William R. Logan & Whiteside

           
The day started out a little rough. Les, Matt, Jeff, Mark and I headed out to Logan and Whiteside, but I didn't go far enough and we started out on the back side of Logan. Turned out that was just the shooting range and there wasn't a good place to rabbit hunt so we continued on up 61 and got to another entrance to Logan. We stopped in a camping area and worked a couple fields. It was still pretty cool with an overcast. Great day to be hunting. With 5 of us hunting it didn't take long to push down through a draw. We worked the area in a counterclockwise direction, heading southeast and then doubling back to work around the backside of the pond towards the road and eventually back to the truck. As we pushed up the backside of the pond, we came up on what looked to be a really nice rabbit field only to find out that it was a limited area and we couldn't shoot in the area. So we were forced west of this field. As we neared the road I got a rabbit up. He jumped about 15 feet in front of me. They were not holding tight at all. Of course the rabbit headed towards the area that we couldn't shoot. He out-smarted the dog and we pushed our way back to the truck.
We drove around Logan a little bit more, but the area was a dead end so we decided to go on down to Whiteside. The area is actually called William G. and Erma Parke White Memorial Wildlife Area, but since it's White Memorial Area, and it's just outside of the town of Whiteside, we call it Whiteside. I digress. We started in what use to be my favorite place to hunt. I say this because we have always had luck in the area. Not only have we seen a rabbit on every outing, but we've gotten quail up in the area on several occasions. We worked this field clockwise starting by heading west towards the little pond. This is where we usually have a lot of action. As we turned north on the west side of the pond we found that the entire north side of this field had been part of a control burn, similar to the area we saw at Hi Pointe a couple weeks ago. We walked along the woods until we got east of the truck at which point we were back into cover. We passed a few other hunters that had a rabbit going in the woods north of the area (we never did hear a shot). As we neared the truck, Jeff and Mark spotted a rabbit crossing from the south towards the northwest. We got the dog over as quickly as possible, but after crossing two field he wasn't driving very hard and was searching for the scent, so we called him back and headed to the truck.
After a bite to eat we went down to the large lake on the west side of the CA. We worked in a clockwise direction again. Down a draw and around to the back side of the lake. As we came down this little road, we headed up the overflow from the lake towards the back of the dam. Nearing the base of the dam Chip started barking about 10 feet to my right. There was no rabbit in site, but he pushed over towards Mark, and on up the side of a wooded hill. We decided to let him go and see what he does. He hesitated in several different areas lost the scent and then got it back. He got almost out of ear-shot and seemed to be holding in one area. Mark, Les and I headed after him while Matt and Jeff stayed put. Chip was on the other side of the conservation line when Les saw both him and the rabbit in a full sprint. I ran west down the path to try to catch the rabbit crossing the path towards the north, but got there about the same time the dog did. Chip stayed in pursuit all the way back to where Jeff and Matt were waiting, but just before arriving at their location, the rabbit was gone. Three rabbits up, three lost. We continued to hunt, but it was after 1:00 and we were all a bit tired. We talked to another couple of hunters who were had not seen a thing all day. We exchanged hunting stories and headed back to the truck. It was a good day of hunting.

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TEMP: 27° - 35°
TIME: 8:00 - 2:00
CONDITIONS: Overcast and cold in the morning. Had a little bit of spitting snow when we first headed out. A good day to utilize layers. As it got later in the day, the clouds broke up and we had some sunshine. The wind was on and off. Not too bad, but very cold. It was pretty dry. Great day to be in the fields.

Pea Ridge, CA - Hi Pointe

We had our first run of the season today. Brad and Jay brought Maggie, Ernie, Buster and Patch along with myself and Chip and we headed down to Hi Pointe which is part of the Pea Ridge Conservation Area. It was a beautiful day to hunt. We got down to the hunting area and headed east from the first parking lot. The dogs were working well together. They had spread out to cover the back side of the lake dam and continued to work that way most of the day. As we were walking through the southeast portion of the CA, we noticed the Conservation Department had done a controlled burn in the area last year. The area was growing back nicely, but we were covered in soot. We didn't see any rabbits until we were almost back to the truck after working the entire south side of the CA. I actually nearly stepped on the rabbit before he jumped. Chip, Maggie and Ernie were immediately on the scent and tracking nicely. Buster and Patch soon joined in the hunt and all 5 dogs were baying and chasing. We stopped and ate while they worked the rabbit, but the rabbit was smarter that the 5 dogs and got away. It wasn't to much longer after that and Brad stepped on one (possibly the same rabbit) and the 5 dogs were off again. But once again the rabbit out smarted the dogs and got away. Those were the only two rabbits we saw. The dogs didn't even pick up on any other trails. All-in-all it was a good day. Not bad for the first time out in the season.

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TEMP: Near 35° rising to around 50°
TIME: 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM
CONDITIONS: Most everything was frozen when we started out but the top 1/2" started to thaw throughout the day. It went from sunny to overcast as a front moved through just after noon.

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.