Surf & Turf in Full Swing
The walleye runs on Wisconsin’s rivers are in full swing according to the photos coming in from OWO readers and the invitations coming in to this reporter from friends and outdoor pros pounding fish. Solely gauging by what I’m seeing out the truck window in my travels, turkey hunters holding a season 2 or 3 tags are enjoying beautiful weather and gobblers preoccupied with a little attention from Mary Lou or any old Boss hen.
“If you can get to the Wolf, the walleyes are almost jumping in the boat,” said Chico of Chico’s Landing on the phone from Fremont when I was in Florida last week. “Everyone is catching fish.”
“Get up here, the Pestigo is red hot,” said longtime friend Gordon Pagel. “If you can’t come by Monday or Tuesday it will all be done.”
Roger Mayer and brother Marc reinforced the idea of hot fishing when he sent us these photos from the Pestigo and Menomonee. And OWO writer and professional guide Phil Schweik sent photos of his time with clients on the Wisconsin near Wausau. Schweik doesn’t really count in our gauge of what’s going good out there. Mr. Fish Magnet doesn’t need a walleye “run” to catch those critters.
Thanks to OWO writer Ron Klimcke for sending us the video of spawning muskies posted on our website homepage. Ron caught the mating ritual with the camera on a feeder creek to the Chippewa Flowage. Also, besides an abundance of other outdoor information from Spring Hearings to fishing and hunting reports, the DNR boys are sending their regular updates on the sturgeon spawn, now also going strong. Check on this website under Inland Fishing and Outdoor News and you will be reading for a while.
Check out these spawning muskies caught April 14 by Ron Klimcke on a Chippewa Flowage feeder creek on our homepage video.
I had an opportunity to check out my “sneakability expertise”, professionally speaking, in my good clothes Thursday while driving home from a photo shoot with new OWO advertiser Midwestern Shooters Supply in Lomira. First, thanks to MSS for joining the growing list of advertisers that help bring our paper to you at no cost. Midwestern Shooters Supply has a beautiful rod and gun shop and so much more off of Highway 41. You can’t miss them. They have the 20 foot whitetail deer in their front yard just off the freeway. Even if you don’t end up buying something in the store, the taxidermy work from Africa to North America in the store is worth the visit.
Midwestern Shooters Supply in Lomira is worth the look just for the taxidermy work you’ll find.
I took the photos Thursday for the Stuart Wilkerson story to appear in OWO along with Midwestern Shooters Supply advertising, and headed south toward home. I don’t know about you, and maybe it’s the outdoor writer still simmering in me after 30 years, but if I see spring turkeys I have to try to get close and shoot the camera. Strutting Toms in spring are miracles and they call me to try and get close. In Season 5 boys, I will really want to get close.
Anyway, I saw the two gobblers strutting with a dozen hens in a farm field cooperatively behind a rest area off the freeway. I didn’t see them until it was too late, so drove past three miles, got back on north, drove by again, got back on south, entered the rest area, parked it and started the stalk. My clothes were muddy soon. I don’t usually wear camo dress clothes to business appointments so I was stalking a herd of turkeys in a bright blue shirt with no boots of course and no face mask.
I did pretty well though, considering. Used some rolling hills in the woods to stalk as close as I could to a barb wire fence keeping me from private property, settled in behind a perfectly set veil of cattails before the field, and ended up about two feet up in a split tree shooting the birds from maybe 100 yards with the telephoto. The knuckleheads didn’t see me and just kept showing off for the girls. The biggest Tom was in a real tight circle dance with just one hen. That was really a great thing to watch. They were obviously lost together in a courting dance, and I almost expected the other gobbler to break into a square dance rhythm…
“Take your partner spin er then run
But watch that woodline, might be a gun….
If she looks plastic, skiddattle like heck,
That number-5 shot will snap your neck…..
What? I shouldn’t change to being a poet.? Okay then. Anyway, here are my photos, somewhat obstructed by my cover, but you can see how big and interested these Toms are. And really, although I could only make it to about 100 yards of the flock, the birds are vulnerable right now and have been hunted only minimally.
We're heavy into production for the May-June issue. It’s a real good issue again, I believe due to our writers’ work with lots of fishing, hunting, firearms and as stated, loads of advertising support. Pick up your free copy the first week of May at any Kwik Trip. Nothing at all like a Wisconsin Kwik Trip for all your needs when starting or finishing any hunting or fishing trip. We’ll be there.
Thank you for connecting with On Wisconsin Outdoors. You’re welcome here and if I could I would get us all together for a group hug. Do you have that visual?
Shoot straight.
Dick Ellis