May/June 2008Vol. 1. Issue 5

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� Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Travel & Outdoor Humor �

■ River SmallmouthPre-spawn, spawn andpost-spawn tactics

■ The Wariest GobblerIntense season 6 challengebags big Tom

■ Whitewater & QuietwaterTo portage over land, time

■ Summer PerchPlastic tactics for Great Lakesjumbos

■ Cub's CornerJune gills on the bed

■ Product 6-PackGreat gear for the woods,fields and waterways

■ Dog TalkFood for thought

■ Surplus FirearmsVeteran of the Osterfront

■ Summer FlyfishingWhen, where, what

■ Cochran CartoonsGobble giggles & angler lies

2 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 3

My eyes are dancing back andforth, squinting at the topo-

graphic river map in front of me andscanning for something uniquelydifferent on this rocky boreal shoreline.We know it is there. Two hundred-fiftymeters of mystery that will guide usaround the Grade 5 falls ahead. I barelyhear my wife Missy shouting over thesound of the roaring waterfall…“Thereit is!” An old graying slash on astunted black spruce marks the spot.We eddy out, wave to the other twocanoes in our group and paddle up tothe scarred spruce. With a deep sigh wepull the packs from our Royalex expe-dition canoe and set them onto therocks. Another portage.

It is inevitable. If you plan oncanoeing the Canadian bush you hadbetter be prepared to carry your gear. Itis part of the trip. Eventually you willcome to the end of a lake or an obstaclein the river. The Native AmericanIndians blazed the way with theirhunting and gathering lifestyle and thenorthern canoe routes developed ashighways for sustainability, not recre-ation. The early European explorersused these same northern trails as they“discovered” the New World, followedby the French Canadian Voyageurs,European trappers and traders andmineral prospectors. I have traversedsome Canadian river portages wherethe exposed bedrock was literally wornsmooth and cupped from centuries ofmoose-hide moccasins traveling thesame route. The word ‘portage’(pronounced ‘por-TAJ’) is of Frenchorigin and means ‘to carry.’ On thecanoe routes it refers to (a) ‘carryingplace.’ To us it means carrying all thejunk packed in our canoes from here tothe other end, where we pack it backinto our canoes, paddle a little ways,and then do it all over again—amasochist’s idea of fun.

Packing for a multi-week trip inthe bush requires the skill of a masterpuzzle solver. You must take intoaccount all those items you absolutelyneed for food and gear, make a pile of itall on the garage floor, and then elimi-nate half of it. The bottom line is that itall has to fit inside your canoe, whileleaving a little bit of room for twopaddlers. Then consider you will haveto carry that pile multiple times overhigh cliffs and soggy wetland trails.With experience we think we have itsomewhat figured out. Almost all ofour food is dehydrated. Meals andsnacks are planned out to the day and

fresh fish makes up a good portion ofour diet. Lightweight tents, sleepingbags, sleeping pads and cookware arerequired. High-tech water filters arecompact and solve our water needs.Tiny high-performance cookstoves areused when an open fire cannot be. Forclothing, we stick with light syntheticsand wool, which work when wet ordry and dry quickly. High-perform-ance membrane raingear is absolutelynecessary. The packs themselves arewaterproof, easily organized anddesigned to nest in the canoes plus arecomfortable to carry. Our luxury itemsinclude ultra-compact camp chairs,some good cigars and an ample supply

of hi-test spirits for the evening“Happy Hour.” Paddlers and back-packers will make a millionaire out ofthe person who invents dehydratedbeer.

An onlooker might compare ourgroup’s act of portaging to that of achoreographed dance. The first boat atthe take-out must empty its load onshore and then pull the canoe out tomake room for the next boat. That firstcanoe is carried down the portage trailto the far end (put-in), usually by thestern paddler (among our group, thehubby) while the bow paddler (thesweetie) grabs a pack, spare paddle andfishing rod. This continues until every-

thing is transferred from point A topoint B. Quite simple. What theonlooker would not see is people trip-ping over loose packs, rocks and logs,the slapping and cursing at clouds ofmosquitoes, rod tips being snapped offand frantic digging for poorly tiedboots in two feet of Canadian muck.Every portage has a new set of chal-lenges, no matter how many you havedone. An important part of eachcanoe’s gear is the ‘bear resistant’ foodbarrel. We use 60-liter poly barrelsfitted with a portaging harness for ourfood and cooking utensils. The barrel is

STEVE HENSKE

WHITEWATER & QUIETWATERTo portage across land, across time

Tackling difficult portages is tough work, but the reward can be scenes like this. We enjoy a sunset over the Allanwater River inNW Ontario’s Wabakimi Provincial Park. (Photo by Missy Henske)

“I have traversed some Canadian river portages where the exposed bedrock was literally worn smooth and cupped

from centuries of moose-hide moccasins traveling the same route ...”

Continued on page 8

4 March/April 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

JASON GAURKEE

ON WISCONSIN WATERSRiver smallies the epitome of freshwater fishing

My guiding career began bychasing salmon in Great Lake

tributaries and eventually progressedto muskies in the North country. Backthen I spent most of my time traversingthe upper Wisconsin River in search ofol’ Mr. Esox. In those early years Iwould take time away from tossingbucktails and Suicks, occasionallyworking bass sized top water baits ortubes for smallmouth.

After a short time I realized thatpound for pound, there isn’t a betterfighting freshwater fish. I becameaddicted. Since then, river smallieshave become my passion, especially inspring, which means trophy time.Spring river smallmouth action is theepitome of all fresh water fishing.

TIMINGArguably, the best fishing for

trophy smallmouth bass occurs inMay. I say “arguably” due to the factthat some anglers will make the casefor fall (September/October) beingprime time for trophy caliber fish. Mybiggest smallmouth, topping sevenpounds, was a fall fish. However, yearafter year my clients and I boat morefive-pound-plus smallmouth in Maythan all other months combined.

There are three spring periods;pre-spawn, spawn and post- spawn.Pre-spawn fishing can be hit or missdue to fluctuating water levels,temperatures and drastic changes in a

river’s clarity. In a perfect world, youwill want a normal water level andsteadily warming water slightly offcolor in clarity. When these conditionscome together, expect the best small-mouth fishing of the year.

During pre-spawn, fish willusually go on the feed when watertemperatures reach 47-49 degrees.Rarely will you catch many fish belowthis temperature range. During thiscold-water period you will need tofocus your efforts in deeper water(wintering areas) adjacent to spawningareas with small presentations fishedslowly. Keep in mind the fishing actionwill continue to improve as the waterwarms.

