Missouri hunters take 12,002 deer during alternative season

Missouri’s 11-day alternative methods deer season wrapped up Tuesday evening, and while it started off pretty slow, hunters managed to nearly match last year’s harvest.

Statewide, hunters killed 12,002 deer during the season, down only slightly from last year’s 12,109.

The top counties in the state were Callaway with 315, Franklin with 297 and Pike with 261 deer taken.

Unfortunately, it looks like most of the success came from other regions of the state because nearly every county in Southeast Missouri saw a decline in its harvest this year.

Locally, alternative methods season hunters in Butler County took home 84 deer, short of the 122 they killed last year. In Carter County, they tagged 75 deer this season, off from last year’s 101.

In Dunklin County, hunters killed 22 deer compared to 28 a year ago, and in Ripley County, they tagged 111. That’s a big drop from the 192 they took during last year’s alternative season.

Wayne County also was off the pace, with hunters taking 115 deer compared to 175 last year.

Stoddard County hunters actually saw an increase in their harvest this season, if only slightly, going from 115 deer last year to 124 this time around.

The closure of the alternative methods season wraps up firearms deer hunting in Missouri for this fall and winter.

If you’re planning ahead, next year’s firearms seasons include the first segment of the youth deer season Oct. 31-Nov. 1, the regular firearms season Nov. 14-24, the antlerless season Dec. 4-6 and the alternative methods season Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

Until then, hunters can look forward to what promises to be a lackluster spring turkey season.

Winding Down

The archery deer and turkey seasons in Missouri are winding down, and with less than a week to go before it closes on Jan. 15, the record deer harvest continues to slowly grow.

At the latest check, bowhunters had taken 60,220 deer statewide. Locally, they’ve tagged 1,008 in Wayne County, 129 in Dunklin County, 571 in Butler County, 709 in Stoddard County, 580 in Carter County and 575 in Ripley County.

The breakdown of weapons used won’t be available until after the season is over, but it will be interesting to see how much of the increase, if any, can be attributed to crossbow hunters.

Quail Closure

For anyone still hunting quail in the region, Missouri’s season on the little speedsters comes to an end next week on Jan. 15.

More of the Same

Duck numbers locally have stayed about the same as they’ve been for a while, which, considering the weather lately, is no surprise.

The Duck Creek Conservation Area is holding around 15,000 birds this week, but the daily bird-per-hunter average has stagnated between 0.73 and 1.24.

At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, about 42,000 ducks are using the area this week. The bird-per-hunter average remains middle-of-the-road, ranging between 1.09 to 2.68 lately.

The Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area in Mississippi County, which was holding more than 100,000 ducks a week ago, now has only 44,600. Given the warm weather, those birds which left may have pushed back north.

Ten Mile Pond’s bird-per-hunter average remains low, ranging between 0.93 and 1.56 over the last week.

At the Coon Island Conservation Area, 12,000 ducks are reported this week, and at the Little River Conservation Area outside Kennett, a mere 3,900 ducks were surveyed.

Middle Zone duck hunters in Missouri have just a few days remaining in their season, which closes Sunday. After that, everyone’s focus will shift toward the South Zone, which stays open through the end of the month.

Lake Rise

Fishing for crappies at Wappapello Lake remains good, with anglers taking some nice fish along the river channel in the upper reaches of the impoundment.

That may change, however, as several inches of rain over the entire watershed are expected in the next couple days.

The lake, Park Ranger Rosie Lemons said, has not made it to winter pool this season and likely won’t now.

“We’re going to be about a half a foot above before the rains start,” she said. “I was hoping we could get to winter pool and stay there for a couple months.”

Wappapello, she said, likely will “be above recreation pool by Monday.”

The incoming rain, Lemons said, will of course require a change in the discharge from the dam, but at this point, how much is not known. Lake staff will meet Thursday with folks from the St. Louis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water control division to gather more information.

River Monster

The Current River Smallmouth Association hosted a winter tournament last weekend, and some really impressive weights were posted at the weigh-in.

At the end of the day, the team of Joe Dougherty and Kason Henderson were the top anglers, hauling in a stringer weighing 15.57 pounds.

The big news of the day, and in many eyes the entire history of the club, was the day’s biggest bass, caught by Henderson. It weighed a whopping 5.29 pounds on certified scales, and according to reports, it was the largest smallmouth caught in the club’s long history.

The fish was released to continue growing and fight again, but Henderson is planning on getting a reproduction mount made of his incredible catch.

Second place went to Paul Henderson and Caringer with 11.78 pounds, while third was earned by Neal and Neal with 11.37 pounds.

Fourth place was grabbed by Francis and Warren with 6.79 pounds, and fifth went to Kram and Hampton with 6.36 pounds.

Sullivan and Barnes rounded out the winners in sixth place with 5.48 pounds.