Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
Walleyes are biting on crawlers and leeches in 8 to 12 feet of water associated with wood and rocks. Most of our action coming during low light periods and on cloudy days.
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| Nick Laska with a nice Wisconsin River musky | Jamie Claypool from Ohio with a nice largemouth bass | George Reece from Ohio with a nice smallmouth bass |
The smallmouth bass have been very active on topwater baits as well as jigs tipped with plastics like tubes, beaver tails and twister tails in orange and green. Most of our action is coming off of rocky humps and rip rap shorelines in 3 to 5 feet of water.
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| Nathaniel house with a nice Wisconsin River walleye | Nathaniel house with a nice Wisconsin River walleye | Nathaniel house and his dad Jamie with some of their catch of walleyes from the day |
The bluegill bite is very good with nice catches of jumbo sized gills being caught from submerged wood and weeds in 5 to 8 feet of water. Most of the gills are being caught on tiny 1/16th ounce jigs tipped with a piece of crawler or a tiny plastic like a Mini-Mite in white or red.
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| Eric Tufto and his daughter Annie with a nice Wisconsin River walleye | Annie Tufto with a nice smallmouth bass |
Eric Tufto and his daughter Annie with a couple of good eating Wisconsin River walleyes |
The crappie bite has been good. The warm weather has pushed the crappies a little deeper in the water and we have had to lower our presentations to be successful. We are now running our presentations about 6 to 10 feet down over 12 to 16 feet of water to catch the schooling suspended crappies.
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| Dustin Linzmeier and his girlfriend Amber with a nice bass and walleye double on the Wisconsin River | Dustin Linzmeier with a nice smallmouth bass from Lake Dubay | Dustin Linzmeier with another nice Lake Dubay Smallmouth bass |
The musky bite has been good all year long and we have been having great action on spinner baits and bucktails. Most of our fish have been coming by casting to rocks and weeds in 6 to 10 feet of water but with the warmer temperatures we have also picked up a couple of fish while trolling large crankbaits down as far as 14 feet deep.
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| Jeff Wieloch with a Sheep head from Green Bay | Jeff Wieloch with a nice Green Bay walleye | Hooksetters guide Phil Schweik with a sheep head from Green Bay |
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| Scott Severtson from Alberta Canada with a nice Wisconsin River walleye | Scott Severtson form Alberta Canada with a nice largemouth bass | Scott Severtson from Alberta Canada with a nice smallmouth bass |
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| Dennis Hintz with a nice smallmouth bass | Austin Hintz with a nice smallmouth bass |
Matt Spink with a nice Wisconsin River walleye |
Our bear baiting stations are doing very well and we are seeing a lot of activity from multiple bears at them. We are also catching some real nice bruins on our trail cameras as they visit our sites. By the way trail cameras are a great way to find out exactly what you have coming in to your stations. Most of the activity we are seeing on our cameras is right at dark and then for about 2 hours after dark. If you are having the same kind of results don't be alarmed that the bears are not coming in to your baiting stations during daylight hours. It has been very warm the past few weeks which will keep the bears mostly nocturnal. As fall approaches the days will shorten, the nights will get cooler, and the bears will start coming in earlier and earlier.
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| venison shish kabobs marinated in Caribbean Jerk ready for the grill | muskrat that I caught on camera as he tried to sneak past he boat on the Wisconsin River. |
From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources [widnr@service.govdelivery.com]
August 1 application deadline approaches for fall wild turkey & sharp-tailed grouse seasons
August 1 is an important harvest permit application deadline for wild turkey and sharp-tailed grouse hunters. Permits can be applied for through the Online Licensing Center, at all license sales agents, and at DNR Service Centers (hours for service centers vary – check the DNR website for hours of operation), or by calling toll-free 1-877-LICENSE (1-877-945-4236). Permit applications cost $3.
Any fall turkey permits remaining after the initial drawing will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, a departure from previous years when sales didn’t start until noon. Leftover fall turkey permits will be sold by zone until sold out or the season ends.
The live operators at the DNR Call Center can help answer any questions folks may have about the permit application process. The Call Center is available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and can be reached at 1-888-WDNR-INFo (1-888-936-7463).
Fall Turkey
There will be 96,700 wild turkey permits available to hunters for the fall 2012 turkey hunting season, 1,000 more permits than were offered in the fall of 2011. Permits were increased by 600 in Zone 2 and 400 in Zone 7 in order to better accommodate demand by hunters.
The 2012 fall season will run from Sept. 15 through Nov. 15 for all seven of Wisconsin’s turkey management zones. In addition, an extended fall turkey season for Zones 1-5 ONLY will run from Nov. 26 through Dec. 31. Hunters who receive a fall turkey permit in Zones 1-5 will be able to fill their unused permits during the extended season in the zone for which they were issued. Hunters may use dogs to hunt wild turkeys during the fall season throughout the state of Wisconsin. The bag limit is one turkey of any age or sex per fall turkey hunting permit (also known as a carcass tag).
Sharp-tailed Grouse
The 2012 sharp-tailed grouse season will run from October 20th through November 11th, and 235 hunting permits will be available. This is a slight decrease from 2011 when 250 permits were available. However, the decision has been made to re-open sharp-tailed grouse hunting in DMU 8 after last year's temporary closure, the result of some promising survey numbers seen this spring. DMU 2 will have 200 permits, and DMU 8 will have 35 permits. DMUs 9 and 10, open in the past, will remain closed. Hunters are reminded to carefully review the zone map and apply only for units that are open. Applying for closed units will result in an invalid application.
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
Hooksetters Guide Service www.hooksetters.biz
Ruttnut Guide Service www.ruttnut.com
Reed & Hoppe Wildlife Food Plots www.foodplotting.com