Outdoors

Spring brings a variety of newborn animals that may look to be abandoned, but Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Protection Regional Supervisor Russell Duckworth says that’s rarely the case, and that it’s best to leave wildlife wild. “Young wildlife are seldom orphaned,” said Duckworth. “When we see newborn animals alone, that means the parents are

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds people that Missouri is home to an estimated 1,000+ black bears with most being in the southern part of the state. As spring gets underway, these magnificent mammals leave their winter dens in search of food. MDC reminds Missourians to “Be BearWise.” MDC Furbearer Biologist Nate Bowersock said

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 Fishing is good The blue cats are really biting. You can catch blue cats from the bank. The banks are mostly dry. I’ve got perch and gold fish now. The blues really like them and cut bait. Haven’t seen hardly any flatheads. You can launch a

The idea of a bear season in Missouri was to make money for the Department of Conservation. It amounts to that and nothing else. There is no “wildlife management” or “For Nature and You” to it! To buy a bear tag you first had to get in the drawing and to do that you had

Check out these exciting activities planned at Missouri state parks. • May 17 – Connector Trails, 4.25 miles. Meet at the Campground Amphitheater. • May 24 – River Forks Trail, 2 miles. Meet at the lake parking lot. These events are free and open to the public, and there is no need to register. Participants

At the end of the last column, brothers Roy Wayne and Tom Morton and I were sitting in a cave above the river praying the raging thunderstorm would end soon. I remember Chinese philosopher Confuseius saying, “It is better to sit in a cave and watch the storm than to sit in the storm and

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 Fishing is good. Spoonbilling is over. Season Closed. The bluecats are really biting. I think you could catch them from the bank. I’ve got perch now. The blues really like them. I’ve seen a few flatheads. Crappie are biting. The water is going down. You can

Squire Lee was an old country gentleman who lived on a sloping hillside above the river. His home was not far from the little cabin where my dad spent much of his childhood. In the river below his old two-story home was a deep eddy with a giant rock sticking out of it. Dad and

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 We got a lot more rain than I thought we’d get. The boat ramp is under water and you can’t get to the bank to snag. So I’ve kind of lost track of spoonbilling. The blue cats are biting. I’m selling lots of bait. I think

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 Spoonbilling is decent from a boat. If you have a live scope you can locate the bigger fish. Fishing from the bank is tough. If we get the predicted rain and the river rises a little and has some current, the spoonbilling will be fantastic the