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Column: Kevin Naze

  • Wild Things: Spring Hearings Back to In-Person

    For the first time in five years, citizens can gather at the county level to vote for representation on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC). The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fish and wildlife hearings and WCC county meetings will be held April 8 in all counties, with an option to provide input on a variety […]

  • Wild Things: New Fishing, Hunting Licenses Ready

    Hunters and anglers can now purchase 2024-25 licenses via the state’s Go Wild site (gowild.wi.gov/), or in-person at one of 16 locations in Door and Kewaunee counties. Door County businesses that offer in-person license buying include the Forestville One Stop Mobil; Brussels General Store; PJ’s of Door County; JP Express near Carlsville; and Howie’s Tackle […]

  • Wild Things: Another Cheater on the Hook?

    Weights being found in fish in tournaments have made the news for years, but it took an X-ray to catch an alleged cheater who weighed a potential state record 4.07-pound white crappie in Kansas.  As it was, the angler might have gotten away with it if he didn’t have the giant in a freezer weeks […]

  • Wild Things: Wisconsin For The Win

    Door County is known across North America for its giant smallmouth bass, and the anglers who know how to catch them. One of those who’s very good at it, guide Adam Rasmussen of Sturgeon Bay, topped a field of 151 pros to win the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Lake Eufaula in Alabama earlier this […]

  • Wild Things: Roller-Coaster of Open Water, Ice

    A look at online fishing message forums shows a mixed bag of last-ice catches and early opportunities casting or trolling open water. Trout – mostly browns but an occasional rainbow or laker – are hunting baitfish in the Lake Michigan shallows, while pre-spawn pike, walleyes and perch are cruising the Green Bay shorelines. Stickbaits and […]

  • Early Start to Open Water Fishing

    Look to hook up in Green Bay, Lake Michigan or tributaries If weeks of warnings weren’t enough to deter anglers hungry to hunt offshore whitefish,three separate rescues carried out on lower Green Bay’s east shore Thursday should getthe word out to stay off the ice.Brown County and Coast Guard airboats were used to get nine […]

  • WILD THINGS: Thaw Extends into February

    For the second straight winter, access to deep-water ice fishing on Green Bay doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Even if a predicted cold snap returns mid-month, it’ll almost certainly be too little, too late for anything outside of the more protected areas like bays, harbors and marinas.  Even those spots – think Sawyer […]

  • WILD THINGS: Going, Going, Gone?

    High temperatures well above freezing this week are expected to stick around into early February, potentially spoiling any chance for a deep-water ice fishery this winter. The January thaw – exacerbated by a late freeze-up, strong winds during a below-zero stretch mid-month, and ongoing ice-breaking operations – may be enough to spoil the opportunity to […]

  • WILD THINGS: First Ice Not All Nice

    A predicted thaw next week is not what ice anglers and snow enthusiasts were hoping for. Frigid weather that arrived after last weekend’s blizzard has been good for making ice, but high winds much of the week prevented a total freeze on the vast waters of Green Bay. While a few anglers have been venturing […]

  • WILD THINGS: Long Wait for ‘Safe’ Ice

    Our first below-zero low temperatures of the season are expected Sunday through Tuesday, but ice anglers shouldn’t celebrate just yet. That’s because the brutal cold snap is expected to be accompanied by very strong west winds that’ll prevent good ice formation in the deep water, instead creating large waves and strong currents that will bust […]

  • WILD THINGS: Bring Back Deer Tags?

    Wisconsin deer hunters have seen more regulation changes in the past decade than at any other time period in history. Some of those resulted in a loss of time-honored traditions, not to mention a big drop in income for hundreds of businesses that registered the thousands of deer brought in by hunters each fall. In […]

  • Wild Things: ‘Bow’ Deer Hunt Extended to Jan. 31

    Hunters in all or parts of 31 Wisconsin counties can target whitetails through the end of January, thanks to an extended bow and crossbow hunt.  County Deer Advisory Councils (CDACs) had the option of whether or not to have the longer season, and could only do so if they had a holiday antlerless gun deer […]

  • Wild Things: Another Shot at Holiday Venison

    If you’re a deer hunter who’s still looking for venison in 2023, you’ve got another shot coming up. Door, Kewaunee and Brown counties are among those participating in the antlerless-only holiday gun deer hunt Dec. 24-Jan. 1.  That means blaze orange clothing is mandatory for all hunters during that span, except those after Canada geese. […]

  • WILD THINGS: Winter’s Coming, But Only on Calendar

    Winter is coming Thursday, Dec. 21, but only on the calendar.  If the long-term forecast is accurate, those of us who love ice fishing, skating, sledding, skiing, snowshoeing or snowmobiling will need to be patient. Highs in the low 40s late this week and mid- to upper 30s the next seven days or so mean […]

  • WILD THINGS: Early Ice Will Have to Wait

    A weekend thaw and a chance for rain isn’t what anglers anxious for ice were wishing for, but there’s hope on the horizon. After last year’s near-bust of a season on Green Bay, hard-water fishermen were liking the colder nights during the gun deer hunt. By last weekend, in fact, there was already enough ice […]

  • WILD THINGS: Deer Harvest Takes a Dip

    If you didn’t bring home some venison during the gun deer season, you’re in good company. Based strictly on license sales and harvest, one might figure that about 380,000 hunters failed to get a deer. But since some hunters shoot multiple whitetails, it’s likely that well over 400,000 members of the blaze orange gang were […]

  • WILD THINGS: Giving Thanks for the Outdoors

    There’ll be plenty of leftovers after the hunt One of the hardest parts about being selective while hunting is answering the question, “Did you get your buck?” Those in the know understand that many hunters would rather take an antlerless deer than drop a young buck with its first or second rack, but it doesn’t […]

  • Wild Things: Cooler Air Arrives For Gun Deer Hunt

    Thousands of acres of corn could influence what hunters see – or don’t see – while on stand in fields and forests opening day of the gun deer hunting season Saturday. Statewide, about one-third of more than 3 million acres of corn planted for grain was still standing early this week. Locally, less than half […]

  • Wild Things: Blaze Orange to Color the Woodlands

    Wisconsin’s most anticipated opening morning – the November gun deer season – is just eight toss-and-turn nights away. While a far cry from its glory days of the 1990s when it attracted nearly 700,000 license-buying men, women and youths, the nine-day hunt is still the granddaddy of all, luring more than 550,000 people to dress […]

  • Wild Things: Early Snow a Wakeup Call to Hunters

    If there was any doubt that the gun deer hunting season was just over the next ridge, a surprise Halloween snowfall erased it.  Whitetail fanatics love the white stuff, and while it wasn’t expected to last, bow and crossbow hunters on stand late Tuesday got an early treat to aid sightings and tracking. Through the […]