Pre-spawn smallmouth will makepredictable movements when watertemps reach the 50-55 degree range.These movements are quick, direct andfull of purpose fully motivated byspawning. Males will move intoshallow (usually two to four feet)water void of current, usually pools,eddys, or shallow gravel areas close tocurrent. Fishing these areas duringthe pre-spawn period will yield yourbiggest smallmouth of the year.

Smallmouth fishing is never easierthan during the spawn periodalthough it is a controversial practice.In Wisconsin, the Department ofNatural Resources has set up a catchand release season to protect thisfragile fishery. Until recently, catching

a nest- guarding male was thought tobe acceptable because they quicklyreturn to their nests, sometimes withina few seconds and never longer than acouple of minutes.

Recent studies, like thoseconducted by Dr. John Jannsen,University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,have revealed that waters inhabited byround gobies are harmed by catch andrelease fishing during the spawn.When a smallmouth was captured ingoby infested waters, the nesting areawas absolutely saturated by literallyhundreds of these gobies and thesmallmouth eggs were all butconsumed by the time the nest-guarding male returned. I actuallywitnessed this on the underwatervideo taken by Dr. Jannsen’s staff.With the exception of Great Lake tribu-taries, most smallmouth rivers do nothave the goby problem, yet.

Spawning on rivers almost alwaystakes place in 58 to 65 degree waterwhich most years means mid to lateMay. When fishing spawning small-mouth, you want to intrude on a fish’sterritory. You want to trespass. Themale specie is extremely aggressive,almost suicidal, attacking anythingthat crosses their nesting area. Yourbest presentations are those which areerratic but also stay in the zone.

Post spawn is what I call the“catching bonanza.” This period canlast up to a month after spawning iscompleted and ends by the summerpeak or summer solstice calendarperiod. Both male and female small-

mouth go on a feeding binge duringthis time. I have fished areas thatboiled with fish movement once thebait hit the water.

Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Traveland Outdoor Humor

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Dick Ellis

ellis@onwisconsinoutdoors.com

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Continued on page 7

Jason Gaurkee with a 6 pound prespawn river smallie about to be released.(Photo by Keith Lindner)

Some of Jason's favorite cranks (left) include,Rapala, Bomber, Dave’s Kaboom,Smithwick and Yozuri. Choices for wacky worms (right) include Senko, Tiki,Gambler, Food Stick and a Yum. (Photo by Jason Gaurkee)

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 5

DICK ELLIS

ON WISCONSIN OUTDOORSThe second amendment, first

NATURAL HIGHSNATURAL HIGHS

They may not wear red coats, butthere is and always will be a very

dangerous faction in America, thefreedom killers, who would come intoour homes…if they could… confiscateour guns and snuff out our right tokeep and bear arms. I had a fleetingthought that it was Divine Interventionthat took Charlton Heston from us aftera long illness, at a very time when theUnited States Supreme Court iscontemplating the 32-year old handgunban in the nation’s capital; debating thevery question of whether “the right ofthe people to keep and bear arms”belongs to individuals or whether itwas instead intended to protect thepower of the states to raise militias.

Since the Supreme Court lastheard a gun case this important sevendecades ago, the court’s decision on theD.C. challenge, either way, will rever-berate across the country in “new”precedence. That will likely be verygood or very bad news for theAmerican gun owner. I think that it isuncanny that Charlton Heston’spassing comes when his death bringsmore attention to the fact that our veryfreedoms are in grave danger thaneven his magnificent oratory mighthave generated in life; a time of death

almost willed by the deceased, a lastshot in defense of freedom, andextraordinarily coincidental like thepassing of both John Adams andThomas Jefferson on July 4, 1826.

From those who anointed Hestona hero to those who vilified him even indeath, the airways, the Internet, and theprint media are now filled and focusedon firearms, the second amendmentand the challenges faced to keep both.The truth will set us free. Because wecan never be afraid to debate if wereally believe we are right, that atten-tion from the otherwise complacentmasses is very good news indeed

If I could, I would give up thisspace in a heartbeat so that you mightread Heston’s entire speech to theNational Press Club. Because thelength of that great writing does notpermit it, the speech in its entirety isposted on our website atwww.onwisconsinoutdoors.com. Asecond Heston speech delivered to theHarvard Law School on February 16,1999 is also posted. If you consideryourself a lover of your freedoms, Ipromise it will be well worth yourtime. If you haven’t really thoughtabout your freedoms, you need to gothere faster.

But for now…did you know thatCharlton Heston marched for CivilRights with Dr. Martin Luther King in1963? But when he told an audiencethat white pride is just as valid as blackpride or red pride or anyone else’spride, they called him racist. He servedin WWII against the axis powers. Butduring a speech, when he drew ananalogy between singling out innocentJews and singling out innocent gunowners, he was called anti-Semite. Andwhen he asked an audience to opposesuch cultural persecution, he wascompared to Timothy McVeigh.

“But I am not afraid,” heresponded. “If Americans believed inpolitical correctness, we’d still be KingGeorge’s boys…subjects bound to theBritish Crown.”

Because he can no longer carry thetorch, we will. The freedom killersdressed in big media attire orHollywood glitter or riding the FatCat’s chair and an obnoxious pensionof our own government officials will beback again in search of our gunsregardless of any Supreme Courtruling. The war on freedom is alreadyhere. The means to fight it, especially if

The Ellis family reflects the vast majority of Wisconsin and American gun owners: respectful of human life, law abiding, and safe.

“Today, I want totalk to you about guns:Why we have them, why the Billof Rights guarantees that wecan have them, and why myright to have a gun is moreimportant than your right torail against it in the press.”

“…It is time that our youthfound out that the politicallycorrect doctrine of today hasmislead them. And that whenthey reach legal age, if they donot break our laws, they have aright to choose to own a gun todefend themselves and theirloved ones or to engage in anylawful purpose they desirewithout apology or explanationto anyone, ever.”

“This is their first freedom.If you say it’s outdated, thenyou haven’t read your ownheadlines. If you say guns createonly carnage, I would answerthat you know better.Declining morals, disinte-grating families, vacillation ofpolitical leadership, an erodingcriminal justice system andsocial morals that blur rightfrom wrong are more to blame-certainly more than any legallyowned firearm.”

“…Our constitutionprovides the doorway for yournews and commentary to passthrough free and unfettered.But that doorway to freedom isframed by the muskets thatstood between a vision of libertyand absolute anarchy at a placecalled Concord Bridge. Ourrevolution began when theBritish sent Redcoats door todoor to confiscate the people’sguns. They didn’t succeed: Themuskets went out the back doorwith the owners.”

