Outdoors digest

Jackson angler wins bash fishing event

Rodney Enderly of Jackson won the Bass Busters of SEMO tournament Aug. 8 at Lake Wappappello.

Enderly caught bass weighing 10.6 lbs. to win the event. He caught his fish using a Lunker Lure Buzzbait in the morning and a Foutz's Spinner bait in the afternoon. His fish were located in large pockets holding concentrations of shad.

Steve Ramey of Cape Girardeau took second place also using a Lunker Lure Buzzbait and a Power Worms. He also focused on large pockets with large numbers of shad.

John Ramey took big bass honors for his big bass, which took a white spinnerbait along a gravel bank.

Conditions were post frontal with a northeast wind and mostly sunny sky.

Dove season presents new opportunities

Dove hunting can be challenging, and the results provide savory table fare. This year, Missouri hunters will find extra incentive in the dove fields.

For harvest data, agencies have put more reliance on banding studies, which involve marking birds with leg bands and keeping records of where and when hunters shoot marked birds. This makes hunters a critical link between wildlife research and wildlife management.

This year is the first of a three-year dove banding study involving 25 states. In all, 85,000 doves are being fitted with metal leg bands.

Workers with the Missouri Department of Conservation began July 1 banding doves captured in wire-mesh traps baited with grain. Their goal is to catch and band 1,200 doves in Missouri before hunting season Sept. 1.

Each of the bands has a toll-free telephone number hunters can call to report bagging marked birds, or report banded birds online at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl.

Hunters who report banded birds receive a certificate with information about the bird's history, including its age, sex and where it was banded.

-- From staff reports