Local bowhunters took advantage of the cooler weather Saturday and bumped up the archery deer harvest a pretty good amount. However, Sunday’s off-and-on wet weather seems to have kept folks at home for the most part.
In the days since, hunters have had good success and have started closing the big gap in the harvest total compared to a year ago.
As of mid-day Wednesday, the statewide kill by bowhunters was 8,792, still short of the 9,533 at the same point last year, but that difference is shrinking.
In Butler County, 56 deer have been arrowed, and in Carter County, the total is 71.
Dunklin County bowhunters have tagged 11 deer, and those in Ripley County have taken 54.
Stoddard County looks to be a hot spot, with 106 deer taken so far, and Wayne County leads our area with 140 deer tagged.
Dunklin County’s numbers are slightly ahead of last year, and Stoddard County’s are significantly higher. The bad news is the others are well off the pace.
A cold front is expected to pass through the region Friday, dropping temperatures. If I was a betting man, I’d say Thursday evening and Saturday would be good times to be in a stand.
A third of the way through Missouri’s fall firearms turkey season, hunters have killed about one fourth of last year’s total harvest, meaning this season is behind the curve. That’s not a good thing because last fall’s take was the lowest on record.
As of mid-day Wednesday, hunters had killed a measly 566 birds statewide.
Locally, 12 have come from Stoddard County, seven have been taken in Wayne County and a single bird has been killed in Butler County.
Last weekend’s youth managed deer hunt at the Peck Ranch Conservation Area saw 26 deer taken over the two-day event.
There were supposed to be 65 youngsters drawn for the hunt (though usually some don’t show up), so that’s a pretty decent harvest. Many times in the December muzzleloader hunt, 200 hunters take about the same number.
The next managed hunt at Peck Ranch, which will mean the refuge area will be closed to public entry, will be an archery hunt held Oct. 26-28.
The Angler’s Choice circuit will host its final bass tournament of the year on Wappapello Lake Saturday, with fishing based out of the Chaonia public ramp.
A launch time of 6:30 a.m. has been set, and fishing will conclude at 3 p.m.
Ken Owens is the tournament director and can get you registered if you call him at 573-820-3715.
The Current River Smallmouth Association also will wrap up its 2019 season Saturday when it hosts its Classic event, based out of Doniphan.
The launch time from the T.L. Wright ramp is set for 7 a.m., with fishing wrapping up at 5 p.m.
If you aren’t sure if you qualify for the event, give Paul Henderson a call at 573-686-5476.
For those with a flair for something different, Missouri’s woodcock season opens Tuesday.
Woodcock are considered a migratory species, so you’ll need a state migratory bird permit in addition to your regular hunting license.
Woodcock migrate with weather pattern changes, and they do it almost exclusively at night.
Many times, river corridors are used for migration routes, but not always.
They can typically be found in thick, scrubby brush along field edges or in honeysuckle thickets, but you need to focus your efforts in areas where the ground isn’t hard and rocky. That’s because the birds probe soft ground with their elongated bills, searching for earthworms.
Just like other migratory birds, woodcock have mostly dark meat, and with their worm diet, they don’t make especially good tablefare. Still, if you can find them, they are incredibly fun to hunt, and the whistling of their wings as they flush is an exhilarating rush.