— Charlton Heston, excerpts ofspeech delivered to NationalPress Club, 2-11-97 Continued on page 16

6 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

By Dennis Radloff

With a long winter of cold daysand record snow levels behind

us, it’s time to get back out on the waterand start chasing some muskies! Earlyseason musky fishing can offer somegreat opportunities for a big fish ifyou’re willing to take advantage ofseveral factors. With the Wisconsinmusky season opener south of Hwy. 10on the first Saturday of May, there’s noreason to wait to begin your search forthe first fish of 2008. It just might bethat pig that wouldn’t swim out of yourhead this winter.

SHALLOW BAYSTargeting shallow bays can be a

great starting point since this is acommon location utilized by muskiesto spawn. While they are spawning,muskies do not eat much, if anything,so upon completion of this rigoroustask they are going to be looking for theeasiest opportunity to feed. Another

great factor comes into play: withshallow bays often hosting the firstweed growth in the system, there willbe plenty of forage mixed in the weeds.

SMALLER LURESDown-sizing your presentation

will increase your chance of triggeringthese often “sluggish” muskies. Firstand foremost, the smaller lures willmatch the smaller forage most likely inthe weeds, and secondly a smaller pres-entation is a productive choice whenwater temperatures are on the colderend of the spectrum. Some goodchoices are six-inch minnow baitSlammers, Baby Shallowraiders, andShallowraiders. These lures can beworked either with a straight retrieveor twitched with either a lighter gaugeseven-strand or fluorocarbon leader.

SIGHT FISHINGSight fishing is a tactic you can use

when it comes to approaching “post-spawn” muskies in shallow bays. This

is accomplished bysimply “cruising”along in a slow mannerby use of yourbow-mountedtrolling motorwhile standingon the bow ofyour boat andvisuallylooking formuskieslying in theshallowwater onsand flats.When youlocate amusky inthe distancestop yourmotor andcastbeyondthe fishand

twitch your lure back to you in amanner that presents it to the fish.Another alternative to using a twitchbait is using a “jig & tail” combo. A oneto two ounce jig tipped with a 6-inchReaper Tail works well with a slowpresentation along the bottom.

GPS & RETURNWhile utilizing the basic tactics

described here will convert a few fishfor you this season, you may bethinking, What about the muskies thatdon’t go for this presentation and just swimaway? This is where using your GPSbecomes valuable. If the musky youlocated swims away, don’t worry.

Mark the spot with your GPS and comeback in an hour or two. More oftenthan not, these fish will return to thesame spot which gives you anotherchance at trying to convert them.

Give these early season tactics achance this year and I’m sure you’ll geta few more muskies! Good luck and I’llsee you on the water. OWO

Captain Dennis Radloff owns and oper-ates Sterling Guide Service. He guides onthe waters of Green Bay and southeasternWisconsin seven days a week Aprilthrough November. Contact him atwww.sterlingmusky.com, or call him at262.443.9993.

Seven-On SterlingEarly season musky tactics

Are You a WisconsinBlood Brother?Be a Hero. Give Blood.

Dennis RadloffWisconsin Fishing Guide, Oconomowoc“

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EN B

LEED

Dennis Radloff’s client Todd Dahl with a 48-inch Wisconsin musky taken and released on opening day, 2007.

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 7

My experiences have shown methat once you locate a fish, you haveprobably located a dozen or more.Post-spawn fish seem to school up alittle. Look for the best locations to be inshallow, rocky areas close and usuallyjust down river from the spawningsites.

Almost anything goes during thepost spawn period but you want tospeed things up a little and cover lots ofwater. Live bait still works, but keep inmind that a bass’s metabolism isincreasing at this time meaning onceagain that food is priority number oneand chasing down a faster moving,larger profile target like a spinner bait,tube or jerk bait is probably more prac-tical and preferred.

PRESENTATION By far, your most effective presen-

tation utilizes the live bait connection, particularly for smallmouth in thespawn mode. Smallmouth are territo-rial and highly protective of that terri-tory. When casting into likely holdingareas with an artificial lure, anglersusually work baits in the right areas.However, smallies will often let thempass right by. On the other hand, aredtail chub, walleye sucker or garden-variety night crawler is often too muchto resist and stays in the zone until youmove it or it is devoured.

When using live bait in spring, Igenerally fish without a float, keepingmy bait on the bottom. A simple split-shot rig consisting of a sinker heavyenough to hold your presentation on

the bottom but light enough to keep itsnag free, and a circle hook is good.Circle hooks are the key element forcatching and releasing spring small-mouth. Keep in mind that circle hooksdiffer from traditional “bait holder”type hooks when it comes to setting thehook. Circle hooks do not require ahook set. When you feel a smallmouthtaking your bait, simply feed them alittle line, lift the rod and start reeling.No sharp jerks are required; in factdoing so equals lost fish.

Next to live bait, wacky wormingis quite possibly the best presentationavailable as of late. Wacky worming isa very simple technique both in riggingand application. When rigging, youwill need a worm like a Senko, FoodStick, Gambler or Tiki. Then yousimply run a hook through the thickestportion of the worm, usually locatednear the center. Once rigged and castout, raise your rod tip and give it shortsubtle twitches back to the boatallowing the wacky rig to flutter downoccasionally. Smallmouth will take itlike live bait although you will need toset the hook a little sooner.

Tubes offer another solid optionfor spring smallmouth and are prob-ably the most versatile option available.Dead sticking a tube works well. Theycan be jigged, drifted in current, setunder a float or jerked, and excel whenthe water is cold or fish are holdingtight to cover or in a river with crayfishbeing the primary food source.

My favorite tubes are oftenreferred to as flippin’ tubes. All thisreally means is the head portion is alittle thicker. I usually choose tubes in

road kill, pumpkin seed, motor oil, orpurple. I am really partial to the StrikeKing bleeding series and the new coffeeground tubes made with real coffeegrounds.

Jerk baits, otherwise known asminnow baits, are often overlooked inthe spring because our mentality tellsus that fish are not aggressive enoughto chase fast moving bait. Ourmentality is wrong. Jerks can beworked as slow as you like and oftenoutproduce other artificial alternatives.In fact, many of the top bass pros willstart using jerk baits in water as cold as45 degrees. Baits like Dave’s Kaboom,Smithwick Rogues or Rapala HuskyJerks can be fished at any speed. Manyof the new models suspend during apause keeping the bait in the small-mouth’s strike zone.

CHOICE RIVER SYSTEMSWisconsin has some of the best

river smallmouth fisheries in thecountry. A few of my favorites are thenorthern Wisconsin (Mosinee up toTomahawk), Chippewa, St. Croix, Wolf(Fremont up to Post Lake), Menominee,Oconto, Peshtigo, and Fox. Of these,the rivers that are connected directly tothe Great Lakes and Green Bay offertrue trophy potential. Inland riverstrend to be quantity fisheries but doproduce big fish.

