Saturday is a big day for Missouri sportsmen — a sort of a kickoff to summer. That’s when the state’s squirrel and black bass seasons officially open.
After a short break following the spring turkey season, hunters again will be able to hit the woods, this time in search of squirrels.
Judging by what I saw the last few weeks while turkey hunting, it appears squirrels are far more abundant than normal, so finding them shouldn’t be difficult.
Any good, scoped .22 rifle will do the job, and of course, you could use a shotgun too.
The daily limit is 10 squirrels, and they can be a mix of the gray and fox variants.
If you go, make sure you have a valid permit. A heavy dose of permethrin to keep the creepy crawlers off you also would be a good idea.
The black bass season in Ozark streams probably gets a lot more attention than the squirrel opener.
Starting Saturday, you’ll be able to keep smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass from such popular waters as the Current River, Little Black River, Upper Black River, Tenmile Creek, Cane Creek and others.
Fortunately, most people don’t keep fish from those streams, allowing them to grow.
In general, there is a 12-inch minimum length limit on black bass species in most streams, though you’ll need to double check before venturing out. For instance, Tenmile Creek is considered a smallmouth bass management stream, and the minimum size limit is 15 inches there.
It probably sounds like a broken record, but our area rivers continue to fluctuate widely with every rain.
The Current River rose sharply Sunday and Monday and topped out at Van Buren at 13.36 feet. It’s back down to just above 7 feet now.
At Doniphan, the river got up to 12.7 feet on Tuesday, but now has fallen back to just above 6 feet.
The Black River in Poplar Bluff crested Monday at 11.85 feet. By Tuesday, it was back down to 6.9 feet, but is projected to rise again to around 10.2 by Friday.
Upstream, Clearwater Lake, as of Wednesday, was rising ever so slowly at 511.1 feet. That’s 13 feet above normal for this time of year.
The St. Francis River at Fisk has been more stable lately, and was sitting at about 7.26 feet Wednesday. It was expected to maintain around 7 feet through the weekend.
Upstream, Wappapello Lake was close to cresting at about 364.6 feet, 5 feet above normal. The discharge from the dam is right around 3,000 cfs.
“We don’t expect that to increase unless we get a lot more rain,” said Park Ranger Rosie Lemons.
There is rain in the forecast, starting Friday and continuing pretty much through all of next week. The current prediction is showing about 2 inches of rain over that period, but, of course, that can vary greatly.
Fishing, meanwhile, remains good, especially on alternate waters like farm ponds, Pool 1 at Duck Creek and Cypress Lake at Otter Slough.
Even at Wappapello Lake, I have seen and heard of some nice catches of crappie lately, primarily from shallow water.
Bass have been biting well lately, and when the moon is full again around June 5, the bluegill spawn, and bite, should really turn on.
The application period for Missouri’s first elk hunt is almost over, so don’t forget about it if you intend to apply.
You’ll have to apply by May 31 online at mdc.mo.gov.
There will be a whopping five permits available for the first season, set for this fall, but one is earmarked as a landowner tag.
There is a $10 application fee (there’s no charge for the landowner application), and the results of the drawing will be posted on MDC’s website on July 1.
If you are lucky enough to get drawn, you’ll have to purchase a $50 resident elk permit.