Outdoor Report for November 29, 2019
Published November 29, 2019
Outdoor Report is your weekly snapshot for all things outdoors from across the state. Here is a brief look at what Wisconsin has in store for you this week.
The annual deer firearm season has been both safe, with no hunting fatalities reported, and successful for many with more than 90,000 deer registered opening weekend.
Weather for the start of gun deer season in much of the state was near perfect with cold nights and comfortable days, allowing for long sits in the deer stand. Snowy conditions up north this weekend could help hunters with visibility for the last few days of the season.
This weekend is also the last weekend for duck hunters in the southern zone, with the northern zone closing earlier this week.
Recent warm temperatures have resulted in lingering open water conditions. The early season ice fishermen need to be extremely cautious when out on early ice.
For more on Wisconsin's outdoors, check out the full Outdoor Report below.
FISHING
There were no fishing reports this week.
HUNTING & TRAPPING
Door County
Newport State Park is open to hunters for the nine-day deer gun season.
Outagamie County
The opening week of the gun deer hunt was slow in southern Outagamie County with minimal hunting pressure, and very few deer drives observed. Just a reminder that this weekend is the last weekend for waterfowl hunters in the southern zone, with the northern zone closing earlier this week already. We also caution the early season ice fishermen to be extremely cautious when out on early ice. Bring floatation, picks, rope and other safety equipment.
Pepin County
A combination of sunny warm weather and crops being harvested led to decent hunting activity over the last week. Some public launches were ice-covered, making it challenging for hunters to launch.
Waupaca County
The annual deer firearm season has been both safe and successful so far, with no hunting accidents reported and hunters having success. Many hunters reported they were happy with the number of deer they saw, and the weather was reasonably warm. Some hunters said deer were tough to see without any snow in the Waupaca area.
Waushara County
Weather for the start of deer season was perfect with cold nights and comfortable days, allowing for long sits in the deer stand. The rut is past peak with most scrapes inactive, and few reports of bucks chasing does. Deer movement seems to be during the evening - nighttime patterns.
WILDLIFE
Dane County
Recent warm temperatures have resulted in lingering open water conditions. There are waterfowl around where they haven't been hunted heavily. Goose numbers are still not at peak yet. Birders are again seeing common loons lingering on the Madison chain of lakes.
Pepin County
Large numbers of swans have been reported in the Nelson area.
SEASONAL CONDITIONS
Calumet County
Autumn is a favorite season for many visitors to High Cliff State Park. Leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, gold, red, rust and brown, providing a backdrop throughout the park to the dramatic 440 million-year-old cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment and carpeting the park's 18 miles of hiking trails.
PARKS & TRAILS
Adams County
Hunters and hikers enjoyed the weather last weekend at Roche-A-Cri State Park. Check out the hunting map online or at the winter lot for areas open and closed. The closed area includes trail through the prairie, Turkey Vulture trail, Spring Peeper Trail, Mound trail, stairway and park road.
Door County
All campsites are closed at Newport State Park. If visiting the park, all visitors are encouraged to stay on the roads or in the picnic area. There are blaze orange vests to use in the front entryway of the office building. Please return them when you leave the park.
Juneau County
Hunting activity was busy over the weekend in open areas. The main area of Buckhorn State Park is bow only, including where most trails are, so there were many hikers on the weekend. The ice has melted by the Buckhorn bridge, but there is still ice covering a lot of the lake. Park staff do not monitor ice conditions. There are campsites open.
Sauk County
There is zero ice on the lake so far at Devil's Lake State Park.
