For those still holding onto a 2018 Missouri firearms deer permit, you'll have another opportunity to use it beginning this weekend.
Starting Saturday, the statewide alternative methods portion of the deer season will be open, and it will continue through Jan. 1.
Legal weapons during the alternative methods season include muzzleloading rifles and pistols, centerfire pistols, .40-caliber or larger air guns, atlatls, crossbows, long bows and compound bows.
Hunter orange is required during the season, with one exception: If you are bowhunting on an archery permit, you don't have to wear orange. Conversely, if you are bowhunting during the alternative season on a firearms permit, you do need orange.
It can get confusing, but just remember, the orange rule during the alternative methods season is based on the permit you're carrying.
All the other deer regulations still apply, like the single antlered deer you can take with a firearm and the antler-point restrictions in some counties.
Remember, if you are fortunate enough to fill your tag, you must Telecheck your deer by 10 p.m. on the day you take it.
Lakes are Up
Wappapello Lake rose just a bit less than 5 feet after last week's rains, and it topped out Tuesday just shy of 365 feet.
"We're releasing between 2,800 and 3,000 cfs now," said Park ranger Rosie Lemons, "and we plan to maintain that."
The plan now, she said, is to continue the slow drop until winter pool is reached.
The lake is expected to get back to summer recreation pool by the end of December and it should reach winter conservation pool by mid-January.
Clearwater Lake topped out Monday at 501.88 feet, which put it just less than 8 feet above normal pool for this time of year.
It is falling fairly quickly and already has dropped about 3 feet.
Tropf, Younger win
Eighteen teams fished Saturday's Wappapello Crappie Club tournament, which featured good weather and rising water.
David Tropf and Edwin Younger took the top spot on the day, bringing 8.8 pounds to the weigh-in. They also had the biggest fish of the event, weighing in at 2.1 pounds.
Chuck Chism and James Chism grabbed the second spot with 8.29 pounds, while Joe Guiling and Nathan Conner earned third place with a weight of 8.05 pounds.
Fourth place went to Billy Fowler and Chris Channell with 7.65 pounds.
Christie Houchins and Larry Houchins caught the second-largest fish of the day, weighing 1.78 pounds.
The club's next tournament will be held Jan. 19.
Better Results
The managed deer hunt a couple weekends back at the Peck Ranch Conservation Area in Carter County was a good one, with 46 deer taken.
That's well above average for that hunt and area manager Preston Mabry called it "the most successful hunt we have had in several years."
Included in the harvest, he said, were 18 mature bucks.
Seasons Set
The Missouri Conservation Commission, during its meeting last Friday, finalized the dates for the 2019-20 deer and turkey seasons, and they're pretty much what you'd expect, with no real changes except for a later firearms deer opener (this year was the earliest it could open based on the formula MDC uses). That's sure to please bowhunters, who will get extra days before the gun season.
The spring youth turkey season will run April 6-7, followed by the regular season April 15-May 5.
The fall firearms turkey season again will take place throughout October.
The archery deer and turkey season will run Sept. 15-Nov. 15 and Nov. 27-Jan. 15.
The early portion of the youth deer season will take place Nov. 2-3, and the regular firearms season will be Nov. 16-26. The late youth deer portion will run Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
The limited antlerless season is set for Dec. 6-8, and the final chance to hunt deer with a firearm, the alternative methods season, will take place Dec. 28-Jan. 7.
No other regulations changes have been released, but I wouldn't expect much of anything new, unless CWD forces some modifications.
Duck Debacle
You know duck hunting is poor locally when many of the highly-coveted positions at the Duck Creek and Otter Slough conservation areas go unfilled on an almost daily basis, even on the weekends, but here we are in the latter half of December, when the hunting should be great, and that is what has been happening lately.
The daily bird-per-hunter average really tells the tale: hunters just aren't having much success. Take, for instance, Tuesday of last week, when 46 hunters killed a whopping 10 ducks at Duck Creek. And the BPH at Otter Slough has been under 1.0 way more than it should be.
This week's waterfowl survey showed lower duck numbers overall across the region.
Biologist Kevin Brunke at Otter Slough reported only 12,430 ducks on Monday. A year ago, at this time, there were more than 50,000 ducks using the area.
At Duck Creek, 16,400 ducks were counted earlier this week, a tiny fraction of what is normally there in late December.
At the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, about 55,000 are using the area.
On the other hand, Luke Naylor, the waterfowl program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, reports average duck numbers in his state, especially in the delta region. That may indicate quite a few birds have passed over Southeast Missouri, likely during the night since nobody has seen them here.
There still are plenty of ducks sitting on some of Northern Missouri's managed wetlands, but unfortunately for hunters, there are no real significant weather pattern changes in the extended forecast, so it's unlikely our region will pick up much in the way of new, uneducated birds any time soon. That's a tough pill to swallow when the season is slipping by.
Split Closure
If you hunt ducks in Arkansas, you'll want to take note of a closure coming up.
The state's second split will close Sunday, and the third, and final, statewide split will open on Wednesday. It will continue through Jan. 27.
The season for all three major species of geese, on the other hand, remains open through Jan. 27 with no closure.
Tree Drop-off
If you have a live Christmas tree this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake would like to take it off your hands after the holiday.
Beginning the day after Christmas, the Corps will begin accepting used trees at the Redman Creek boat ramp.
All ornaments, decorations and tags should be removed before dropping off your tree.
Once the collection period ends on Jan. 18, staff will use the trees to create fish habitat in the lake, and if enough are dropped off, some also will be used for shoreline small game habitat.
If you have questions, you can call Natural Resources Specialist John Daves at the lake's management office, 573-222-8562.
High-Tech Angling
Finally, for the special angler in your life, the perfect fishing-themed Christmas gift has been invented.
Billed as the world's first digital popper, the Eco-Net Eco Popper is a topwater fishing bait with a built-in video camera which sends live images back to an app on your phone. Yep, now you'll be able to see that big bass bite from a whole new perspective, and as the manufacturer boasts, you'll also be able to monitor your water quality (that seriously made me laugh).
For the low, low one-time price of about $200 from various online retailers, you'll get a single lure to ply the waters - and it comes in several colors.
Of course, at that price, you'll probably be either too afraid to fish with it or you'll be gritting your teeth the whole time you do.