Hunting the Big Woods Whitetail Deer

We know this runs a bit late but still is interesting.

Hunting the Big Woods for Whitetail Deer

Blue catfish survey is hands-on

Written by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation

TRUMAN LAKE Mo -- Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists recently wrapped up the first phase of a new blue catfish survey at Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks. MDC crews used methods typically employed by anglers to catch a representative sample of fish from each lake.

Crews at Truman Lake, led by Fisheries Biologist Mike Bayless and Resource Scientist Zach Ford, concluded their final survey day on Nov. 4. Winds following a cold front sent whitecaps across the Berry Bend area where they hauled in 52 jug lines set on the Osage River arm. Using hooks baited with cut shad, they landed 17 blues. All fish were measured, weighed, evaluated and released.

The information expands the database for a popular sport fish that faces heavy fishing pressure.

“This survey is being conducted in advance of proposed regulation changes,” Bayless said. “We’ll gather data over a three-year period. Then, if our proposed regulation is approved and takes effect, seven or eight years down the line we’ll start another three-year survey so we can determine if the regulation has had the desired positive impact on the blue-cat fishery.”

Anglers can currently keep five blue catfish of any size daily.

A committee of biologists and other MDC staff is proposing a regulation change that would allow each angler to keep 10 blue catfish daily. The current proposal would require that all fish between 25 and 35 inches long, usually 6- to 17-pounds, would have to be released. The proposal calls for allowing one or two fish above the slot to be part of the overall limit.

The goal is to allow more blue catfish to reach their potential larger sizes – 20 to 80 pounds – because big fish are why many anglers target blues with rod and reel, trotlines or jug lines. Many anglers and biologists are concerned that the numbers of big blue catfish have declined at Truman Lake, and the proposed regulation is designed to reverse that.

“We started hearing concerns from anglers back in the early 1990s,” Bayless said.

Since the regulation change would allow anglers to keep 10 blue catfish, including one or two above the slot limit, anglers would still be able to harvest plenty of fish to eat.

Bayless said that Truman Lake still has large numbers of small blue catfish and reproduction remains strong. He added that growth rates for blues at the lake are slower than normal, which may be due to the large numbers of small catfish.

“Blue catfish are vulnerable to fishing pressure,” he said. "Most blue catfish are being caught before they reach the larger sizes coveted by many catfish fans. They readily take baits and they swim in open waters easily accessible to anglers."

An MDC survey at the lake from 2003 to 2008 utilized reward tags placed on blue catfish. Anglers were paid $50 for reporting the tags. The study showed that for blue catfish 24 inches or larger, 92 percent were caught within the five-year period.

Angler harvest rates in the study were two-to-three-times higher than similar catfish studies nationwide.

In a 2002 catfish-angler survey by the MDC, the largest percentage of anglers responding said the Truman Lake fishery had declined.

Bayless explained that the MDC is proposing the slot limit to restore more large blue catfish in Truman Lake. The same regulation is proposed for Lake of the Ozarks to keep that catfish fishery from declining.

The MDC's Regulations Committee reviews such proposals. Pending that review, it would then be presented to the Department director and then to the Missouri Conservation Commission, which sets regulations.

MDC biologists began gathering blue catfish data this fall to have more reference information. But because the fish grow slowly it will take some years before results can be measured, Bayless said.

A similar survey was conducted this fall at Lake of the Ozarks by Fisheries Management Biologist Greg Stoner and Fisheries Resource Technician Clark Foster and crews.

“We wanted to use methods for the survey that are like what many fishermen use,” Bayless said. “And we wanted to be able to catch fish of all sizes.”

Public Fishing Access in Missouri by County

Deer firearms opening weekend numbers up over 2009

Cooler weather and some rain before and during opening weekend improved conditions for hunters and were also good for deer activity.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo — Rain and cooler temperatures across Missouri came just in time for the Nov. 13-14 opening weekend of the state’s firearms portion of deer season.

Harvest numbers for 2010 opening weekend were up almost 14 percent over 2009 with 97,856 deer checked compared to 86,202 last year.

The top harvest counties for opening weekend were Benton with 1,968 deer checked,
Callaway with 1,749 deer checked and Macon with 1,719 deer checked.

“Cooler weather and some rain before and during opening weekend improved conditions for hunters, and were also good for deer activity,” said Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen, who is in charge of the MDC’s deer-management program.

Hansen noted that heavy rain during four of the first five days of the 2009 deer firearms portion was a major factor in lower numbers last year. Adding to that were weeks of wet weather before the season, which forced farmers to leave a considerable amount of corn standing. This provided a refuge for deer and made them more difficult to find.

