Hunters checked 1,772 deer during the second Youth Portion of Firearms Deer Season Jan. 3 and 4. That brings the total for the early and late youth deer hunts to 12,172, the third-largest number in the youth season’s eight-year history. The youth hunt is the last segment of Missouri’s firearms deer season. The total firearms deer harvest was 238,318. That is 8.2 percent below last year’s figure. (Missouri Dept. of…[more]

President George Bush said, “I like to fish because it is totally relaxing. I love the water. I can concentrate and forget all my worries. I count my blessings while fishing.”
And he’s not the only one! Fishing ranks as the 4th most popular participation sport in the United States of America, ahead of even basketball and soccer.
Thousands of people every year take the opportunity…[more]

Oklahomans will have a new opportunity when they renew their hunting, fishing or combination license in 2009 - a license good for five years.

Mike Chrisman, license supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said “For a lot of people, the new five-year hunting, fishing or combination license will be just the right choice to meet their hunting and angling license requirements.”

The five year…[more]

Hunters checked 15,036 deer during the Antlerless Portion of Firearms Deer Season Dec. 13 through 21. That is down by almost 23 percent from last year (19,472). High winds, very cold weather conditions and considerable ice in many of Missouri’s northern counties took a toll on this year’s antlerless harvest numbers. In addition, there were six fewer counties open during this year’s Antlerless Portion.
High counties during the…[more]

At its December 19 meeting in Jefferson City, theMissouri Conservation Commission discussed changes to the structure and pricing of hunting, fishing and trapping permits as proposed by the Commission in September.

Public input, according to the Commission, has again proven to be an essential component of regulation development. Following the recent public comment period on proposed permit changes, several recommendations included in the original package have been sidelined…[more]

Because the weather was too cold in Chicago, we decided we needed a short fishing vacation. After all the planning, the chosen weekend quickly approached and we were heading to the Ozarks to fish for rainbow trout. Our destination for this short weekend trip was Bennett Springs State Park in Missouri. Bennett Springs State Park is 175 miles southwest of St. Louis, and 10 miles northwest of Lebanon, Missouri. Travel…[more]

Trout stockings that had been temporarily suspended in the lower Illinois River due to warm water temperatures will resume Nov 19.
According to Jim Burroughs, east central region fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department, it was heavy spring rains and a period of extreme heating that combined to create the unusually warm water in Tenkiller Reservoir.
Wildlife Department officials had hoped to resume stockings by the…[more]

LITTLE ROCK - Not all Thanksgiving turkeys come out of the frozen foods section.

“Fall turkey hunting can be just as exciting as spring, but is a completely different experience,” said Rex Roberg, extension wildlife specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “Patience, while important in spring hunting, is even more important if you plan on hunting for a fall gobbler.”[more]

Autumn is all about food and love for white-tailed deer. Love is constant, but Missouri deer hunters would do well to think about deer food when planning strategy for the upcoming firearms deer season.

Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen is responsible for the Missouri Department of Conservation’s deer management program. He said the hard freeze that struck most of the Show-Me State in April 2007 virtually eliminated this year’s…[more]

The legend of Pistol Pete is extensive. He was a real cowboy, a gunslinger, a scout, an author, a Deputy U.S. Marshal and the mascot for Oklahoma State University.

Pistol Pete has now added another title to the end of his name – fisherman.

Bill Fisher, research ecologist with the Oklahoma cooperative fish and wildlife research unit and adjunct professor at OSU, came up with the…[more]