Perhaps the most important thingto keep in mind when targeting springsmallmouth is to practice sound catchand release ethics. In my opinion itshould be every angler’s responsibilityto use circle hooks. Poorly hookedfish, even if released, in most cases go

belly up. Smallmouth populations are

extremely susceptible to over-harvesting. I have seen what overfishing has done to certain sections ofthe Wisconsin River. Sadly, onceanglers realized what a fantastic fisheryit was, pressure increased and fishpopulations absolutely decreased.Keep a trophy for the wall, perhaps, orbetter yet call your taxidermist andhave him do a reproduction. Tightlines. OWO

Jason Gaurkee has been guiding, writingand filming television shows on the watersof Wisconsin and beyond for over tenyears. He can be contacted at jmgaurkee@yahoo.com or 920.851.6655.

GAURKEE, from page 4

Tube favorites include Strike King,Venom, Yum and Bass Pro Shops.(Photo by Jason Gaurkee)

Looking back at what workedand what didn’t each month onLake Michigan, is often invaluablein helping us plan futuresuccesses. In May of 2007, wechased brown trout off the shoresof Sheboygan. One trip yielded 12trout in just two hours. Thebrowns continued into late May.King salmon also were activeearlier than usual in 2007.

TACTICSFish were caught north of

Sheboygan using red, green andfire-tiger Thunder Sticks on planerboards at 1.5 to 1.8 mph in 11 to 40feet of water. Because theapproach has worked year afteryear for us, we are going back to

the same well in 2008. Expect thecall of “fish on” to be frequent. InApril I received a call fromCaptain Pat Kalmerton of the WolfPack’s Addiction, working the biglake with a party of three. In one-and-one-half hours of fishing thesame spot as last year, utilizing thesame type of baits, the Addictionlimited-out with 15 fish, includingtwo lake trout and 13 fat and sassybrowns. OWO

Roy Kalmerton operates Wolf PackAdventures in Sheboygan Falls.Contact Roy at 920.918.WOLF(9653) or wolfpackadven-tures@tds.net. For fishing reports,go to www.wolfpackadventures.com.

ROY KALMERTON

ON THE PROWL WITH THE WOLF PACKEarly summer Lake Michigan fishing

Here’s an example of the early catch, where John & Amanda are exercising in The Wolf Packstyle, displaying the results of a double header—and counting the catch to be sure we don’tgo over their limit. (Photos by Wolf Pack Adventures)

8 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

obviously heaviest at the start of a tripand becomes lighter as we eat our waydown the river. In one of my lessrefined moments I had made an unfa-vorable comment to my wife, some-thing about our packs not being veryheavy. Missy, being one of the “getsmad AND gets even” types didmanage to get mad. She then addedtwenty pounds of Canadian Shieldgranite to the food barrel to get even.Not realizing, I grunted and carried thebarrel on the quarter-mile portageblaming heat, fatigue and old age forthe weight on my shoulders. Estrogentrumps testosterone again. Men alwayspay for having a loose tongue.

In our younger years the “portagefactor” did not come into play whendeciding our paddling destinations. Wepicked a river to tackle or a lake off thebeaten trail and accepted the overlanddifficulties as part of the package.Although some members of ourpaddling group would argue, to me thechallenge of difficult portages wasquite rewarding. It accredited ourtravels to being similar to those of earlyexplorers and also confirmed ourtoughness and ability to adapt to what-ever the trip dished out. It also guaran-teed us true solitude and wildernesssince most sane recreational paddlerswill not burn up two weeks of vacationtime to do something comparable tomilitary boot camp. The reward was

usually some fantastic fishing from anuntouched deepwater hole or a partic-ular view of the land that had beenlong forgotten. Nowadays since we areolder (we prefer to call it ‘seasoned’) wepay particular attention to how thegradient lines are stacked on our topo-graphic maps. If it looks like anotherset of killer portages, other options arediscussed.

The summer of 2008 sees usbreaking 30 years of tradition. Insteadof traveling north to Canada, ourCentral Wisconsin group of tenpaddlers will be heading to westernWyoming and Montana. We haveassembled a long list of mountainrivers including the Snake and theGallatin that we can day paddle and

fish while base camping. We alsointend to paddle a hundred-milesection of Montana’s Yellowstone Riverin four or five days and nights. Themost glorious part of this trip is not thebeauty of the Rocky Mountains but thefact that there is not one ‘port-TAJ’ tobe had! The older we get the better weadapt. This trip will be a great changeof pace.OWO

Steve Henske is a veteran canoeisthaving paddled thousands of mileson the Canadian Shield, and manymore in Wisconsin. He resides inStevens Point, WI, with his wife andpaddling partner Missy, and faithfulcanoe rocking specialist Cody, agolden retriever.

LEFT: Our group prepares to line the gear and canoes down the infamous "Mountain GoatPortage" of the Kopka River in NW Ontario. This vertical portage drops 75 feet and requireslines and carabiners to reach the bottom. RIGHT: We were portaging around Makaimi Fallson northern Ontario’s Berens River in July of 2005 when a tornado touched down one quarter-mile to our northeast and left a twisted mess of timber. Clean-up took us hours to get to thebottom of the portage. (Photos by Steve Henske)

HENSKE, from page 3

Peter & Rob DeinleinOwners

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414.761.1330

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 9

By Todd Lensing

Well folks, it’s that time of theyear when the Big River

comes to life with countless activi-ties for all walks of life.

Early spring provides some ofthe finest walleye fishing around.We see a steady stream of boatstraveling Highway 35 going northand south, heading for either theGenoa dam or the Lynxville dam.These are two great places to start,but the wing dams further downcan be very productive as well. Ifyou don’t have a boat, there isconvenient barge fishing belowGenoa (Clement’s Fishing Barge)and below Lynxville (Hubbard’sFishing Float). Both offer trans-portation from shore to the floatsas well.

As spring progresses, theMississippi River bluff country

offers challenging turkey huntingopportunities. Now with the extrapermits available you might like totry a new location and change ofscenery to bag that bearded tom!Of course you can’t forget aboutthe chance to hunt up some tastymorel mushrooms this season.

When the water starts towarm up, the spawning bluegills,crappies, and northern can providesome incredibly fast action. Theshallow backwaters are a greatplace to start when looking forsome fun-to-catch fish. The localbait shops up and down the riverare always good at sharing infor-mation and pointing you in theright direction. The Mississippi isalso home to some of the bestlarge-mouth bass fishing in theMidwest.

Summer provides incrediblerecreational boating opportunities,

including water skiing, tubing,and river cruising. A popularpastime for many is shoring upand spending time on one of themany great sandbars and beachesalong the river.

