Vol.3, Issue 5 - On Wisconsin Outdoors · 2011. 12. 22. · Vol.3, Issue 5 Hunting, Fishing,...

May/June 2010Vol.3, Issue 5

� Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Travel & Outdoor Humor �

� Game-Cam GobblersShoot your turkey twice

� On Guard!Invasive species are attackingWisconsin

� Recipes By SuzetteMouth-watering walleyes

� Calling In The RainApril showers bring biggobblers

� K.I.S.S. A MuskieThe direct, simple approach

� Bassin’ For WalleyesThinking outside the box

� Of Hunters And HopeWhy we do what we do

� Tinkering With TroutA Top 10 guide to success

� Stalking AsparagusThe ‘other’ green meat

� Blood Brothers OutdoorsDeer time in the turkey woods

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2 May/June 2010 On Wisconsin Outdoors

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On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2010 3

Trail cameras—or game cams—are notjust for deer hunters. They’re useful

data-collectors no matter what you’rechasing. Use them on your next turkeyhunt to increase your odds for success andadd an element of fun.

While on a recent spring hunt withRon Bice of Wildlife Research Center(WRC) in east-central Minnesota, Ronand I used game cameras to help me taga 20-pound gobbler with a 10-inchbeard. We woke up early enough tocheck a few trail cameras in the dark,and decided where to hunt based onscouting reports provided by the photos.

But game camera photos not onlyserve a functional scouting purpose; theyalso foster optimistic attitudes during thehunt. If you haven’t seen or heard agobbler for a day or two, seeing a photoof a turkey not only provides you withscouting information, it gives you hope.

Photos of turkeys add to the thrillsto the hunt. For example, you mightcollect photos of a turkey that hasspecific body markings, such as a bleach-

white tail feather or an extra-thick,ground-dragging beard. If you harvestthat bird during your season, those gamecamera photos become keepsakes thatcomplement your successful hunt.

That certainly was true in my case:A game cam photo of my Minnesotagobbler taken the night before I shot himhangs in a frame on my wall near histrophy fantail mount.

You might want to choose a camerathat takes high-resolution color photosthat are high-quality enough to print. Orchoose a camera that captures shortvideos, because movie clips make greatmementos of your hunt, too.

Trail cameras are useful tools to adda new level of fun and excitement to yourhunt, all while helping you get the jobdone. OWO

JJ Reich is an outdoor writer whocontributes product-related articles toseveral national publications and is theauthor of Kampp Tales™ hunting booksfor children (www.kampptales.com).

JJ REICH

The Reich StuffGame-cam gobblers

The author’s Minnesota gobbler caught on camera the night before the hunt.

During the past 2 decades, Ron Bice has filled dozens of hard drives with trail camimages. To create special mementos, Bice likes to position his cameras so his huntingblind is in the background.

Ron Bice and the author woke up early enough to check a few trail cameras in the dark,and decided where to hunt based on scouting reports provided by the photos.

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In Wisconsin’s northernhighlands, nestled

between the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, theborder of Michigan’s UpperPeninsula and the mightyNorth Woods, lies FlorenceCounty.

The best way to explain the feelingsyou experience when you arrive inFlorence County is to liken it to thosetimes you’ve found yourself outdoors invery remote and secluded surroundings.The gamut of emotions swirl within us… excitement, adventure and awetapered with a little fear because we area part of something bigger than us.Florence County is a destination thatallows you an escape within one ofWisconsin’s most natural and untamedenvironments.

Established in 1881, the county wasnamed for Florence Hulst, because ashistorical letters explain, “Florence wasa woman who had the courage to settlein such rugged country.” If rugged wasan accurate depiction in the late 1800s,the Florence County of today has notchanged much.

Eighty percent of the county isforested, 83,000 acres of its land area isChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

as well as state natural areas and countyforests. There are more than 250 lakescovering 7,259 acres, 165 miles of riversand 100s of miles of rustic hiking, ATVand bike trails traversing the county sothat visitors can relish in its scenicbeauty.

Angling The Wild CountryConsidered the “Wild River”

Country, Florence County lays claims totwo of Wisconsin’s three designated“wild rivers.” The Pine and PoppleRivers are wild not only for the fresh,cold current that flows and meandersthrough the county, but because therivers are water systems that adhere to amanagement philosophy withpreservation at its core.

In these rivers, anglingopportunities are plentiful. Trout,walleyes, northerns, bass and variouspanfish swim these waters andtemperature dependent are abundantthe entire year. While accessible to thepublic, these rivers are pristine withdense cover along the shore and offerchallenges for anglers. No groomedtrails, wide piers or manicuredshorelines will greet you while fishingthese wild rivers.

The Pine and Popple Rivers sharemultiple rapids, and seven cascadingand multi-tiered waterfalls. Meyers Fallsand Washburn Falls are a few that range

from 5-7 foot drops and offer veryscenic views. The LaSalle Falls plummet22 feet and the view and sound ofrushing of water makes for an imposingand sublime sight.

For anglers, the oxygen rich tailwaters of these cold water falls and therocks that have been displaced downriver by the force of the water make foroptimum habitat and hiding spots forfish. In addition, fishing opportunitiescan be found in many of the Class 1, 2and 3 trout streams from the BruleRiver at the northernmost borders ofthe county and throughout.

When packing for a trip toFlorence County, it’s hard to travel light.Hiking boots, waders, binoculars, birdcalls, ATVs, mountain bikes, skis,canoes … the list continues to growbecause recreational opportunities areavailable for every interest and level ofthe outdoor enthusiast.

While in Florence Countyrecently, hiking the trails in search of

waterfalls, fishing and enjoying thescenic overlooks, I couldn’t help butthink Florence Hulst had cast intothese cold streams for trout, relaxedwith a picnic by the falls, and huntedand trapped in these forests. Thecourage within Hulst to settle in thispart of the state was the same thingthat brought me to Florence County:pure, rugged, natural beauty. OWO

Natalie Beacom is a librarian andfreelance writer residing in New Berlinand enjoys spending time hunting andfishing throughout Wisconsin. [email protected].

The Wild Rivers Interpretive Visitor’s Center offers a historical and educationalresource for those looking to discover Florence County.

LaSalle Falls is a classic example of the natural beauty available in Wisconsin.

“There are more than 250 lakes covering 7,259 acres, 165 miles of rivers and 100s of miles of rustic hiking, ATV

and bike trails traversing the county ...”

NATALIE BEACOM

In Search of MoreFishing Wisconsin’s ‘Wild River’ Country


Spring is the time of year when walleyes and saugersare relatively easy to catch because they’re spending

most of their time in shallow water with a hard bottom.Boating anglers can cast rocky shorelines and usuallyfind shallow-water walleyes searching for forage andrecovering from the cold-water, post-spawn period.

This is also the time when wading can be a deadlytactic. Spring is the time when walleyes are asconcentrated as you’re ever going to find them. But, asthe water gets warmer and the forage base begins tohatch and grow, the fishing gets tougher and walleyeswill spread out. The driving force for walleyes—depending on the time of year—is always eitherreproduction, food or safety. But, as the water warmsand summer months progress, walleyes can get harderto find and sometimes just as hard to catch.

Electronic EducationThe one important thing to remember is that each

and every lake system is unique. During the beginningof summer walleye patterns can begin as early as themiddle or end of June, and most walleyes will havemoved to their summer haunts, which is usuallydeeper water when available, by early July. But, likeeverything else, there are exceptions depending on thelake that you’re targeting.

Electronics with new map chips are making thelearning curve much easier for today’s fishermen.Though anglers have used maps for decades, the newchips available from companies such as Lake Masterand Navionics make the dissection of a lake’s watersmuch easier for fisherman.

I try to divide a lake into two distinct categories:one with clear water or one with dark water. Thesewalleye locations can be similar, but the timing can bedifferent because dark water warms earlier.

Darker and shallower lakes often have a dark mudbottom, which warms quicker from the sun’s rays andalso gets the food chain in motion sooner with thewarmer water. In the clear-water lakes, you see manyof the same movements throughout the year, but theyoften warm more slowly.

Follow The FoodThe main key to finding summer walleyes is

knowing where the baitfish or forage goes and where

they are at any particularly time of the summer. Earlyin spring, overall food is often scarce and often toolarge for many walleyes. What this means is thatwalleyes will feed anytime something to their likingpresents itself.

After the spawn and into early summer, you canfind walleyes in many different locations. Always makesure to check fresh weeds in shallow bays, narrows,flats, points, wood, drop-offs and rocky reefs. Anycover in the summer can hold walleyes, such as fallentrees and even beaver houses.

Fish the shallow and warmer water in earlysummer because the warmer water attracts baitfishand insect hatches, which all walleyes actively seek.This is the time of the year when everything isemerging just before the summer explosion of forage,

so check your maps and electronics and concentrateon the shallow sections of a lake when first startingyour seasonal fishing.

Search The StructureIn shallow and weedy lakes that often lack natural

reproduction, you can find walleyes tucked into theweeds which cut down light penetration, and mostimportantly hold baitfish throughout the year. Weedylakes usually have a mud or muck bottom, which againwarms quicker and should be fished in late spring orearlier in the summer.

The favorite kind of weed for walleyes is cabbageweeds, which are found in many walleye watersthroughout the Midwest. These weeds give thewalleyes something to relate to. Hard-bottom areaswith weeds will also have walleyes close-by much ofthe year. The points, pockets and irregularities in theweeds are where to concentrate your fishing efforts.

A straight weed line will hold a few walleyes, butnothing compared to the irregularities. During the day,the fish will usually be on the shaded side of the pointsand on the bottom. On overcast days or during low-light periods, the walleyes could be on either side of apoint and higher up in the water column. When you

Guide Ron Barefield on Lake Wisconsin with a summerwalleye. (Photo by Gordon Dietzman)

GARY ENGBERG

Gary Engberg OutdoorsSearching for summertime walleyes

continued on page 23

“The driving force for walleyes—depending on the time of year—is always either reproduction, food or safety.”

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Published bi-monthly by ON WISCONSIN OUTDOORS, LLC. Subscriptions are mailed first class. ©Copyright 2009 ON WISCONSIN OUTDOORS, LLC with all rights reserved.Reproduction or use without permission, of editorial, advertising or graphic content in any manner is prohibited by law. NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS: All advertising is subject topublisher's approval and acceptance without recourse. Advertisers and their agencies assume responsibility for the condition of the contents of advertising printed, and agree to indemnifythe Publishers of OWO for any and all claims and expenses arising there from. CORPORATE OFFICES LOCATED AT: 20240 West Rustic Ridge Drive, New Berlin, WI 53146Phone: 262.549.5550 Web site: www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com Postmaster: Send address changes to:20240 West Rustic Ridge Drive New Berlin, WI 53146

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Dick Ellis

[email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR: Luke Hartle

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PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING:Karen Cluppert, Not Just [email protected]

Hunting, Fishing, Traveland Outdoor Humor

Trilliums and blood root: Nativeplants, such as trilliums and bloodroots, are among the first to sufferwhen an invasive species movesinto their natural habitat. (Schauer)

Buckthorn (pictured) and burdockburrs are too common invasivespecies present across much ofWisconsin. (Schauer)

This spring we took our Brittanys,Fenway and Wrigley, to the BrillionWildlife Area for a romp. They were

happy dogs, bounding through the grassesand splashing in the ditches.

Finally it was time to leave. In theparking lot we picked lots of burdockburrs and seeds off their ears and feet.These same seeds were attached to oursocks and shoe laces, mostly fromQueen Anne’s lace and reed canarygrass, which are two invasive species.

Invasive species are plants, insectsor diseases that are not native to the areaand have no native controls to keepthem in check. They’re usually moreaggressive than the local plants andinsects, and frequently out-competenative species for habitat. They cancause great economic and environ-mental harm and negatively impact theareas where we all like to recreate.

You may be familiar with someinvasive plants such as buckthorn, garlicmustard, spotted knapweed, wildparsnip, purple loosestrife, phragmitesand Eurasian water milfoil. Some betterknown invasive insects and diseases inWisconsin include the gypsy moth,emerald ash borer and viral hemorrhagicsepticemia (VHS).

New regulations have been put inplace to encourage people to prevent thespread of invasive species. There will beincreased enforcement of these rules in2010, especially because of NR 40 and thenew Do Not Transport bill, WI Act 55.

Fines can be imposed on peoplewho move invasive species withouttaking reasonable precautions, and any

member of the law enforcementcommunity can stop a person who istravelling down our highways withaquatic plants or animals attached totheir equipment. This is serious stuff.

But we can make a difference andslow or prevent the spread of invasivespecies, one small step at a time.

Step One: Clean your gearBefore entering your favorite

outdoor area, make certain you are notbringing in any invasive species.Remove any weed seeds, clumps of mudor other debris from your shoes, socks,clothes, equipment and dogs. Invest inclothing that’s not “seed friendly,”avoiding Velcro, wool, fleece and othermaterials that seeds and plant parts canstick to. Check your pockets, hoods andcuffs for residue from previous outings.Clean all your gear.

When you leave the woods,grassland, wetland, lake or river, cleanyour equipment. Preferred locations forthis cleaning are areas where invasivespecies are already present, whereequipment is unloaded or loaded, orareas that can be easily monitored fornew infestations, such as along a road orat a trail head. Also, clean your boatsand trailers at the landing and properlydispose of invasives.

Step Two: Avoid invasivespecies

Hunters hike a long way, trappersmove traps, ATV riders can cover greatdistances, and campers haul lots of gear

from site to site. Learn to identify theinvasive species in the area. They vary indifferent parts of the state, so learn torecognize your local invaders and avoidthem. Try not to hike or ride throughinfested areas. If you can’t avoid aninfestation, remove plant parts and seedsbefore you move in to a clean area.

Stay on trails whenever possibleand minimize soil disturbances.Invasives quickly colonize disturbed soil.This will decrease the opportunities forinvasives to spread and it will be easierto spot new, small patches.

Step Three: Don’t moveinvasive species

Don’t move firewood. Use woodpurchased or cut on site. Firewood canspread many destructive invasivespecies. Confirmed threats include theemerald ash borer, butternut canker,white pine blister rust and oak wilt.Once established in new areas, invasiveforest pests can quickly kill trees inforests, parks, communities andcampgrounds.

It’s easy to protect our outdoorsfrom invasive species and to preservethe places that are special to us. It’s isn’tjust about keeping out a few plants andanimals, either. Stopping the spread ofinvasive species is about preservingeverything we value about the outdoors,the recreation, the traditions and ourvery way of life. OWO

Diane Schauer is the aquatic invasive speciescoordinator for Calumet County.

