More Flooding

Got the call to go get the boat this morning due to more flooding. I was also warned that Huster was already under. When I got near Huster on Hwighway B water was over the road. B was covered from there as far as I could see. Huster looked like a river coming down the pavement. I'm going to guess it to be 18+ inches deep between Huster and Riverside.

Lake 33

Adam and I went fishing last Monday. We went out to busch wildlife early in the morning to fish lake 33. The place was packed because it was opening day of dove season too. We rented a boat so we could try out the trolling motor i got. IT WORKS GREAT!! Fishing was slow i caught one crappie and Adam caught one nice bass.

Opening Day of Dove Season

As most hunters know today was opening day of dove season. As we usually do, Les and I headed up to Blackwalnut to the Wehmeyer's place to see if we could take down our dozen birds. We didn't expect to see any, just becuase we had not been seeing any flying in the days leading up to today. We suspect it is due to the cold snap we got for the few weeks prior to today. I picked Les up about 5:30 and we were at our spot before 6:00. We finished our coffee and watched the sun start to give the back side of our hunting area an early morning glow. That was our signal to load the guns and take our positions, dove season was open. We sat for a while with some gun shots off in the distance. Distant shots are good, because it wasn't long after that and we had our first round of birds coming through. Most of the morning they would come in waves. A few at a time, mostly towards Les. They would circle in the field next to him where the neighbors had a decoy line set up and when they missed, Les would BLAST them. Brad showed up about an hour after we got there. We each had about 4 birds, and it didn't take long and Brad had 3 on the ground. Brad and I hunted 75 yards from each other facing opposite directions and calling out birds for each other while Les sat over behind the barns in his perfect spot, blasting one bird after another. By the end of the day Les had 10 with one lost, I had 9 with one lost and Brad had 4, two lost and one on top of the barn. For not expecting to even see any birds, we had a really good morning. By 11:00 we were home with the birds soaking in brine just waiting to be wrapped in a half a slice of bacon with a jalapeno pepper slice and a slice of pepper jack cheese sandwiched between the two pieces of breast meat, grilled with a dab of barbeque sauce. Now that is some good eatin'!

River Fishing

Matt, Uncle Steve and I spent Saturday morning fishing the river for catfish. We did pretty good. 7 landed so far 4 on a stringer so far with about a half hour left. The bait to use has been stink bait. Matt did get some hits on shad, but nothing in the boat.

BULL SHOALS

Here is a nice 3 lbs. that i caught on vacation. I caught it trolling with a firecracker grub.

FISH ON!

Went down to new town last night and caught a bunch. Seems like the Bass are just getting ready to spawn. Crazy how late it is, but the Bass belly's looked to be full of eggs. Check out the pics.

Clarification on the Number of Rods

So I was always under the impression that we could only use 3 rods a piece to fish on the Mississippi... I was wrong. We can use as many as we would like as long as we have less than 50 hooks and we label rod number 3 and over with our name and address. This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of the Missouri Wildlife Code: Sport Fishing: Seasons, Methods, Limits, part 3 CSR 10-6.410 Fishing Methods
"(2) Number of Poles and Hooks.
(A) Not more than three (3) unlabeled poles and not more than thirty-three (33) hooks in the aggregate, for any or all methods, may be used by any person at one time.
(B) On the Mississippi River, not more than two (2) unlabeled poles and not more than fifty (50) hooks in the aggregate may be used by any person at one time. While fishing concurrently on the Mississippi River and other Missouri waters, not more than fifty (50) hooks in the aggregate may be used and not more than thirty-three (33) of those hooks may be used in waters other than the Mississippi River."
Just thought I'd throw that out there. I didn't realize this.

Tuesday at Twain

My boss, Joe, and I played hooky from work today and ran up to Mark Twain. Since neither of us have a fishing boat we rented from Indian Creek. The morning was pretty bad. Tornadoes rolled through which forced us back into the harbor. The afternoon wasn't much better but I did manage to catch a nice 12" crappie. With the water up this high and the changing weather they don't know if they want to spawn or not. Guess we'll just have to keep going back!

Fish ON!

Bryan and I (Adam) did some fishing at the regular super secret lakes around town on Sunday afternoon. As you can see from the second picture the females are just about ready to bed. Biggest of the day was 23 inches (Bryan's) and my biggest (above) was 21. Caught around 30-40 in the 11-20 inch range also. We also caught about 15 crappie, a few keepers. Only got one picture of them below.

Air temp : 75

Sunny, no clouds.

Water Color : Gin Clear

Water Temp : Getting There. :)

Cameron's First Fish of the Year

I'm out at Cart and just caught my first fish of the year. About a 12" bass, nothing special.

1st Crappie of the year

Ok i didn't have much time and i got a pass to do a little fishing on Sunday. I went to New Town and didn't catch anything. I cooked it over to Cart and caught 3 fish. Two were little bass and one was a nice crappie it was a KEEPER!! The

High Waters

Just a quick note. Didn't get to go walleye fishing on Sunday. Due to high waters all boat ramps were closed. Going to try to get out this coming Sunday.