If being right on the water isnot your bag, perhaps you’re oneof many motorcycle enthusiastswho enjoy riding the Great RiverRoad (State Highway 35). Thereare also scenic tours along themany well-maintained paved backroads throughout southwestWisconsin. OWO

Captain Todd Lensing is a professionalguide and U.S. Coast Guard mastercaptain who takes clients out dailyduring the Wisconsin waterfowl season.Contact Todd at Flyway Fowling GuideService, Ferryvi l le, Wisconsin,www.flywayfowling.com, 608.734.323or www.grandview-motel.com.

Mississippi River CountryHunting and fishing paradise

GEORGE W. CURTIS(Also Licensed in Florida)

BETH D. OSOWSKI(Also Licensed in Minnesota)

BRIAN P. BEISENSTEIN

MICHAEL J. KUBORN(Also Licensed in Arizona)

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The Mississippi River awaits you with some ofWisconsin's best bass fishing. (Photo by DickEllis)

10 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

By Phil Schweik

Muskies are creatures of habit. Inspring and early summer, you

can count on more fish searching outthe warmest water available. Regardlessof whether your target of choice is alake or a river, you must find and workthe warmest water on that system. It’sno secret that northern shorelines attractheavy angling pressure in the earlyseason. That’s a good place to start, butexpand your warm-water targets andadjust techniques to match the environ-ment and you will put more muskies inyour boat. As the season begins, consider:

• Checking northern shorelines;• Checking warm water discharge

and run-off areas;• Checking fresh incoming water

sources like creeks and streams;• Creating aggressive fish by

attacking weedy areas; • Quietly and carefully working

shallow backwater bays;• Working traditional walleye spawn-

ing areas using noisy durable baits;• Targeting the faster-moving water

around dams with large heavycrankbaits and soft plastics.

NORTHERN SHORELINEThe northernmost shoreline of any

lake will receive the most directsunlight early in the year. With thewater temperatures here warmingfaster than any other part of the lake,these northern territories will naturallydraw fish from all other areas of thelake. Target this shoreline with shallowrunning crankbaits and soft plastics likebulldawgs and jigs with reaper tails inthe afternoon when the water is warmestand holding the most active fish.

FEEDER STREAMS & RUN-OFF AREAS

Incoming warmer water will holdspawning fish plus minnows andforage that will attract larger prey fish.The key to fishing feeder streams andrun-off areas is to not restrict yoursearch to water immediately associatedwith the mouth. Incoming water doesnot immediately change in temperatureto meet the temperature of the wateraround it. The change is gradual. Worknot only the immediate area where itmeets but 200 to 400 yards downstreamwhere the water from the inflowingstream continues to meld with the mainbody of water.

In addition to working the moutharea, work up the feeder stream ifpossible. If the water is deep enough,fish will travel upstream as far as theycan go in search of forage. Work anyavailable structure and take advantageof fish that are passed by most anglers.Work bucktails and spinnerbaits thatcover a lot of area and can be worked inand around structure.

WARM WATER INFLOWThese areas will concentrate large

numbers of fish due to the constantinflow of warmer water where they canbe easily targeted. It’s important toremember that this is usually fast waterrequiring heavy baits like deep divingcrankbaits and large, heavy soft plastics.The key is to cast upstream and to keepyour line tight. A musky can strikeanytime, but you may not feel the strikein the hard current. Set the hook whenyou feel any difference in line or rod.You may be surprised by what’s on theother end.

WEED GROWTHAll season, any weed growth will

attract gamefish seeking predationcover and protection. To target theseareas, it’s best to first work the outsideedge from a distance with two anglersin the boat -- one casting in toward theweeds and the other casting out overthe deep open water. This picks up fishthat are holding tight to structure(weeds) and fish that are feeding onopen-water suspended baitfish.

The key to finding open water bait-fish and active predator fish is simplyfinding that warmest water. Rememberthe last time you were swimming in alake and hit a warm spot? You wishedthe entire lake were that warm. Fish arethe same. When they find a warm spot,they hold there.

After you have worked the outsideedge, set up 10-15 feet inside theoutside weed edge. Set the trollingmotor down as far as you can andtravel right through the weeds. Believeme, the tactic turns normally lethargic,non-striking fish into aggressiveattacking fish. Disturbing the area inwhich the muskies hold and pushingthem out of their safe zone often trig-gers a strike when the lure is run bythem at a fast rate of speed. Work theseareas with crankbaits, bucktails andlarge soft plastics.

BACKWATER BAYSWarm water of a shallow back-

water bay will also attract large game-fish. Keys to fishing backwater bays arethe color of the bottom and the availablestructure. Shallow sandy bottomwithout structure will usually not holdfish. A dark-bottomed bay with stumpsand timber will hold all kinds of fish. Adark bottom will warm up thesurrounding area and any stumps andtimber add not only cover but addi-tional warmth because they soak upeven more direct sunlight. Target theseareas with jig and reaper combinationsand slow-moving topwater baits likethe Zara Spook or the Doc. Topwaterbaits aren’t often considered as a “goto” bait in the spring. Try them, andcatch more fish.

SPAWNING AREASLocations known by many anglers

primarily for walleye fishing are oftenhot spots for spring musky. Muskiesfollow schools of walleye as a favoriteforage food throughout the year,including early spring in traditionalspawning areas. Long after spawning iscomplete, some muskies will remain inthese areas and can be targeted wellinto summer.

Target the rocks that definespawning terrain with a lure that canwithstand the constant punishment it issure to take. The pounding noise andvibration sent through the water asyour lure bangs off rocks will actuallyattract larger gamefish and increaseyour odds of catching one. Good betsinclude a heavy jig with a large, plastictail; strong crankbaits like a BucherDepth Raider series; or a jerkbait withan extra split ring attached in front asadded protection from the bashing itwill take on the rocks.

DAMSEarly in the year, fish including big

muskies will migrate upriver toward

dams in preparation for spawning. Wellafter spawning is complete, manymuskies will remain at these locations,sometimes throughout the entire year.Fish taking residence around dams areunique to the system and will takeadvantage of fast-incoming water. Fastdam water may look like a terrible placefor muskies to hide, but this is exactlywhere the aggressive, active fish will be.They lie in wait of an easy meal offeredby disoriented baitfish that have beensucked through the dam gates to becaught up in the swirling water. Big,heavy soft plastics like bulldawgs andBig Joes, crankbaits like the countdownDepth Raider, or a Triple D work greatin these situations. As with the warmwater discharge areas where a strike isdifficult to detect, it is very important tokeep a tight line when working fastwater.