DIANE SCHAUER

Invasive Species Awareness MonthSlow the spread by sole and tread

“Fines can be imposed on people who move invasive species without taking reasonable precautions, and

any member of the law enforcement community can stop a person who is travelling down our

highways with aquatic plants or animals attached to their equipment.”

June is Invasive Species Awareness Month

For additional information visit, www.invasivespecies.wi.gov/awareness

To read the texts of NR 40 and WI Act 55, visit the WDNR website, or viewthem in Laws and Regulations at www.calumetinvasivespecies.com

To read the Best Management Practices to Prevent the Spread of InvasiveSpecies, visit www.council.wisconsinforestry.org/invasives/


Ignorance can be bliss when it comesto firearm purchases. Some of my

most brilliant gun buys came aboutthrough sheer dumb luck. Conversely,some of the most ill-advised were theresults of hours of research.

One of the best buys I ever madewithout having any idea what I doingwas an M1A several years ago. Therifle was put together from a virtuallynew government issue M14 parts kiton a new Springfield Armory receiver.(Springfield Armory, Inc., is norelation to the United States NationalArmory once located in Springfield,Massachusetts. Springfield, Inc., M14replicas are marked M1A and made inSpringfield, Illinois.)

Honest-to-goodness GI parts arefar more desirable than newlymanufactured commercial replicas.This rifle wasn’t built on just any partskit, either. Most M14s were built byWinchester and Harrington andRichardson. The “real” SpringfieldArmory also built some, but the mostcoveted were those built by rocketengine manufacturer TRW.

My M1A, with the exception of itsafter-market flash hider/bayonet lugand the previously mentioned receiver,is all TRW. Trigger group, barrel, bolt,charging handle—all of the importantstuff—is genuine TRW.

I knew nothing about M14s whenI obtained the M1A, and apparentlyneither did the dealer. It was sold tome as a Springfield Armory, Inc.,M1A, and, according to the seller,sported a National Match barrel and aglass bedded fiberglass stock, inaddition to GI parts. As I recall, he alsoclaimed it was a 1980s vintage rifle,hence the all GI parts. Later,Springfield M1As had mostly

commercially made parts.After I got the rifle, I started doing

research and, in time, learned the“National Match” mark was just a run-of-the-mill acceptance stamp. Thestock was a Springfield, Inc., standardgrade, meaning it was surplus GI thatSpringfield, Inc., had applied atextured black paint job. Other thanthe fact that it was made out offiberglass, there was nothing glassbedded about it.

Eventually, I emailed Springfield,Inc., with the serial number of the

receiver. They promptly replied andinformed me that the receiver left theirfactory in Illinois in July of 2001. Inother words, they didn’t assemble therifle, somebody else did. Whoever heor she was, he or she did a great job.The gun is very reliable and accurate.

Digging DeeperIn time, I posted an inquiry on an

M14 discussion board about the partskit that this gun was assembled from. Ilearned that it probably came fromIsrael, possibly in the 1980s, when theIsraelis sold them off as surplus.

Upon their return to the UnitedStates, the receivers were removedfrom the rifles and destroyed, as perthe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms and Explosives, and theremaining parts sold. Many of thesekits came from virtually new guns.After getting them from the UnitedStates, the Israelis fielded very few ofthem. The parts on my gun had theiroriginal blued finish and lookedvirtually brand new.

Quite frankly, had I known thegun was made from parts at the time Ifirst saw it, I never would have boughtit. It’s now one of my favorite guns andworth significantly more than what Ipaid for it.

The Valmet M76The gun I traded for the M1A was

another I gun I didn’t research, andone that I probably wouldn’t havebought if I did. It was a Finnish ValmetM76 rifle, chambered in .223 Rem. Atthe time I bought it in 2002, I hadsome money burning a hole in mypocket and a need for a pre-Banassault rifle. The chances of the AssaultRifle Ban being lifted were slim tonone at that time, and I always wanteda “real” assault rifle. Nothing in thatregard looked as cool as a Valmet orwas put together as well as one, otherthan the astronomically priced SIGsand HKs.

Once I brought the Valmet homeit became painfully obvious that it was

probably unfired. I was afraid to shootthe thing for fear of diminishing itsvalue. It sat in my safe for a couple ofyears before I traded it, unfired, for theM1A. I got exactly what I paid for it onthe trade for a rifle that I could shootand get parts for, albeit increasinglyexpensive parts.

Had I known what I was doingbefore I bought the Valmet, I neverwould have purchased it. As a piece ofart, it was beautiful; the thing wasmade like a pre-war Luger. As a rifle, itwas just too valuable in the conditionit was in to shoot. I miss it, in a way,but don’t regret getting rid of it—mostof the time.

The Romanian SAR2If my ignorance resulted in me

owning a great M14 clone, my researchled me to purchase one of the mostover-rated AK clones made: aRomanian SAR2 chambered in5.45x39. If you could believeeverything you read on the Web aboutthe SAR2 in 2003 (and I did), youwould have “known” that it was as

S.WILKERSON

Surplus FirearmsIgnorance is a two-edged sword

Research on the SAR 2 proved to beabout as reliable as climate changeresearch. (Ellis photo)

"Quite frankly, had I known the gun was made from partsat the time I first saw it, I never would have bought it.

It’s now one of my favorite guns and worth significantlymore than what I paid for it."



SUZETTE CURTIS

Recipes by SuzetteMouth-watering walleyesIcan’t think of a more versatile and delicious fish to prepare than walleye. I’ve shared

some of my favorite walleye recipes with you in past issues, but this time we arefortunate to hear from some real experts in the field. You should note that theserecipes are simple in design. Thus, the ingredients are not overpowering to the taste ofthe fish, but are meant instead to enhance the natural flavor. OWO

Suzette Curtis of Oshkosh cooks for a family of hunters and fishermen, and says shetries to fill their menu with recipes for meals made with venison, upland birds andfish. She does just that with great expertise. [email protected]

Jon’s Favorite Fish Batters

By Jon Gafner

Fish Batter #1

1/2 c. pancake mix (the kind that only requires adding water)

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Add “room temperature” beer to the mix until consistency is that of a thin

pancake mix.

Fish Batter #2

1/2 c. pancake mix (the kind that only requires adding water)

1 finely ground graham cracker

Add clear diet soda, mixing until the consistency resembles a thin pancake

mix.

With either recipe, dip fish fillets in batter and deep fry in oil.

Or, if you prefer to broil, add a thin coat of dry mix to the fillets after

dipping in batter and place on broiling pan prepared with olive oil or

cooking spray.

• www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com •


Baked WalleyeBy Art Techlow, III

Cut walleye fillets into 4- to 6-inchpieces and place in a shallow, flat-bottomed glass baking dish.

Add lemon juice and pats of butterliberally throughout.

Season with lemon pepper, garlicpowder and a little cayenne pepper.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve with excess juice as a sauce.


Ma Plog’s Fish BatterBy Dr. Ron Bruch, Wisconsin DNR

Two eggs1½ tsp. salt1½ tsp. oil1½ tsp. baking powder1 c. milkPaprika for color

Cracker Meal:Blend salted saltine crackers in blender on lowest speed.

Beat all ingredients until smooth. Dip fish fillets in batter, and thenroll in cracker meal. Deep fry in oil in a Dutch oven or a deep cast-iron frying pan.

onwisconsinoutdoors.com

Recipes Online

Get more!WILD GAME


Last year I went on my first-ever turkey hunt in thespring. The previous fall I had just gotten into the

groove and loved it when I experienced duck hunting forthe first time. On April 25 and 26, I once again packedup my ammo and camo and headed into the woods.

When I got my first turkey during the secondseason, Dad was on crutches. He had sprained hisankle but still wanted to go. We got up at 4 a.m. andgot dressed, packed up our snacks and gear, and left.

Because Dad couldn’t drive, his friend, John,agreed to bring us over to the property we werehunting. As we drove in the quiet darkness, I thoughtabout the youth season a couple weeks before when Ihad been unsuccessful in getting a turkey, but had a lotof fun trying with my dad.

We wound around the curvy back roads andfinally arrived on the private property we had gottenpermission to hunt. We hopped out, grabbed our stuffand walked over to John’s ATV, our motorizedtransportation up the bluff.

Dad and I squeezed in beside John, and off wewent. As we started across the bumpy creek, I wasn’tsure we were going to make it. I’d never ridden in anytype of ATV before, so I wasn’t sure of its ability, but itgot across smoothly. It wove around trees and grass,easily following a path that wasn’t yet visible in thedark—and then we were going up the bluff. Dad andhis friend chatted about their turkey stories andexperiences. I was only halfway listening because I was

focusing on the surroundings. We finally arrived on the top of the bluff and I

looked around. We headed through two moreclearing before we came to our destination. Thereseemed to be a few stumps and small corn fields allsurrounded by woods. As I squinted, looking fartherahead, I saw a bigger corn field. We drove over to aspot that had the smaller corn fields in front of us,woods behind us and the bigger corn field to our left.

John shut off the ATV and we hopped out andgrabbed our bags with the snacks, calls, shells and mybooks. I took out my gun and carried it over to thespot where Dad and John had set up the blind earlier. Iemptied the rest of the stuff of the ATV and onto thegrass. John started up the ATV and left. He wouldpick us up later.

Just Dad And MeMy dad and I moved the remaining bags into the

blind. I set up the chairs and organized everything andthen sat down. I started to take my gun out of the caseand gently leaned it against a sturdy pole in the blind.Dad came in and sat down, arranging his crutches sohe could get to them easily.

I was shivering because it was raining and a littlenippy. Rain came in through the mesh windows anddripped down my gun. I tried to wipe the water off,but it was no use; the rain just kept pouring in. I askedDad if it would cause the gun to rust, but he said no ifI remembered to clean it as soon as I got home.

Soon, the night began to turn into day, and as thelight grew less dim, I looked around. There werestumps here and there, and they played tricks on myeyes causing me to think that there were turkeys

creepingover a hill.

Onestump inparticularlooked like aturkey with itsround shape, andfew seedlings andgrass jutting up around itconstantly caught the attention. The screen of thewindow slightly blocked my vision so I peeked out acorner and Dad reminded me to keep it shut—turkeyshave a keen sense of sight.

Morning was near but I was still chilly, so Igrabbed my extra sweatshirt out of my backpack andput it on. While I was in there, I noticed my sandwich.A little hungry, I took Dad’s out, and then mine, andwe began to eat in silence. I also took out one of thebooks I had brought along as a last moment thoughtand a flashlight. As I munched on my sandwich, Iquickly went into the zone of reading. It wasn’t longbefore I would hear the first gobble and cluck.

Game-On!I was engrossed in my book when I heard a noise.

It was a kind of cluck-chirp noise and I knew it was ahen. I tensed with anticipation, but then relaxed. Hensare not in season in the spring.

Dad took out his calls and started to call the henjust for fun. As he clucked and chirped on his call, weheard a gobble from behind us, down in the ravine.

MADDY LENSING

Rainy-Day TurkeyHunting is all about those special ‘firsts’

The author poses with her father and her first turkeyduring a rainy and cool spring day.



Afew weeks ago, my normalopening day fishing partnerinformed me that he had to be out

of town on a business trip the firstweekend in May. Pitiful. He felt bad aboutit. I felt bad about it. Then I got to thinkingabout what I was going to do instead ofour usual multi-lake walleye assault.

I’m thinking that I might go troutfishing on opening day this year.

Growing up, “opening day” meantonly one thing … the opening of troutseason. It was planned for with all theattention to detail that surrounds amajor surgery. All potentialcontingencies were addressed. Clotheswere laid out, waders were tested forleaks, lines were changed, tackle boxeswere scoured, reorganized and thenscoured again.

Opening day also involved a rightof passage. Being 12 years youngerthan my brother, Jerry, I grew upwatching Dad and Jerry prepare foropening day battle with the brooktrout. I watched the preparations andlonged for the day when I too couldbrave the waters of the mighty LittleWolf River in search of the wilyspeckled trout.

As a kid, however, my openingday was spent waiting anxiously forthem to return home and thenwatching as they emptied their creelsinto the kitchen sink. I reveled in thestories of exactly how and where eachfish was caught.

At age 8, Dad told me that hethought I might be old enough toenlist in the opening day trout brigade.I remember being outfitted with a pairof rubber knee boots, a three-piecebamboo fly rod, a wicker creel and anold felt hat. We always wore old

brimmed dress hats when wetrout fished. I never knew why… it was just something youdidn’t question. When I sawpictures of famous troutfishermen like Lee Wulff in theoutdoor magazines, by God,they were wearing brimmedfelt hats, too. The hats wereour uniform of sorts, I guess.

Purists, we were not.Trout fishing for us meantmostly worm dunking,although sometimes we’d get alittle crazy and throw aspinner. The worms wereusually fished on a plain hookwith just enough split-shot to take thebait to the bottom. The size andnumber of sinkers was dictated by thedepth of the stream and the swiftnessof the current.

Pre opening day night-crawlerpicking was a tradition … as wasfollowing behind Dad when he roto-tilled the garden. My job was to pickup worms from the overturned earthand put them in a coffee can.

Opening day started with Dadwaking us up by 4 am. Bacon and eggswere followed by the preparation ofsandwiches for lunch. Final plans werehatched over the breakfast table and onthe drive to the river. My brotherwould work upstream, Dad wouldwork downstream and I’d fish thesection of stream within 100 yards orso of the car. Being in position to makeyour first cast promptly at 5 a.m. whenthe season officially opened wasmandatory with Dad.

To this day, I could take you to theexact rock in the Little Wolf where Icaught my first (and only) trout on that

first opening day. It was the mostbeautiful trout in the world I believed,all 9 inches of it, flipped up onto thebank and pounced on with all theenthusiasm of a puppy on a new bone.

When we reconvened at the carfor lunch, I proudly displayed my catch(which Dad assured me was “a dandy”)and then watched in awe as he openedhis creel to reveal his limit of beautifultrout, all neatly cleaned and laying in abed of wet grass inside the wickerconfines on his hip.

A lot of water has gone under thebridge since that first opening day and,over the years, opening day changed.My brother got married and had hisown family, so for a time it was justDad and me.

Land ownership changed and ouraccess to the river changed with it.Eventually, opening day waders, trout

and fedoras gave way to opening dayboats, walleyes and baseball caps,usually on Pelican Lake. We still got upearly and frequently had a nice catch offish before it was time to come in for amid-morning breakfast.

