Dove Season

As we usually do, Les and I went down to Greg’s for opening day of dove season. We got there around 6:15 and got set. There were a lot of shots around us and the doves were flying. It was a good morning. Brad showed up around 7:30 and I had 4 or 5 dove already. It didn’t take long for Brad to catch up, but Les was having a little more trouble. About 8:30 a Conservation Agent stopped in and checked everyone. He didn’t stick around long as we were doing very well. By 9:00 I was limited out, and Brad was done before 10:00. We finally left around 11:00.

When we got home I put the dove in a brine and Bay Seasoning mix and threw it in the fridge overnight. Sunday morning I filleted the breasts off the breast bone and put either a jalapeno, a piece of pepper jack cheese or some garlic between the two breast and wrapped it in bacon. Les cooked them as an appetizer and let the family try them. We decided the jalapeno and pepper jack cheese were the best ones.

We went back out on Monday morning but there were hardly any birds flying. We got a total of 5 birds and called it a day. We may try to go back out one night this week. It is supposed to rain on Thursday so that may help.

Haven't Been Fishing OR Hunting Lately

I haven't had the chance to fish or hunt lately. There are a few fishing trips being planned at this time. Adam is looking to get some people to go down to the Witte's property for a fall fishing trip. I am planning a late October fishing trip with the Huster cousins and bowling team. The guys from work are setting up a weekend trip to fish Lake Michigan in September. We are always in preparation for the bi-annual Canada trip and we are looking at a Boundary Waters trip in 2009 (If you have any information on the Boundary Waters, please send them my way). As for hunting, dove season is coming up next week and I'll be down at Whemeyer's with Les again this year. If this weather holds out it should be a good season. Whats nice is we are going to be eating the doves the next night when we go over the the Huster's for dinner. mmmmmmm... fresh dove on the grill. I am looking forward to a busy fall and winter. I'd like to get the dog out early this year. I won't necessarily shoot any rabbits until after the first hard freeze, but if I can get him out on some short trips early, maybe he will have better luck turning a rabbit when we are trying to shoot them. Well, those are my random thoughts on hunting and fishing today. Hopefully we'll have more to put up here soon.

Title & Mission Change

When we first created this blog it was winter time and we were rabbit hunting. What we didn't think about is that in the summer time we fish, and we don't rabbit hunt. So, to keep this blog active, we changed it to Hunting and Fishing around Missouri.

Upland Game Problems

I just got done reading an article in February/March 2007 issue of Outdoor Guide Magazine entitled "A Rabbit Just Doesn't Have a Chance" written by Ron Kruger. Ron was right-on with his article. He talks about the great wildlife management work our state has done over the last 30 to 40 years. So many species are in abundance in comparison to what was here 30 years ago, except upland game. He states what we have said for a long time. This is because of the number of predators. He points out something I had never thought of, 30 years ago it was fashionable to wear fur. Hunters and trappers were taking coyotes, bobcats and foxes for their pelts and thus controlling the number of upland game predators. It was a really good article and I give Ron KUDOS for making his point.

On a similar note, if you don’t get Outdoor Guide Magazine you need to. Go to http://www.outdoorguidemagazine.com and sign up. They have GREAT articles about hunting and fishing in the central United States. They are based in St. Louis, so many of the articles are based on things happening right here in Missouri.

William R. Logan, CA

Les, Jay and I took Chip and Jay's dog's Buster and Patch out to Logan to start the new year. We didn't see much. Jay got a quail, and we ran 2 rabbits, that we saw. Not much barking at all. I was suprised to see that the dogs never really packed up. We got the fist one up and then all 3 dogs worked to move it in a circle. Les had a shot but couldn't take it because the rabbit was between him and Jay. We lost it after that. Chip got the second one up on his own and ran it down into the woods and back. As they came back up where we started, the other dogs got in on it but they had trouble moving it. Jay saw it briefly between himself and Les, then it was gone. Seems once a rabbit got between the two of them, we would lose it. The cover was so thick you couldn't really see the rabbit. Those were the only two we saw.
TEMP: Near 32° rising to around 50°
TIME: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
CONDITIONS: It was dry, but the underbrush was very damp. Seems like it would hold a scent well if the rabbit wasn't moving real fast.