The slower-moving sides of thedam will also hold fish. Most often,these are inactive or lethargic fish thatwill also migrate to faster water whenliterally “moved” to feed. There areexceptions and you will occasionallycatch fish in the calm water. But dedi-cate most of your “dam” time to the fastcurrent.

Like approaches to lake and riverangling during each of Wisconsin’sseasons, productive spring muskyfishing is the only option if we intend toremain in business as full-time profes-sional guides. This early season,Hooksetters guides will be targeting theareas highlighted above, using the samelures and techniques recommended toyou. Past successes dictate our futurepath.

Try it. You’ll like it. Good luck andsafe fishing.OWO

Contact Phil Schweik and HooksettersFishing Services at www.hooksetters.biz.

Warming TrendsSpring musky tactics

Schweik caught and released this Wisconsin River musky downstream frombut in close proximity to a warm water discharge area.

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 11

By Jerry Kiesow

Utter the words “Fly fishing” andthoughts immediately go to trout.

Trout and fly rods just go together likebacon and eggs. One without the otheris fine, but they compliment each otherso well that it is almost a sin to separatethem.

Well, I am going to separate them,and I am going to introduce theunschooled to another great combina-tion: panfish (and bass) and fly rods—the warmwater species of the aquaticfamily known as Pisces.

PRIME TIMEPrime fly fishing time has arrived.

We have been waiting a long time,especially this year, for the snows tomelt, the waters to warm, and the fishto become active. Oh, we may havefished the early catch and release troutseason. That is always fun, and chal-lenging this year on snowshoes. Wealso may have waded one of the tribu-taries of Lake Michigan, driftingnymphs deep for steelhead—also achallenge in both hooking up andlanding.

But now, late spring/earlysummer is the time to get the boat outof dry dock, if you haven’t alreadydone that, and limber up the arm withthe five/six weight, eight or nine foot

fly rod. Time to clean and take thememory out of your line and leader;tie on a fresh tippet; and make sureyour fly box has some wet flies andstreamers for the beginning of theseason, and poppers and foam bugsfor the latter.

Why? As most fly fishers know.May and June are the best times tocatch panfish—crappies, bluegills androck bass. But it’s also prime time forbass, both smallmouth and large-mouth, in shallow water.

We see people casting slipbobbers with live bait into the shore-lines all over Wisconsin. What we onlysee occasionally are fly fishers castinginto these same areas. But if we do seethem and pay attention, we will findthat these fly flingers are most likelyout-fishing the live bait people.

Why? The average fly caster cancast to tighter places, with more accu-racy, and with a softer, less frighteningpresentation than the chunk-and-dunkbobber lobber. And two, May andJune are when insects and the youngforage fish are most abundant. Theybecome the food of choice. Fliesimitate these.

WHAT IS DOING WHAT?Early in the month of May,

depending on what part of Wisconsinyou are fishing, you may find crappieseither getting ready to spawn or actu-ally spawning. It all depends on watertemperature.

Crappies spawn when the waterreaches 61 degrees and may still bespawning in 68 degree H2O. Bluegills,on the other hand, begin theirspawning as the crappies are finishing,in water temperatures reaching 67degrees. You might still find themdoing their thing when the temperatureclimbs as high as 80 degrees.

Once they have spawned, one ofthe bluegill pair will be defending thenest. They do this by attacking smallcritters that come too close to home ordrop from the sky. We create said “crit-ters” and call them artificial flies.

Obviously, what we need to donow is find water in the mid-sixties.

WHAT SHOULD BE INYOUR BOX

In the beginning of May, startcasting streamers for crappies. Mypersonal choices are Black-nosed Dace,Mickey Finn, Black Ghost, and my ownpattern, the Squirrel Tail. All should be

tied on number 6, 2x streamer hooks. Ifthese do not connect with ‘olPapermouth, I will try any number ofWoolly Worm color combinations, or aMcGinty. These I prefer tied onnumber 8 wet fly/nymph hooks. I tiethese patterns weighted, to avoid usingsplit shot, allow them to sink, and thenretrieve slowly.

As the month progresses and weget into June, my flies rise in the watercolumn and even go to the surfacewhen the conditions are right…meaning a hatch is on.

Now is the time of the popper!Crappies and bluegills will takepoppers with abandon when presentedaround brush or pads and stumps.When mayflies are on the water, bethere!

Another great surface pattern forJune and later in the summer is thefoam bug, especially for bluegills.Those spunky little critters just can’tresist a bug bounced off of a stump oreased around a lily pad.

THE BONUS FISHOne of the best times of the year to

catch smallmouth bass on a fly is in thepre-spawn catch and release season inthe northern zone. If I can be at ourcottage in Marinette County afterMemorial Day before the catch anddigest bass season opens, I will almostbe able to guarantee you that I willcatch smallies on streamers. And not10-inch smallmouth either. Sixteen-inchfish are not uncommon. My largest

smallie last year was 18, but in 2006 Ihad a 20-inch fish. All on a threeweight, eight-and-a-half-foot rod with a5x tippet. I call that fun. My wife wascatching them on small minnow simu-lators on an ultra-light spinning rodwith four pound test line. That too wasfun.

Where I find these beauties is inthe rocks and on the gravel. They aren’tspawning just yet, but they sure arelooking for places to do so. So, if youhave not already done so, get your flyfishing gear in order. Prime time ishere! OWO

(Special note: This year, if you fishbass in the northern zone, approximatelynorth of Highway 78, you will be restrictedto artificial lures with barbless hooks onlyduring the catch and release season, whichis the first Saturday in May through thethird Friday in June. Do not blame this oneon the DNR. This was included by ourlegislature in the state budget bill.)

Jerry lives in Grafton, WI. He fly fishes yearround, teaches fly tying and fly fishing. Hehas also written a book, “Tales of ThePeshtigo Putzer,” which includes some flyfishing tales as well as hunting and otheryarns on a variety of outdoor activities.Get a copy at www.publishamerica.com, orif you would like a personalized auto-graphed copy, send $24 to Jerry Kiesow,P.O. Box 203, Grafton, WI 53024. Thecost covers the book, tax, packaging andshipping. Makes a great gift.

Prime TimeFlyfishing the warm-water species

In May and June, the fly fisher, armedwith just a few flies, can end an outingwith a mixed bag of panfish. Or besurprised by a nice smallie. (Photo byJerry Kiesow)

A basic selection of May/June flypatterns for panfish and smallmouths.From top right to left: Mickey Finn,Black-nosed dace, Squirrel Tail, BlackGhost, Black Woolly Worm, McGinty,Olive Woolly Worm, foam beatle,popper. (Photo by Jerry Kiesow)

12 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

By Dave Duwe

Why is my thumb raw? That is thequestion I ask myself every

spring. The answer for me is a simpleone; the largemouth bass are in theshallows and they are hungry. Anyonewho has caught a large number of bassrealizes that their small sandpaperteeth will make your thumb very raw,which is actually a good thing—itmeans you’re catching them!

