Two big hunting seasons and one fishing season are on the cusp of opening in Missouri, one Saturday and two on Wednesday.
The first is the early teal season, which runs from Sept. 11-26.
If you’d rather hunt teal in Arkansas, the season there runs Sept. 15-30.
Shooting hours are from sunrise until sunset daily, with a combined six-bird limit of blue-winged, green-winged or cinnamon teal.
Because there are other early migrants in the area, teal hunters cannot shoot until sunrise to ensure they are positively identifying their targets, since they are the only species open.
Hunters will need a small-game hunting permit, state migratory bird permit, a federal duck stamp and a plugged shotgun holding no more than three rounds to be legal.
Success in the teal season is very dependent on weather. If it’s too hot, there won’t be many birds, and if the temperature drops too quickly, the ones here will move out quickly. Fortunately, the cooler overnight temperatures lately should move quite a few birds into the region.
Teal hunting is a shallow-water game, and you don’t need much in the way of equipment to get the job done. A half dozen decoys will do the trick.
What you will need to carry is bug spray, because the mosquitoes in the teal season take no prisoners. I like to wear breathable waders with a mesh bug suit over the top, plus bug spray and a Thermacell or two to keep the nasties away.
You’ll also want to watch for critters that slither as well. Because it’s still so warm, snakes will be active. It’s just a good idea to pay attention before crawling back into some cover.
At the Duck Creek Conservation Area north of Puxico, there will be a 5 a.m. drawing for one of the 18 available spots for the first two days of the season only. After that, hunters will use a self-check system, though they cannot check in before 4 a.m.
The Otter Slough Conservation Area currently does not have an area manager to confirm details, but the procedure there should be the same.
The other opener coming soon is Missouri’s archery deer and turkey season, which kick off Wednesday.
The archery season will run through Nov. 12, then again from Nov. 24 through Jan. 15.
The regulations remain the same as last year, but it’s a good idea to give them a look yourself.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset daily.
The basic archery permit gives you two tags good for any deer, though you can take only one antlered buck before the firearms season in mid-November.
If you take an antlered buck during the early portion of the archery season and a second antlered buck during the firearms season, you cannot take another with any remaining archery permits.
Extra antlerless archery permits are available for $7 each in every county in the state except Dunklin, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Mississippi.
I’ve kept detailed harvest records for years and they clearly show early-season hunters, especially in the first few weeks, tend to have the best success in the evenings, which makes sense because it’s easier to get into the edges of feeding areas while the deer are still bedded, and you can catch them as they move to feed.
Conversely, if you can get near a bedding area in the morning without busting any deer feeding nearby on your way in, you could have a good hunt.
Archery turkey hunting is mostly a game of chance, though knuckleheads like me spend a lot of time trying, with varying degrees of success.
The exception may be in the first couple weeks of the season, when you might be able to pattern a flock feeding consistently on grasshoppers in a field.
Remember, you’ll need to telecheck any deer or turkey you take by 10 p.m. on the day you take them.
Also on Wednesday, the popular gigging season on Missouri rivers will open.
The gigging season will run until Feb. 15, and though it is open daily from sunrise until midnight, virtually all of it is done after the sun goes down.
The limit is 20 non-game fish per day, and on the lower Current River, you can take no more than five hogsuckers daily.
With no real rain in the forecast before the opener, Ripley County Conservation Agent Tyler Harding said he expects the Current River “will likely be low and clear,” while “fish size and quantity should be normal.”
It’s also supposed to be cloudy Wednesday night, so that could be a benefit to gingers as well.
There are a few other things on the outdoor calendar this weekend, the first of which is the UKC hunt hosted by the Butler County Coon Club.
The hunt will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at the club’s headquarters off County Road 607 south of Poplar Bluff.
For more information, contact Terry Uhl at 573-714-1624.
For competitive anglers, the Current River Smallmouth Association will host a tournament Saturday based out of the Watercress ramp at Van Buren.
As always, fishing will begin at 7 a.m., followed by a weigh-in at 5 p.m.
Contact Randy Sullivan for more information at 417-252-4400.
The Indian Creek Bowhunters will host its final 3-D archery shoot of the season on Saturday.
The season-ender is a great way for bowhunters to get some practice in before the archery seasons kick off.
As always, the shoot will take place at the MDC range off County Road 546, north of Poplar Bluff.
Registration and shooting will begin at 8 a.m., and you can start the 20-target course any time up until noon.
The cost to shoot will be $15 for those in the trophy classes or $10 for those shooting just for fun. Children age 12 and under shoot for free.
For more information, contact Brad Massey at 573-785-0647 or 573-776-8104.