February makes for limited outdoor opportunities

It's that time of year when the outdoor calendar gets slim. The only hunting seasons include crows, rabbits, squirrel, coyotes and geese, while the trout season in Missouri's four trout parks won't open until March 1, with the spoonbill snagging season following on March 15.

February, with it's cold and dreary days, can cause an outdoorsperson to get cabin fever. It doesn't have to be that way.

There are many ways to enjoy the month, while waiting for the good fishing, turkey hunting and morel mushroom hunting in April, or the trout opener and the crappie, white bass and walleye runs that start in March.

The snow goose season runs through April, with no limits. This shows just how critically the snow and blue goose population has grown, although hunting pressure the past several seasons has helped bring down the high numbers of these geese, which benefits these species in the overall picture.

Hunting for crows and coyotes in February has become a method to help bring March closer for many hunters, including Fred Brown, Kansas City.

Brown said, "I used to hunt crows, years ago, when they were so thick they would black out the sunset on their way to roost, along the river. Those days are gone, but there are still plenty of crows around to make a good hunt."

The crow season runs through March 3, with no daily limit.

There were times that there were so many crows that there were wildlife dinners, where the price of admission was 10 pairs of crow's feet. In places where there were pecan trees, the crows became a nuisance, so the idea of having a dinner with the admission being many pairs of crow's feet became popular.

A spot where the big black birds passed on their way to roost was an excellent place to wait for the birds to appear. I remember when several hunting friends would watch the birds' flight patterns so about an hour before sunset and here they would come.

We kept our gun barrels hot from so much shooting. It kept us hunting after the waterfowl seasons had ended.

Other hunters go out in February in search of coyotes. There have always been coyotes to hunt, but it seems, there are more today than in the past.

Several farmers have asked me to come out to hunt because they think the coyotes have hurt the quail and rabbit population. Even with hunting and trapping, Missouri coyotes survive and thrive.

The season for coyotes runs through March 31, with no daily limit.

Another hunting activity going on this month is hunting for shed antlers. There are still lots of whitetail bucks' antlers out there for hunters to find.

Several years ago, after the snow had melted, finding shed antlers was easy. John Garrison, Clinton, said he found more antlers in February than he had ever located in his many years of hunting them after the first of the year.

With all the snow and cold this winter, not too many hunters have been looking for sheds.

February is a good month to fish for lunker trout at Taneycomo. With the trout parks opening on March 1, area anglers are preparing for the annual invasion on Missouri's four trout parks.

With a Saturday opening day, park officials are preparing for a larger than normal crowd of anglers.

Some of the largest rainbow trout are taken this month. Gene Williams, Independence, looks forward to February, so he can hit Taneycomo, where he always catches his largest trout of the year.

Williams said, "Several years ago, I was in the Branson area, on a business trip, when a friend told me about the good fishing. I had my fishing gear along, so before returning home, I decided to give the trout a try.

"Fishing near Fall Creek, I started catching trout right away. During the first hour of fishing, I caught seven trout, including three that went over 4 pounds. That made a believer out of me that February is the time to fish Taneycomo for lunker fish."

Besides some good hunting and fishing this month, there are lots of photo opportunities available. You can see things that are hidden during the spring, summer and fall months, including some great scenery, bald eagles, flocks of wild turkeys, whitetail deer and even some loons may be seen around the big impoundments in the state.

A lot of outdoorsmen and women who used to stay indoors during February are finding out that there are some good things to be said for this month, while waiting for spring.