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Lake Michigan Water Levels Highest Many Have Seen
If you’re age 33 or younger, you’ve never seen Green Bay and Lake Michigan water levels higher than they were last weekend. And – depending on what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds this week – there’s a chance that we could be looking at an all-time record as we head into June. Frequent […]
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Memorial Day Weekend: Busy on the Water
Spring is here and summer is near, but it’s still winter in the water. That’s one of the safety-related messages that the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. Coast Guard has for boaters and other recreationists as we head into a busy holiday weekend. Water has gradually been warming into the 50s in some shallow bays and […]
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Amazing 6.5-Pound Average Biggest Ever in Bass Tourney
A record-setting weight of 32.76 pounds for five fish on the first day of the Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament propelled a pair of guides to the winner’s circle. Door County guide Bret Alexander of Green Bay and southern Wisconsin guide Eric Haataja of West Allis averaged more than 6.55 pounds per bass, which is thought […]
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Colorful Migrants Finally Wing Their Way to Peninsula
Some of the most beautiful birds in North America are winging their way to and through the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula this week. The first-of-year Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks and ruby-throated hummingbirds are here, and a lucky few bird watchers have seen (or may soon see) orchard orioles, indigo buntings, eastern towhees and scarlet tanagers. If […]
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Algoma’s National Treasure: Bearcat’s Fish House
Algoma, a lakeside city roughly 20 miles south of Sturgeon Bay, is where the Ahnapee River runs into Lake Michigan. The area serves as an access point for plenty of avid anglers, and the port is known as one of the greatest on the Great Lakes for sport fishing. In fact, Algoma is home to […]
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Kewaunee/Door Peninsula Again Top in Chinook Harvest
Year in and year out, there’s no place like home when it comes to catching chinook salmon. The annual charter report and creel estimate released by the DNR show that anglers fishing the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula cranked in nearly half of the state’s entire chinook harvest in 2018. The catch of more than 84,000 was […]
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Kewaunee/Door Top in Chinook Harvest
Year in and year out, there’s no place like home when it comes to catching chinook salmon. The annual charter report and creel estimate released by the DNR show that anglers fishing the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula cranked in nearly half of the state’s entire chinook harvest in 2018. The catch of more than 84,000 was […]
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2019 Smelt Run Brings Back Memories of ‘Good Old Days’
One of the best rainbow-smelt runs in years had seasoned smelters scrambling last week to find drop nets, dip nets and seines stored in barns, basements, garages and sheds. As the word spread by phone, sport-shop talk and social media posts, Kewaunee and Door County piers, creek mouths and bays attracted men, women and children […]
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Full Moon Friday Is a Good Time to Reflect on Life’s Blessings
Easter weekend is a great time to reflect on the blessings in life, a sweet-treat reminder of the power of faith, family and – dare I say it – fishing. I’ve grown up around the water, and for a few hours every Good Friday, one of my annual traditions is some one-on-one time with the […]
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Annual Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament
The annual Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament will be held April 25-28, with more than $8,000 in cash and prizes to be won. The first-place winner will take home a $1,500 prize package ($1,000 cash and a Door County vacation package). Participants may fish in Door and Kewaunee county waters, on the bay and lake […]
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Youth Turkey Hunt a Gobbling Good Time
Thousands of Wisconsin youths will get a head start on the spring wild-turkey hunting season this weekend. The special weekend for hunters ages 12 to 15 began in 2007, and it’s designed to give youth an opportunity to hunt without competition from adults. Youth must have drawn a spring tag or purchased a leftover permit […]
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Anglers, DNR Work to Net Best Lake Michigan Fishing Strategy
Planning the next three-year stocking strategy for Lake Michigan salmon and trout is underway. DNR staff are wading through data on alewife abundance, average salmon size, catch statistics and other critical fisheries information, and soon they will be seeking public input. The last plan was developed in 2017 after more than two years of input […]
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Bay Ice Not Leaving Anytime Soon
With continued cold nights in the 10-day forecast, Green Bay’s ice isn’t going anywhere soon. In fact, unless things heat up significantly in the coming weeks, boaters on the bay side may still be dodging ice floes during the 31st Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament April 25-28. A lot can happen between now and then, […]
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Crossroads at Big Creek will screen Door County History – stories of the peninsula’s native people and European settlers – on March 29, 2 pm, as its Friday Film. Take a chance on seeing pike on March 30 during the annual Pike Hike at 10 am. Chances are slim, but hikes during the past three years have […]
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Jake Ellefson and the Big Fish Story that Got Away
By Brett Kosmider There’s a lot that I love about living and working in Door County and right at the top of that list is hearing all of the great stories from those that have lived and worked here long before I was ever around. Door County has some great history and it lives on […]
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County Deer Advisory Councils Want Feedback from Local Hunters
How many free antlerless deer tags should Door and Kewaunee County hunters get this fall? North to south, you’ll typically get different answers. Many Northern Door hunters say there are not nearly enough deer to warrant giving out any “doe tags” for free. From Sturgeon Bay south, there’s little debate that there are pockets of […]
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Spring Fish and Wildlife Hearings Allow Online Voting for the First Time
After more than a decade of speculation, the spring fish and wildlife rules hearings will finally offer an online voting option next month. Officially known as the annual DNR fish and wildlife public hearing and Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) county meeting, the gatherings are held the second Monday of each April across the state. Locally, […]
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Catch Paperback Edition of Award-Winning ‘People of the Sturgeon’
Just in time for Wisconsin’s annual sturgeon season (Feb. 9-24), the Wisconsin Historical Society Press has released a new paperback edition of its top-selling, award-winning fishing history, People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish by Ronald Bruch, Kathleen Schmitt Kline and Frederick Binkowski. It features photos by the late Bob Rashid. […]
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Thousands of Leftovers for Spring Turkey Hunters
If you love hunting wild turkeys in the spring but forgot to apply for a harvest permit by the December deadline, you’re not plucked yet. More than 16,000 bonus Zone 2 authorizations for Door, Kewaunee and other eastern Wisconsin counties will go on sale in March. Jaqi Christopher, assistant upland wildlife ecologist for the DNR […]
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Sporting Groups Seek Small Increases in DNR License Fees
It’s been 14 years since Wisconsin raised the price of many hunting and fishing licenses, stamps and application fees, and some haven’t been touched since 1997. Despite pleas for small fee increases in recent years from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and other sporting and conservation groups, the legislature instead let the […]