Fifteen years ago, Dad and Jerrywent on ahead to fish the heavenlytrout streams. I’m assuming that Jerryis fishing upstream and Dad is workinghis way downstream. Someday I’mhoping we’ll meet up again on the riverbank. I’m sure each one of us will bewearing our hats.

Yeah, I think I’ll go trout fishingon opening day this year. Just sayin’. OWO

Dan Moericke is an avid and successfulWisconsin fisherman from Wausau andan occasional guest on outdoor fishingprograms. On the water, he always tellsus some version of the truth.

For the author, “opening day” is a right of passage flooded with water, fish andmemories.

DAN MOERICKE

An ‘Up Nort’ ReportWater under the bridge

Find MORE Outdoors online:Visit our website for more outdoor columns from these Ellis Experts:

Dave Lemke–Stone Age Fishing

Mike Yurk–Bassology: Going Light

www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com


Saturday, May 29, 2010, will markthe opening of muskie season for

waters in Wisconsin north of Highway10. Thank the good Lord, because Idon’t know how much longer I will beable to wait!

While I love holidays, especially Christmas,nothing generates more excitement in me than theopening of muskie season. Perhaps you find that alittle odd, and just maybe it is; however, there’ssomething magical about going toe-to-toe with theking of freshwater, a fish that has been known to attackducks, muskrats, the occasional small dog and even ahuman leg or two over the years.

We are blessed to live in an area rich with muskiehunting opportunities. I’ve personally caught andreleased dozens and dozens of giant muskies over theyears from our area, and friends and clients have donethe same from my boat.

Early season muskie fishing can be quite exciting,but it’s also frustrating to many anglers. The key tocatching more muskies before the more “regular”patterns of summer become established begins firstand foremost with location.

The ‘Where’The mighty muskellunge spawns in water

temperatures ranging from 49-60 degrees, with 55degrees being optimum. Understanding when muskiesspawn will assist you in understanding where in theirseasonal progression they are.

Location during this timeframe is critical toconsistently scoring, as the fish are in a period oftransition. One of the first steps to locating muskiesduring the opener, especially during a below-averagetemperature spring or on a body of water that doesn’t

warm quickly, is identifying potentialspawning areas; that being said, beginyour search knowing that muskieslook to spawn in shallow bays andbackwaters containing dark muckybottoms.

Once you’ve located potentialmuskie spawning sites, look fortransition spots leading towardmore “traditional” summer hauntssuch as large weed beds, main lakestructures or open basins. Thesetransition spots might consist ofpoints, shallow humps and anyother structural element thatmight cause a fish to stop and holdfor a period of time, whether torest, feed or both.

To consistently find post-spawn muskies before thesummer season is in full-swing,identify these transition spots andfish them effectively. Most muskie anglers willapproach an early season attacking their usual summermilk-runs and miss a majority of the fish that are notyet into their summer home-ranges; in other words,recognize that fish don’t go from point A to point Cwithout first passing through point B.

The ‘How’In respect to tackle for pursuing early season

muskies, the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) isan excellent approach. Sure, I’ve literally hundreds ofmuskie lures, and I’m sure I will accumulate a “few”more this season as well.

Come opening weekend, I’m banking on a smallselection that I have confidence in to produce fish.Smaller sized swimbaits such as Suzy Suckers andCurly Sues are a great choice due to their versatilityand ability to produce fish in a variety of situations,especially during adverse conditions such as coldfronts or high fishing pressure.

Next, down-sized muskie bucktails and spinnerbaits, such as the Mepps Musky Killer or Esox EdgeThumper Junior, are excellent for both covering waterand eliciting strikes from less-aggressive muskies. Besure and tip the treble hook with a 3- to 4-inch trailergrub such as those produced by Mr. Twister; the addedflash and vibration can be the key to turning afollowing fish into a biting fish.

Finally, a selection of buoyant twitch baits is also astaple for early season muskies thanks in large-part totheir versatility. It’s a good idea to have an array of sizesin twitch baits and to let the fish dictate what size theyare looking for.

There are plenty of times during the early seasonwhen a smaller twitch bait (5-7 inches long) is best;however, there are also plenty of times when the fishwill simply respond better to a larger offering (8-10inches long). If you’re not getting action with thedownsized versions, don’t be afraid to experiment withthe larger specimens.

As with any muskie fishing, be sure and carry theproper release tools on-board, including hook cutters,long-nosed pliers and a large, dipped, high-quality netsuch as the Frabill Big Kahuna. It’s all about CPR:catch, photo and release!

I’ll see you on the water. OWO

Joel DeBoer owns and operates Wisconsin AnglingAdventures guide service, and specializes in muskie,walleye and smallmouth bass, based out of the greaterWausau, WI area. He can be reached at 715.297.7573 orthrough www.wisconsinanglingadventures.com.

JOEL DEBOER

Wisconsin Angling AdventuresTo K.I.S.S. a muskie

Some of the best muskiefishing of the year occursduring the early season.

Although the fish can be moredifficult to locate, big fish are

susceptible to the properpresentation.


For years, when anglers were askedabout walleye fishing strategies, they

would respond with advice aboutfishing low-light periods at dawn ordusk and focusing on rocky deep waterhumps or points.

Today’s angler knows thatalthough there’s some truth in thisadvice, consistently putting fish in theboat requires anglers to be flexible andto focus on fishing for walleyes in avariety of locations that any-selfrespecting walleye wouldn’t be caughtswimming in.

Along with the typical walleyeholding locations, I’ve found threeother types of structure thatconsistently hold big numbers of fish

WoodThe rivers and reservoirs of central

Wisconsin are full of fish holding, suchas logs, trees and stumps. Walleyes usethis structure for cover, shade, currentdiversion or for the baitfish it holds.Does certain wood structure hold morefish than others? You bet!

Over the years I’ve found certainstumps or trees seem to hold more fish.Since fish can’t talk, I’ve madeassumptions about why certain cover

holds more fish than others. Idealstructure incorporates a mixture ofdepth, current break, food, and cover.As you become more adept to fishingthese wooden structures, you’ll getbetter at identifying the ones thatconsistently hold fish.

The equipment used by anglersfishing wood is different from the gearyou would normally use for walleyes.In fact, many times it resembles bassfishing gear. Sturdy rods and strongline is a must. Fish caught in the woodwill do everything in their power toburrow into the structure leaving theill-equipped angler with a broken line.I use a braided line, such as Power Pro,with a 4-foot fluorocarbon leader thatallows me to horse these fish fromcover.

Angling tactics also resemble bassfishing as the angler works theirjig/minnow or jig/night crawleroffering into the various nooks andcrannies of the structure. Stealth andnoise control are also musts ofsuccessful wood structure anglers.

Because the water being fished isrelatively shallow (3-8 feet deep) anyunnatural noises or shadows will sendfish scrambling. While certainly a

different style of fishing, fishingwooden structure has saved many aday for me and put countless walleyesinto my boat.

WeedsFishing walleyes in the weeds is

another tactic that consistently putswalleyes on the stringer. Weeds providewalleyes with things crucial to theirsurvival—cover and food. In fact, onsome lakes I firmly believe there’s aresident population of walleyes thatspends most of its time in the weedsduring the open-water period.

Like wood structure, not all weedshold fish. Cabbage weed and sand grassare two of my favorites. Locating goodweeds in association with depth-breaksor other fish-holding structure areideal places to catch fish.

My favorite techniques forcatching weed walleyes include rippinga jig/minnow or plastic over the top ofthe weed beds, casting shallow-divingminnow baits like Rapala’s Husky Jerks,or when applicable, using slip bobberswith live bait.

Wind-Driven ShorelinesCatching walleyes along shallow,

wind-driven shorelines was atechnique I learned on our annualCanadian fishing trips that I beganapplying to our lakes in Wisconsin.Favorite lakes that this technique hasbeen deadlyon have beenthe Willow,Rainbow andEau Pleineflowages.The windnot onlyblowsbaitfish upinto theshallowwater butalso cutsdown onlightpenetrationinto thewater.

Boatcontrol and

location are crucial when using thisstrategy. I’ve found fish literally in only1 foot of water feeding right up onshore so the angler needs to searchthese wind-driven shores whilesearching for the depth the fish areholding at.

My favorite lure choices againinclude jig/minnow and shallow-running crank baits. While manyanglers shudder at the thought offishing in the wind and the boatcontrol nightmare that goes along withthis, this technique has saved a day offishing for me many times.

As you head out this spring andsummer to put walleyes in your boat,consider using some of these atypicalwalleye fishing strategies. There’s nodoubt the time-tested techniques forwalleye fishing catch fish. However,there will be days when you will haveto dig into your fishing grab bag.Focusing on the wood, weeds or wind-driven shores will not only test yourfishing finesse, but will also put walleyefillets in your freezer. OWO

Todd Bohm is a lifetime educator andprincipal in the D.C. Everest SchoolDistrict. He is an avid fisherman andhunter who guides the waters of Centraland Northern Wisconsin specializing inall species of fish including trout.Contact Todd at 715.297.7573 or visitwww.wisconsinanglingadventures.com.

TODD BOHM

Fishing Outside The BoxAtypical walleye techniques

Big walleyes are seldom easy to come by, but an angler willing togo to drastic measures is likely to find more of these elusive fishthan the average fisherman.

The author hoists a beautiful Wisconsin walleye. In the background, the structurewhere the walleye was caught resembles that of a bass-fisherman’s haunts.

From my ground standholding vigil on the

bank of the shallow andmuddy creek just acrossfrom the Great BlueHeron rookery insouthern Wisconsin,distinguishing youngbirds from adults takes abit of careful scrutiny.

By day 45 after hatching, heronshave already achieved 86 percent ofwhat will be their adult weight. Onthis May 31st cloudless morning,young of year stand to greet adultsreturning from hunting or socializingwith other members of the isolatedcolony to a dozen nests constructedmany years ago in dead treesoverlooking a large wetland.

In Wisconsin, according tonumerous internet sites, migratingGreat Blue Herons will return inspring to the same colonies year afteryear from warmer climates to find anew mate and raise their young.Virtually found statewide, establishedWisconsin heron colonies are found inHayward, The Brule River and Mercerin the north to Horicon and Theresa

and Waukesha County in the south. An elaborate spring mating ritual

allows males and females to beselective in their mates. A male, asjust one example, may steal sticksfrom a nearby nest to reinforce hisown dwelling and impress a female.Although monogynous for that year,Herons pick out new mates eachspring breeding season.

Incubation period for the heronis 28 days with both male and femaleshelping to sit on an average of a fouregg clutch. First flight occurs at 50 to60 days, with the young leaving thenests from between 60 and 91 days ofhatching. With nests placed as highas 130 feet (these nests are between40 and 60 feet), the birds also can

guard against predators like raccoonswhich seek the eggs or occasionally,hawks or owls which occasionally preyon the herons.

Before flight, young birds growfast on a diet of fish, reptiles, insects,crustaceans and sometimes smallanimals and birds brought to the nestby the parents. With good nocturnalvision, males and females hunt dayand night by wading in shallow wateror working upland fields for rodents.Choking to death by attempting to eattoo large of prey is relatively commonand listed on internet sites as amongthe top five causes of mortality.

This is my first visit to the site. Ihave walked more than a mile to reachthe rookery from the nearest road,ending at the creek bottom which ispart of a typical heron wetlandenvironment that provides food andisolation. Although power lines in thedistance reveal that we are not farfrom urban Wisconsin, large cattailstands, ponds and large stands ofmature softwoods and conifers offer afeel of isolation and wilderness thatthe birds demand in spring.

It is an awesome experience. Imove within 40 yards of the rookeryslowly and the herons despite theirincreasing chatter seem to tolerate theintrusion. They stay with nests as I sitdown across the creek in open view ofclose scrutiny by adults and soon theirattention is not solely on me. I shootthe camera often with telephoto and astandard lens.

Adults from different nests dotake flight eventually and I wonderbriefly if I caused the departure. Acanoe with two young men exploringthe wetlands, the only people I will seein this urban jungle works down thecreek and tells the real story.

The men tell me that their

ongoing search for salamanders hasbeen futile again, but also let me knowthat a young Great Blue Heron hasfallen to its death sometime thisspring and that it still lies below thenests. With the adults gone, I take theopportunity to look for a crossing.

I use a walking stick to negotiate afallen tree and cross the creek. Theheron’s staple of fish and frogs skitterfor safety in front of me. One “soaker”over my hip boots and a gracefulwriter arrives below the colony. Theyoung bird is decomposing. Becauseits size in comparison to the otheryoung birds is small, I wonder howlong it fell. Or did it fall?

In his book The Great BlueHeron, Robert W. Butler states thatmortality among the birds particularlyin the younger stages of life is high,with mortality among dispersingherons great in the first weeks afterfledging. Only about 50 percent ofbirds from eggs hatched fledge, andaccording to Butler, only 14 percent ofchicks become yearlings. Only one in10 reach adulthood. But veterinarianKen Langelier post mortems on 43young birds discovered below nests,he said, contradict common thoughtsthat starvation often induces the falls.

Twenty-three of the young heronshad died of trauma but nine hadbroken wings or legs that had partiallyhealed before the fall. More than halfof the bird’s stomachs contained food.Only four had died of starvationsuggesting, Butler said, that siblingskill or injure by pushing birds out ofthe nest or by aggressive action in thenests and for reasons other than food.

In addition to choking, commoncauses of death for adults includedisease, predation of young andwinter kill. Young are vulnerable topredation, disease, and inclementweather. For those birds that do beatthe odds to survive, breeding age isreached at 22 months, or their secondspring. Although a very old Great BlueHeron is 17 years, the oldest birdbanded by Wildlife biologists reachedage 23.

It’s time for a reporter to leave.Almost 130 new shots are on thecamera. Soon, it will be time for thesurviving birds to leave as well. I havehad an up close and personalintroduction to the Blue Heron inWisconsin.

I agree. It is indeed, great. OWO

This column ran in the Ellis syndicatednewspaper column last year.