William R. Logan, CA

DESCRIPTION: This is a photo of last Sunday, December, 24, 2006. Chip and I went to William R. Logan Conservation Area outside of Silex, MO. We got about 3 rabbits up and kicked a deer out of some heavy brush. Chip was out in a field chasing a the first rabbit so I stopped in a small clearing in the hopes it may run my way. Sure enough it did, and I saw it for a split second and got a shot off but missed. The grass was so tall and thick, Chip had problems making it back to where I was. He picked the scent up, but it was too late and the rabbit got away. We walked just a few more hundred feet when Chip got another rabbit up. I was over by the conservation road when Chip got this one up. I made my way to the point where he first got it up while he ran it in a fairly large circle. I heard and possibly saw the rabbit come by the point of the woods just southwest of me. Chip came through there again, but the rabbit out smarted us somehow. This field was like the others. So tall you couldn't walk throug it. It wasn't long after this that Chip was running another rabbit (I think) through some heavy briars. I walked around to the other side of the briars and heard one hell of a crash and some crazy noise. Turns out Chip kicked up a deer or two that had bedded down. The dog stops barking so I go to find him and he is half way down in the woods. I think he started tracking the deer, but I can't be certain. We didn't see anything else the rest of the day.
CONDITIONS: Chilly, 27°F when we started, rising to 47°F when we were done.
TIME: December 24, 2006 from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM CST

Reform CA

Matt and I went up to Callaway again. Didn't get any rabbits, but ran 3. I saw the first one sneaking under a cedar. Chip was on it right away so Matt and I held still. Chip ran it south a couple hundred feet and it got into a brush pile and we couldn't get it out. Chip got the second one up and ran it quite a way before we finally saw it. I took a couple shots when it finally ran from this brush line to the woods to our north. By the time we got the dog back over to where it went in the woods the scent was getting old. He chased something down around the corner before we gave up on it. The third and last rabbit we actually saw was kicked up on the way back to the truck. Matt got this one up and Chip got on it and chased it down below the small pond. We did not follow, but he seemed to have stopped below the pond. We finally called him back to us. Chip did chase a few that we never saw. I would venture to say he probably had 3 additional runs where we never saw the rabbit. One was right off the bat near the truck in the power line area.
TEMP: 50° F
TIME: 7:30 - 11:00
CONDITIONS: Overcast and warm. Ground was damp but not wet. Seemed like a scent held well, but not long. Very good day for chasing bunnies.

Reform CA

This was our fist time at Reform CA near Callaway Power Plant. Matt kicked the first rabbit up just as we turned a corner. It ran down along the fence row and cut in about half way down. Chip got on the scent and drove the rabbit north. Matt went down to the end of the row and I followed the dog along the fence. As we neared the end of the row the rabbit tried to double back when I shot it. One round, one rabbit. The second rabbit was not an easy one to get. We think Chip got him up way back in the corner of the field on the east. Drove him west down into another field and then south. Matt got him up again and he crossed back east. I came around the east side of the tree grove and saw the rabbit sneaking through the weeds. I was too far away but took 3 shots anyway, I didn't get it. I went east of where I thought the rabbit was and then Chip came over, got it up again and chased it back towards Matt. Matt shot it and Chip finished it off. 7 shots, one rabbit. It was a good day.
TEMP: 30° F - 50° F
TIME: 8:00 - 10:00
CONDITIONS: Snow and Ice on the ground. Frozen in the morning and starting to thaw as afternoon approached.

William G. & Erma, CA

Adam, Matt and I tried this area again on Sunday. Adam got the first rabbit up in a small row of trees. Chip got on the scent late and couldn't get things to go his way. I got the second one up and Chip was on it pretty quick. He ran it around to the north and then back west. It must have holed, or Chip lost the scent in the woods. We did kick a covey of quail up. I'm sure this is the same covey we got up on Friday. Seems like there were about 6 or so that got up. We didn't get any rabbits, but it was a good day.

William G. & Erma CA

Chip and I went out by ourselves. This was our first hunt of the year. Hunted 2 areas. The first place was on the backside of the area off of CR-210. Stop at the second parking area. We walked the field west of the parking area. Only got one rabbit up, but the area looks promising. I kicked the rabbit up. The grass was so thick I couldn't see the rabbit, just the grass move. Chip got a late jump, but chased it in a full circle before he lost it through a hog wire fence. We did kick some quail up in this area. There were about 10 birds that got up. The second area we hunted was west of the main lake. We didn't see any rabbits and there were a lot of hunters in the area.
CONDITIONS: Got very warm in the afternoon (67°F).
TIME: Got in around 7:00 and left around 9:30.