Walleye Fishing on the Mississippi

Sunday I plan to go walleye fishing on the Mississippi. I was told to go north of Windfield dam, but between talking to people at work, and reading things on the internet I may want to be south of the dam. Here are a couple things I've found.
Missouri Game & Fish
Fishing near St. Louis for walleyes and saugers is best below the Clarksville and Winfield dams starting in the fall, when water temperatures fall below 60 degrees, said MDC fisheries management biologist Danny Brown, of St. Charles.
Some fish are caught below the Mel Price Dam in Alton, but not as many as under the more upstream dams. The river needs to be in a normal to low flow pattern for good fishing. Once it gets high and muddy, the fishing can get tough. I typically tell anglers that fishing is best when the stage at Winfield Dam is around 17 (feet) or less.
According to Brown, most anglers bounce 3/4- to one-ounce jigs tipped with minnows off the bottom near current breaks in the turbulent water below the dams. A trolling motor comes in handy to keep the line vertical in the water column for those wanting to jig. Some anglers use crankbaits along the shallower water between wing dikes and land some nice fish.
According to Schulte, the best rig on the river is a jig-and-minnow combination with a little twist. Put a minnow on a first hook and attach a stinger hook to round out this very effective bait. When a fish chases the minnow, it’ll get hooked on the stinger.
Schulte said that most of the walleyes run from 9 to 14 inches, with a few reaching 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds.
Leadlining is another favorite trick used by locals to tempt a few pre-spawn fish into biting their jig or crankbait. Troll upstream with color-coded leadcore line on a trolling rod for the best lure action. Be certain to let out enough line for the bait to contact the bottom. Bumping along on the bottom is the goal, so use relatively inexpensive baits to avoid becoming gun-shy, as the chances are good that you’ll lose a few lures.
Gander Mountain
As spawning time approaches and the water warms into the 40s, the fish move shallower and begin feeding much more heavily. The two-week period before spawning offers the fastest action and the best opportunity for big fish.
Big walleyes congregate in eddies near the rock or gravel shorelines where they will spawn, usually at depths of 2 to 8 feet. Many walleye anglers make the mistake of fishing too deep in this pre-spawn period. Saugers stay 5 to 10 feet deeper than the walleyes.
If the water is high, as it often is this time of year, walleyes leave the main channel and move to the backwaters, where finding them is next to impossible. Saugers are less likely to leave the main channel.
You can catch walleyes by anchoring and casting into shallow brushy or riprapped shorelines with white or chartreuse jigs, from 1/2 to 1/4 ounce. Saugers are best taken by vertically jigging in deeper water with 1/4- to 3/8-ounce jigs. Some anglers prefer to tip their jigs with small minnows, but tipping is seldom necessary when the water temperature tops 400 F For best results, work the jig very slowly, with small hops.
Spawning begins when the water reaches the upper 40s, usually in mid- to late April. Saugers start to spawn a few days later than walleyes. Once spawning is under way, fishing turns sour. You may catch a few small males, but the big females don't start to bite until at least two weeks after they've finished spawning.
Starting about the first week in May, big walleyes go on a feeding spree that produces plenty of trophy fish for fishermen who know where to find them. Most of the fish have moved away from the dam, although a few remain all summer. The best spots are backwaters with moving water and current-brushed points in the main channel several miles downstream from the dam. You'll find most of the fish at depths of 8 to 12 feet. Productive techniques include anchoring above the points and casting with 1/4-ounce chartreuse bucktail jigs, or trolling diving plugs through channels in the backwaters.
Saugers are not far away, although they normally hang at least 5 feet deeper than the walleyes.

Fishing Report

Mississippi (above St. Louis): 42 degrees, high, muddy; all species slow. (Report made on 4/9/2008)

Mark Twain: 46 degrees, high, clear; crappie fair on minnows; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/9/2008)

Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lake 33: 55 degrees, high, muddy; black bass good on spinner baits; bluegill slow on worms; crappie fair on bright-colored jigs and scented baits; all other species slow.

Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lakes 3, 4, 5, 7, and 24: 55 degrees, high, muddy; catfish slow with some success using mealworms; catfish limit: 4; please remove litter.

Lake of the Ozarks (Bagnell Tailwater): 47 degrees, high, muddy; white bass fair on light-colored soft plastics; crappie slow with some success using minnows and crappie jigs, catfish fair on worms. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

Lake of the Ozarks (Glaize): 49 degrees, high, muddy; black bass slow on spinner baits and crank baits; white bass slow on light-colored soft plastic jigs; crappie slow on minnows and crappie jigs; catfish slow on worms. (Report made on 4/9/2008)

Lake of the Ozarks (Gravois): 49 degrees, high, dingy; black bass fair; white bass slow; catfish fair on cut shad; crappie slow on jigs. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

Lake of the Ozarks (Niangua): 49 degrees, high, muddy; black bass good using crank baits on shallow points; crappie slow, try lures that create vibration or have blades on it; white bass slow, fish near river mouths and try Road Runners; catfish slow with some success on stink baits. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

Lake of the Ozarks (Osage): 49 degrees, high, muddy; black bass good using crank baits on shallow points; crappie slow, try lures that create vibration or have blades on it; white bass slow, fish near river mouths and try Road Runners; catfish slow with some success on stink baits. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

Table Rock (James River arm): 55 degrees, high, dingy; water is very high; minimal visibility; all species slow. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

Table Rock (main lake): 55 degrees, high, dingy; water levels very high; all species slow. (Report made on 4/10/2008)

fishing

Sorry here is another pic. I am also trying to post straight from my cell phone.

I went Fishing today down at New Town. I caught one bass on a Spinner Bait with a white bleeding skirt. I didn't get water or air temp.

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TEMP: ° °
TIME:
CONDITIONS:

First Fish of the Year

Bryan, Adam and I went fishing on Saturday. We just went down to "Cart". Fishing was Slow. I caught 5 bass all around 10". Fish were only biting on live minnows. Water temp was 49.

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TEMP: ° °
TIME: Midday
CONDITIONS: OverCast

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