Clinton expo brings warmer weather to mind

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Thousands of outdoor minded people passed through the doors at the second annual Quad Lakes Expo held in Clinton last weekend.

This regional event showcased the four lakes, Truman, Lake of the Ozarks, Stockton and Pomme de Terre, as well as displays by area taxidermists, places to stay, things to do this spring and summer, as well as sporting good dealers.

This family-oriented event had something for everyone, including an appearance by members of the Kansas City Royals from mascot, Slugger, to veteran player John Mayberry, and current players David DeJesus and Joey Gathright.

Ned Simpson and family from nearby Windsor, said coming here out of the snow covered ground outside helped them think about spring.

Spring was in the air at the Expo as trout fishing at Bennett Spring was featured and the Royals reminded that opening day is just a couple months away. The 2007 season starts April 2, but spring training gets underway in less than a month.

Other booths, like several promoting camping and canoeing, reminded visitors that spring is just around the corner.

Archers were also represented at the show where the news of a record archery deer season was no surprise to most archers including Jim Burns, Clinton. Burnes said, "When I heard there were 43,524 deer taken this season by bowhunters, I had no trouble believing it. I saw more deer this season than ever. There wasn't a day that while I was in my tree stand that I didn't see at least a dozen deer. When I first started hunting with a bow, if you saw two deer during the day you had a good hunt."

Crappie fishermen in front of the Grip 'N' Check measurer booth were shown an easy way to measure your crappie to quickly see if it is a legal fish by Ken Bailey, Grain Valley. That started several fish stories by George Davis, Clinton, who had been catching lots of crappie prior to the ice storm. Davis said, "I have been catching crappie all winter in all four lakes, it has been a great time for fishing up until the snow and ice slowed it down."

Quail Unlimited was represented at the show where discussions about what has happened to the birds came up often. Don Brown, Warsaw, said he thought that the growing population of turkeys in the state has hurt the quail as well as a growing number of predators, but others in attendance said the real problem in the decline of quail is due to loss of suitable habitat. Vern Jackson, Bolivar, said, "Places where I used to hunt birds have disappeared. Today the same land is either the site of a development or has been cleared for livestock. I'm afraid the 'Good Ole Days' of quail hunting are over, although organizations like Quail Unlimited have the right idea on helping bring them back."

The woman in the family wasn't left out at the expo as Women in the Outdoors was well represented. The ladies-only pheasant hunt will be held Feb. 10 at Frye's Pheasant Inc., near Blairstown north of Clinton.

This event is an opportunity for women to enjoy a day away and join other ladies learning about upland game hunting. Other events coming up include turkey hunting, archery, camping and fishing.

Bob Harrison, Warrensburg, summed up the expo by saying, "I attended the recent Kansas City Sportshow, but I found more here that I really wanted to see, it's all about the local lakes and that's where I'll be this spring. The KC show would be great for someone planning on going to Canada or looking for a $25,000 or more boat or RV, but for me I really enjoyed visiting with people that are in the area I will be using this year."

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