DICK ELLIS

The Great Blue Heron RookerySafe haven and great peril foryoung birds

Blue HeronRookeries inWisconsin

NORTHERN SITES:• Chippewa Flowage, Hayward• Turtle Flambeau Flowage, Mercer• Nicolet National Forest, Brule

River, Eagle River

LAKE MICHIGAN AREA:• Navarino Wildlife Area, Navarino• L.H. Barkhausen Waterfowl

Reserve, Green Bay• Mink River Estuary State Natural

Area, Ellison Bay

WESTERN WISCONSIN• Chippewa & Red Cedar Rivers,

Eau Claire to Menomonie• Trempealeau National Wildlife

Refuge, Trempealeau

CENTRAL WISCONSIN• Necedah National Wildlife Refuge,

Necedah• Sandhill Wildlife Area, Babcock

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN• Theresa Marsh Wildlife Area,

Theresa• Horicon Marsh, Horicon• Goose Pond Sanctuary, Arlington

May 1, 2010, will be the opener thisyear south of Highway 10, and

southeastern Wisconsin has some greatwaters available such as Elkhart,Menona, Oconomowoc, Okauchee,Pewaukee, Random, Waubesa, andWingra Lakes.

No matter which lake you decideto target this spring, here are somepointers that will help you find andcatch a few early season muskies.

Shallow BaysTargeting shallow bays can be a

great starting point because this is acommon location utilized by muskiesto spawn. While they are spawning,muskies do not eat much, so uponcompletion of this rigorous task they’regoing to be looking for the easiestopportunity to feed.

This becomes another great factorwith shallow bays often hosting thefirst weed growth in the system—therewill be plenty of forage mixed in theweeds. Another great fact about theseshallow bays is the water temperatureswill always be warmer than the mainlake temperatures. These warmerwaters will host the most active fish.

Smaller LuresDown-sizing your presentation

will increase you chance of triggeringthese often sluggish muskies. First andforemost, the smaller lures will matchthe smaller forage most likely in theweeds. Secondly, a smallerpresentation is a productive choicewhen water temperatures are on thecolder end of the spectrum.

Some good choices are the 6-inch

Slammer minnow bait or the drop-belly glider Slammer. These lures canbe worked either with a straightretrieve or twitched with either alighter gage seven-strand orfluorocarbon leader.

Sight FishingSight fishing is a tactic you can

use when approaching post-spawnmuskies in shallow bays. This isaccomplished by simply cruising alongin a slow manner by use of your bow-mounted trolling motor whilestanding on the bow of your boat andvisually looking for muskies lying inthe shallow water on sand flats.

When you locate a muskie in the

distance, stop you motor and castbeyond the fish and twitch your lureback to you in a manner that presentsit best to the fish. Another alternativeto using a twitch bait it using a “jig andtail” combo. A 1- to 2-ounce jig tippedwith a 6-inch Reaper Tail works wellwith a slow presentation along thebottom toward the fish.

GPS And ReturnWhile utilizing the basic tactics

described here will produce a few fishyou this season, you might bethinking, “What about the muskiesthat don’t go for this presentation andjust swim away?”

This is where using your GPS

becomes valuable. If the muskie youlocated swims away—don’t worry.Mark the spot with your GPS andcome back in an hour or two. Moreoften than not these fish will return tothe same spot, which gives youanother chance at catching them.

Good luck on the water this year,and may 2010 be the year you catchthe fish of a lifetime! OWO

Captain Dennis Radloff owns andoperates Sterling Guide Service. Heguides on the waters of Green Bay andSoutheastern Wisconsin seven days aweek April through November. ContactDennis through his website at www.sterlingmusky.com, or 262.443.9993.


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UP TO

I’ve been turkey hunting and turkeycalling since way before it became

such a popular sport, and I know howimportant it is to have the right toolsto get a big tom within shootingrange. I love it when everything comestogether to fill a tag.

I was introduced to this greatsport by a couple great men: FrankMcKean from Lacon, Illinois, and BenRodgers Lee from Coffeeville,Alabama. Ben was one of the best inthe field of turkey hunting and did alot to help the sport grow to where itis today. Ben’s life was cut short, andhe is now up in the great huntinggrounds in the sky, but I feel hispresence and remember all Ben taughtme every time a tom responds to mycall with a hardy gobble.

I’ve been doing the sports-showcircuit for more than 20 years andhave seen many turkey huntingproducts come and go. I’m one ofthose guys who likes to try new waysto mess with the turkeys and trick abig gobbler into shooting range. Bengot me into a calling contest before Iever stepped in the woods to chaseone of my bearded buddies. I wasimmediately hooked.

My good buddy, Frank McKean,and his father, John, who ownedGreen Head Game Calls andChampaign Calls, also traveled thecircuit with us. It was fun for the oldtimers to sit back and watch us youngjakes sell the calls and win callingcompetitions and just strut our stuff.

I was so excited about going

turkey huntingwith Ben; Icould hardlystand the waituntil I couldshare the woodswith him. I wasscheduled to flydown toAlabama andspend a week inthe turkeywoods with thefamous Ben Lee.I was packedand counting theminutes until Iwas to leave.

Then thephone rang, mygood friend andmentor Ben waskilled in a caraccident. On that day I retired fromcalling contests and believe now mycompetition is in the woods. I doturkey hunting seminars around thecountry and enjoy sharing theknowledge, experience and my lovefor the sport with others.

Guiding, Redefined As a guide, I love turning my

hunters onto a great experience in thewoods. I’ve hunted around thecountry, and I’ve witnessed many abird getting rolled. When I startedguiding, I would take hunters onground I hunted myself, but manytimes people who wanted me to helpthem didn’t have a tag in my area.

So I adapted an idea that hassince become a big hit. I now guide allover Wisconsin, teaching people howto hunt their own birds on their ownground. This can pose a big challenge,but it can also be very rewarding whena plan comes together. My success rateis very high and I believe by guidingthis way I’ve grown as a hunter and asa person.

Sharing the woods and theexperience with others has been ablessing for me. I believe one of the

best things about being a guide is thatI get to spend much more time in thewoods and share great experienceswith others. If I successfully call a bigtom into shooting range and myhunter is successful, then I am alsosuccessful.

Hunting For DecoysA couple years ago I was at the

Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo inMadison. I got a chance to take abreak from my booth and walk theshow. I was on the hunt for a newdecoy to add to my arsenal of tricksfor turkey hunting.

There were a number of newdecoys on the market, and I wasexcited to try one out. I was lookingfor a full-body jake or tom that was infull strut. I’d used a full-mount tomthat a friend of mine had—and itworked pretty well—but it was hard toget it to the field.

I was on my way back to mybooth when it happened: I camearound the corner and saw a good-looking jake decoy. The tail was downbut fanned out, and as I walked pastthe booth, the decoy seemed to turn


Although most hunting guides require their hunters to cometo them, the author offers a unique experience: He’ll come toyou and help you hunt your turkeys.

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On The MoveSecrets from a come-to-youturkey guide



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The audacity of hope. This turn ofphrase, recently popular amongthe political set, applies just as

well to hunters, particularly those whohunt waterfowl and other migratorygame. It implies a boldness, a daringand courageous expectation ofsomething positive yet to come. This isa near perfect explanation of theotherwise inexplicable pattern ofbehavior exhibited by those whochoose the hunter’s path.

What else but the belief that “thebest is yet to come,” would lead awaterfowler to get up at 2 a.m., leavinga warm bed and a bewildered spouse,to head out into the teeth of a coldnorth-eastern wind in late October?Surely, only a confident person, a trueoptimist, would elect to slog across thenext marsh, sneaking along, nearly to

the top of their waders, to be able tosecure the perfect spot, knowing allalong the birds will follow, and willfind his offering to their liking.

Who among us has not declared,“I’m sure they’ll turn, and comearound again …,” after watching aflock of ducks not quite ready tocommit to our layout of decoys? Orspent an extra moment making surethe family groups of your Canadagoose spread looked just right, or asright as they could, when viewed byheadlamp, in the pre-dawn darkness?These, too, are signs of our consistentbelief that our next attempt will be theone that works, the effort that makesthe difference.

It’s this mindset, this awareness ofthe future, that lead waterfowlers toaccept, and then embrace, the first

attempt at securing the future—theFederal Migratory Waterfowl Stamp,more than 75 years ago. These earlyconservationists understood that inorder to ensure the future of the birdsthey loved and the sport theycherished, that an investment must bemade in the here and now. Thosemany years ago, our forefathersdemonstrated their “audacity of hope.”

In much the same way, we investin our futures, and in our children’sfutures, today. You might choose toteach hunter’s safety with your

thousands of brothers and sisters inWisconsin. You might exercise youroption on the future more directly byplacing and maintaining wood duckhouses or other nesting structures onyour property, or others you haveaccess to. You might join many morethousands of your brethren andsupport the efforts of organized groupslike WWA, Delta, and DU, with yourtime, your attention, and your financialcommitment.

DON KIRBY

The Audacity of HopeA hunter’s perspective

The author and his son, Blake, share a turkey blind.

“Who among us has not declared, ‘I’m sure they’ll turn, and come around again …,’”

The view from a duck blind of a hunter’s sunset over Green Bay.



The first fly I ever tied to the end of aleader was a popper, and it’s still my

favorite fly. Nothing is as much fun astaking crappies, bluegills and bass onpoppers cast along a shoreline during acalm summer evening.

My introduction to fly fishinghappened on Post Lake, near Elcho.Dad and I caught fish during the day onlive bait or casting lures, but after supperthe lake would boil with rising fish, andwe couldn’t catch even one. Finally,after 2 nights of frustration, Dad went tothe local store and bought a half-dozenpoppers. We took the hooks, sinkersand bobbers off of the cane poles andattached the poppers. That evening, asthe lake again boiled, we caughtcrappies—lots of crappies. That night Ibecame a fly fisherman.

Why poppers?I love poppers this time of year

because, depending on watertemperatures, you could be using themnow in the south, but will definitely beflipping these little gems by the end ofthe month, even up north. You can alsobe using them, under the properconditions, throughout the summer andinto early fall. Therefore, if you learnhow to tie them now, you will be getting

your money’s worth all year.Poppers are not difficult to tie, but

they do take time. It’s not a fly you cantie all at one sitting because it requiresdrying time for glue and paint. It’s bestto plan on tying several poppers at onetime—at least through the paintingprocess. I usually do at least six, andsometimes as many as 12.

Poppers can be made in a variety ofcolors, head materials and shapes. Therewas a time when we took old bottlecorks and shaped our own heads, but,eventually, suppliers brought us cork indifferent sizes and configurations.Today most fly shops stock hard foampopper heads, and some stock them invarious colors.

Fishing your popperPoppers are not made to be fished

in the middle of a lake during themiddle of the day. Poppers are made forcasting to pads, rushes, brush, fallentrees and rocky shorelines in the lowlight, quiet times of the day—generallyearly morning and dusk.

As the name suggests, poppers aremade to “pop.” But they don’t alwayshave to.

JERRY KIESOW

Fly Fishing in WisconsinTying your own tackle: poppers


Smallmouths have no problem engulfing a popper cast to the right places.

The recipe below is for astandard panfish popper,and you can adapt this tolarger sizes for bass.

Hook: No. 6 special “kink-shank” hook. The kinksprevent the head fromturning.Thread: Generally black.Can be any color to matchthe hackles if you prefer.Head: Pre-molded, hardfoam corresponding to thehook size. Some heads andhooks come packagedtogether.Paint: Model enamel.Tail: Two hackles.Body (collar): Hackle. Optional: Legs and eyes.

Fig. 1: Glue the head to thehook, inserting the hook inthe provided slot. Allow todry. If you are inclined toadd rubber legs, do it beforeyou paint.

Fig. 2: Paint the head. It willtake at least two coats,maybe three. If you wanteyes, paint them beforetying. Or you can use glueon eyes. If you use glue-oneyes, plan on coating themwith either clear enamel orepoxy to protect them andkeep them from coming off.

Fig. 3: When the paint isdry, place the hook in thevice and attach your thread.Select two hackles, placethem back to back so theyspread apart instead ofhugging together.(Spreading gives the illusionof legs “kicking” whenretrieved.) Tie them on thetop of the hook shank so thetail is equal to the length ofthe hook or a bit less. (Thislength is important to avoidshort hits; too long of a tailwill invite misses.)

Fig. 4: Tie in a third hacklein front of the tail andpalmer it tightly to the head.Tie off. Whip finish.

Now you have your basicpopper.

Depending on the sizepopper you tie, you mightneed four hackles for the tailand two hackles for the bodyfor proper bulk to corre-spond to the head.

Colors: Whatever youwant. On our river, allyellow is a favorite. I alsolike a black head with grizzlyhackle. In bass sizes, greenworks for largemouths; awhite head with a brownbody/tail works well forsmallmouth.

Earlier I mentioned you

can tie a popper at onesitting if you use soft foamfor the head. These don’tpop, but can be made tochug and make small waveswhich, at times, are veryeffective. For these, cut astrip of foam 1/4 to 3/8inches wide, depending onthe hook size.

Fig. 5: Punch a hole in themiddle of the foam.

Fig. 6: Place the hook in thevise and tie on your thread.Push the eye of the hookthrough the hole, bend thefoam back over the top ofthe hook and determinehow long the head will be.Trim the foam to form awedge. Do the same for theunderside.

Fig. 7: Tie both the top andbottom onto the hookshank.

You now have a head.Finish off the fly using thesteps in Fig. 3 and 4.

Poppers can be createdto do a multitude ofthings, depending ontheir design. Clockwise,from top: Simple, basssize; diving, minnowmimicker; bright-colored,flat-headed; with legs;foam headed.

Tying A Popper


See what our chambers,tourism bureaus,resorts, hunting andfishing guides—are planning just for you.

Iron County will be holding the25th Annual Memorial Day ATV Rallyon May 27-31. Join thousands of ATVenthusiasts who will be lining up totake back the world record for thelongest ATV parade in the GuinnessBook of World Records on May 29.Iron County has the largest ATV trailsystem in Wisconsin and will offer agreat weekend of riding all the wayfrom Lake Superior to Mercer and theTurtle Flambeau Flowage. See ourcalendar of events. Click on IronCounty.

Spring is the perfect time to pickup your paddle and head to theFlambeau River to canoe and kayak. Anadventure awaits the beginner to novicepaddlers looking to experience a day onthe water, or with riverside camping, amulti-day trip. Outfitters are available toassist with your rental and shuttleneeds. Pack your fishing pole…the riveris home to Walleye, Musky andSmallmouth bass. Click on PriceCounty.

With over 400 lakes, it won't takelong to find a great fishing spot! Bringyour children to the 14th Annual KidsAre First Fishing Contest in Milltown onJune 5. The 60th Annual Fisherman'sParty & 100th Anniversary of MilltownCelebration is June 19-27 and always afun event! Click on Polk County.

Hooksetters Fishing reminds youthat with temperatures on the rise andreports of several big muskies alreadybeing caught by early season walleyeanglers, local fishermen are anxiously

anticipating the arrival of the upcomingmusky season. Get ready as this yearlooks as though it could be even betterthan the outstanding season we had lastyear! Click on Marathon County.

