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 Preview This Weeks Show
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 SHOW #537 | 2010 SEPTEMBER 11
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 | • Harbor fishing action for salmon is picking up on Lake Michigan.
• Ten good reasons to hunt this fall in Wisconsin!
• Planning a fall getaway? Try Petenwell Park in Wisconsin's Adams County. |
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 | • Jeff hunts geese and doves and canoes the Fox River.
• Dan fishes for salmon and gets his bow tuned at the Forge Bow Pro Shop in New Berlin. |
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This week's drawing is for
one of three family packs of four tickets to
the Oshkosh Public Museum's Wisconsin Deer Hunting Exhibit
Call 1-414-297-7554
leave your name and telephone number. |
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 Jeff reviews Stand Ups “The Stand Up lets you put up a ladder stand safely and without help. It really works well. We were able to adjust a stand easily several times before we decided where to lock it down. I sure wish they made something like this for wooden ladders!” |
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RESULTS ► POLL s536
Should the Chicago Waterway System locks remain open for commerce?
YES 33% | NO 67% | MAYBE 0% | UNDECIDED 0% | OTHER 0%
IMPRESSIONS: 233 | RESPONSES: 3 | COMMENTS: 0
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 INSTANT SURVEY VOTE ON - POLL s537
Should commercial trap nets be banned from Lake Michigan each year until Labor Day? Background: Trap nets are large underwater nets used by commercial fishers to catch whitefish in the Great Lakes. Trap nets are preferred to gill nets and trawls because sport fish that are accidentally caught can be released alive. These underwater nets can pose a potential risk to recreational boating and fishing. Sport trolling is not advisable near them because downriggers, fishing lines, and propellers can get caught in the nets or anchor ropes. 
During the summer months, trap nets are restricted to two small areas off Sheboygan and Manitowoc. In June, a sport fisherman died when his boat's downrigger cable became tangled in a trap net. Waves caused the boat to capsize and the angler died of a heart attack.
To read more...
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  You are entered into the drawing - when you leave a COMMENT - for a ... ZipVac portable vacuum sealer starter kit, complete with a rechargeable pump, a hand-operated pump and reusable, resealable storage bags. Follow ZipVac on Twitter and subscribe to the ZipVac blog.
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 | BILL VANDER ZOUWEN Wisconsin DNR wildlife management section chief, gives us an optimistic deer and small-game hunting forecast. |  | DARRIN TOLLEY Director of Petenwell County Park in Adams County, Wisconsin, highlights fall camping and recreational opportunities in the park. |  | Capt. SKIP BERRY of Terminator Charters of Sheboygan, reports on Lake Michigan fishing action for king salmon. | |
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| Looking for Fishing Contests? Find them all online.
RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY BANQUETS & EVENTS Online Info: Sept. 11-12: Lansing, MI dog trial
Sept. 11-12: St. Ignace, MI youth hunt
Sept. 11: Traverse City, MI banquet
Sept. 16: Marinette, WI banquet
Sept. 16: Aitkin, MN banquet
Sept. 18: Hayward, WI hunt, shoot & banquet
Sept. 23: Ironwood, MI banquet
Sept. 24: Ash River, MN banquet
Sept. 28: Milwaukee, WI banquet
Sept. 30: Brainerd, MN banquet
Oct. 07: Park Falls, WI banquet
Oct. 07: Crystal Falls, MN banquet
Oct. 08:Petoskey, MI banquet
Oct. 19: Marshfield, WI banquet
Oct. 20: Alpena, MI steak fry
Oct. 21: Ely, MN banquet OTHER EVENTS Sept. 11: Stone Bank Sportsmen's Club, Ashippun, NRA Women On Target instructional shooting clinic for women. Contact:Kim Laughland, 262-820-1827; Online Info: Sept. 11-12: Valders, WI – Earl Bubolz Fall Archery Classic, Viking Bow & Gun Club. Standard 30-target 3-D course for men, women and juniors. 15-target 3-D course for senior, disabled and senior crossbow shooters. 80-yard novelty shoot. Free camping on the grounds. Contact: Pat Blashka 920-323-2216. Sept. 12: Columbus Sportsman Association's 46th Family Fun Day & Team Shoot, Sept. 12 at Columbus Sportsman Association grounds. Activities include: 100-bird trap shoot for 5-man teams, Annie Oakley, Hunt & Cover, Rabbit and Chicken shoots all day. 3-D archery, .22 pistol and rifle events, air rifle for kids, food, raffles, auctions including a 2-person African hunt. Contact:Larry Haseman, 920-344-0656; Online Info: Sept. 18: Ozaukee Fish & Game, Saukville. Sporting Clays fundraiser for Grafton Boy Scout Troop 842. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 50 targets for $25 in advance, $30 at the door, includes lunch. Contact: Rick Bergman, 414-962-9000. Online Info: WISCONSIN Hunting & Fishing Seasons: Sept. 15: Bear with dogs opens.
