The Mighty Missouri River bisects its namesake state into north and south halves. The river also forms the northern half of Missouri’s western boundary with Nebraska and Kansas. From Kansas City to St. Louis, where the Missouri River adds its flow to create an even mightier Mississippi River, the Missouri appears as a serene blue ribbon on any highway map. But such a cartographer’s representation is a devious deception compared to what river hunters must cope with to be successful.

“The Missouri River is incredibly moody,” said Tony Vandemore, a resident of Kirksville, MO. “The water level can be up one day then down the next. It’s never at the same level two days in a row.”

Added and subtracted with the rhythm of the Moody Mo’s rise and fall are stronger or lighter velocities that can range from boulder-rolling torrents to complete docility. Such wild mood swings mean Missouri River hunters must be as flexible as the river itself. Increasing or decreasing snowmelt or rainfall contributions, combined with deep holes, shallow sandbars that can be covered with rocks and boulder-studded bottom and banks create a gauntlet to hunters. So why would anyone venture onto the river?

“It’s one of the best places in all the Midwest to hunt ducks,” Vandemore said. “That makes it worth the extra trouble.”

Vandemore (Mallard Marauder) hunts in seven states throughout the Midwest. His extensive travels allow him to scout out many hunting locations. Nevertheless, the Moody Mo remains his favorite spot because it’s the backyard playground of he and his fellow Mallard Marauders. They can go there anytime and shoot a limit of greenheads.

On a subfreezing afternoon, even discounting a high wind-chill factor, Terry Engberg of Brookfield, MO, Mark Bloss of Marsh Lake, MO, and Vandemore carefully launched Engberg’s 21-foot john-boat at one of the many public boating access ramps along the Missouri. Snow and ice covered everything but the river’s flowing surface and the concrete boat ramp. The ramp had been treated with rock salt by the highway department to enable hunters to launch from the steep path, which ran a couple of hundred feet, at slant that would have given a mountaineer pause to reconsider, down to the muddy water. Skidding on ice would have meant a watery grave for a boat trailer and its attached pickup truck.

“You’ve got to have a strong, thick aluminum hulled boat that can take the bangs and scrapes,” Enberg said. “You have to learn where the safe passages are located or you’ll ruin the propeller. The boat is going to bang against a rock every now and then, whether you’re navigating the river or just pushing it into the water from a bar to retrieve a downed duck. It’s a long way back to the ramp and there are not many hunters out here on weekdays to help you if you get into trouble by holing your boat or losing your propeller.”

Indeed, there were only two other vehicles towing boat trailers parked at the ramp parking lot, although the ramp provided access to about 20 miles of river in either direction. While there are plenty of public ramps along the Missouri River, there are also many more miles of water. Scouting the long stretches is the only way to find mallard concentrations that are vital to the success of any hunt. Many wildlife refuges line the Moody Mo and some of the best places to hunt the river are near the refuges.