Visit the Waterfall Capital ofWisconsin in Marinette County. With 14waterfalls mainly located within ourcounty parks system, you can easilyspend two or three days exploring thenatural, scenic beauty that MotherNature has provided. Click onMarinette County.

By boat, land or air? On the BigPond boats are running planer boardsfor Browns, and Wolf Pack guides areflipping spinner baits in the streams forSteelhead in the heart of Sheboygan.Smell the Sheboygan Brats in the airalong the shore lines and you’ll knowsummer is near! Click on SheboyganCounty.

In early summer, some of the bestsmallmouth and largemouth bassfishing is available in Walworth Countylakes. You will avoid the busy Summertourism season. Give Dave Duwe's

Guide Service a call 608-883-2050.Click on Walworth County.

Join us as we kick off the summerseason in Port Washington! Ourcommunity street festival, free outdoorconcerts, even a sailboat race are justsome of the free fun to be had along thelake. You may even run into a pirate ortwo! Check out our calendar of events.Click on Ozaukee County.

The Bass season and most othersfishing seasons open May 1st. Don’tmiss fishing for largemouth bass,northern pike, and walleye on one of our500 lakes. There is a kids fishingcontest on June 6th. ATV trails open upon May 21st. See you on the trail! Clickon Burnett County.

Connect with the Waupaca Countybased hosts who show you the Ontariofishing and vacation trip of a lifetime.Come and see why Manotak Lodge iswhere anglers fish in Canada. CallDave & Linda Becker of New London,WI and Ontario's Manotak Lodge. Clickon Waupaca County.

Chippewa

Valuable resources for the outdoor enthusiast,listed county-by-county:

� Tourism Information � Hunting & Fishing Guides� Resorts & Lodging� ATV Trail Maps

Keep on clicking!Explore Wisconsin, it’s as easy as 1-2-3.

123

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Convention & Visitors Bureau

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JUNEAU COUNTY• Juneau County

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MARATHON COUNTY• Hooksetters Fishing Guide

MARINETTE COUNTY• Marinette County Tourism• A River Guide (Jason Guarke)

MONROE COUNTY• Sparta Area Chamber

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POLK COUNTY• Polk County Information Center

PRICE COUNTY• Park Falls Area Chamber • Price County Tourism • Wounded Warriors in Action

RICHLAND COUNTY• Hybrid Redneck Events

RUSK COUNTY• Rusk County

SAUK COUNTY• Birchcliff Resort

SAWYER COUNTY• Hayward Lakes Visitors Bureau• Treeland Resort• Big Chetac Resort

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY• City of Sheboygan Tourism• Wolf Pack Adventures

VILAS COUNTY• Manitowish Waters Chamber• Vilas County

WALWORTH COUNTY• Dave Duwe’s Guide Service

WASHBURN COUNTY• Washburn County Tourism

WAUPACA COUNTY• Fremont Area Chamber• Manotak Lodge , Ontario• Wolf River Outfitters Resort

WAUSHARA COUNTY• First Weber Real Estate

Opening on May 1st, FlorenceCounty ATV & LUV trails offer over150 great miles of trail riding. Statedesignated wild rivers, the Pine andPopple Rivers offer visitors 7 waterfallsto visit and as well as remote paddling.Click on Florence County.

Are you looking for hunting land orlake property? Check out the FirstWeber Central Wisconsin Real EstateOnline Magazine. Click on WausharaCounty.

A Vietnam Veterans welcome homeevent called LZ Lambeau will be heldMay 21-23 at Lambeau Field in GreenBay. Concerts, reunions and exhibitsincluding “The Moving Wall™ andmilitary aircraft. Preview "WisconsinVietnam War Stories" on Lambeau’sjumbo televisions. A motorcycle rallyfrom La Crosse, WI to Lambeau Fieldwill kick off the event. All militarygroups welcome. Click on BrownCounty.

Welcome, Spring! Head to thebeautiful Northwoods and experiencethe Manitowish Waters 10-lake chain,6th Annual Birding Festival, 44-mileManitowish River, Triathlon, DillingerHideout, Discovery Center programs,and Camp Jorn YMCA! While you'rehere, check out the events & recreationto enjoy this summer! We've Got It All!Click on Vilas County.

With over 450 lakes and streamsand over 32,000 acres of pristine forestland, Chippewa County offerssomething for everyone. Whether youare looking to camp, fish, bike, ATV, orjust relax, your Northwoods Familywelcomes you. Click on ChippewaCounty.

Plan your Northwoods getaway toWashburn County! Washburn Countyboasts over 950 lakes, hundreds of milesof trails from horseback riding to hiking,from snowmobiling to ATVing, primitivecanoe routes and many more activitiesfor the outdoor enthusiasts. Click onWashburn County.

Ashland has been designated 58thout of 200 towns in America for thebest hunting and fishing. Enter theChequamegon Bay Tagged Fishingcontest, May 1- November 1 and win

big cash prizes. Click on AshlandCounty.

Richland County–where goldenbluffs crop out of emerald fields; andslow moving streams and lively riversprovide a backdrop for adrenaline,power, speed and scream. Check outwww.hybridredneck.com. Click onRichland County.

Summer is just around the cornerand Sheboygan offers something foreveryone. The excitement of LakeMichigan’s charter fishing, world-classgolf and world-cup sailboat racing,Sheboygan has it all. Visitors andresidents enjoy Sheboygan’s naturaltreasures, exciting events, and world-class restaurants and accommodations.Click on Sheboygan County.

Some of the very best early seasonfishing in the Midwest for monstersmallmouth bass and enormousbluegills takes place on Lake Genevaand Lake Delavan in Wisconsin'ssoutheast. Professional Guide andwildlife artist Jim Tostrud will put youon the fish. Click on Kenosha County

Grab your bike and take a ride onone of the seven mountain biking trailswe offer! You can also enjoy a niceleisurely ride on the City of Antigo’snew Walking/Hiking/Biking path. Orexperience some of the many otheractivities Langlade County offers! Clickon Langlade County.

May and June smallmouthextravaganza. Fish of a lifetimepossible. Five, six and even sevenpounders await you on riversystems.Contact Capt Jason Gaurkee at 920-851-6655 or visit www.ariverguide.com.Click on Marinette County.

Summer is almost here—it’s time toplan your vacation to Wisconsin's VilasCounty, offering 1,300 lakes, 48designated trails, 12 beautifulcommunities and endless outdoor fun.These are your moments—spend themin Vilas County. Plan your Northwoodstrip today! Click on Vilas County.

Spawning crappies came early inthe northland and you can expectwalleye and bluegill action to warmright up too. The game fishing seasonopens May 1. Big Chetak Resort will beopen and waiting for your family organg of anglers. Don't fish? Okay then.You'll have to "settle" for our springwildflowers, call of the loons, beautifulscenery, deafening quiet, and so muchmore. Click on Sawyer County.

Be our guest at one of our fourfabulous resorts located on the beautifulLake Chippewa Flowage, a 17,000 acrewilderness lake. Join us this spring forour 26th Annual Treeland WalleyeChallenge, May 7-9, 2010. Thousands ofdollars in top prizes & door prizes, 100%catch & release. Click on SawyerCounty. OWO



Spring and early summer is prime trouttime across Wisconsin. Whether you

dunk live bait, flip hardware or cast flies,you need to know where stream troutlive, hide, hold and feed. So seek out these10 “trouty” places when you’reprospecting Wisconsin streams forbrowns, rainbows and brookies.

Riffle: When trout are activelyfeeding—morning or evening, a cloudyday, spring’s first warm days—fishriffles. A riffle is a shallow section of fastwater, a “soft rapids” of sorts. A riffle iswell oxygenated and contains plentifulfood in the form of minnows,crustaceans and insects. A trout is in ariffle to feed.

Fish carefully and with a lowprofile. Work your way upstream,flipping bait or fly ahead and letting thecurrent tumble your offering backtoward waiting fish and you. Casthardware up- and across-current,retrieving and bouncing with the flowlike your spinner or mini spoon is astruggling, injured minnow.

Run: A run moves slower than ariffle, the creek is narrower, and thewater deeper. Trout in runs are lessaggressive than those in riffles.

Do more dabbling and precisionfishing with your bait or fly, tryingdifferent current seams and exploringpositions where trout might hold. Workan artificial along with the current,letting the blades flutter or body flash toattract trout.

Pool: A pool is a deep section ofwater where the flow progressivelyslows down after entering at a rapidrate, often from a riffle or run.

Fish a pool from the side—casting

upstream and across, letting the currentcarry your bait or fly through and swingpast you. Work the close water first,then move a little farther out with eachdrift. Cast a spinner, spoon orminnowbait upstream, then work itback with the current.

Always fish a pool’s head—thefaster water—thoroughly. This is wherethe most active trout will be. Don’tignore the tail end either, where thewater might be deepest.

Undercut: Trout love theoverhead cover an undercut bankprovides. Undercuts are also greatbecause what hides the trout frompredators also hides your approach.

Position yourself across the streamfrom an undercut. Cast upstream andlet the current sweep your bait or fly inand under the bank. Bounce a littlespinner or spoon along with thecurrent, letting it flutter and flash toentice hiding trout.

Rock: Some streams tumble, dropand hurry, always in a rush. A greattrout spot in this situation is a big rockor boulder. Whether the water rushesaround or slides over the top, theobstruction protects trout from thecurrent, and provides a holding spotwhere the fish can watch for food.

It’s natural to fish behind theboulder. An even better spot might bein front of the boulder, where a pocketof slack water is created before the flowcareens off. This is where the mostactive feeding trout will be.

Eddy: Another fast-water trouthold is an eddy—a backwash createdbelow rapids, behind chutes and to theside of fast flows. Here the current

“backs up” instead of flowingdownstream. Food accumulates, andtrout hold position easily.

Study the water, cast above thebackwash and let the current carry yourlive bait, fly or hardware naturally intothe whirlpool.

Snag: Downed trees, logs andwoody snags combine overhead coverthat trout desire with current thatscours out a deep hole and also bringsfood. You’ll lose rigs here, but you’ll alsofind big trout.

Attack stealthily from the side. Castupstream and let the current carry yourbait or fly right where it needs to go.Guide your presentation with your rodtip as needed. With a spinner, spoon orminnowbait, let the current sweep thelure under the snag. Then make apainfully slow retrieve, letting the lureflutter close to the cover.

Roots: Streamside trees offer troutcover in the form of shade and, moreimportantly, roots that stabilize thebank and help form an undercut. The

best trees are next to fast water, wheretrout can rest in safety while watchingthe main current for food.

Fish the water thoroughly. Be sureyou’re getting your offering down alongbottom where the trout are.

Bend: Any place where a streamchanges direction is a good place to findtrout. Here, holes get scoured out,offering deeper water. Foodaccumulates, too.

Approach a bend carefully fromdownstream, and cast upstream. Lookfor seams of faster current. Fish thewater closest to you first, working yourway across and upstream with eachdrift. Active fish are often on the insideof the bend, where an eddy forms, butwork the outside too.

Grass: As summer gets on, longgrass trails over stream banks andprovides excellent overhead cover fortrout to hide under.

Hop right in and work every inchof water as you travel stealthilyupstream, flipping your bait ahead andfishing under anything and everythingthat might offer seclusion to a trout.

ConclusionThis spring and summer, hit your

favorite trout streams—and exploresome new ones—with an organizedplan. Armed with these insights intotrout fishing’s top ten hotspots, andideas on how to fish them, you’re sure tofind more success on the water. OWO

Native son Tom Carpenter writes aboutthe outdoor world for a variety ofnational and regional publications.

TOM CARPENTER

Spring Means TroutTrout fishing’s Top 10

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TOM CARPENTER

Cub’s CornerStalking the wild asparagusNever belittle the little things. It

sure didn’t feel like a big thingat the time. It would usually

happen around this time of year—midto late May or even early June,depending on how southwesternWisconsin’s spring was progressing—on a sunny and warm day. Dad wouldshow up at home early from work (hisjob as railroad agent at the MilwaukeeRoad depot allowed that), and I knewsomething good was up.

Spawning bluegills again? Maybeanother trip to a trout stream? Iremember being a little disappointed atthe announcement that invariablycame a couple times during thatmagical outdoor time of year that wasstill spring but almost summer: “Let’sgo asparagus hunting!”

But any inkling of sadness soonfaded. We were together, in thecountry, cruising backroads in our oldblue Impala, looking for the telltale,tree-like stalks indicating where lastyear’s asparagus had grown tall andwent to seed. We’d often park, get outand hike a grassy fenceline—up oneside and down the other—to expandour range.

I would run ahead when we spiedan old stalk from a distance, push backlast year’s grass, and find our prizes:the tender, emerald-green stalks ofnew, wild asparagus. Dad would cutthem off at the base (so the perennialplant’s roots would stay intact) with hishunting knife and carry them in a

mesh potato bag. As we always quit a bluegill bed

before we caught every sunfish there,or exited a rabbit covert with a couplebunnies left to go on our limits, wealways left a few new asparagus stalksintact as “seed” for next year’s harvest.And to pull asparagus up by the rootswas a sin equivalent to shooting toomany quail from a covey.

One other ritual needed takingcare of though, especially on theroadsides. Dad would carefully cut lastyear’s tall stalks down to hide our“goldmine of green” from otherasparagus hunters. Asparagus huntingwasn’t a competitive sport, but just likeyour favorite fishing hole or treestand,you just didn’t share your best spotswith the general public. Though Inever confirmed it, I suspect that in hisold rolltop desk Dad kept a logbook ofwild asparagus beds in the Green andLafayette County countryside.

Our asparagus adventureshappened almost 40 years ago now, in asimpler time when brushy, grassy fencelines and corners of idle land borderedcrop fields, hayfields and pastures. Theland wasn’t tilled to its limit. In theyears since, we have lost many of thesewild asparagus strongholds, but thereare still many suitable areas out there.

You need a sunny spot, often nextto a fencepost, with short-grasssurroundings. Roadsides may be yourbest bet. Look for last year’s stalks, andtake only what you need for a meal. It’s

a great pastime to conduct with yourkids—what young boy or girl doesn’tlike a treasure hunt? They might noteat your prizes, but who knows?Certainly, they’ll have fun being withyou and going on the stalk forasparagus stalks.

I suspect that the simplicity of theouting was part of the attraction forDad. No boat to hitch up or worms tocajole me into digging, no other realpreparation work to take care of. Theonly equipment you needed was avehicle (and gas was cheap), a pair oflegs, a knife, and a mesh potato bag.The rest of the experience was takencare of by blue skies, warm sun andfresh air on a breezy day.

