Outdoors digest

Mike Woods of Jackson won the Bass Busters of SEMO Bass Club fishing tournament that ended Sunday on the Ohio River.

Woods caught a limit of bass both days using a shallow running Bandit crankbait and Southern Pro tube fished against rip rap rock in 1 to 4 feet of water.

Rodney Enderly, also of Jackson, took second place with the two limits of fish he caught using the same Bandit crankbait in similar areas.

Tony Cooper of Jackson won the Big Bass award for the 3-pound-plus fish he caught on a Brush Hog soft plastic bait.

The tournament conditions were a rising muggy river with mostly sunny skies and a slight north wind.

Bowen, Roberts fourth in Bass Quest event

Chris Bowen and Chuck Roberts of Jackson finished fourth among 55 teams in the Bass Quest 2003 series event Sunday at Lake Wappapello.

The team, which leads the series point standings, boated five keepers weighing 10.77 pounds. They barely missed a Big Bass check with a 4.56 pounder.

Event winners Gayle Breckinridge and Roy Griffey boated 15 keepers and the event's biggest bass at 6.95 pounds.

Mike Randon of Jackson and Gary Schaffer of Oran took advantage of late-day bites to finish second in the 15th annual Buddy Bass Tournament at Lake Wappapello on June 15.

Competing among 51 boats, Randon and Schaffer finished the day with an eight-fish limit weighing 13.58 pounds.

Jeremy and Jeremy Shirrell of Advance, Mo., finished third with a 13.04-pound limit of eight fish.

Brian and Tom Deranga of Arnold, Mo., won with an eight-fish limit of 14.4 pounds.

A few ideas before you head to the camp site

With summer in full swing, campers are staking their spots in woods and campgrounds across Missouri. Ready to join them? Consider these tips from Georgia State Parks:

Old plastic shower curtains make good ground cloths for your tent, but don't let the edges stick out because they can trap rainwater.

Get a sleeping pad; an exercise pad will do in a pinch.

Block ice lasts longer than bagged cubed or crushed ice. Make you own with milk jugs or water bottles.

Never hang lanterns on trees.

A small plastic bucket will work for dishwashing; don't use the bathhouse sink.

Lock food in your vehicle or tie it up in a tree to keep away from hungry animals.

Frozen stew or chili in a sealed bag can be heated up quickly and will help keep the cooler cooler.

Pita pockets keep their shape better than loaf bread.

Laundry lint makes a good fire starter.

Don't forget a first aid kit with tweezers, band-aids, moleskin (for blistered feet) and aspirin.

New deer hunting bill OK'd by Illinois governor

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Tuesday that creates special deer hunting seasons to combat the spread of chronic wasting disease, a neurological malady responsible for the demise of at least a dozen deer in the Rock River Valley.

The bill gives the Department of Natural Resources the authority to establish separate harvest periods to control or eliminate the disease. Hunting dates will be at the department's discretion, as will hunting locations. The legislation, which takes effect immediately, makes the special seasons open to gun and bow hunters.

Blagojevich touted the measure as a way to preserve the state's "long-standing deer hunting tradition."

Indiana DNR online address isn't very ducky

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Indiana Department of Natural Resources spent $103,970 this year to produce its annual Hunting and Trapping Guide, but a typographical error is costing the department a lot more in embarrassment.

On page 17, the guide gives prospective waterfowl hunters directions to sign up for the mandatory Hunter Information Program by calling a toll-free telephone number or registering online.

The correct Web address should have been www.wetland.net, but an additional "s" on the URL connects viewers to a pornography site that reads "The Wetlands, where wives get naked."

The DNR already had distributed most of the 500,000 guides to state properties, license vendors and retail stores when the mistake was discovered.

-- From staff and wire reports