In May or early June when thewater temperatures reach 65 to 68degrees, the largemouth will spawn.The largemouth bass spawn on hardsandy bottoms. These locations can beoff of a point or in a shallow bay. Thefemales will lay eggs in saucer shapednests constructed by the males. Thesenests are usually located in one to fivefeet of water. The males will then guardthe nests from predators.

This time of year is the easiesttime to get a trophy fish. The fish are inshallow water which makes them verysusceptible to the angler. You can catchthem on spinner baits, plastic worms,tube baits and my personal favorite, theplastic stick baits. These baits are lureslike the Senko, Yum Dinger or the All-Terrain Stik. These lures are a “donothing” approach to fishing; the leastamount of action, the better the lurewill work.

The equipment one needs to fish isvery standard. You need a medium-heavy to heavy spinning rod, like theBerkley Lightning rod and a mediumsized spinning reel like a Cardinal 3spooled with 20-pound-test Fireline. Iwill always use a non-stretch line whenfishing with a stick bait. It has a two-fold benefit: first it provides great“feel” so you can easily tell when a fishpicks up the bait, and the second

benefit is that you will have a morepowerful hook set. The more power inthe hook set means more fish landed.

There are two basic rigs for thestick baits. The first is the Texas rig. TheTexas rig runs the point of the hookone-half inch down the center of thebait and brings the hook through thebait to hide it back into the plastic. Itmakes for a completely weedless bait.The second option is “Wacky Rigging.”This is also a productive method. You

basically run thehook straightthrough the center ofthe bait. I prefer touse a wide gap hook,either a 2/0 or 3/0.In both presenta-tions, I will never useany weight on theline. Fishing weed-less adds to the “donothingness” of thepresentation.

Once equipped,the only other factoris the retrieve. I will

make long casts toward the saucershaped circles and let the bait fallslowly for 5-10 seconds. Then I willtwitch the bait a couple of times. Mostof the strikes will happen on the fall. Iwill work the bait by raising the rodthree to four inches and jiggling it onlyabout half of the way back to the boat,and then re-cast. Though I will concen-trate on spawning fish, there are plentyof fish in pre-spawn or post-spawncruising around the area, so makingmultiple casts in an area can yield greatsuccess.

This presentation will work almostall of May and June. Once the waterwarms, the fish will move out of theshallows and this method become inef-fective.

Here is hoping that you too willhave a sore thumb this spring. I know Iwill have one! OWO

Dave Duwe, owner of Dave Duwe's GuideService, has been guiding the lakes ofSoutheastern Wisconsin for 15 years,specializing in Delavan Lake and LakeGeneva. Go to www.fishlakegeneva.com

When It Hurts So GoodRaw thumbs and big bucket-mouths

Barb Schneider, client of Dave Duwe, with a nice Lake Geneva Largemouth.(Photo by Dave Duwe)

All Terrain Stiks with a 2/0 worm hook

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 13

By Dave Sura

Like the first Saturday in May,June 16, the other fishing

opener, attracts hundreds ofanglers to the shores of LakeMichigan. Although the limit is fivefish per day, the chance of catchingperch over 15 inches is more thanenough to entice fishermen andwomen to wake up before the sundoes. Catching these fish is gener-ally not difficult, but there are waysto improve not only how many youcatch, but also the quality.

TIMING AND LOCATIONAs the water warms into the

mid-50s, alewives congregate inharbors along the coast of LakeMichigan. This begins first inKenosha and works its way north.Perch follow. Like all fish, post-spawn perch want to eat. And theydo. Perch gorge themselves onalewives just as salmon do. This,along with a stop in commercialfishing, has allowed the perch togrow large.

There are several key locationsto look for when searching forjumbos. Early in the season, whenthe water is cold, start inside theharbor itself. The water here isconsiderably warmer than thesurrounding lake. Look for areaswith current. These areas funnelbaitfish by waiting perch.

Rocks. Perch use these areastoo. Not only can they ambushprey there, but can escape preda-tors as well. Other good earlyseason locations are warm waterdischarges. Like the inside of aharbor, power plants and bubbles(water treatment plant discharges)are areas of current and warmwater. As the season progressesand the water warms into the 60’s,perch move out of the harbor andinto the lake. Again, look for areasof current and rock. Finding theseareas shouldn’t be difficult. Spendsome time scouting the harborsprior to the opener with a goodpair of polarized glasses to locatequality water.

Low light equals action. Asthe water has become clearer frommussel infestations, perch feed

early and late. Start prior to sun-up.There have been many times I’vecaught my limit before 5:00 a.m. Asthe saying goes, the early bird getsthe worm, or in this case, the perch.

PRESENTATIONS ANDEQUIPMENT

Live bait. Although it workswell, day in and day out you cancatch more and larger fish usingartificial baits, namely plastics.When looking for the right plastic,first think size. What sizes are thealewives that are being eaten byperch? From my experience, bait-fish range in size from two to fourinches long. Perch eat all sizes ofalewives, so choose baits to match.Straight tailed or split tailed baitswork better than curly tailed ones,so start with those. Baits, such asthe 2.5-inch Zoom Tiny Fluke, thetwo to three-inch Berkeley Powerminnows, and the three-inch Gulpminnow are good choices to startwith. Jumbo perch will have notrouble taking these offerings.

Colors. I’ve tried most of them.Natural colors work the best. Besure to carry an assortment, butstart with white, pearl, or green.Other hot colors include water-melon, baitfish, motor oil, and pink.Match these baits with jig heads

ranging from 1/32 to 1/8-ounce jigheads. Smaller heads work well inshallow, slow moving water orwhen fish are finicky. Larger heads,in turn, work better when fishingdeepwater or in heavy current. Tryto use jig heads with gold hooks.For whatever reason, perch preferthem to bronze.

When jig fishing, I always use 4to 6-pound hi-vis lines with a fluo-rocarbon leader. Lime green, pink,or yellow, the color doesn’t matter.What does matter is being able toline watch. Watching your lineallows you see strikes before youfeel them. Doing this will increaseyour catch rate as it has mine. Thisis the single most important trickI’ve learned to help me fill mybasket. Fluorocarbon leaders helpas well. I started fishing perch inthe seventies and Lake Michigan ismuch clearer now than it was then.Jig fishing is an art form. Althoughit is an easy technique to master, itwill take time getting the “feel” ofit. The basic way to fish a jig forperch is simple. First, cast it out.Second, let the jig sink to thebottom. Be sure to watch the line asit sinks. Many times fish will strikethe jig on the way down. Third, liftthe rod upward and then drop therod down. Again, watch the line onthe fall as fish almost always hit on

the drop. Howfast or slow youmove your baitdepends of theactivity level ofthe fish. Moreactive perch maywant a snap-jigging approachand less activemay want a verysubtle one. Workyour jig differentways until youfind what theperch want.

