Conservation Corner: February 26, 2001

Expo Features Top Seminar Speakers
by James L. Cummins

The second annual Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Expo, which will be held on March 2-4 at the Washington County Convention Center in Greenville, Mississippi, will feature several top attractions and seminar speakers. According to Peyton Self, President of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, "Everyone will enjoy the many seminars. We have scheduled some top seminar speakers and are very fortunate to be attracting such talent."

Wildlife Mississippi is very fortunate that Jeffery D'Agostino, a 14-year member of the Primos Game Calls Pro Staff, will be conducting seminars at the Expo on "Turkey Calling." D'Agostino is also a member of the Mossy Oak Camo Hunt Team. His unique blend of calling will enable him to deliver practical and useful information for the novice and veteran turkey hunter. D'Agostino has been featured in "The Truth V About Spring Turkey Hunting" and "The Truth IV About Spring Turkey Hunting" by Primos Game Calls. He has also been featured in other nationally recognized videos including, "North American Hunting Odyssey, Volume I" and "Spring Gobbler Hunting With The Legends," which was produced by the National Wild Turkey Federation. He has also been featured in Turkey Call, North American Hunter and Southern Outdoors. His love of the outdoors, calling expertise and ability to share his knowledge about the wild turkey has brought him much respect and notoriety. This is a seminar no turkey hunter will want to miss!

Dr. Wes Burger of Mississippi State University's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will discuss the management of bobwhite quail. The quail hunting tradition is part of Mississippi's outdoor heritage and each year thousands of Mississippians pursue this premiere game bird.

Sidney Montgomery, the Marketing Director at Tara Wildlife, one of the nation's premier hunting and fishing resorts, will be conducting a seminar on "Fishing On The Mississippi River." Montgomery has been fishing the river since 1986. He has guided fishing trips from Lake Whittington to Natchez and in doing so, has accumulated thousands of hours and much experience.

Montgomery volunteers his spare time to the conservation of the Mississippi River. Wildlife Mississippi is pleased to bring the ever-popular Hawg Trough, one of the top attractions on the show circuit, to the Expo. The 'hawg trough' is a 42-foot long portable fish tank which holds 5,000 gallons of water. It will be stocked with some unusual fish species. More than just an aquarium of huge fish, the Hawg Trough is a live classroom for anglers. One of its primary goals is to educate and entertain the angler. During the seminars, spectators will get a "fish's eye view" of how fish react to lures. It will demonstrate various techniques and what baits to use while fishing. There will be four Hawg Trough seminars over the 3-day Expo.

Show Hours are: March 2, Friday, 3 pm - 9 pm; March 3, Saturday, 10 am - 8 pm; March 4, Sunday, 12 pm - 5 pm.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.