Tomorrow morning marks the opening of Missouri’s paddlefish season, which draws an almost cult-like following, if only for the first few days.
After Wednesday’s rain, the Black River has shot up again, likely adversely affecting paddlefish anglers.
Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Paul Cieslewicz will be on hand below the Clearwater dam to assist anglers who catch fish, especially if they bring in any with jaw tags.
There are lots of paddlefish in the Black River below the Clearwater dam, evident from the 20-plus fish Cieslewicz captured in two short nets in just a brief time period Sunday evening before working on his annual walleye survey (story also on this page). He also has radio tags in about two dozen spoonbills in the river.
If you’d rather not travel to Clearwater, the St. Francis River below the Wappapello Lake dam also harbors paddlefish, but likely not in the same numbers.
If you go, remember there is a 24-inch minimum size limit on paddlefish, as measured from the eye to the fork of the tail, and the daily limit is two.
The paddlefish season will continue through April 30.
Getting Better
Crappie fishing has picked up again at Wappapello Lake after the water receded and cleared on the upper end quite a bit.
The lower lake still is pretty dingy, and there’s a bit of a current from the draw through the dam.
The lake had made it down to within a few inches of winter pool early Saturday, but as you’d expect, the weekend’s round of rain brought it back up to 357.2 feet, where it crested Tuesday. Then again, more rain is expected today.
Crappie Winners
Nineteen teams fished the Wappapello Crappie Club’s season-opening tournament on Sunday, which had to be rescheduled from Saturday because of threatening weather.
Chad Maddox and Josh McMullin came away as winners of the event, bringing 10.08 pounds to the scales.
Second place went to Derek Emerson and Adam Brown with 9.91 pounds, and they also had the second-largest fish of the day, weighing in at 1.93 pounds.
Third place was earned by Tim Hill and Jarred Green with 8.74 pounds, and the fourth spot went to Larry and Christi Houchins with 8.26 pounds.
The largest fish of the day, by the slimmest of margins, was caught by Joe Guiling and Nathan Conner and weighed 1.94 pounds.
Road Closures
If you plan to start scouting for turkeys along the Cane Ridge portion of the Mark Twain National Forest, you’ll find access will become more limited starting tomorrow.
Each year, most of the side roads in the Cane Ridge Area northwest of Poplar Bluff are closed by Forest Service personnel in an effort to provide nesting hen turkeys less disturbance during this critical time of year.
While closed to vehicular use, the roads still can be used for walk-in and bicycle access.
Cane Ridge roads will reopen to public use on June 1.
On the Eleven Point Ranger District, several areas also will have road closures, but with different dates than Cane Ridge roads.
Beginning April 1, many access roads will be closed, but they will reopen on May 15.
Maps showing each district’s walk-in turkey hunting areas are available at the Poplar Bluff and Doniphan offices of the Mark Twain National Forest.
If you aren’t sure about an area or potential road closures, call the Poplar Bluff Ranger District office at 573-785-1475 or the Doniphan office of the Eleven Point Ranger District at 573-996-2153.
Coon Club
Nine dogs competed in the Butler County Coon Club’s first PKC hunt last Friday.
Cast winners were Paine, handled by Terry Uhl; Kacie, handled by Eric Henry; and Hoss, handled by Chris Zink.
In the second hunt of the night, Paine and Uhl were the cast winners.
The club’s schedule rolls right along with UKC hunts both tomorrow and Saturday. Bench shows begin both nights at 6 p.m. and the hunts will start at 7:30 at the club’s headquarters off County Road 607.
Wild Game Dinner
Tickets still are available for Saturday’s Outdoorsmen With a Mission wild game dinner in Poplar Bluff, the fourth year for the event.
The dinner will run from 5-8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church and feature plenty of games, raffles and goodies.
There also will be a silent auction, plus a few guns, including a Savage .308 rifle and Mossberg turkey shotgun.
Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased on the Outdoorsmen With a Mission Facebook page or by calling 573-712-6606 or 573-429-3195.
Bass Club
The East Ozark Bass Club will open its 2019 season Sunday with a tournament at Clearwater Lake.
A launch time of 7 a.m. has been set at the Piedmont ramp, and fishing will conclude at 3 p.m.
More information can be found on the organization’s Facebook page.
Fur Buyer
Fur buyer Marc Romine will be making his last stop of the season in Poplar Bluff on Saturday.
He’ll be at the Sale Barn from 9-11 a.m. or possibly longer, depending on business.
Don’t forget, if you have any otters or bobcats to sell, you’ll need to get them tagged by a conservation agent. I haven’t heard, but I would expect one to be on hand Saturday.
Drawing Results
If you applied for a managed turkey hunt in Missouri, the results of the computerized drawing are now online.
To check the results, go to the Department of Conservation’s website and find the link on the home page.
If you were drawn for a hunt, you’ll get a packet in the mail in the next couple weeks with and area map, vehicle card and other information.