Youth Bowfishing Clinic scheduled for June 10 in Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the United Bowhunters of Missouri will host a Youth Bowfishing Clinic for ages 12 to 17, June 10 in Cape Girardeau.

“This will be an exciting and educational experience where young people will have an opportunity to learn a new method of fishing with their bow,” said DeeDee Dockins, an MDC outdoor skills specialist. “Bowfishing is a specialized method of fishing that is very popular in southeast Missouri, so we’re pleased to introduce this new skill to our area’s youth.”

Dockins said participants will learn the all of basics of bowfishing in the clinic before taking a fishing field trip.  The clinic, scheduled for Friday, June 10, from 4 to 10 p.m., will feature qualified instructors who will share bowfishing shooting techniques, types of specialized equipment needed, fish identification, bowfishing strategies, fish preparation, regulations and more.  After the clinic portion students will bowfish from boats on a private fishing lake in Cape Girardeau County.   

Dockins said this program is a response to rising interest in archery that’s resulted from an increase of school participation in the Missouri National Archery in the Schools program. 

“This event takes the participant from the gymnasium to the water and gives students an opportunity to apply the skills they’ve likely already learned in school,” Dockins said. “Our ultimate goal is to get the kids submerged in nature and learning a valuable outdoor skill.”

Dockins said participants must have some basic experience in archery and be able to draw a 25-pound bow.  An adult guardian is also required to attend with each student.  All equipment will be provided and pre-registration is required in order to attend.  For more information or to register, contact the MDC’s Southeast Regional Office at 573-290-5730 or email Dee Dee Dockins at deedee.dockins@mdc.mo.gov.

For more information about bowfishing or the Missouri National Archery in the Schools program go online to mdc.mo.gov.

MDC congratulates Strafford man on new record quillback

For more on state-record fish, visit mdc.mo.gov/fishing/state-record-fish.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulates

David Weaver of Strafford on his new state-record quillback caught from Lake Taneycomo by bowfishing on Aug. 23. The 7-pound-10-ounce fish qualifies for a state record in the alternative method category.

The previous record of 6 pounds, 10 ounces was set this spring at Bull Shoals. The new state record is larger than the current world record by more than a pound, but does not qualify because world records only recognize fish taken by pole and line.

For more info on the quillback, visit nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=342.

For more on state-record fish, visit the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/fishing/state-record-fish.

Conservation Department hosts Youth Bowfishing Clinic

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the United Bowhunters of Missouri will host a Youth Bowfishing Clinic for ages 11 to 17 on June 13 and 14 in Cape Girardeau.

“This will be an exciting and educational experience where young people will have an opportunity to learn a new method of fishing with their bow,” said Dee Dee Dockins, an MDC outdoor skills specialist. “Bowfishing is a specialized method of fishing that is very popular in southeast Missouri, so we’re pleased to introduce this new skill to our area’s youth.”

Dockins said participants will learn the basics of bowfishing in the clinic before the fishing field trip. The clinic,  scheduled for Friday, June 13, from 5 to 9 p.m., will feature qualified instructors who will share bowfishing shooting techniques, types of specialized equipment needed, fish identification, bowfishing strategies, fish preparation, regulations and more.  On Saturday, June 14, from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., students will try bowfishing from boats on a private fishing lake in Cape Girardeau County.  

Dockins said this program is a response to rising interest in archery that’s resulted from an increase of school participation in the Missouri National Archery in the Schools program. 

"This event takes the participant from the gymnasium to the water and gives students an opportunity to apply the skills they’ve likely already learned in school,” Dockins said. “Our ultimate goal is to get the kids submerged in nature and learning a valuable outdoor skill.”

Dockins said participants must have some basic experience in archery and be able to draw a 25-pound bow.  An adult guardian is also required to attend with each student.  All equipment will be provided and pre-registration is required in order to attend.  For more information or to register, contact the MDC’s Southeast Regional Office at 573-290-5730 or email Dee Dee Dockins atdeedee.dockins@mdc.mo.gov.

Bowfishing nabs new state record river carpsucker

Written by Joanie Straub, MDC

Courtesy MDC

BELTON, MO – Cody Chaney, 18, of Belton holds the new official Missouri state record for river carpsucker. Chaney was bow fishing with his father Terry, younger brother Brady and grandfather Bill Hill in a spring-fed cove at Lake of the Ozarks just after midnight May 27 when he struck something big.

“We didn’t realize it was a record, but we thought it had potential,” said Terry Chaney. “We actually thought it was a highfin carpsucker from the looks of the fish. But once we brought it to our conservation agent Phil Needham, he helped us figure out that we really had a river carpsucker.”

Cody’s catch weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounce, and was 20.5 inches long. Missouri’s previous state record, which stood for a mere three weeks, was a 5-pound, 6-ounce fish caught May 6 on a trotline in the South Grand River.

“Last year, we actually shot one that was bigger,” said Terry. “But it was late and we didn’t have enough ice to keep the fish alive, so it rotted.”

This time, the family was prepared and had a spare cooler with ice ready to hold any potential record fish. According to Terry, the family learned their lesson and never goes fishing without a cooler full of ice just to hold fish.

Cody has been bow fishing for about three years and spends approximately 300 days a year enjoying the Missouri outdoors, either hunting or fishing.

“During the summer, whenever we have a free weekend, you’ll find us out bow fishing,” said Terry. “It is definitely one of our favorite family summertime activities.”

The river carpsucker (Carpiodes carpio) is silvery, with a deep, thick body, a long, sickle-shaped dorsal fin and whitish lower fins. It is also called "white carp," "silver carp" and "quillback." It is the most abundant and widely distributed carpsucker in Missouri. River carpsuckers prefer quiet, silt-bottomed pools, backwaters and oxbows of large streams and deeper pools of small prairie creeks. They also often thrive in impoundments. Adults typically are 12 to 15 inches long. The river carpsucker is often confused with the highfin carpsucker. The two can be distinguished by the length of the first ray of the dorsal fin, which reaches to or beyond the back of the dorsal fin in the highfin carpsucker.

Conservation makes Missouri a great place to fish. More information about Missouri fishing records is available at mdc.mo.gov/fishing/reports/records.

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