He added that hunters usually harvest about 60 percent of the total for the November portion of the deer firearms season during opening weekend.

There were three self-inflicted injuries, two incidents of falls from tree stands and no fatalities reported during opening weekend.

Hansen said that hunters play a vital role in managing the population of Missouri’s most valuable wildlife resource.

“Adult deer have no widespread natural predators in Missouri so hunting is the primary way to control the population,” he explained. “Missouri is a great place to hunt deer.”

Hansen added that deer hunting enriches the state and local economies and Missourian’s quality of life. “Nearly 500,000 deer hunters spend more than $750 million each year directly related to deer hunting. Deer hunting in Missouri generates more than $1 billion in overall business activity and supports more than 11,000 jobs.”

Deer hunters still have opportunities to fill their freezers, and to also help their neighbors through the Share the Harvest program. Share the Harvest provides a way for deer hunters to donate venison to the needy.

The November portion of firearms deer season continues through Nov. 23.  The firearms deer antlerless portion runs Nov. 24 to Dec. 5. The second round of the archery deer season runs Nov. 24 to Jan. 15. The muzzleloader portion runs Dec. 18-28. A second firearms youth weekend will be Jan. 1-2.

More information on the 2010 deer season and on Share the Harvest can be found at www.MissouriConservation.org, or in the 2010 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet available at MDC offices and where permits are sold. 

For More Information on where to Hunt...See Public Land Hunting in Missouri

Judgment on use of vehicles and dogs in deer hunting stayed

Ripley County judge’s ruling on state regulations regarding use of motorized vehicles and dogs in deer hunting as too vague is stayed by Missouri Court of Appeals.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Court of Appeals filed an order on Nov. 12 in which it stayed the August ruling by Ripley County Circuit Judge Robert Smith that three state regulations prohibiting the use of motorized vehicles and dogs in deer hunting are too vague to be constitutional.

The Court of Appeal’s order makes the Ripley County judge’s ruling unenforceable pending the resolution of the appeal.

The Missouri Department of Conservation filed an appeal on the judge’s ruling with the Missouri Court of Appeals in September.

At issue are Missouri Wildlife Code regulations that prohibit the use of “motor-driven air, land or water conveyances” while deer hunting and regulations stating that deer may not be “hunted, pursued, taken or killed with the aid of dogs, in use or possession.”

The ruling followed a case involving two Ripley County hunters who sued in February 2010 over the regulations.

The appeal process continues and the MDC expects a decision in the next several months.

State Fire Marshal and National Weather Service urge public to avoid any open burning

Image via WikipediaJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Office of the State Fire Marshal and the National Weather Service are urging extra caution with open burning in Missouri due to low moisture conditions, low humidity and high winds that increase the danger of wildland fires.

“With the current weather conditions in Missouri, there is a real danger of what is believed to be a controlled burn quickly getting out of control,” said Missouri State Fire Marshal Randy Cole. “During these conditions we urge you to refrain from burning leaves or brush for the foreseeable future.”

The National Weather Service has been monitoring conditions and has been in close contact with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. “The weather has been quite dry across Missouri this fall,” said Jon Carney, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis. “The dry and occasionally breezy weather pattern is expected to continue for at least the next week.”

Cole said fall and spring are the peak times of year for firefighters to respond to wildland fires that start out as controlled burns. The fires all too often result in property damage, injury and even death. Cole said three people died in February and March in Missouri when controlled burns got out of hand.

Cole urged the following precautions:

·        Check for local burn bans or restrictions before conducting any open burning.
·        Keep fire a minimum of 75 feet from all buildings.
·        Never use gasoline, kerosene or any other flammable liquid to start the fire.
·        Do not leave a fire unattended.
·        Have fire extinguishment materials on hand, including a water supply, shovels and rakes.
·        Be prepared to extinguish your fire if the winds pick up.
·        DO NOT delay a call for help – call the fire department immediately at the first sign of the fire getting out of control.

Fall firearms turkey harvest down 29 percent

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 5,928 wild turkeys during Missouri’s fall firearms hunting season Oct. 1 through 31. It was the second-smallest harvest in the fall season’s 33-year history.

Top harvest counties were Greene with 199 turkeys checked, Franklin with 157 and Webster with 154.

Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle, who oversees the Missouri Department of Conservation’s turkey-management program, said the harvest was about what he would expect based on the number of fall firearms turkey hunting permits sold.

