Youth deer harvest down 3 percent in Missouri

Last weekend's cold, frosty conditions were nearly ideal for hunting, but the harvest for the first segment of the youth deer season was down from a year ago.

Youngsters killed 18,091 deer statewide, a 3 percent drop from last year's 18,676. Even with the drop, the harvest was the third-largest since the season was split into two segments in 2008.

"It was really cool, and it appeared there was a lot of rutting and chasing behavior," said Missouri Department of Conservation resource scientist Emily Flinn.

Most local counties showed harvest rates similar to or better than 2013.

Butler County hunters killed 181 deer, compared with 160 last year.

Stoddard County's kill was 177, up slightly from 169 a year ago. Dunklin County hunters shot 41 deer, down from 56.

Wayne County led the Southeast Region with 310 deer tagged, up from 274 last year.

In the Ozarks Region, Carter County hunters took 173 deer, a hair below the 175 taken last year. In Ripley County, the harvest was 281, up a little from 257 last fall.

Across the state, the acorn crop is considered average, Flinn said, though regional variations occur. Where acorns are heavy, deer movement is typically reduced, and hunters see fewer of them. Conversely, rutting activity gets the deer on their feet and moving around more.

Deer numbers, Flinn said, are stable or slowly increasing in Southeast Missouri, unlike some regions, where the population has fallen.

Looking toward regular firearms season, Flinn said, it appears it should be a good one.

"Hunters should hope for cool weather and should see good hunting," she said.

Fall turkeys

Missouri fall firearms turkey season wrapped Friday, with a statewide harvest of 5,691 birds. That's 4 percent below last year's take.

"It was pretty low," said Missouri Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle. "It's the second-lowest harvest on record."

The low harvest certainly isn't because of a lack of birds, Isabelle said.

"We had better production this year," he said, "but not many folks take advantage of the fall season. There's been a long-term declining interest in that season."

Much of the blame, Isabelle said, is because of the rising popularity of bowhunting deer.

Permit sales were down 6 percent, marking one of the lowest sales on record.

Southeast Missouri saw the largest decline in harvest at 15 percent, followed by Northwest Missouri at 13 percent.

In Butler County, hunters killed 21 birds, and in Stoddard County, 48 were killed.

Carter County hunters killed 33 birds, and 26 were taken in Ripley County.

Wayne County led the region with 94 birds tagged.

Middle Zone

It appears the Middle Zone duck season began pretty well at two local managed wetland areas.

On the Saturday opener and Sunday, 79 parties tried to get in at Otter Slough Conservation Area, which had 30 positions available.

On Saturday, hunters took 374 birds and on Sunday, 333.

At Duck Creek Conservation Area, 55 parties showed up for the opener, with 21 positions available and killed 154 ducks. On Sunday, 33 parties vied for the same number of positions, with hunters taking 128 birds.

The fall migration has been "pretty much a nonevent so far," according to Missouri Department of Conservation wetlands ecologist Frank Nelson, who compiles weekly waterfowl survey data from across the state.

Even so, Nelson said, some early migrants are "starting to shuffle around."

"Last Thursday and Friday's weather front was a green-wing event," he said. "The green-winged teal pushed in across the board, but we haven't seen a jump in mallard numbers because there's nothing to push them from up north."

Better fishing

Crappie fishing appears to be picking up after an extended dismal period.

"When the weather is good, they're really catching them," said Dave Maddux at Wappapello Lake.

Several people, Maddux said, have reported catching 10- to 11-inch fish in shallow water using small jigs or Roadrunner spinners.

Catfish still are biting, Maddux said.

The lake appears to be clearing as well.

Maddux expects fishing to improve after Tuesday's rain flushed new water into the lake.

"It really ought to pick up after that," he said.