Sept. 18: Bow deer, turkey & squirrel open statewide, ruffed grouse opens in Zone A, rabbit opens in Northern zone
Sept. 18-19: Youth Waterfowl Hunt
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- Fall turkey and grouse seasons open Sept. 18
- Turkey, grouse hunting have special safety concerns
Hunters need to keep safety in mind when hunting these challenging game birds.
“There's something very special about turkey and grouse hunting,” says Tim Lawhern, hunter education administrator for the state Department of Natural Resources. “And with the enthusiasm that goes with this type of hunting, we should all be mindful of making sure we return home safe and sound at the end of each hunt.” 
Here are some things Lawhern says hunters need to keep in mind when going afield after ruffed grouse and fall turkey:
- In grouse hunting, two is company and three is definitely a crowd. Any hunt with more than two will become difficult to manage from a safety aspect.
- Communicate. Grouse cover is thick and sometimes it will be difficult to see a hunting partner who might only be a few yards away.
- Plan your hunt and hunt your plan. Keep it simple. Know in advance how far and in what direction you will be going and when turns will be made.
- Advise someone else of where you will be hunting and when they should expect you back. Then, if something goes wrong, at least someone will know where to start looking.
- Know your safe zone of fire. If you are on the left, your safe zone is to the left and slightly forward. The opposite is the case if you are on the right. Always advance forward in unison and don't get ahead of or behind your partner.
- In heavy cover, shoot only at birds that are at least eight feet above the ground. Don't shoot at low birds that could have a hunter or a dog behind them!
- Wear blaze orange clothing and stay in visual contact with your partner at all times. If you lose sight of your partner, stop hunting, call, and listen until you locate each other.
- Turkey hunters need to be sure of their target – shooting into heavy brush without positive identification can lead to tragedy.
- Follow the four basic rules of firearms safety: TAB+K
- T reat every firearm as loaded.
- A lways point the muzzle in a safe direction.
- B e certain of your target and what's beyond it.
- K eep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.
Lawhern suggests that hunters also consider wearing some type of eye protection. A good pair of clear or light-colored safety glasses can go a long way toward avoiding injury to eyes and sight.
Grouse and turkey hunters also need to be aware that there might be other hunters afield at the same time after other types of game. Bow hunters may be perched in tree stands and other turkey hunters may be under a tree. Most of them will be wearing full camouflage and will therefore be very hard to see.
“Famed conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, "There are two kinds of hunting: ordinary hunting, and ruffed grouse hunting,'” Lawhern says. “Don't let careless hunting practices spoil this special tradition.”
- Trout streams in peak condition
- Last weeks of inland trout season often the best
MADISON - With the Sept. 30 close of the inland trout season fast approaching, anglers will find they enjoy some of the best trout fishing of the season, state fish biologists say.
 “It's been a tough summer to be out trout fishing because the heat and the humidity, but the next few weeks should be fantastic,” says Larry Claggett, Department of Natural Resources cold water ecologist.
“Every stream I see is flowing above normal but not flooding, and that creates good habitat, abundant food, and cooler water temperatures, which means the fish are going to be a little more active again."
Claggett says DNR fisheries surveys are showing good trout populations, and fish managers are telling me “the fishing is as good as it's ever been.”
Dave Vetrano is one of those fish managers who believes the fishing's never been better. He's been working for 30 years directly on improving fishing in western Wisconsin counties of Crawford, Vernon, Monroe and La Crosse.
“Because of the abundant rainfall we have base flows far higher than what they have ever been. Our streams are in the best shape ever from a fisheries standpoint.”
Vetrano says that the high water levels this year, as well as the flooding in 2008 and 2007, have helped trout populations and anglers.
“There's a misconception that the water just blows the fish out but in reality they hunker down and as long as they don't get moved by a big log that pushes them out, they try to find the low current areas and they'll be just fine.”
The flood waters scour the sediments from the river beds, revealing the cobbled substrate that the trout need to spawn. "We've seen a tremendous increase in recruitment and young
of year and increase in the invertebrate populations, so for all intents and purposes, the fishing is the best it's ever been."
Vetrano cautions that anglers will want to watch stream flows carefully, and wait until the water comes back down in a stream and clears up a little. That doesn't take long in western Wisconsin, where the stream flows rise and fall quickly, sometimes within 24 hours.
“The trout are sight feeders. They can't see the lure. The best fishing is just as water start to get a little dirty or a little clear. In that interim, that's the time to get out. They go on a major feed. Depending on the rain event, they may have not eaten for two or three days.”
Mike Miller, a DNR stream ecologist and avid trout angler, advises fly fishers to try fishing the mouths of tributaries to larger rivers and use a grasshopper, ant or cricket fly pattern. Large brown trout try to avoid bright sunlight so spin fishers fishing near dusk using lures that imitate minnows or crawfish can hook some impressive fish.
“The brown trout and brook trout are fall spawners so they will be thinking of moving upstream so often times you can find some big fish in spots you might not normally find them,” Miller says. “The fish should start stacking up close to these smaller tributary streams, smaller streams.”
Read for more on regional trout stream reports. FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT: Larry Claggett (608) 267-9658 |
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