“The number of turkeys harvested per permit sold has remained relatively constant for the last 20 years,” said Isabelle. “This year’s permit sales were off by about the same percentage as the harvest.”

Missouri held its first autumn firearms turkey hunt in 1978. Hunters bagged 4,374 turkeys that fall. The size of the fall harvest increased gradually over the following seven years. It nearly doubled in 1986, when the bag limit increased from one to two birds.

The fall harvest peaked in 1987, when hunters checked 28,139 birds. After that, the number of hunters participating in the fall season declined from a high of approximately 50,000 to 13,736 this year. The harvest trend mirrors declining hunter numbers.

Isabelle said several factors have contributed to fall turkey hunting’s declining popularity. Among those factors has been the increasing popularity of archery deer hunting.

All 13 counties where hunters checked more than 100 turkeys during the fall firearms turkey season are south of the Missouri River.

“Northern Missouri counties led the state in turkey harvest for a long time,” said Isabelle. “Hunters frequently saw lots of turkeys up there during the summer, and it got them excited about fall hunting. They have been seeing fewer birds, especially in the past few years, and I think that lots of turkey hunters in northern Missouri recognize that the population is down in that region of the state and are taking it upon themselves to not hunt birds in the fall as a result.”

Isabelle said the sharp drop in this year’s fall firearms turkey permit sales and harvest is not evidence of a proportional decline in the state’s turkey population. He noted that the slide of the fall firearms turkey harvest began 25 years ago, when the state’s turkey flock was still growing in some parts of the state.

“Our spring turkey harvest continued to increase during much of that period,” he said. “From the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, it grew from about 30,000 to just over 60,000. The decreased interest in fall turkey hunting obviously was not because we didn’t have enough turkeys.”

This year’s fall firearms turkey harvest included 3,877 hens, or approximately 34 per county. Isabelle said a fall turkey harvest of this size has no effect on the number of turkeys available to hunters the following spring.

“Missouri’s wild turkey population is estimated at approximately 500,000 birds,” said Isabelle. “Population modeling indicates that as long as fall harvest does not exceed 10 percent of the statewide turkey population, it has little impact on the population. Even when you combine the fall archery and firearms harvests, the total is less than 2 percent of the state’s turkey population. That is well below the 10-percent threshold.”

Isabelle said that although turkey numbers are down in parts of the state due to a poor reproduction, turkey hunters can still expect some outstanding hunting opportunities during the 2011 spring season.

-Jim Low-

2010 Youth Deer Harvest Numbers Hold Steady

Image via Wikipedia

Youth deer harvest holds steady

Young guns posted the third-largest

harvest in the early youth hunt’s 10-year history.

JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters age 6 through 15 checked 13,263 deer during the early youth portion of Missouri’s firearms deer season Oct. 30 and 31. That is the third-largest number in the season’s 10-year history and only slightly less than the record.

The first youth season was in 2001, when young hunters checked 6,277 deer. The most ever taken during the two-day hunt was 13,466 in 2004. The harvest during last year’s early youth hunt was 13,328.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, this year’s top counties were Osage with 304 deer checked, Callaway with 277 and Franklin with 266.

The Conservation Department makes it easy to create a lasting reminder of young hunters’ first deer. An official First Deer Certificate, complete with congratulations and signature by Conservation Department Director Bob Ziehmer, is available at http://bit.ly/9bmk38. To create a certificate suitable for framing, you need only fill in the hunter’s information, print the form and add a photo.

From 2001 through 2007, the youth portion of firearms deer season ran for two days in early November or late October. In 2008, the Conservation Department added two days of youth hunting in January. The harvest during the late youth hunt has been small compared to the early portion, averaging a little over 1,700.

The Conservation Department recorded no firearms-related deer hunting incidents during this year’s early youth season.

Next on Missouri’s deer-hunting calendar is the November Portion of Firearms Deer Season Nov. 13 through 23. This portion normally accounts for approximately 80 percent of the state’s firearms deer harvest.

Three other portions follow the November hunt. The Antlerless Portion runs from Nov. 24 through Dec. 5. The Muzzleloader Portion is Dec. 18 through 28. The final portion of the firearms season is the Late Firearms Youth Portion Jan. 1 and 2.

Missouri also has an archery deer season that opens Sept. 15 and closes Jan. 15, with an 11-day hiatus during the November firearms deer season.

Hunters spend more than 5.7 million days pursuing deer in Missouri each year. The approximately $700 million they spend on their sport annually generates $1.1 billion in business activity and supports 11,000 jobs.

-Jim Low-