Sixteen teams fished last weekend’s Current River Smallmouth Association His and Hers tournament, which was based out of Van Buren.
Anglers had to deal with higher than normal water conditions, with the river up about 6 feet high at the time.
At the end of the day, the team of Alex Rutledge and Addy Rutledge took the win with a stringer weight of 11.56 pounds.
Second place went to Donald Black and Rikki Maples with 9.95 pounds.
Taking the third spot was Jack Rutledge and Luella Rutledge with 8.76 pounds.
Fourth place was earned by Randy Sullivan and Christy Sullivan with 8.64 pounds, and the top five was rounded out by Curt Caringer and Cattarah Caringer with 8.07 pounds.
The day’s big bass weighed in at 3.42 pounds and was hauled in by Casten Caringer. The second-largest bass was caught by Alex Rutledge and weighed 2.99 pounds.
The Current River Smallmouth Association will fish again during a club tournament on June 27, its first of the season based out of Doniphan.
Speaking of fishing tournaments, events scheduled on Wappapello Lake this summer should be getting back to normal soon after a long hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions and the inability of the U.S. Corps of Engineers to issue special use permits during the pandemic.
I know the Wappapello Bass Circuit will go ahead with its June 27 event out of the Sundowner ramp, and other series, like Bass Quest/Angler’s Choice and Wappapello Crappie Club, should follow suit.
If you’re a duck hunter in Missouri or Northeast Arkansas, you might be interested in some new information coming out of North Dakota, where the vast majority of our fall duck flight is produced.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service canceled its annual breeding ducks survey across the northern prairies, but the North Dakota Game and Fish Department managed to get its own survey completed for the 73rd consecutive year, and the findings are very positive for hunters.
Surveyors found breeding ducks’ numbers were up significantly for many species, with blue-winged teal topping the list with an increase of 60%.
Gadwalls and northern shovelers were reported to be up about 10% during the May survey, while canvasbacks were up 25% and scaup numbers increased 42%.
Mallard and pintail numbers remained similar to last year, according the the NDGF report.
Overall, there were an estimated four-plus million breeding ducks in North Dakota in May.
If the weather holds out, that should translate to good nesting success and a strong fall flight.
Much of the increase in duck numbers this year, according to biologists, can be attributed to a lot of water on the landscape from increased rains last fall through the winter.
Wetlands in the western half of the state are rated fair to good, but they have begun to dry some.
However, in the eastern half of the state, wetland habitat conditions are reported as excellent, with abundant water.
I lived in North Dakota for two years, and the eastern half of the state is where the largest majority of the waterfowl are hatched, so that’s a good sign.
Conditions reportedly are similar in South Dakota, with sharp increases in bird numbers observed.
If the trend of increasing duck numbers holds true, and Missouri/Arkansas hunters can finally get some decent cold fronts to push through during the season, we could end up seeing a pretty good season. We certainly need it after two consecutive lousy ones.
Wild turkey numbers have declined in a lot of central U.S. states lately, but the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has made some changes to hopefully help improve things in the Natural State.
Starting next spring, the state will be divided into two turkey hunting zones instead of the previous 18.
Zone 1, which encompasses the northeast, northwest and southwest corners of the state, will have a nine-day season with a single-bird limit.
The rest of the state will make up Zone 2 and have a 21-day season and two-bird limit.
Only one bird will be allowed during the first week, just like the way Missouri does things.
Also starting next spring, bearded hens will be protected in Arkansas.
The biggest change, however, will be a later start to the hunting season.
Researchers in several states with declining turkey populations have noticed a trend and agree those with earlier opening dates seem to be declining the most. Essentially, biologists believe, hunters are hitting the woods before most of the hens have been bred.
Starting next spring, Arkansas’ season will open seven days later than in the past to let reproduction take place before hunting starts.
The decision surely will be controversial, and I know a lot of local hunters who want earlier and earlier opening dates because the birds start gobbling so early in the spring, but I really feel Arkansas is on the right track here.
Couple that with its newly-introduced deregulation of furbearer hunting on private lands, which also is an attempt to increase turkey nesting success, and I think things will change for the better one time.