FINS, FURS, FEATHERS

June 12 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club "Midnight Ramble, 12:30 a.m.

June 12 "Learn to Fish" program, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mingo National wildlife Refuge.

June 12-13 Free fishing days in Missouri.

June 11-14 Free fishing days in Illinois.

June 13 Velo Girardeau Oak Ridge Run, 2 p.m., from Kent Library.

June 20 Velo Girardeau Kelso to Chaffee Backroad Boneshaker ride, 2 p.m., from Cape Airport.

June 23-24 Missouri Conservation Commission meeting, St. Louis.

June 27 Y-P-G Loop, 2 p.m., from Kent Library.

July 3-4 Waterfest '93, Peoples Creek Beach, Wappapello Lake.

Aug. 28-29 Buck McNeely Outdoorsman Expo and Sporting Clays Tournament, Show Me Center, Cape Girardeau.

---

PUXICO "Learn to Fish," a program sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will be conducted Saturday at the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

New classes will start every 10 minutes, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Experienced anglers and biologists will be on hand to provide information on fish and how to catch them.

---

The Mark Twain National Forest is opening its campgrounds for a weekend of free camping today, Saturday and Sunday, in conjunction with National Fishing week.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is also offering a free weekend Saturday and Sunday only of fishing.

Free camping is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additional information is available by calling (314)-364-4621. More than 650 camping sites area located in the Mark Twin Forest area.

---

Free fishing days are scheduled in Missouri and Illinois this weekend.

Anyone in the Show-Me State can fish without a license June Saturday and Sunday.

Illinois permits four free fishing days each year. The dates for "Free Fishing Days" in Illinois this year are June 11-14.

---

The Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club will holds its "Midnight Ramble" this weekend. The Riverfest rides, of 12 and six miles, will start at 12:30 a.m. Saturday at the Show Me Center.

The Sunday ride this week is the Oak Ridge Run, a distance of 40 miles. Riders will meet at Kent Library at 2 p.m. Sunday for this jaunt.

Other rides this month are the Kelso to Chaffee Backroad Boneshaker June 20, a 27-mile ride, with participants to meet at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport at 2 p.m., and the June 27 Y-P-G Loop, a 30-mile ride, with riders to meet at Kent Library at 2 p.m.

---

Illinois and Missouri "Fishing Prospects" are available to anglers.

The new Missouri fishing guide is available by contacting the Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102.

The Illinois guide is available by contact the Illinois Department of Conservation, Division of Fisheries, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, Ill., 62701-1787.

---

The Buck McNeely Outdoorsman Expo and Sporting Clays Tournament will be held Aug. 28-29 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Special events include archery contests, petting zoo, shooting gallery, seminars, and other activities.

NcNeely will announced a complete schedule of events next week.

---

ST. LOUIS The June meeting of the Missouri Conservation Commission will be held June 23-24 at locations in St. Louis.

The first session in the Commission's two-day meeting will begin at 2 p.m. June 23 at The Ritz-Carlton, 100 Carondelet Plaza. The second session will begin at 9 a.m. June 24 at the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park off U.S. Highway 40.

---

JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will sell excess property ranging from land to utility vehicles and trolling motors at three auctions June 19, Aug. 21 and Oct. 16.

Fire towers sites in Camden and Phelps counties will be sold June 19 at the MDC maintenance shop, junction of Highways 72 and 32, at Salem. Also to be sold at the auction in Salem are: 24 half-ton pickup trucks, other vehicles and boats.

Similar vehicles will be sold Aug. 21 at the MDC maintenance shop, 19 Pershing Drive, Brookfield, and the MDC maintenance shop, 2630 N. Mayfair, Springfield.

---

JEFFERSON CITY If you want to learn to play tennis or ski, you hire a professional to give you lessons. But what do you do if you want to learn to hunt?

Pretty much the same thing, according to Bob Staton, hunter skills coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The main difference is that the hunting lessons are free.

MDC's Hunter Education Course has several objectives. One of the most important is making graduates safe, ethical hunters. But the course also offers a wealth of basic information about the tools and tricks of hunting.

"Hunter education is not just a gun safety course," said Staton. "It includes the history of wildlife in this country and how and why we manage wildlife. If you have children or a spouse who is interested in hunting, it can be extremely valuable. We also teach about firearms safety and responsibility at home. Several mothers have attended the course with their children and ended up becoming hunters themselves."

The course is 10 and 12 hours, depending on the instructor. In some cases, host organizations charge a $2 or $3 registration to defray the cost of facilities, but the course itself is free.

For information about classes in your area, call the Cape Girardeau regional office, 290-5730.

---

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - A Hutchinson fisherman missed out on a state record when his big fish turned out to be too big for the scales.

While fishing the in Ninnescah River at Cheney Lake, Rick Scott hooked a huge fish. After a lengthy battle, he landed the giant fish - a bigmouth buffalo.

Scott knew he had a monster, so he went in search of state-certified scales. However, he found it's not that easy to find scales in Hutchinson capable of weighing such a big fish on a Sunday night.

When Scott finally had the fish weighed early Monday, it weighed 53 pounds.

The state record is 54.25 pounds.

He had been told that large fish can lose from four to five pounds overnight. A four-pound weight loss would have meant that Scott's fish probably tipped the scale at 57 pounds when it was first caught.