Category: Fishing and Hunting
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Wild Things: You Don’t Need a Boat to Cash In on Area Fishing Opportunities
by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Anglers hoping to score some fillets for a meal of fresh fish have a wide variety of options up and down the Kewaunee/Door County peninsula. In addition to miles of Lake Michigan and Green Bay shoreline, there are at least a dozen inland lakes, rivers and creeks that offer opportunities to […]
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School’s not out for finned targets by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] June’s arrival is a welcome turning point to what has often been a cold, windy spring. Warmer air and sunshine will lure spawning panfish into the shallows, where they’ll join bass that are already sitting on beds. Look in fewer than three feet of water […]
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Wild Things: Set Your Sights on a Safe Weekend
Properly fitting life jackets are boating essentials by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Door County’s fish-filled waters have already been packed with boats this spring, but things are about to get a whole lot busier. Many consider Memorial Day weekend to be the unofficial start to summer and the recreational boating season, and as more boaters take […]
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Wild Things: Giant Door County Smallmouths Hooked
Local pros Neu, Doering among tournament winners by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] A pair of Sturgeon Bay anglers cashed in on the county’s world-class smallmouth bass fishery last week. Adam Neu and his fishing partner, Grant Ehlenfeldt of Osceola, weighed 10 bass totaling 52 pounds, 12 ounces to win the 142-team North American Bass Challenge’s (NABC) […]
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Wild Things: Spring Fishing Heats Up as Air, Water Temperatures Rise
High winds delay bass tourney opener by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Gusty south winds Monday pushed back the two-day Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament – the first of two major bass-fishing contests in Door County this week – to a Tuesday start. Tournament director Gary Nault said the event, which featured a $10,000 first-place prize, would be […]
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Wild Things: Cold, Wet and Windy Spring Extends Some Hot Fishing
Wild Turkey Hunters Having a Blast by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] A cold, wet and windy spring has been less than idea for hunters pursuing wild turkeys, but most anglers aren’t complaining. That’s because there’s been plenty of water in even the small lakeshore tributaries, extending the steelhead and sucker spawning runs. In addition, cool weather […]
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WILD THINGS: State’s Elk Herd Growing Slowly
Apply for a once-in-a-lifetime tag by the end of May If you want an outside shot at a once-in-a-lifetime tag to hunt elk in Wisconsin this fall, apply no later than May 31. Despite abundant predators and occasional run-ins with vehicles, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife biologist Joshua Spiegel said the elk population is […]
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Wild Things: State’s Elk Herd Growing Slowly
Apply for a once-in-a-lifetime tag by the end of May by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] If you want an outside shot at a once-in-a-lifetime tag to hunt elk in Wisconsin this fall, apply no later than May 31. Despite abundant predators and occasional run-ins with vehicles, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife biologist Joshua Spiegel said […]
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Wild Things: Gearing Up for a Gobbling Good Time
Youth turkey hunt is April 16-17; regular season opens April 20 by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] After a two-year absence, Learn to Hunt wild-turkey programs returned this spring. Judging by photos on social media from across the state last weekend, there were many success stories. Next up is the annual youth turkey hunt April 16-17. It’s […]
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Wild Things: Little Sturgeon’s Squaw Island Looking for New Identity in ’22
Department of Interior seeking public comment by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Little Sturgeon’s colorful history may see another chapter written soon as a popular island is slated for a new name. Squaw Island, located in the south-central portion of Little Sturgeon Bay, is one of 28 geographic features in Wisconsin identified by a U.S. Department of […]
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Wild Things: New Fishing Licenses Needed by April 1
That’s the deadline for the Great Waters Photo Contest, too by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Don’t be a fool by going fishing on April 1 without first purchasing a new-for-’22 license. Although it’s true that Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation wardens can use discretion when deciding to issue a citation or a warning, fishing without […]
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Wild Things: Anglers Finding a Mix of Ice, Open Water to Try Their Luck
Turkey leftovers served March 22 by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Mid- to late March means transition time for anglers, with both open water and hardwater fishing opportunities. Steelhead and suckers are moving into the Ahnapee River for spring spawning, and brown trout are available in the nearshore shallows of Lake Michigan. Yellow perch fishing in Green […]
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Wild Things: Mild Winter for Whitetails Will Lead to Bumper Fawn Crop
by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Heading into March, the Winter Severity Index (WSI) – an algorithm used by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to predict the impact of winter weather on deer survival – was in the mild category in all but Wisconsin’s five northernmost counties. Although the WSI can’t gauge the effects of freezing […]
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Wild Things: Fishing Licenses Purchased Now Are Good through March 31, 2023
by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] If you’ve been wanting to join Wisconsin’s fishing family, now is as good of a time as any because 2022-23 fishing licenses went on sale March 1. They’re good for the remainder of this season (through March 31), as well as for the April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023 license […]
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Wild Things: Park Tower, More Wardens Not Eligible for WSFR Funds
But gun ranges could see expanded grants by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] Wisconsin’s record-setting kickback from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program has some strings attached. Thanks to strong purchases of firearms, ammunition, fishing tackle and fuel, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be receiving more than $43.6 […]
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DNR SEEKS ETHICAL HUNTER NOMINATIONS
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting nominations for its annual Wisconsin Ethical Hunter Award, which honors hunters’ exceptional moral actions and character while in the field. Any hunter or nonhunter may nominate a licensed Wisconsin hunter for her or his actions during the 2021 calendar year. Although many nominations come from the […]
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Fish Tales Series Presents “Environmental DNA” Lecture Feb. 24
The next installment of the Fish Tales lecture series will take place Feb. 24, 7 pm, when Cari-Ann Hayer will present “Environmental DNA (eDNA) as a Tool to Detect the Arrival of Invasive Carp in the Lake Michigan Basin.” Hayer is a fisheries biologist and program manager of the Aquatic Invasive Species Detection and Monitoring […]
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Wild Things: DNR Nets Record Windfall
More than $43.6 million coming from feds by KEVIN NAZE [email protected] Record purchases of firearms, ammunition, fuel and fishing equipment have led to a jackpot for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Long underfunded from both sides of the political aisle, the DNR will have few excuses not to ramp up its efforts to […]
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Wild Things: Walking on (Frozen) Water
Scientists invade Great Lakes next week by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected] U.S. and Canadian scientists will join thousands of ice anglers on the frozen waters of Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes next week. While fishers will be trying to hook the catch of the day, more than two dozen researchers will be drilling through the […]
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Wild Things: For Third Straight Year, DNR Meeting Vote Is Online Only
by Kevin Naze, [email protected] COVID-19 has sacked the annual Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) fish and wildlife hearings and county Conservation Congress (CC) spring meetings for the third straight year. Normally conducted in person, voting will again be done online. Members of the public will soon be able to submit citizen resolutions to be considered. […]