The Indian Creek Bowhunters will host its first 3-D archery shoot of the year Saturday at the Missouri Department of Conservation range off County Road 546, just northeast of Poplar Bluff.
For those who aren’t familiar with the sport, it puts archers in various situations with targets at variable distances to simulate real-world hunting scenarios, designed to keep shooting and range estimation skills sharp.
Registration will open at 8 a.m., and you can begin shooting the 20-target course any time up until noon.
Participants can shoot in the fun class for $10, or they can compete in various trophy classes for $15.
Scoring will be based on ASA rules.
Rangefinders are allowed in the fun class, but not in the trophy classes.
All types of bows are allowed, including compound, recurve, long bows and crossbows.
Food also will be available for purchase on site.
Club members also will be on hand to offer help and instruction for those new to the sport.
To get to the range, take Highway NN north from Business Highway 60 East, then turn right on County Road 546 and go about one mile to the range on the left, just past the Poplar Bluff Gun Club.
For more information, contact Brad Massey at 573-785-0647 or 573-776-8104.
Fishing remains a tough proposition as high water dominates pretty much everywhere.
Wappapello Lake still is 10 feet high at 365 feet.
Clearwater Lake also remains more than 20 feet above normal at 514.78 feet.
Both are falling slowly, and the rivers downstream are high and muddy.
The Black River is projected to stay steady around 10.7 feet for a good while, and the St. Francis River will fall below 15 feet by late Saturday night.
Of course, more heavy rain is in the forecast …
Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries biologists are supposed to conduct their annual walleye survey and brood stock collection on the Black River early next week, but given the high water conditions, that may or may not happen.
Typically a low discharge from the Clearwater Dam and a specific temperature range for the water are needed for the best success, and those factors just aren’t coming together at the right time.
If biologists do get the survey done, they’ll take up to 10 big female walleye and quite a few more smaller males to the MDC hatchery at Chesapeake in the southwest part of the state, where they will be used to rear new fish for the area’s rivers.
Walleyes in the Black, St. Francis, Current and Eleven Point rivers all share the same genetic makeup and belong to a class known as Black River walleyes. They reproduce naturally in all but the St. Francis River, but stocking is used on a rotating basis to boost populations.
As a reminder, the Heartland Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will host its annual banquet on Saturday.
It will be held at The Grotto, located at 3102 Grotto Road, off Katy Lane in Poplar Bluff.
The doors will open at 5 p.m.
Tickets cost $50 for a single, $65 for a couple or $20 for a youth. Sponsorships also are available for $280.
Tickets can be purchased from Toby Barton at 573-631-2285 or Clay Faries at 573-625-9003.
Finally, there are changes coming to this outdoors page I want to share with you.
A long time ago, I was tasked with putting this page together every week while Paul Woods wrote his weekly Ridgerunner column. Upon his retirement, I was asked to take on that column and gladly accepted. That was in September of 2012, and I’ve pounded out a lot of columns over those nine and a half years.
Today marks my last one.
I’ve accepted a job that gets me back to my roots and will be leaving the newspaper after more than 24 years, something editor Donna Farley eluded to in her column last weekend.
I’ll be focusing on the new position, and I just don’t think I’ll have the time to continue writing this column.
This change has been in the works for some time, and while I will be sad to leave, I’m looking forward to what lies ahead. And, Poplar Bluff still will be home.
I’ll forever be grateful to those who gave me a chance so long ago and still today.
There’s been a lot of fun times over the years, with some great experiences and even better people along the way, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
But just as in most any industry, there have been a lot of difficult times as well. The job has changed dramatically, the days have grown longer and more chaotic, and stress has taken a toll. When you’re in your mid 20s, living each work day by the seat of your pants might be fun. When you’re my age, not so much …
Thank you to each one who’s shared information and ideas with me over the years and was willing to pass their knowledge along to others.
Thank you to the hunters and anglers who shared information, and thank you to the biologists and others who kept me informed and even let me tag along on some adventures.
I’ve certainly been blessed in a lot of ways, and I don’t take that for granted.
I don’t know for sure, but going forward, I believe sports editor Brian Rosener, who is an avid angler, will take over writing this column, and I’ll help any way I can.
Keeping up with events, statistics and everything going on in the outdoors takes a good deal of time, and Brian already is extremely busy, so if you can help by passing along information, I know he will appreciate it.
Anyway, it’s been a fun ride, and I hope we can cross paths somewhere down the trail.