Fishing, Hunting Collision Right On Time...
8-22-2012
The Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s (WWA) 13th Annual State Shoot is taking place this Saturday, August 25 and you are invited. The WWA has personally worked with the Sporting Clays Course Manager at Wern Valley Sportsmen’s Club in Waukesha to make this course attractive to Waterfowlers. Link to “Firearms” or “Waterfowl” for all the details. The WWA and Steve Williams at Wern Valley will treat their guests right.
Tom’s Guns in Marshall Wisconsin is looking for participants in the Youth Duck Hunt next month. I was an observer and reporter with the Tom’s Guns event last year and it’s pretty impressive. Some of those kids can shoot. We’ll post that 2011 story and photos with the details of the upcoming hunt also under “Waterfowl Hunting.”
Speaking of knowing how to shoot, earlier this month, Kim Rhode became the greatest Olympian of all time by becoming the first US athlete to medal in an individual sport in five consecutive Olympics. In dominating women’s skeet shooting Rhodes won three gold medals. Her gold in London recently included missing only one of 100 opportunities. Winchester acknowledged that domination by “placing” Rhode’s photo on their legendary AA target load box. Link to “Firearms” for the whole story.
Speaking of not knowing how to shoot, but infected a bit by Rhodes and also the Burlington Demons and other Wisconsin trap teams shooting up an American storm over the last several months followed on this website, I took a break from fishing and headed out on an Iron County shooting range this week; just me, 125 clay pigeons, my wife Lori, daughter Taylor, Grandpa Henske, Mitch Groth, sister-in-law Kris, and nephew Carter. What’s that they say, the family that shoots together, stays together?
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| Taylor Ellis takes aim on the shooting range. | Grandpa Henske and Mitch Groth wait for another clay pigeon. |
Rhodes, smodes. We had at least seven or eight of the clay pigeons that were confirmed as not having shattered due to contact with the ground…maybe. Next session maybe I’ll hit one too. That is a riot, regardless of ability. Introduce your kids to the shooting sports at your local shooting range or gun club. They will help you.
Connect with “Bear Hunting” for the most recent scribblings in the Mike Foss “Diary of a Wisconsin Bear Guide”. Mike says his trail cameras are verifying that even the big bears are finally getting comfortable enough with the bait stations to come out when it’s plenty light for a hunter in a treestand. He includes this week a photo of a 300-plus pound bear on the Bayfield County bait in broad daylight. You may also remember from reading Mike’s weekly logs that in early summer he took a young hunter and his father out specifically to start the bait and set the stand. The 12-year old wanted to experience the whole hunt, including the work. Mike tells us that the stand is being hit by a 600 pound boar and another big bear in the 300 to 400 pound class.
OWO will be on assignment at the Foss camp. You can expect the stories right here under Bear Hunting. Our print version of the September-October issue will be on 700 Wisconsin stands next week and posted on our “homepage” for online reading including a feature story from Foss with a photo of another 600 pound monster. The issue also includes all kinds of hunting from doves to deer and plenty of fall fishing from our experts.
To prove that OWO writers are highly intelligent, John Luthens this week under “Trips Elsewhere” reminisces about the summer he reallocated his money saved up for the fall college to more important service. John and his brother jump in a 1972 Nova stocked with camping gear, a .177 caliber target air pistol and not much else and head for the Appalachia Mountains and eventually the Florida Keys. It’s a good read, and I’m serious about John’s intelligence. You’re not going to do what he did when you’re married. I went to Los Angeles with two friends to watch a Packer-Ram came at age 19 and forgot to come home for six weeks. That’s what you’re supposed to do…then.
On to more sensible trips from my files. In “Dick’s Trips” or "Inland Fishing" this week, we focus on a journey taken just last year during the Dog Days of August in Washburn County with top guide Chuck Roehl on the Minong Flowage. We targeted different fish species but we struck paydirt going after big bass with surface lures in sweltering temperatures taking cover in the slop. When you’re ready to go yourself, we include at the front of the story the contact numbers for Roehl and Michelle Voight and the rest of the Washburn County Tourism Association. They are good people ready to make your trip easy. What are you waiting for?
Check out “Outdoor News” weekly. People and organizations know we’re here and they’re sending us all kinds of items that you may be interested in. We’ll keep posting. From the DNR for example, look for Warden Wires weekly detailing action in the field. Look too for ongoing information that they send on information that you simply need or don’t want to forget.
This week under “Outdoor News” the DNR also sends you reminders and details that the wolf hunt applications close August 31 and the Early Canada and mourning dove seasons open September 1st. There’s more information available on the Chinook stocking reduction proposal, and more information posted on the sturgeon hook and line season set to open September 1 on select waters. Leftover 2012 fall wild turkey go on sale August 28. Also, wild turkey, pheasant and waterfowl stamp design contest entries and winners are also on display. Check it all out.
This is, simply stated, a great time of year to be alive and well and a hunter/angler/trapper in Wisconsin. Thank you for coming along with On Wisconsin Outdoors. It’s appreciated.
Dick Ellis