physically make it to a class," Lairmore said.
Fifteen other states use a similar program, he said, though MDC has been "holding off for three or four years to make sure its the best option for us."
The course material remains the same, Lairmore said, but instead of the current blended course's 35-question exam, the all-online version features a 60-question test.
After completion of the test with at least 80 percent correct, the student immediately receives a temporary certificate they can print, carry and use for purchasing firearms hunting permits until a permanent hunter education card is mailed to them.
The price for the all-online course, $15, remains the same as the online knowledge portion of the blended class, which has been in use since 2013, Lairmore noted.
Lairmore said he has heard concerns from hunter education volunteer instructors about potential safety issues with the new program.
"There's no denying the best learning method is hands-on," he said. "Our instructors are passionate, and there's been some pushback."
About 60 percent of hunter education students, Lairmore said, are under age 16 and still will have to take the blended course to be certified.
"I don't think we'll see our numbers drop for the skills sessions," he said.
For those under age 16, the best way to complete the first part of the traditional blended course, the knowledge portion, is to take it online, though students also can use the hunter education manual and complete the review questions in each chapter. Once completed, they can take part in a skills portion class to finish their certification.
To get to the online course (or register for a skills portion class), go to MDC's website at mdc.mo.gov and click on the "Become Hunter Education Certified" link on the right side of the main page.
There's still likely to be some confusion with the new system, and the best way to get answers is to contact your county conservation agent.
Close
Results
Thirty-nine teams fished Sunday's Angler's Choice event at Wappapello Lake, which featured ideal weather and water conditions, and at the end of the day, the results were remarkably close.
Breckenridge and Cheatham were the event's top anglers, bringing in 17.96 pounds to the scales at Chaonia Landing.
Coming ever-so-close to winning, but finishing in second place, was the team of Allison and Black, who had 17.91 pounds.
Third place went to Myers and Green with 16.91 pounds, and fourth place was earned by Manion and Manion with 15.87 pounds.
Hutson and Hutson rounded out the top five spots with 15.40 pounds.
The day's big bass was hauled in by Bates and Bates, and it weighed 6.22 pounds.
The organization's next tournament actually will be a makeup event for May's canceled one, and it will be this Sunday.
Launch time out of Chaonia Landing will be around 5:45 a.m. or safe light. Weigh-in has been set for 3 p.m.
To get registered for the tournament, give Ken Owens a call at 573-820-3715.
Good
Fishing
With the water back down to normal, or even a little below, fishing at Wappapello has been pretty good.
"The bass are still good and the catfish are good," said Charlie Brotherton at Sundowner Marina. "There's just not that many people fishing."
With hot temperatures finally upon us, I wouldn't expect big crowd of anglers on the water anyway.
Bass anglers are having success, Brotherton said, in a variety of ways.
Early-morning hours have been productive for those tossing buzzbaits in shallow water, while later in the day, deep-diving crankbaits along main-lake points are attracting bites.
If you'd prefer a slower, more methodical method, Brotherton also said anglers bouncing plastic worms along the channel edge also are catching good numbers of bass.
For catfish, most anglers have been finding success using cut bait, though live goldfish or small sunfish could net you a big flathead.
While crappie catching remains decent, Brotherton noted, "you still have to catch 10 to get a keeper."
I guess that's better than one keeper for every 75 fish caught, which seemed to be the norm for a good while.
There are, however, some nice crappies being taken from the lake, evident by the 17-incher Natasha Botsch caught in the photo on this page. You just have to cover a lot of water to find them and not spend too much time in any one spot.
With the lake back to a normal level, the discharge from the spillway has dropped dramatically, but even so, there have been some nice white bass being caught there. White jigs or inline spinners usually are the best baits for them.
Weekend
Tourneys
For competitive anglers, there are two additional tournaments on the schedule this weekend.
The first is a crappie tournament on Saturday, hosted by the Wappapello Crappie Club.
Fishing will commence at 6 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. You'll need to be in the weigh-in line at the Wappapello VFW by 2 p.m.
You can register early for this event by stopping by Sundowner Marina and seeing Charlie, or you can sign up the day of the event beginning at 5 a.m. at the pavilion.
Dave Maddux at 573-718-2756 is the go-to guy for club information.
The other event is the Current River Smallmouth Association's monthly tournament, also on Saturday.
This event will be fished out of Van Buren, Mo., with a launch time of 7 a.m. and a weigh-in at Watercress set for 5 p.m.