I have only two regrets regardingthose asparagus adventures.

One is that we never really enjoyedthe true taste of wild asparagus. Mom’scooking technique was to cream thebeautiful stalks in milk. Tasty for sure,but I have since eaten wild asparagus asit should be—streamed over a boilingpot for a minute ortwo, then chilledand served with adelicatebéarnaise sauce,or a light andgarlicky olive oildressingmade athome.

Unbelievable.The other regret involves the

memories. Like so many otheractivities that one thinks are routinewhen they happen, we never took anypictures of our asparagus hunts. Theydidn’t seem special at the time. Now Iknow better. What I wouldn’t give tohave a picture now—to see me as I was,and to see Dad young and strong, justout there wandering the countrysidewith his boy.

But that’s okay. Those memoriesare just as sweet, and probably morepermanent where they are: lodgedsomewhere in a corner of my mind’seye, a part of who I am and who I hopemy own boys will be. I can still closemy eyes, feel the warm sun on myback, and smell the freshly turnedearth as Dad and I stalked the wildasparagus together, somewherebetween spring andsummer. OWO

find the fish higher up, you should bein for some great action.

As the summer progresses, thebaitfish or forage explodes, floodingthe system with food. Walleyes willfeed heavily now, but finding food ismuch simpler when compared toearlier in the year. Feeding can come inshort time periods which makesfinding the “feeding window” muchsmaller and more difficult. Those reefs,shoreline breaks and points that dropoff into deeper water will begin to holdfish and this is where to startconcentrating your efforts by early tomid summer.

The areas between two shallowstructures or “saddles” can producegreat walleye fishing. Deep waterstructure—such as sunken islands,rock bars and steep drop-offs—arelocations where summer walleyesspend time. Use your electronics to tryand zoom in on these locationsbecause they should be holding largenumbers of walleyes.

The key is the presence of baitfish.Walleyes will stay in an area if there isfeed. If not, they’ll move until they findfood. Many experts think that allwalleyes are nomads—here today andgone tomorrow. But, this all depends

on the availability of food.

Dig DeepAnglers might also to find other

areas where walleyes—often bigwalleyes—are schooled in large groupsduring the summer. Walleyes willsuspend in deep water to chase andgorge themselves on smelt, alewives,ciscoes, tullibee and whitefish.

These locations often have little ifany structure, but they have the maincomponent that walleyes are constantlylooking for: schools of baitfish.Walleyes can also be caught by trolling

crankbaits and spinners near sunkenislands and deep-water reefs during thewarm-water period.

You can catch summer walleyes byjigging, rigging, casting and trolling.The method or tactic you use dependson the current conditions on thatspecific lake. If one method isunproductive, keep experimentinguntil you find what the walleyes wantwhen you’re on the water. OWO

Contact Gary Engberg at 608.795.4208,[email protected] orvisit www.garyengbergoutdoors.com forgood fishing information.

ENGBERG WALLEYES, from page 5


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I cast to structure, allowing the littlerings created when the fly lands todissipate, and then shake the rod tip abit to make the fly wiggle, like astruggling critter. Sit … wiggle … sit.Then I bring the fly back with a series ofquick pulls making the lure pop.

If this doesn’t work after manycasts, I simply cast and leave the fly sit—motionless—for a minute or two.Sometimes that’s what a fish wants.Sometimes they just don’t want theirmeal to move, but not most of the timea fish prefers some action.

Once my dad and I got the hang of

“casting” with the cane poles (we justflung them out as best we could to getthe little poppers away from the boat),we caught crappies. We liked our newfound way of fishing so much that, laterthat year, we each got a real, honest-to-goodness fly rod from Santa, and lifebecame good.

Keep a good thought! OWO

Jerry Kiesow fly fishes in Wisconsin yearround, and teaches fly tying and flyfishing in the Grafton area. If you havequestions about his classes, contact himvia email at [email protected].

Each early summer brings back thememories of fishing with my dad.Our quest each May was the scrappy,

hard-fighting and delicious bluegill. Thebluegill, which is a member of the sunfishfamily, can be found in large numbersthroughout Wisconsin.

In May and early June, when thelakes reach a temperature of about 70degrees, bluegills will spawn. Duringthis time of year the bigger bluegills arereadily available. These fish, oftenaffectionately known as “bulls,” are bigand fight like a fish five times its size,which is a real test for light tackle.

The best locations for findingspawning bluegills are hard sandybottoms with scattered weeds. Thedepth I work most actively is 1-4 feet.The bluegills will clear the bottom downto the sand in a circle before the femalewill lay her eggs. This circle in the sand

is called the bed. The female will laybetween 40,000-50,000 eggs. Once theeggs are fertilized, the male will guardthem from predators.

Fishing in very shallow watermakes it quite easy to sight fish thespawning bluegills. I use my Minn-kotabow-mounted trolling motor to slowlycruise the shallows to spot spawningbluegills. The circles the bluegills createin the bottom vegetation are a dead giveaway to their location.

I make a long cast past the beddingfish and pull the bait back to them,which helps prevent them from beingspooked. Long, accurate casts areimperative. My preferred setup is a Thillslip bobber with a single hook or an icejig. The ice jigs I use are Lindy’s Genzworms; I like the fact that they areheavier so I don’t need a sinker.

I prefer jigs that are chartreuse orpink. I tip thejig with a waxworm or smallred worm. Forthe plain-hookpresentation, Ilike leaf wormsorhellgrammites.Hellgrammites,or stone flys, areprobably thebest bait;however, theirprice can be adeterrent.

Whenusing a slip

bobber, I use the smallest bobberpossible for the light biting fish. For slipbobber fishing rigs, I use a long pole. Itallows a better hook set. A 6-foot, 6-inch pole with ultra-light action, teamedwith a Cardinal 300i series reel and 4-pound test Trilene, is just the ticket. Itaids with those necessary longer casts.

When sight fishing the shallows,fish can be quite easy to catch and limitscan be bagged in a very short time. Dueto the fact that the fish are spawning, Iseldom keep more than a few. Thesespawning fish are the future of our lakesso we want to keep them producing for

years to come.This time of year is a great

opportunity to take a child fishing. Now,I’m the dad and someday, when theweather starts to warm, my kids willthink back to those happy memories offishing for bluegills. OWO

Dave Duwe, owner of Dave Duwe'sGuide Service, has been guiding the lakesof Southeastern Wisconsin for 15 years,specializing in Delavan Lake and LakeGeneva. Go to www.fishlakegeneva.comor www.fishdelavanlake.com.

DAVE DUWE

Thoughts on The BluegillLittle fish, big memories

Springtime bluegills offer fun for the entire family. Big ‘gills providefast action for youngsters and test light tickle for seasoned anglers.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

FLY FISHING, from page 19


Every year I get the same questions.And every year I try to issue the

same reminders, but still dog ownersseem to make the same mistakesconcerning dog training in the warmweather. Heat is a killer for dogs for twomain reasons.

First: Dogs can’t reason—they dowhat we tell them to do. Second: Dogscan’t sweat and that’s what kills them.

Let’s look at the sweating aspectfirst. The only way dogs can rid theirbodies of excess heat is to pant. Thepanting expels warm air, but also carriesa lot of moisture with it. Heavy pantingis a sign that you should stop your dog’sactivity, be it playing or training, andgive the animal some water. Not only isthe dog hot, but it might be suffering theearly effects of dehydration.

Now let’s talk about the dog notreasoning. Remember, you are doing thethinking; the dog is just reacting to yourcommands. Training or exercising in thesummer heat is a dangerous situationthat can lead to serious problems.

Avoid training from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. when the sun is most intense.Despite the issues with bugs, the besttimes for training are the first 2 hours ofdaylight in the morning and last 2 hoursin the evening. Even then, keep a closeeye on your dog. Even if you feelcomfortable, nothing says a dog can’t getheat stroke when facing high humidityand elevated activity levels.

A lot of factors come into play, anddog owners need to know the signs andtake action quickly. Serious symptoms ofheat stroke that must be treatedimmediately include: confusion,diarrhea, excessive panting, seizures,staggering or vomiting.

If any of these symptoms appear,get the dog to shade, offer water and callthe veterinarian immediately. Othersteps to cool the dog rapidly includerunning water on the dog’s neck andabdomen helps to cool the majorarteries. Don’t use ice because the rapidchill can cause problems of its own.Water from a hose will work, but if that’snot available, take the dog into a nearbyriver, pond or lake. If the vet determinesthe case to be severe enough, the dogwill likely be treated with intravenousfluids, steroids and oxygen.

Most dog owners don’t think about

how hot it gets running a dog throughdeep grass. The shade of a tree can coolsurrounding air by as much as 20degrees, but tall grass has just theopposite effects on a dog. There are nocool breezes deep down in the grassand there is very little shade from theoverhead sun. If you plan to work yourdog in tall grass, the morning is the besttime. You’ll have to contend with somedew, but you won’t end up with a dogsuffering from heat stroke.

If You MustIf you feel you must train on hot

days, work the dog in the water.Swimming is a great way for the animalto get some exercise, work on basicskills and keep cool all at the same time.But remember, swimming is hard workfor dogs and they will be working upconsiderable body heat. The water willhelp, but you’ll still have to provideample rest for your pooch during thetraining sessions. Don’t ask too much ofthe dog when it gets hot.

Living arrangements in the heatshould also be reviewed with an eyetoward avoiding heat stroke. Fresh watershould be available to dogs at all times,especially those dogs kept in an outdoorkennel. Provide fresh, clean water atleast twice a day. Dogs also need shade,which can come from a simple tarp to afully shingled kennel roof. Even aninsulated doghouse will work.

Kennels that are built on the east orsouth side of buildings get especially hotin the summer months. A sunshade willprovide cooling shade even on thehottest days. Kennel covers or slats in thechain-link fence are also great ideas. Justabout anything that will add to thecooling effect will be greatly appreciatedby the dog.

Losing a pet is a tragedy, but losingone to something preventable such heatstroke is something no one should haveto go through. OWO

Kevin Michalowski is author of “15Minutes to a Great Dog” and “15Minutes to a Great Puppy” (KrausePublications, $12.95 each) and has beentraining dogs for 10 years. If you havequestions or comments on dog care,email Kevin Michalowski [email protected].

Summertime produces many heat-related threats to a dog’s health. Offer plenty ofwater and give your dog ample time to rest.

KEVIN MICHALOWSKI

Dog TalkHot dogs: Working in the heat requires caution

REAL MEN BLEED

Danny Flood, OWO Archery Advisor

Be a Hero.Give Blood.



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Read us online!and follow me—and then it went intofull strut. This stopped me in mytracks. I’d finally found just what Iwas looking for.

The company is Timothy CreekDecoys, and the decoy is the Spin-N-Strut. Jeff Wartgow is the innovatorand he introduced me to his partners,Ken Davis and Scott Conrad. We hitit off like old friends; it was a start toa great relationship and I couldhardly wait to get in the woods andtry the decoy.

Even a veteran turkey hunter hasthose toms that hang up just out ofrange. This really drives my crazy,and I was hoping the Spin-N-Strutwould help in this situation.

Decoy To The RescueThe season was upon us, my gear

was ready and I was fired up. It wasgame time, and the Spin-N-Strut wasgoing to see some time on the field.

The decoy was like having a newquarterback on the team, and I waslooking for a winning season. Wemade a few mistakes getting to knoweach other, but a winning season we

had! Everyone got their birds—sixhunters in all—and everyone had agreat time watching the decoy atwork. Plus, we filmed some of thebest turkey hunting action we’d evercaptured on film. I was hooked.

The following winter I workedalong with my new-found friendsfrom Timothy Creek Decoys andproudly produced the first turkeyhunting video featuring the Spin-N-Strut, titled “Turkey Tales.”

This past season I was involvedin 10 hunts, and we went 9 for 10,again capturing all the action on film.It’s fun to see how different birdsreact to my set up and the decoy.

This decoy isn’t a magicguarantee, but when workedcorrectly, it’s deadly on dominantlong beards. OWO

Wildlife artist Jim Tostrud of Kenosha hasdedicated his life to his love for theoutdoors. He uses his art to share hisadmiration for the outdoors and itsinhabitants with others. Check out JT’swebsite at www.wildlifevisions.net.

TOSTRUD TURKEY, from page 16

TOM CARPENTER

Badger BirdsNorthern flickerAflicker presents a handsome

sight as it hunts for insects ona lawn, meadow, field or otheropen area next to trees or forest.This ground-feeding habit isunique among Wisconsin’swoodpeckers, letting the flickerexploit its own unique andattractive niche withoutcompetition from related species.The key is the bird’s long, curvedbill … and a tongue 3 incheslonger yet! These tools help the

flicker probe for ants, beetles,insect larvae, crickets and otherbugs.

Listen for the distinctivewicka-wick-wick-wicka call, veryurgent-sounding and quiteboisterous. In spring, maleshammer on wood, power polesand even tin.

Look for a rather large(about 12 inches) bird withbrown, barred back and aspotted tan or creamy belly.

Attract flickers with a nestbox featuring a 2½-inchdiameter entrance hole 15 inchesoff the box’s floor. If safe, leaveup old dead trees for nestingholes, too.

Feed flickers peanut butter,suet, apple chunks or raisins.OWO

Native son Tom Carpenter writesabout the outdoor world for avariety of national and regionalpublications.

Did you know that an eastern flicker sports yellowish underwings and red nape onthe neck? Western birds have salmon-colored underwings and a plain nape. Eastern males have ablack “mustache” behind their bill, western males a red one. In Wisconsin, we see mostly theeastern version. The varieties hybridize where they meet in the Great Plains.


LEE GATZKE

Blood Brothers OutdoorsDeer and turkey multi-tasking

I’d drawn the first week in May formy turkey tag. The landscape wasturning green as I looked over my

choice of camo clothes to selectsomething to match.

Rummaging through my huntingcloset I pulled out stuff I’d need whilechasing turkeys, and it seemed strangeto leave my portable treestand behind.The treestand was a fixture of the gear Icarried with me from September toJanuary last bow season while deerhunting. It felt weird to be wearing thecamo without that stand on my back.

It was time to get into a turkeyhunting mindset of runnin’ and gunnin’gobblers. Bow season for deer was 4

months away; surely I could put that outof my mind to concentrate on bagginggobblers for now.

I finished gathering up theremainder of my turkey hunting gear tobe ready to go for opening day. Shortlyafter sundown I slipped out to locate agobbler on the roost, and got multipleresponses to my owl call.

