Fishing Journal Entry 3 Bank Fishing On The Mighty MO

4/26/2016

A bit after 2:00 this afternoon I took Emilee and Dakota down to the Missouri river in hopes of hooking into some pan-sized catfish while we had a break between thunderstorms.  Instead we found ourselves casting our nightcrawlers into the middle of a bunch of sturgeon.   

Sturgeon

Most of the sturgeon we caught were in the range of twenty to twenty-eight inches long....Not giants by any means, but most of them put up a decent fight.  The smallest was about eighteen inches long with the biggest being about thirty inches long.

Another Sturgeon

The temperature today was in the middle 70's with a mostly overcast sky.  The sun did poke through for a few minutes, but it didn't last long.

One of several sturgeon caught

For a while I thought the kids were going to skunk me but I finally found my way into the action.  Emilee and I each caught 4 and Dakota ended up catching 3.

A look at the underside of a sturgeon

For some reason it seems as though any time we get into a mess of sturgeon, the catfish are nowhere to be found.

A closeup of a sturgeon's mouth and underbelly

Although we didn't catch any catfish, we had a blast reeling in a total of eleven sturgeon in a matter of about an hour and a half.

Note:  Every fish we caught was released back into the water unharmed.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day

Pigeon Hunting Basics

The rock dove aka pigeon is considered a pest in most places throughout the United States.  Because of this pigeons offer year round opportunities for honing in your shooting skills.  There are no limits on the number of birds you can take anywhere as far as I know and to top it off the meat from a pigeon tastes very similar to that of a dove.  Who could ask for more?

Pigeon photo courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Pigeons look similar to doves; however, they are bigger bodied than their closely related cousins.  Like the dove, pigeons will come to decoy setups.  Pigeons can be shot with a shotgun, but a medium to high-powered bb or pellet rifle will easily do the job.  When shooting them with a pellet rifle, try using wad cutters or hollow point pellets that will flatten out on impact causing greater shock than a pass through shot.  Because there are no limits the pigeon is an excellent choice for a low cost, good tasting freezer filler (just make sure it is cooked thoroughly).  As with the dove, the breast meat is what you eat so try to shoot them in a manner that will not harm this area of their body.

Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

The waste from pigeons is known to carry many different diseases which is one of the main reasons these birds are considered pests.  Pigeons hang around in suburban areas as well as around farms where grain is stored.

Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Before shooting them, make sure you check your local laws regarding shooting pigeons as it may be illegal to discharge even a bb or pellet gun if you live within the city limits (many small towns are more lenient about this).

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day