The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) recently issued the 2007 Fish Consumption Advisory, an annual report summarizing fish species that should be avoided or eaten in limited quantities due to concerns about environmental contaminants.  The advisory provides consumption advice for locally caught fish, updates to the health effects of key contaminants, and guidance on fish preparation to reduce contaminants prior to consumption.

This year DHSS…[more]

This voracious and carnivorous fish lives in freshwaters on the Northern Hemisphere. Northern Pike (Esox lucius) is also known by its folk name of “Water Wolf”. Pikes grow as large as 150 cm in size and 25 kg in weight (1’ to over 4’, and weigh 50 pounds), although larger sizes have been reported, particularly in the Great Lakes area, making people believe in a misidentification or folk tale.

Sometimes it’s good to know that things can go wrong with the pros, too:

Bill Dance Gets in Trouble

There are hundreds of hot air balloon festivals held throughout the year, all over the world. These events are a great way to spend a weekend and learn more about the sport. They also give balloonists a chance to participate in balloon races and display their balloons during evening balloon glows. When hundreds of balloons are gathered in one place, it’s a very impressive sight! So what are some of…[more]

“I just broke my leg!” I yelled at my fishing partners as I lay in the bottom of the boat. They seemed unconcerned about me, only anxious about the fishing tackle I had fallen across. “Those rods are not broken are they?” my friend Captain Steve asked, not concerned about me at all.

“No” I shouted, “But my ankle is!”
[more]

CASSVILLE, Mo.-If arranging your honeymoon around a favorite fishing spot and spending an average of 65 days a year there qualifies as obsessive, Jack Overman is officially obsessed. The Pittsburg, Kan., resident has spent so much time at Roaring River State Park over the past 75 years that he has been granted the honor of receiving the first permit of the 2007 fishing season there.

Overman’s attachment to…[more]

Opening-day attendance at Missouri’s four trout parks is expected to be modest, since March 1 falls on a Thursday. Even so, hatchery managers plan to stock approximately 24,000 trout in anticipation of 8,000 anglers showing up for the event.
(Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)
A Thursday…[more]

In Kansas, crappie fishing really takes off in the spring. In fact, the Kansas reservoirs are some of the bet locations in the Midwest to catch some big slabs. Though some of these manmade lakes lack any stock of crappie worth discussing, several actually yield large quantities of the sunfish. In fact, only three reservoirs - Cedar Bluff, Glen Elder, and Cheney - are ranked as poor reservoirs for Kansas…[more]

JEFFERSON CITY-Nonresidents will pay more for some Missouri hunting and fishing permits. Meanwhile, the price of one resident permit will decrease.

The surcharge that hunters from some states used to pay for deer permits has been eliminated for the 2007-08 permit year. However, the price of the following permits will increase.
* Nonresident small game permits will increase from $65 to $75.
* Nonresident…[more]

Bowhunters killed 43,524 deer during Missouri’s archery deer season, setting a record for their sport and helping push the 2006-07 deer harvest to nearly a third of a million.

The previous archery deer harvest record of 37,036 was set during the 2005-06 season. The 2006-07 harvest is an 18 percent increase from the previous record.

The top three archery deer harvest counties were St. Louis, with…[more]