Opening morning found me setupwithin 125 yards of the gobblers Iroosted 9 hours before. I made a littlehen talk in the pre-dawn darkness andgot gobbled at by three different toms.Oh boy, game on!

The toms kept talking without mehaving to call, so I kept quiet and waited

for daylight, expecting them to fly downinto my lap. About 20 minutes after firstlight the toms all flew down into myneighbors field and taunted me bygobbling every couple minutes. Mycalling to them was ignored and after awhile they walked further away in thedirection of a real hen.

I didn’t have permission to huntwhere the birds were headed, and myneighbor, Ed, would soon be at work. Ibacked out of my position and drove towhere Ed works to ask him if I could goafter the toms on his place.

After catching up with Ed I toldhim the situation and asked if I could goafter them on his property. He laughedand said, “Sure, go get ‘em. But whycome all this way to ask? You don’tthink I’d ask you permission if I saw abig buck on your place and you weren’taround, do you?”

I tried not to look shocked by hisstatement—after all, he’d just given methe OK to turkey hunt his land. I bit mytongue and managed to thank him. Edand I definitely needed to talk later.

For Bucks Or Birds?It was back to the chase at Ed’s

place and I was trying to close thedistance on the toms that were now inthe woods, gobbling occasionally.Cautiously advancing, I carefullyexamined the woods ahead of me for ared, white or blue gobbler head. I didn’tsee any gobblers, but I got distracted bya buck rub high on the trunk of a 10-inch diameter white pine.

A short distance along my path,another half-dozen rubs appear onsimilar sized pines, and I had forgottenabout turkeys. Continuing on Idiscovered large buck tracks, scrapes

and more rubs; it was all too much forme to ignore.

Out of habit, I began looking forspots where I would’ve set up a treestand, but didn’t notice any sign of Edhaving done so. Because this was hillycountry, I suspected the buck would bebedding higher in elevation, so I startedclimbing uphill to see if I could locatehis bedding area.

Half way up the hill a gobble rangout—not far away—and it reminded meof why I was in those woods.

I quickly sat down at the base of alarge ash tree, I made some hen talk onmy box call and set it down. Resting myshotgun on my knees, I waited for a tomto show himself. After 15 minutes, Icalled again but got no gobbler toanswer. I remained still and ponderedthe recent events: Big buck sign foundand turkeys still active had methoroughly enjoying my morning hunt.

I decided to wait another 15minutes before moving on. Sitting thereI thought about how turkey hunting anddeer scouting is the only multi-taskingI’ve ever been able to do. Thecombination has revealed some gooddeer hunting spots for me in the past;it’s no wonder why the more I turkeyhunt the more I like it.

Suddenly one thing became veryclear, Ed and I would definitely have tohave a talk. As I pondered how the talkmight unfold, a blue head appearedfrom behind a deadfall, and a minutelater I was wrapping my tag around thatgobbler’s leg. OWO

Lee Gatzke is a member of Blood BrothersOutdoors, creator of practical and tacticaldeer hunting videos. Gatzke can be reachedat www.bloodbro.com.

For the deer-crazed author, there’s much more to do while turkey hunting than justhunting turkeys.

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TERRY BITZ

Outdoor ConvergenceThe cost of happiness

Iwas recently scanning an outdoorcatalog looking at some of the newestequipment available for purchase. In

several instances, I was stunned at the costof some of the products being offered.

Maybe it’s because I’d found myselfamongst the unemployed for a number

of months last year that these issues ofequipment costs have occupied mythoughts. Though I’ve always beenrelatively frugal when it comes to myequipment purchases, the focus of whatI really need to spend had become evensharper in the light of the currenteconomy and how it impacted my ownlife. Will I catch that many more fish if Ispend $5,000 versus $500 on a fishfinder? Will I shoot bigger bucks if I buythat $1,000 riflescope? Probably not.

I have no intention of picking onthe producers of outdoor sportinggoods. The market is extremelycompetitive and more expensiveproducts often bring higher profitmargins along with their advancedfeatures. The manufactures were alsojust following the trend that had beengaining steam for the past 20 years inthe outdoor marketplace; people werewilling to shell out big bucks for new orhigh-tech equipment.

Probably the best example of thistrend was seen in the boating industry.It was not long ago that an 18-foot boatwith a 150 hp outboard motor wasconsidered big. Nowadays, a boat is notconsidered big unless it is more than 20feet long and carriers a 250-300 hpmotor. Such a craft doesn’t come cheapwith prices often surpassing the cost ofthe trucks towing them.

Considering that hunting andfishing now are basically recreationalactivities, expenditures on such pricey

items have taken a hit in this economy.It’s hard to justify plopping down $200on a new spinning reel when onecosting a third as much will get the jobdone, albeit with a bit less refinementand maybe some reduced quality. Boatsales have certainly hit the skids withthe industry reeling from the impacts ofbuyers unable or unwilling to purchasewatercraft that were flying out ofshowrooms just a couple years ago.

In the face of all of this economicmayhem, people are likely re-evaluatingwhat equipment they really need inorder to partake in the outdoors; maybethat’s not such a bad thing.

I think many of us, me included,looked too much toward new and betterequipment as a substitution forincreased knowledge and better skills.Instead of learning more about seasonalmovements of fish and animals, we’vespent our time trying to figure out allthe features on the newest gadget orwandered store aisles searching for amagic fishing lure or deer scent that

would bring us instant success.In the same regards, sometimes we

spend so much time staring at fishfinders and GPS units that we miss thenatural scenery around a lake or fail tosee wildlife as we walk “dazed andblind” through the woods.

Maybe it’s time we learn how to getthe most out of the equipment wealready own. Many of us have boxesfilled with fishing lures we rarely use, allreplaced by newer models that wehonestly thought would bring with itfishing nirvana.

Again, I have no intentions ofturning this into a rant against sportinggood manufactures. They produceproducts that help me enjoy my time inthe outdoors, and I can honestly saysome of those products have meant thedifference between having a productiveversus unproductive outing.

However, a well known fishingwriter, who is sponsored by some largeoutdoor firms, once told me thatsporting goods are just tools. I think weneed to make sure the costs of these“tools” do not get in the way of ouroutdoor pursuits.

That is unless someone really doesinvent the magic fishing lure—then goahead and buy it. OWO

Terry Bitz is a freelance writer whoresides in Pleasant Prairie, WI. He can becontacted at [email protected], or visit hisweb site www.outdoorconvergence.com.

The author’s son, Devin, holds arespectable bass caught out of a small,“low-tech” 14-foot aluminum boat usedto fish small Wisconsin lakes.

SURPLUS FIREARMS, from page 7

the SAR2 in 2003 (and I did), you wouldhave “known” that it was as accurate asan AR15 and a lot cheaper.

Oh sure, some of them had cantedfront sights, gas blocks and trigger slap,but they were in the minority and, bestof all, they shot 2-inch groups or less at100 yards with inexpensive CommieBloc ammunition. Why should I spend$900 on a common-as-mud AR when Ican demonstrate my exclusivity, goodtaste and marksmanship with an SAR2?So, I bought one after closely examiningit for front site cant and hoping it didn’t

have excessive trigger slap.Turns out it had both, and it didn’t

shoot too hot, either. I’ve actually fired afew sub-3-inch groups after installing aRussian sniper scope on it. Once thebarrel warms up after 10 shots or so, itstarts patterning rounds at 100 yards asopposed to grouping them. Despite itsinherent inaccuracy, it always fires,which is more than I can say about someARs I’ve been acquainted with.

Despite the fact that it rarelyactually shoots anything remotelyresembling a group, my SAR2 will place

all of its rounds on a standard small-bore target at 100 yards. Some gunsmight shoot minute-of-angle groups at100 yards; my SAR2 shoots “minute ofwatermelon” at the same distance. But,by golly, it will shoot without fail all daylong, unlike most hunting rifles.

If I had known my SAR2 hadcanted sites, trigger slap and shotamazingly large groups, I never wouldhave bought it. After expending somemoney on a new trigger group, fixingthe front sight cant, and adding a foldingstock, muzzle brake and super “zoomy”

Russian Kobra red-dot sight, I shoot itmore than any other gun I own, whichis saying something because I don’t evenknow how many guns I own!

Yes, when it comes to firearmsownership, ignorance can be bliss. Justas importantly, mistakes can be tradedand other guns bought until true joy andhappiness is found. OWO

S. Wilkerson is an award-winningWisconsin journalist, firearms expert andstudent of the Second Amendment. [email protected].

“Maybe it’s time we learnhow to get the most

out of the equipment we already own.”


Then Dad really started on his call. Ashe called, we could hear the turkeymoving closer. He called again and then… nothing. The turkey had left, but itwas sure exhilarating.

The same thing happened a couplemore times before things took off. Daygrew more and more prominent as itgot brighter out. From the left side, bythe big cornfield, we saw some jakescurving to the right, heading right forus. My dad took out his binoculars andlooked through the mesh. Slowly butsurely they were hidden from viewbehind a hill.

Then all of a sudden, three silverybluish-red heads popped up in front ofme coming up from one of the smallercornfields, their necks jutting back andforth in a kind of rhythm.

“Shhh,” Dad whispered, “Get yourgun up and ready.”

I did what he said, and thenkneeled on the ground, ready to shoot.

Their heads came up higher andhigher and Dad pointed out which oneto shoot. I saw him, a tall long-neckedturkey. It was still raining and I carefullyfocused my sight on his head.

The two parts of the sight alignedand I clicked the safety off. I slipped mypointer finger onto the trigger, took onelast check for aim and pulled it back.

I saw the bird fall and was excitedto run out and get the turkey. Dadreminded me to unload the gun and putthe safety on. Then Dad grabbed hiscrutches and hurried out toward myturkey as fast as he could.

I followed him and saw the turkey

flopping around and I was excited andreally proud of myself. The turkey soonfell silent and in the chaos of it all weremembered to call John for a ride, andthen my mom to tell her the good news.

It was still raining slightly, justenough to make the turkey’s featherswet and sticky. I leaned my gun againsta sturdy tree and then we started to pickup. I removed everything from the tentand then we folded up the blind.

Soon we heard the sound of theATV’s motor coming up the bluff, andthen saw it round the last curve. Johnquickly stopped the motor and jumpedout to congratulate me.

We packed up our stuff, threw it inthe ATV and away we went down thebluff. I kept looking behind us justmaking sure my turkey was still there.

When we arrived on the bottom, theowners of the property came out tocongratulate me, too. We talked a bitand then Dad, John and I headed hometo clean the turkey.

When we got home, my mom andsister wanted to see the turkey. We tooka few more pictures and then walked upto the cleaning house.

I will remember this day forever.Like the quote on the duck band fromDad’s 2008 duck guiding season: It’s allabout the experience. Even though Ididn’t shoot a turkey youth or fourthseason, I still had a great time and can’twait for next season. OWO

Editor’s Note: Maddy Lensing is thedaughter and hunting partner of regularOWO contributor Todd Lensing.

LENSING TURKEY, from page 9

Maya of Rockland, Wisconsin, caught this 18-inch largemouth bass on the Black River in La Crosse last summer2009.

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If I tell you that I hadShakey, Wacky, Texasand Jig over at my place

recently, you’d probablythink we were just settling infor an all-night Pokermarathon. Cowboy hats,visors, sunglasses, Harleyshirts and maybe a .44 Rem.Mag. or two—just to make itinteresting.

While each of the aforementionedcan be an ace in the right time andplace, when all of them get together, it’snot to hurt anybody’s wallet. Now,hurting the bass population of yourfavorite lake, well, that’s another story.

In the world of bass fishing, theplastic worm was once the premier baitfor fishing success. And while a lot ofthe flashy, expensive hard baits—somethat probably look more like certainbaitfish than the real deal—have takencenter stage in today’s bass fishing luremarketplace, I’ll still put my money onthe plastic worm to more than hold it’sown, day in and day out.

As long as you have the followingtechniques in your bag of tricks, oddsare good you’ll always put some fish inthe boat.

Shakey Head WormShakey head worms start with a

jig head, which has a device or hookto anchor the worm to the head, muchlike the barb on a grub head forholding the grub from slipping. Then,the hook is buried in the worm like aTexas Rig to make it weedless.

The head usually has an eyecoming out of it at about a 45 degreeangle and the eye is flat. The flat eyehelps the head shake when you tap it.The head sits so the worm tail pointsup rather than laying down flat on thebottom—this makes it easier for thebass to see it. Once the bait hitsbottom, just lightly shake the rod tipso the worm quivers and acts like it’salive. If no takers, move the bait alittle and repeat the process.

Shakey heads are good post-spawn baits because they can befished slower around the spawningareas. Post-spawn bass might movearound the areas they spawned inbefore moving back to the drop-offsand summer locations.

The shakey head allows you tocover the area very thorough. Thisbait is not just limited to post spawn,however. Use it in any season,especially after fronts in the summerwhen the fish might not move.

Wacky WormRigging a worm wacky style

means hooking it once through themiddle of the worm, so that equallength halves bend back in a “U” or“V” shape as the worm is workedthrough the water.

Use a standard worm hook for anun-weighted bait and jig it along as itslowly sinks. Or, if you want to getdeeper on a break-line or drop-off, aweighted jig head can be used toprovide the extra weight.

What this does is create anotherlook for the fish and a differentvibration. So, if the fish are notreacting to a standard worm or plasticstickbait, this might be exactly whatthe doctor ordered.

Wacky rigging is generally aslower retrieve and, again, it workswell when you are fishing a smallerarea for fish that are cruising. Again,

this is a retrieve that can be used atdifferent times during the year whenyou want to give the fish a differentlook.

Texas RigThe old faithful: Run the hook

into the worm head about ½-inchfrom the end. Thread the hookthrough, then reverse it and bury thebarb back into the plastic worm.

Set up with a slip sinker thatsnugs up the hook on your line. Basedon conditions, you can peg the sinkerclose to the hook, or let it slide freeand crawl it across bottom andthrough weeds.

Since it’s weed free, it can beworked and crawled into the weedcover and slid through to tempt thebass hiding there.

Jig RigThe jig worm, a plastic

worm on a simple mushroomhead jig, where the worm headis snuggled up to the lead-headis a great weed-edge bait andworks best along deeper weedlines.

Rig the worm just like you

would a grub, so the hook remainsexposed. Crawl, snap, pop and hop italong. When the bass are active, thissetup is deadly. It’s usually the simplestto use since the hook is exposed and thehook set doesn’t need to be quite aspowerful during light bites.

