Outdoors

Missouri is home to more than 1 million anglers, 500,000 hunters, and several thousand trappers. MDC issues nearly 2.6 million hunting, fishing, and trapping permits each year. To keep pace with continually rising costs of goods and services, MDC is proposing increases for 2026 to some nonresident, resident, and commercial permit prices. Changes include significant

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 The boat ramp is four feet under water. You can launch any where but Taberville. They are catching fish but not tearing them up. The river can’t decide what it’s going to do, We are open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays

Charlie Curran, the eighty-eight year old Big Piney river-guide whom I wrote about recently, made a trip over to the Osceola area of Truman Lake with a friend, to fish for catfish. He took with him twenty jugs, each with his name, address and phone number on them as the law requires. Early that morning

Table Rock State Park has completed improvements to Campground 2, including new 50-amp sewer, electric and water services for 22 campsites. The renovated campsites are available for reservations immediately. To give the public the opportunity to see the improvements and visit with park team members, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, June

New ginseng regulations require a dealer permit, harvest permit, and root certification by MDC. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds ginseng harvesters and dealers of new regulations that become effective July 1. MDC sent letters to registered ginseng dealers with the information late last year after regulations were approved. MDC also provided information to

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) George O. White Tree Nursery in Licking is currently purchasing seed from the public for a variety of species. The nursery conducts seed collections periodically and collected seeds are grown into bare root seedlings. MDC is currently interested in species that produce seed late in the summer and in

Taberville Report by Bobby Dains Dains Fish Farm 417/432-3391 The river is bank full and rising. They were able to launch a boat this morning but I don’t know now. Blue cats are biting. You can’t set lines. Too much trash. They are catching some flatheads. We are open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

I was walking along a wooded ridge top trail years ago when a young fox squirrel fell from a limb above me and landed with a thud not more than ten feet from my boots. He didn’t waste any time leaving but he would have been a goner if I had wanted to shoot him.

The Missouri Conservation Commission approved recommendations from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) at its April 4 meeting for upcoming 2025 migratory-game-bird-hunting seasons and 2025-2026 waterfowl-hunting seasons. 2025 Migratory game bird hunting Mourning Doves, Eurasian Collared Doves, and White-Winged Doves Season: Sept. 1 through Nov. 29 Limits: 15 daily and 45 in possession combined total

Charlie Curran was born close to the Big Piney River in 1938 and for 88 years he has stayed close to the Big Piney River. He lives near Duke, Missouri on the lower third of the river where he fishes regularly for goggle-eyes and bass, sets trotlines for flathead catfish, and rides horses. There are