Category: Fishing and Hunting
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WILD THINGS: Wisconsin’s Wolf Controversy Is Not Going to Go Away Quietly
Tuesday’s second virtual gathering of Wisconsin’s Wolf Harvest Advisory Committee was much like what we see in today’s politics: highly polarized, and not a whole lot of meeting in the middle. Just a day ahead of the five-hour meeting, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the state’s pre-hunt 2020-21 winter wolf population […]
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WILD THINGS: Lake Trout Plan a Good Start, but ‘Too Many’ Are Already Out There
Sport anglers who lost the opportunity to harvest more lake trout this spring can’t get that back, but it should be a “go” from here on out. During its meeting next week, the state Natural Resources Board (NRB) is expected to approve a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommendation to adopt an emergency order returning […]
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WILD THINGS: National Fishing and Boating Week, 30 by 30 Initiative, and More
Whether you want to target smallmouth bass, perch, walleye or pike on Green Bay; trout and salmon on Lake Michigan; or panfish, pike and largemouth bass on area inland lakes, now’s the time to try your luck. Bluegills, smallmouths, pike and rock bass are active in many of the bays, harbors and marinas on Green […]
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WILD THINGS: Free Fishing Weekend a Great Time to Hook New Anglers
In spring, a young man’s thoughts often turn to his first love. For many of us baby boomers, that love was fishing. A broken heart? Who wouldn’t have one after the line breaks while fighting an unseen monster? Back then, I didn’t need the latest study to tell me that relaxing outdoors and being close […]
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WILD THINGS: Spring Weather Is a Tease, Taste of Summer Eludes
Air and water temperatures continue to fluctuate widely on the Kewaunee/Door peninsula – something that those of us who’ve seen this spring show before are very familiar with. A 20- to 30-degree swing in temperatures from one day to the next – or even within the same day, depending on the wind direction and proximity to […]
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This is not your typical 16-year-old’s passion Tia Wiesner’s summer vacation plans could be traced to her two-year-old self who, dressed in camouflage bibs, accompanied her family on a black-bear hunt. “She was in the woods with us the whole while,” said Nicole Wiesner, Tia’s mother. Then she’s five years old, straddling her father’s shoulders […]
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WILD THINGS: Bass Fanatic Hooks the Trout of a Lifetime off Door County
Door County’s spring sport fishery is among the most impressive in North America. Five-pound smallmouth bass, 10-pound walleyes and 20-pound northern pike aren’t out of the question. But a 32-pound, nine-ounce brown trout that Ben Otto of Pulaski caught while casting for bass April 24 near Sand Bay turned the world-class potential up a notch. […]
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Wild Things: State Natural Resources Board Approves Whitefish Emergency Rule
A seven-year effort led by Northern Door commercial fisherman Charlie Henriksen is finally coming to fruition on Green Bay. Wisconsin’s seven-citizen Natural Resources Board (NRB) unanimously approved an emergency rule allowing an increased quota for whitefish this season in commercial fishing Zone 1 (Lower Green Bay) during an online meeting April 14. Henriksen, president of […]
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Wild Things: Door County Shoots for Three Free Tags
Kewaunee County goes for four for 2021 deer season Deer hunters in Door and Kewaunee counties will again have ample opportunity to target whitetails this fall. The Kewaunee County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC), which earlier this year voted to aim to maintain the herd at current levels, gave a preliminary recommendation to award four free […]
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Wild Things: Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tourney Returns
Participate April 15-17 off the Door/Kewaunee peninsula After a one-year hiatus caused by the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament is back on for 2021. This year’s contest – the 33rd – is set for April 15-17, with fishing allowed on Green Bay and Lake Michigan waters off Door and Kewaunee […]
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Wild Things: Spring Fishing, Bird Migration Highlight Late March Outdoors
Spring’s arrival this weekend means that more fishing and birding opportunities are just around the corner. Lake Michigan tributary anglers are finding the first wave of spawn-minded rainbow trout in the deeper runs, and northern pike and walleyes are migrating toward Green Bay’s creek mouths and nearshore shallows. Brown trout and an occasional laker have […]
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Wild Things: COVID-19 Doesn’t Stop Shoppers but Guts Second Spring Hearing
For the second straight year, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have announced that the annual spring hearings will be online only because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With case numbers falling rapidly and big-box stores packed with hundreds of shoppers every hour, it’s hard for this writer to understand why a […]
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Wild Things: Jeff Pritzl Named DNR’s New Deer Program Specialist
A face familiar to northeast Wisconsin hunters has been chosen to replace Kevin Wallenfang as the Department of Natural Resource’s (DNR) Deer Program specialist. Jeff Pritzl has been a wildlife biologist for nearly three decades, and about half of that time in Door, Kewaunee and Manitowoc counties. For the past 14 years, he’s served as […]
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Wild Things: LaBarbera Selected to Lead Wisconsin Wildlife Federation
After 18 years of building the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF) into the largest conservation organization in Wisconsin, Executive Director George Meyer announced Tuesday that the group has hired Mark LaBarbera to replace him in July. Meyer, who is retiring from the WWF position this summer, spent three decades with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). […]
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Wild Things: NRB Approves Short Window for Winter Wolf Hunt, Trapping
Will the legal battle over wolves ever end? The on-again, off-again plan to manage gray wolves has taken more twists and turns than the curvy section of Highway 42 near Northport. Wolves have been delisted and relisted as federally endangered species five times during this century alone, and none of them due to declining populations. […]
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Wild Things: Perch, Pike, Trout and ’Eyes
Whitefish not the only game in town Ice anglers have a smorgasbord of species to choose from when heading out onto the frozen waters of Green Bay. A terrific deep-water fishery for whitefish is the focus of many trips, but they’re certainly not the only possible catch. If you don’t mind sorting through smaller ones, […]
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Wild Things: DNR Reconsiders, Suggests Split of Door Deer-Management Units
Jeff Pritzl, the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Northeast District wildlife supervisor, said the wheels are in motion for Door County to be split into multiple deer-management units. “We know a lot of hunters wanted the split on the table, and now it is,” Pritzl said. The DNR’s Deer Advisory Committee – a group of […]
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Wild Things: DNR Misses the Boat on Dividing Door North-South
When it comes to deer and deer hunting, there’s no way to make season recommendations that will please everyone. But if you’re one of the more than 300 hunters who provided written comments on the Door County Deer Advisory Council’s (CDAC) preliminary three-year population objectives and unit boundaries, you might feel doubly frustrated this week. […]
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Wild Things: Time to Split Door for Deer?
CDAC to vote virtually Jan. 25 Is there enough support for Door County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC) members to vote to split the management unit north and south? We’ll find out Monday night, when CDAC members meet via Zoom or phone to finalize three-year goals on what direction they’d like to see the local deer […]
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Wild Things: Free Fishing Weekend Jan. 16-17 Offers Cold, Hard Opportunity on Ice
A mostly mild start to January is expected to give way to more winter-like weather during the coming weeks, much to the delight of ice anglers and others who enjoy a walk on the wild side. This weekend will be Wisconsin’s annual Winter Free Fishing Weekend: an opportunity for both residents and nonresidents who don’t […]