Trying to figure out where the fishare and what the preference is canchange daily. Having the versatility ofthese options as part of your tacticsprovides just a few more options. Givethem a try this year and I’m bettingyou’ll end up with a winning hand. OWO

Tom Luba is from New London,Wisconsin.

TOM LUBA

A Handful of AcesWorms aplenty

Four worm rigs every bass fishermanshould have in their tackle box (fromleft): Texas rig, shakey head worm, jigworm and wackey worm.

“ ... I’ll still put my money on the plastic worm to more than hold it’s own,

day in and day out.”

A jig worm works great for weedline bass. When largemouth and smallmouthboth exist in a body of water, if weeds are the main cover, you'll often find thebass species mixed together.

� � � � � � � � � � � � � �


Dear Conibear SmithYou know, if the OWO Board of Directorskeeps ripping the Left, you run the risk oflosing advertisers and readers like me….anold UW-Madison hippie who believes inshare and share alike.

—Lovey Brainsburnt

Dear Lovey,Lovey?B.O. Healthcare stinks. And so does hisHouse and Senate. Remember in November.Repeat in 2012. Repeal.

Love,Conibear Smith

Dear Rex Rodsalotta,Did you know that the DNR is fastened sonar transmittersto spawning sturgeon in April below the Shawano dam tomonitor their travels?

–Bill Rasmussen, Oshkosh

Dear Bill,Yes, and it’s already paid off with some surprising data.Sturgeon number 11742, for example, headed back to LakeWinnebago as expected, but then caught a cab south, a Brewergame and after a few beers, scattered a school of late spawningcrappie on Geneva. “That was total surprise,” said a perplexedDNR Fisheries Biologist Ron Bruch. “He had a few too manyin Milwaukee, yes, but that’s no excuse, and now were afraidto see what the the young-of year crappie class on Genevalooks like.”

–Rex

On Wisconsin Outdoors Board of Directors

Hunter Daily

Conibear SmithRex Rodsalotta

Dear Hunter Daily,I was one of 4,360 people who attended the 2010Spring Hearings held in every county ofWisconsin so sportsmen and women can providetheir input on proposed fish and wildlife rulechanges. Pretty impressive huh?

–Jerry Richard, Brule

Real impressive Jerry,But the other numbers are even more so. 1,296,034Wisconsin sportsmen stayed home but promised tocomplain about those rule changes in 2011.

–Conibear Smith

Congratulations to William Bromwellof New London, the winner of ourMar/April Explore Wisconsin contest. Jimwon a $100 cash!

Our thank you to all of the “LoyalReaders” who entered the contest!

Winner We have a Next time you pick up a copy of OnWisconsin Outdoors for yourself, grab acouple extras for colleagues, family andfriends. And don’t forget to see us onlinebetween issues at ...


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Averaging at between 6-7 feet deep, with amaximum depth of about 11 feet, the sprawling

14,102-acre expansion of the Wolf River we know asLake Poygan is truly a nursery to the Winnebagosystem. Here, large schools of walleyes roam openwater, weeds, rock piles and river channels in search offood. And, because of the make-up of the large butshallow lake, there’s plenty of it for them to find.

Because of the number of creeks and wetlandsthat feed Lake Poygan, the fertile lake provides anabundant source of nutrient rich, oxygenated water.The shallow back bays and weedy areas are prime forthe proliferation of the small zoo plankton fish needto grow. This abundant food source also providesforage for the vast minnow population which uses theshallow areas to spawn.

The vast wind-swept waters provide a variety ofstructure, too, such as the “cane beds,” a well-knownareas of emergent plant growth. The cane beds aremade up of a variety of plants, including water celeryor eelgrass (Vallisneria Americana), and the emergentcanes or common reed (Phragmites Australis). Theseareas provide shelter for bait fish and a feeding areafor walleyes. Walleyes also feed on the many smallrock piles, near creek mouths, river channel and thewell known “Horseshoe Hole,” deepest area on thelake. The Horseshoe Hole

Named due to its shape, Horseshoe Hole is acommon area for trollers who pull crankbaits spread

out with the use of planer boards. Trollers also pullcrawler harnesses with large Colorado blades to catchwalleyes that use the lake post-spawn.

But trolling is far from the only way to catchwalleyes out on Lake Poygan, and Horseshoe Hole farfrom the only hot spot. The lake has many contours,rock piles and places that hold fish all spring. Thereare also tried-and-true ways to catch walleyes on LakePoygan developed long before trolling techniques,boats and equipment became so popular.

Simple methods such as drifting with slipbobbers or drifting and casting will catch fish. Old-time anglers also used to drift with cane poles andBeetle Spins tipped with a leech to catch walleyes. Thewave-induced rocking of the boat provides a greataction to the small baits which can produce a greatday of fishing. I’ll be using the new Atomic Guppyand small spinner rigs tipped with leeches to do thesame. For casting, small suspending baits or LittleCleo’s, which can be cast a long way, will catch fish.

Making A Game PlanWalleyes use the lake post-spawn due to the

availability of food, so finding the food is the key tocatching fish. Paying attention to what the wind hasbeen doing can help you make a game plan. Windwill push the food throughout the lake andcongregate schools of walleyes where they can takeadvantage of it.

I like the subtle depth changes and contours onthe west end of the lake, with light west or southwind. With a stronger west wind, horseshoe hole andareas to the east might hold better numbers.

Wind also makes the cane beds a hot spot wherepitching small jigs tipped with a crawler or leech atthe edges will catch fish. You can also let the windpush live bait suspended below a slip bobber towardthe edge or pockets in the weeds. The fish are therebecause the wind stirs up the weeds, making thehiding food more accessible. The up-wind side isusually best, but strong winds can make the down-wind side the hot spot. Tournaments have been wonfishing in this manner.

Getting On The WaterLake Poygan can be accessed from anywhere on

the Winnebago system, with Winneconne the hub ofspringtime Lake Poygan activity. Here there is plentyof lodging, cabins, access points, bait shops andqualified information on fishing the lower lakes of theWolf River system.

Anglers can expect excellent fishing for walleyesalong with white bass, northern pike, catfish,smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappies, perch,bluegills and even trophy-class muskies. All of thesespecies are active during this time of year. Make sureto check your regulations booklet for size, length and

bag limits on all these fish.With multiple access points within an easy drive,

boat owners vacationing in Winneconne can pickwhere on the system they want to fish. On windy daysa short drive to Kiesow’s Landing on the Rat Rivercan make the lower end of the Wolf the place to be. Ajig and crawler, minnow or leech worked in the deepholes will catch walleyes, catfish and white bass.

To the east a short drive down highway GG isLake Winnebago, and the west end of Lake Poygancan be accessed from Captains Cove or the boat rampin Tustin. Or put the boat in and get anywhere on theWolf River and Winnebago system right from yourtemporary home port in Winneconne. There areplenty of gas stops and places to see, visit and fishfrom New London to Oshkosh, and then on to thebig lake itself. Fremont is just a short ride as arenumerous water front restaurants and dockingoptions in either direction, up stream or down.

Often over looked as a world class fishery, lookto Lake Poygan this year for some great fishing. Ifyou are new to the area, you’ll find guides who canshow you repeatable ways to catch fish. There’s alsoboat rental and plenty of good fishing information ifyou want to tackle the fishery on your own.

If it’s walleye you are after, you can always visitfor local fishing information. Plan a close to homevacation this year in Fremont, Winneconne, NewLondon or anywhere in Wolf River Country and takeadvantage of what the area has to offer. Lake Poyganis just one of the many jewels. OWO

Joel “Doc” Kunz is a 2005 “Readers Choice” Awardwinner, member of the Association of Great LakesOutdoor Writers (AGLOW) and a member of theWisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association(WOCA). Visit www.wolfrivercountry.com.

JOEL “DOC” KUNZ

On Wisconsin RiversLake Poygan: Nursery to the Winnebago System

The author poses with a white bass, one of the manyfish species available in the Winnebago System.

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All these efforts make the samestatement about you as asportsperson: You are more thansimply a participant in an activity. Youare not a person who goes hunting.You are a hunter. You have beenovertaken by the totality of theprocess. You strive not only to take,but also to give, to enhance, to teach.

For each person, this epiphanymay occur at a different time. I’vehad the good fortune to come to thisrealization as a fairly young man.While it may have reduced my overallbag, it certainly enhanced myenjoyment of my time afield, as wellas helping to connect the rest of mylife, and my work, to my pursuit of mysporting passions. At this time of year,when we as waterfowlers can onlydream of the start of the Septembergoose season, or re-string decoys inpreparation for their work inNovember, I challenge you to applyyour audacity of hope: make adifference in our habitat, lend ahelping hand with a fundraisingeffort, find a youth to mentor. Eachof us can make a difference, if onlywe have the courage to believe in abetter future. OWO

Don Kirby is Executive Director for theWisconsin Waterfowl Association. Hejoined the group after 16 years as aStore Manager with Gander Mtn. inWisconsin. Prior to his time with WWA,he did extensive outdoor media work onradio and TV. He has an MBA from UW-Milwaukee, and lives near Green Baywith his wife Kathy and their children.Don has been an avid waterfowler fornearly 30 years.

HOPE, from page 18

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Here’s the rundown on sixhunting and fishing products that youmight find useful in the woods, fieldsand waterways. We did.

BUSHNELL TROPHY CAMFor $240, This compact game

camera boast a compact size, longbattery life, high-quality photos orvideo, and a large photo storage space:A 16GB SD memory card can storemore than 10,000 images when thecamera is set on 3 megapixels. Andunder normal use, this new camerawill continue to take photos for up to 1year on the same set of Lithium AAbatteries.

Threemodels areavailable: astandardmodel, a modelwith a built-incolor viewerand the newBone Collectormodel in

Realtree AP camo. With 360 days ofpower and the capability to store

10,000 images, my Trophy Cam isalways setup in the most remote, hard-to-check areas of my hunting land.

Bushnell.com

GAMEHIDE STORMHIDETYPHOON OUTERWEAR

For $149-$159, this high-qualityrain suit is made of Gamehide’s highly-breathable HydroCore laminate withsealed seams. The Parka featureswaterproof zippers, neoprene innercuffs, D-ring attachments for outdoorgadgets, 11 pockets and more. TheBibs have a reinforced seat, non-slipfabric on the knees and a full-lengthzipper.

StormHide gear fits and feelsgreat. I’ve worn my set for two full

seasons now and I’ll testify that thisstuff will keep you warm and dry. Thisgood-looking Parka and Bibs combocan even make a fishing hack likeOWO’s Rex Rodsalotta look like a pro!

GameHide.com

SCHRADE SPECIAL OPS KNIFE

For $40, Schrade’s assistedopening Special Ops knife (modelSCHAS1) features a 3-inch partlyserrated, stainless-steel, clip-point blade with both anassisted-openingmechanism and a thumb-open ramp on top of theblade.

The Special Ops knife isvery lightweight, balanced,solid and durable. Thehandle has a stainless-steellock liner with black Zytelgrips and a pocket clip. But,the blade’s trigger lever isquite impressive: With just aflick of the switch it opens fast. It’sperfect for both hunting and self-defense.

TaylorBrandsLLC.com

COMMANDO INTERCHANGEABLE

POT CALLFor $36, this friction turkey call

includes both aluminum and glasscalling surfaces with an exchangeablechamber and waterproof striker. Forsoft, raspy calling, play just the lids ofthe call. Then, add the metallic echochamber for loud and clearperformance.

It’s easy change from the glass faceto thealuminumone. Anoptionalslate lid isalsoavailablefor evenmore

versatility. And when it comes toturkey hunting, it’s essential to haveversatility in your vest.

CommandTheWild.com

STAG ALL-TERRAIN SEATFor $108, this heavy-duty,

lightweight seat has four fully-adjustable legs to provide level seatingon various terrains at multiple seatheights. Each leg adjustsindependently, plus theydetach to stow inside theseat. Additionally, itsbackrest folds down andits padded seatingsurface swivels 360degrees.

Need a good,lightweight, portableseat for your ground blind? If so, learnmore about this one. The foldabledesign makes it easy to transport, andthe backrest is very comfortable. Butthe best feature is the individuallyadjustable legs that work great on hillsor uneven ground.

QuakeInc.com

BERKLEY TRILENE TRANSOPTIC LINE

For $8.95-$10.95, Berkley TrileneTransOptic line is the first nylonmonofilament that changes colordepending on the presence or absenceof UV light. Below the water’s surface,

the line is clear andnearly invisible tofish. Above thesurface, the lineturns a vividgold—enablingyou to keep yourjig tight to the

bottom, for a better feel and moreeffective hook sets. It’s also durable,sensitive and easy-handling.

Wait a minute, let’s get thisstraight: This line reflects light andglare off the water, so you can see theline better when vertical jigging forwalleyes, but when the line is dunkedin the water, it changes color andbecomes invisible to fish? Yes, that’scorrect. Cool!

Berkley-Fishing.com

JJ Reich is an outdoor writer whocontributes product-related articles toseveral national publications and is theauthor of Kampp Tales™ hunting booksfor children (www.kampptales.com).

JJ REICH

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WIN 72101Twin River• Extremely lightweight rubber construction with 300D nylon lamination but with durability and strength to protect• Cleated outsole for sure traction• Removable insole for all day wearing comfort• Adjustable nylon suspender with quick release buckle• Strong drawstring for better fit• Large inside pocket for extra storage

WIN9301 Marsh Creek• Neoprene Chest Waders• 3.5MM neoprene lightweight, insulated, snug fit• Each wader is air and water tested to assure waterproof• All seams are butt cemented, stitched and sealed• Quick release buckles• Large outside pocket• 200 grams of Thinsulate™ Insulation• Double knee patches Rubber Boot Foot• All vulcanized rubber construction• The rubber outsole style features a deep cleated design for traction

WIN22103KHK Stream• Vulcanized construction - factory tested 100% waterproof• Insulated boot with sponge rubber padding• Deep cleated outsole for sure traction• Layered toe cap for longer wear• Aggressive padded knee for protection and comfort• Large inside utility pocket• Draw string for better fit• Reinforced belt loops

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14751 WIOutdoors_PL.ai 4/19/10 2:38:33 PM

Vol.3, Issue 5 - On Wisconsin Outdoors · 2011. 12. 22. · Vol.3, Issue 5 Hunting, Fishing,...

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Transcript of Vol.3, Issue 5 - On Wisconsin Outdoors · 2011. 12. 22. · Vol.3, Issue 5 Hunting, Fishing,...