Latest On Wisconsin Outdoors Columns
5-9-2012
The Bob Ellis Rowtrolling Classic will be held Saturday, June 16th with a starting point in Presque Isle. Connect with www.row-troller.com or call 608-220-0989 for information. The late Ellis, the great musky angler and pioneer among other things of fishing deep water for suspended fish while using schools of baitfish as structure, is in the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward. He’s also my uncle. I spent many days and years with him and hours writing about him. (Yes, talent on the water skips generations). Link to “Inland Fishing” to read row trolling stories, a column on a recent Bob Ellis Classic and a more heartfelt story written when his nephews and nieces uncovered a note scribbled from Bob on a 2x 4 in the Boulder Junction cabin he built that we now own on the Manitowish Chain.
Most of the stories are fishing related. But, did you know that Bob flew B-25s and other bombers while serving with four other brothers from Wisconsin Rapids including my Dad during WWII? He was a Golden Gloves champion several times and you can see his photo with the UW-Madison national championship boxing team of 1939 in the field house on campus. Bob brought his nephews “upnorth” to his four-cabin resort while we were still in grade school to pull stumps, burn bonfires on the beach, and icefish or work and musky fish in summer. It was then that the stories really began, and they were not all fishing-related. But they do offer a little insight into a Wisconsin legend.
My brother Jim was always the Bad Cat in the neighborhood when it came to fighting who eventually would play football for John Jardine’s Wisconsin Badgers. He could very easily draw blood or knock me and little brother John out, but to stay out of parental trouble for killing a younger sibling he would just punch us hard enough to inflict the dreaded Charlie Horse. Painful. No blood. Perfect. I remember Jim shore fishing off of a place we called “The Point” on Bob’s property. I stood high above hidden in the pines on a sand cliff, rock in hand ready to make Jim believe a fish had swirled. Good rock throwers also skip generations. The rock caught Jim square in the back, and as my brother scaled the sand cliff to basically pull my head off, Bob’s voice carried on the winds…”Jim, if you hit him we’re going home”, home being 300 miles south in New Berlin. Saved again by Uncle Bobby.
I never saw Bob drunk or heard him swear. Think about that when you visualize his young adult nephews and their friends (maybe a dozen) on any Wisconsin opening fishing Saturday, rock music blaring in the wee hours, beer flowing and profanity too-often spilling no doubt as Bob tried to sleep about a stone’s throw (for those who can throw) from the rods we had set on the piers for walleyes. He must have liked us though, enough in fact to sell his nephews a piece of his property and help us build a cabin. I’m just not sure why he liked us. But I do know we loved him. You should check out the Bob Ellis Row Trolling Classic. There’s no entrée fee, no prize money, only catch and release and bragging rights.
DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp provided On Wisconsin Outdoors and other media with a response to a column published in the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday that suggested a campaign donation several years ago to a current department appointee prevented a waste hauler’s recent violation from being referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. On Wisconsin Outdoors requested permission May 8 to reprint the Wisconsin State Journal column next to Stepp’s response but 24 hours after that request through interactive e-mail discussion was made to the author, City Editor, and two editorial decision makers we were referred to, that approval to publish had not been received. See Stepp’s comments at “Outdoor News”.
Update: At 3:26 pm Wednesday I received an e-mail from a 5th person at the State Journal stating OWO could only use the referenced column if I linked to their site instead of posting the column entirely and directly next to Stepp’s comments as intended. I declined. In my opinion access to the WSJ site also directly exposes the reader to additional editorial opinions regarding this issue that were written after Stepp’s response was published. I will publish those editorials here too if Stepp also has an opportunity to respond again.
Outdoor Writer Bill Thornley brings us his report on the Governor’s Fishing Open with Scott Walker Saturday in Washburn County under “Inland Fishing”. Link also to “Outdoor News” to see what Wisconsin Outdoor Associations announced their support for Governor Walker in a media release received by OWO May 9.
Other top outdoor writers like Darrell Pendergrass and Gary Engberg have new stories posted under “Inland Fishing”. While you’re there or visiting “Fishing Reports” see the usual great tips from Vilas, Oneida, Marinette, Iron, and Price Counties, the Hayward Lakes Area, Lake Geneva, Delavan, the Wisconsin River, Minocqua and more. If you don’t know them yet, make a point to see what guides and writers like Phil Schweik, Kurt Justice, Steve Suman, John Carlson, Dave Duwe, Mike Mladenik, Jeff Winters, Brett Jolly, Dave Dorazio, Rob Manthei, Brett Jolly and Joel DeBoer are saying about fishing all over Wisconsin. Send your regional reports and stories. We will post.
Check out “Firearms” for some new photos submitted by one of many proud Moms of young men and women competing in the high school trapshooting League. In this day and age of protect the kids to the point of sickening we have to appreciate a mother who places a scattergun in her son’s or daughter’s hands and encourages them to learn to reach a certain level of expertise with it. Thanks Mom. Just for that, I’m going to link here to my favorite photo of my own family, also posted under “Firearms”.
My 9-year old nephew Carter Cullaz found a great shed antler this week in Waukesha County. It’s a great thing and a great trophy found while participating in a “sport” that requires learning woodsmanship and in this case, a passage to manhood. That’s a bunch of bull, of course, but it makes for a great humor story that I’m also linking to here under “Deer Hunting” along with photos of the shed and search. I did introduce Carter last year to shed hunting and it’s satisfying to see him score on his own.
That’s it. Thanks for visiting. We’ll talk next week.