On Wisconsin Outdoors is your source for Wisconsin outdoor news, stories, and guides covering hunting, fishing, travel, and life outside. From seasonal tips and local insights to conservation and community traditions, we share what makes outdoor life in Wisconsin worth exploring year-round.

Featured Podcast

On Wisconsin Outdoors Podcast - September 18, 2025

Discussion with Dick Ellis, John Ellis of OWO and Steve Schroeder of the Wisconsin Outdoors Alliance.

Latest Issue:

Download PDF Free

Free

On Wisconsin Outdoors

January/February 2026 | Vol. 19, Issue 2

  • Explore Wisconsin — Winter trips and travel tips
  • Wisconsin Ice Fishing — Cold, hard facts for catching fish
  • Snow Shows Galore — Skiing, sledding and playing in the Badger State
  • Coming Through Again — Man’s best friend saves the day
  • Hunter Nation Steps Up
    • Impacting elections, saving our heritage
    • Wolves and whitetails take center stage
  • More from OWO
    • River Willow State Park profile
    • The shooting sport the cold can’t stop
    • Humor to warm your soul

Featured Articles

Travel And Tourism
Black-and-white promotional image of a tense couple in a small bathroom, with a woman leaning over the edge of a bathtub behind a brooding man seated in front.
KAPA Repertory Theatre Presents a Bold, Never-Before-Seen Production of A Streetcar Named Desire
KAPA Repertory Theatre (KAPA REP), the new theatre company out of the Kenosha Academy of Performing Arts, is proud to announce its highly anticipated Season Two production: a striking, reimagined staging of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The production will play at Circa On Seventh for a limited three-performance run, February 20–22, 2026. The...
City of Kenosha
Travel And Tourism
Snowmobilers celebrating together on the ice as the sun sets over a frozen lake.
Snowmobiling The Hayward Lakes: A Winter Adventure in Wisconsin’s Northwoods
The Hayward Lakes Area in northwest Wisconsin boasts over 600 miles of groomed snowmobile trails winding through forests, glacial lakes, and rivers. Sawyer County’s system is ideal for riders seeking space, scenery, and small-town charm, with plenty of fuel stops, restaurants, and cozy lodges ready to welcome visitors all winter. These trails are maintained by...
Hayward Lakes
Hunting
Pack of wolves walking observed on a trail cam.
Wolf Tracks
As Hunter Nation-Wisconsin Chapter State Director Chris Vaughan continued his presentation November 14th at a Town Hall meeting in Green Bay focused on the critical need for sportsmen and women to protect the heritage of hunting by voting, a few photos were worth 1000 words. Wolf and whitetail deer management in Wisconsin were under scrutiny....
Dick Ellis
Hunting
Hunter kneeling beside a harvested white-tailed deer in a wooded area.
An 'Up Nort' Report: Man’s best friend
Anybody who has bow hunted for years knows that bowhunting has its highs and lows. The following is a perfect example. On November 17, I was sitting in a ladder stand on a ridge behind my cabin in Vilas County. As the sun was setting, I had a deer walk up the trail behind my...
Dan Moericke
Fishing
Two ice anglers kneeling on a frozen lake beside a large lake sturgeon.
Sanity Lost on Winnebago
Publisher Note: The 2026 Lake Winnebago system sturgeon season begins February 14th and will run for a maximum of 16 days or until harvest caps are met. 4:30 a.m.: Opening morning. Heading north on Highway 45 toward Winnebago with just the stars as my companions. Mentally sharp. Ready. Enthusiastic. I haven’t seen a sturgeon in...
Dick Ellis
Fishing
Three ice anglers kneeling on a frozen lake with a large fish.
A Superior Tactic
With the setting sun splashing his growing shadow on the Lake Superior ice, Chris Beeksma abandons the portable shanty to feel an almost balmy February breeze, and sends the heavy beetle jig through the augured hole to seduce another lake trout. The journey down is a long one. Line screams off the reel for more...
Dick Ellis
Fishing
A smiling man standing on a boat holds a large walleye horizontally in front of him. A forested shoreline and calm lake water are visible in the background.
For The Heartiest of Souls
Some of the best fishing of the year happens in fall. You have to tough out the cold, but trust me, it’s worth it. During the late fall months, walleye fishing is my favorite. With clients in the summer, I spend a lot of time fishing largemouth bass or northern pike, most often with live...
Dave Duwe
Hunting
A person dressed in blaze-orange hunting gear kneels in a grassy field beside a harvested deer, holding a rifle upright and resting a hand on the deer’s head. Leafless trees and a bright blue sky are visible in the background.
Dad's Last Deer
For many Wisconsin families, the annual gun deer season is a tradition as sacrosanct as Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday and a Fourth of July picnic. This season will be my 54th in the hills of southwestern Wisconsin. Our little hunting group started out as just my dad, my two older brothers, and me....
Tom Carpenter
Hunting
A person wearing camouflage hunting gear kneels in the woods at night behind a large buck with an impressive multi-point rack. Leaves, brush, and a tree trunk surround the scene, illuminated by a camera flash.
A Whitetail For The Ages
The air was cool and still that October afternoon in Jackson County when I made a last-minute decision to head for the woods. It was my first sit of the season—no expectations, just a quiet evening surrounded by the fall woods. But the woods had other plans. From the first trail cam picture, we knew...
Jaden Sacia
Hunting
A hunter dressed in camouflage kneels in a grassy field beside a large black bear, holding a crossbow and smiling under a clear blue sky.
A Hunt to Remember: Marathon County Crossbow Hunter Takes 495-Pound Black BearA Hunt to Remember
As every bear hunter knows, the hunt begins long before opening day. Baiting is a demanding, time-intensive task, and my efforts started in mid-August, 2024. On August 31 at 12:48 pm, I captured my first bear on camera – and it was huge. The Waiting Game From that day through September 12, I had consistent...
Mike Richie

Events

Image

SCI Wisconsin Chapter Grand Banquet

February 13, 2026
Attend
Image

St. Germain Radar Run

February 13, 2026
Attend
Image

Book Across the Bay

February 14, 2026
Attend
Image

Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing Season Begins

February 14, 2026
Attend
Image

Ride with the Champs

February 20, 2026
Attend
Image

Kenosha Restaurant Week

February 21, 2026
Attend
All Events

Featured Videos

Wolf Spotting

Wolf Chases Deer - Clark County, WI

Pack of 8 Wolves

Pack of 9 Wolves - Bayfield County, WI

Partner Feature

Smiling hunter wearing blaze orange hat and vest with camouflage jacket, holding a lever-action rifle in a snowy, wooded landscape with text reading “H1 Tracker – For Winter Small Game Hunts.”
Deer season may be over, but winter small game hunting is just heating up.

The H1 Tracker Rifle and Carbine formerly known as the Small Game Rifle and Carbine, are built for cold mornings, gloved hands, and hunters who know the woods don’t shut down when the big game season ends.

Available in .22 S/L/LR and .22 Magnum with a 20″ or 16.5″ octagon barrel, the H1 Tracker features a large loop lever for easy cold-weather operation and a receiver-mounted Skinner peep sight for fast, instinctive aiming in thick winter cover.

Now proudly made in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, the H1 Tracker carries on a tradition of American craftsmanship backed by our Lifetime Warranty, #1 customer service, and a family-owned company that believes hunting season never really ends.
See the H1 Tracker

Our Featured Sponsors

SKB Shotguns
Liuna Laborers 113
Henry Repeating Arms
Donahue Super Sports
Dave's Turf-Marine
Bob’s Bear Bait
Cap Connection
Algoma
Ashland Chamber
Visit Kenosha