Weekly Trapping Column Introduced, Sturgeon Spearing Deadline Looms
10-18-12
By Dick Ellis
The next time I feel like things aren’t fair in the field because I didn’t see a deer or another buck eluded me maybe I had better think about Don Christensen. The 47-year old Christensen, a married father of two from Webster, Wisconsin is an avid outdoorsman and experienced hunter. A quadriplegic since progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis sapped his ability to use his arms and legs, he uses a sip-and-puff trigger system to fire both his .243 rifle and Ten-Point crossbow with his mouth.
He admits the .243 “is kind of a ladies or kids rifle” for someone who has been hunting since he was seven, “but if I put my old 30-06 up, the recoil would knock my front teeth out.” Regardless, Don had bragging rights most others don’t. Despite the obstacles, with the help of his wife LeAnn, he’s shot six deer in the last six years. Read the whole story under “Deer Hunting”. And don’t forget to keep reading about the adventures of Russell Frye of Janesville, another Wisconsin hunter with MS still living life big in the fields.
OnWisconsinOutdoors.com is expanding to include more weekly columnists. Expect that growth to continue until we bring more outdoors at you than you can shake a stick at. You’ll again read “Diary of a Wisconsin Bear Guide” today with Mike Foss under “Bear Hunting”, but be aware that Mike’s writing doesn’t stop with the bear season. He’s also a top deer hunter and guide in Bayfield County, (when the deer population allows), and I happen to know he was one of the lucky hunters bucking the odds to draw a wolf tag (By the way, four hunters scored on wolves during the first 24 hours of Wisconsin’s first season). Anyway, you can follow Mike’s adventures each week right here.
Also, you know OWO writer John Luthens is traveling and fishing or hunting Wisconsin each week. He’s out with the boy scouts learning survival skills this week. Find him posted under “Inland Fishing”. That’s because we don’t have a “Learning Survival Skills with the Boy scouts” section. Also, if you missed his introduction two weeks ago, tap in weekly to “Firearms” and read the Robb Manning column on Concealed Carry. You’ll learn what you need to know to safely and effectively carry.
Today On Wisconsin Outdoors is pleased to announce that “On the Trapline with Arnie Groehler” will kick off online with the trapping season next week. I’ve trailed Arnold; wounded American war hero, District Director for the Wisconsin Trapping Association and Chairman of the North American Fur Auction-Wild Fur Shippers Council (NAFA-WFSC) around Wisconsin enough to have my eyes opened often. I think you will too when you “travel” with his column. I talked to Arnie this morning and as usual, we talked too long about hunting and trapping. Here’s an inkling of what to expect from Groehler…
Wisconsin trapper Arnold Groehler walks with two raccoons taken on Horicon Marsh as part of a predator removal program that assists nesting waterfowl and egg production.
On a cold January day in the 1970s, Groehler was trapping south of Superior in the White River area of Drummond referred to as 20 Mile Swamp. Soaring beaver prices meant animals with easy access to roads had been largely tapped out by other trappers. Groehler traveled through deep snow on snowshoes to find a large colony of beavers five miles back in the wilderness. He set his traps and set his sights early the next morning on checking them.
“Now trapping begins at 4:00 am, which is a change from the daylight start,” he said. “In my mind’s eye, things happen in the dark. You forget things. You make mistakes. I prefer to work in the daylight.”
Upon his return the next day after a 1.5 hour journey, Groehler discovered two beavers had fallen to his traps. With equipment and a heavy burden of beavers in tow, he began the long walk out. With dusk falling, he first sensed that he had unwelcome company.
“It was getting dark and I had a very uneasy feeling that something was following me as the shadows began to fall,” he said. “I actually turned around but there was nothing there. I couldn’t see anything or hear anything….no cracking branches, but the hair was standing up on the back of my neck. It’s that time of night when a white pine stump can look like a bear in the failing light. It’s the fear element. My pace quickened. And I would suddenly stop and spin and just look. By nightfall, I sensed...I knew I had to get out of the woods as fast as I could. But I also wasn’t going to leave the beavers that I was dragging behind.”
When Arnold reached the end of his trek and the truck, a great sense of relief enveloped him. The next morning, with his return to the beaver colony, he discovered precisely why. A pack of seven or eight wolves had followed Groehler all the way from the colony to very near the end of his journey.
The trappers of today still carry something in common with the mountain men of yesterday. Sometimes, he said, man, the predator, is subject to being the prey too.
Check out “On The Trapline with Arnie Groehler". I guarantee you that you will not be sorry. I never am. It’s appropriate that we post a “Dick’s Trips” column here that I’ve done with Groehler in the field. While we wait for his 2012-13 trapping season to unfold, you’ll at least get an idea of who this modern day Jeremiah Johnson is.
The deadline to buy sturgeon spearing licenses for the 2013 Lake Winnebago System seasons is Oct. 31, with new licensing options giving more people the opportunity to join in a tradition that brings together family, friends and big fish. Get the whole story under “Inland Fishing”.
As always, make sure you regularly check our sections including “Outdoor News”, “Inland Fishing”, “Fishing Reports” “Deer Hunting”, “Upland Game” “Archery & Bow Hunting”. Some are already active daily, with reports and news coming from the DNR, fishing or hunting guides, chambers of commerce, tourism association, our own writers, and much more. But all of our sections will soon be active daily or certainly weekly. Please keep sending your own photos and stories from the fields and streams of Wisconsin to ellis@onwisconsinoutdoors.com.
You will see, for example, that this week under “Deer Hunting” that we post a photo of proud grandpa Steve Niere’s 13-year old Grandson, Jake Fick of Hartland and his 16-point, 250 pound buck with a 24-1/2 inch inside spread. “His Grandmother, Debbie and I are very proud of Jake,” Grandpa said. “We are hunting and fishing family.” Also, Kevin and Neil sent us what a little fishing on the Wisconsin River near Richland Center can produce; like this 6.4 ounce bass and this 34 inch pike. That’s where we’re reserving a spot for your photo.
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Thanks for connecting with On Wisconsin Outdoors. Shoot straight.
Dick Ellis
Thou Shall Not Covet (you’re good enough and talented enough to earn it yourself)