I prefer usinglight or ultra-light action rodswhen jig fishing.I personally useseven-foot St.Croix’s. Using

rods over six feet long increasescasting distance; this is especiallyimportant when fishing from shore.Rods made of quality graphite arealso important. They give you thesensitivity needed to “feel” the jigwhile fishing. Reels should matchthe rod. Choose one with a gooddrag and at least three ball bear-ings. A smooth retrieve is necessaryto work a jig properly.

Another way I’ve fished forperch is drop shotting. This tech-nique has worked well whenfishing vertically over warm waterdischarges or “bubbles.” Rig it thesame as you would when dropshotting for bass. Tie a hook to theline 12 to 18 inches above a 1/4 to3/8-ounce weight. Hook theminnow grub through the nose ofthe plastic, drop it to the bottomand jig it.

Whether you’ve fished forperch or not, hopefully you’veadded something to your arsenalthat will help you jig more jumbosin the bag. OWO

Dave Sura has fished Wisconsin waters forover 25 years. He specializes in shore andtributary angling for perch, steelhead andsalmon on Lake Michigan. He can becontacted at 262.930.8260 orsteelheadsura@yahoo.com.

Jumbo PerchPlastic tactics for the Great Lakes

Dave Sura has been a student of Lake Michigan shore fishing for decades. His techniques mean more andbigger fish and jumbo perch fishing is no exception. A five-perch limit on Lake Michigan is more thanenough when the angler adopts the jumbo tactics refined by the author.

14 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

Devin Landers, 12, aka the“Firecracker,” is one of the most

fun and competitive kids I’ve everknown. At the 2007 Kicking Bear eventin La Crosse, WI, hosted in conjunctionwith the Blackhawk Archers and the LaCrosse Sheriff’s Department, a kickballgame broke out on Friday evening thatlasted until the wee hours of themorning. There were about 80 adultsand youth involved, including Devin,while the rest of the crowd stoodaround watching and rooting for theirfavorite team. It’s incredible to see theparents and mentors having thatmuch fun to the point that severaltimes I saw grown men andwomen leaping and diving to gettheir hands on the ball! Needless tosay there were a lot of people whoshowed up stiff as boards at break-fast the next morning.

Greg Symons, alias “Sarge,”has been a part of the Kicking Bearevents since 2000. At the end ofgames including a 3-D archeryshoot on Saturday, Sarge informedall the youth that he would beleading a gun hunter safety coursefree to all kids involved withKicking Bear. An organized youthhunt would follow in the fall forany interested program graduates.Later that summer, Sarge coordi-nated the classes that taughtfirearms and tree stand safety whilestressing all-around good ethics inthe outdoors.

Just prior to the huntingseason, Devin and I got together. Iwanted to make sure his shootingskills were proficient for the type ofhunting we were going to do andmade and set a cardboard silhou-ette of a whitetail deer at 100 yards.We talked about how to follow the backof the front leg line up to the center ofthe silhouette and squeeze a shot offwith good follow-through. Devinproved to be an incredible shot. Icouldn’t believe how well-placed hisshots were and how calm and confi-dent he was in his shooting abilities.

Devin and I discussed some of theexperiences of my first hunts; howthings change when you’re no longershooting at paper but the real thing. Iget excited every time I see a whitetailin the woods, especially when I havethe opportunity to hunt them. I toldDevin, as it was with me, that manygreat seasoned whitetail hunters willcompletely fall apart when the trophy

of their dreams steps into view. Withhis shooting ability, Devin’s real chal-lenge would be controlling hisemotions and waiting for the right shot.

We also discussed the importanceof not letting the deer detect movementor smell. Using a product like WildlifeResearch Scent Killer is perfect forsitting in ground blinds, especially foryouth. No matter what you did wrongin not being scent-free, simply steppingfrom the vehicle and spraying yourselfdown allows you to become “invisible”to a whitetail’s uncanny sense of smell.

We talked about the importance ofstealth while hunting. When they can’tsee, hear, or smell you, they’re at adistinct disadvantage.

The following weekend found ustogether sitting in a brush blind near afood plot in Wisconsin where I hadbeen watching several deer feeding inthe evenings. It was an extremely quietafternoon; I knew any mistake madewith movement or noise and the huntwould be over instantly. I don’t knowwhat it is about trying to be quiet espe-cially when you’re having a good time.Several times we broke out laughingand I had a real difficult time trying tokeep the sound muffled.

Devin was going to harvest the

first adult deer that stepped into thefeeding area within his comfortableshooting range. At 2:30 p.m. he whis-pered, “There’s a buck.” I could seethere was no joking with this. Devin’seyes told the whole story! I turned myhead to look that direction and sureenough, a buck was feeding about 110yards from us. This is incredible, Ithought. We’re going to get an opportu-nity.

Devin slowly lifted his gun andrested it on a large branch. The buckwas quartering severely away from us.

It would have been tough for even anexpert to make the shot. I asked Devinto wait until the deer had turnedperfectly broadside. I couldn’t believethe patience this young boy had. Theminutes went by like hours and I wasalmost sure Devin was going to hearmy heart pounding. Finally the buckgave Devin the opportunity. Ireminded him to follow the leg line anda second later the shot rang out and thebuck ran off the field. Through myNikon optics, I saw that the bullet hadhit perfectly. I couldn’t have placed theshot any better myself. I looked right atDevin. “You pinched!” I said.

We waited for twenty minutes andthen walked over to the point of hit.

The tracking was very easy. The buckhad expired in the woods within 75yards. We found ourselves grinningfrom ear to ear—high fiving—andacting like a couple of people who hadjust won the lottery.

After Devin had his first “handson” lesson on how to field dress a deer,a story in itself, and dragging the deerback to the edge of the tree line, thewhole experience carried me back tothe first time I harvested a whitetail.The feelings were exactly the same.

With plenty of daylight left and adoe tag to fill, I asked Devin if hewanted to try for a double “pinch.”That big grin provided the answer,and we were soon back in the blindwhere it was even tougher to keepquiet. We were whispering aboutall the things that had unfoldedfrom the moment he first saw thebuck. I asked him where hethought the next deer was going toappear from and he pointed to awell-used trail at the west end ofthe food plot; not my personalchoice, so the bet was on.

A half hour later, a single,large adult doe walked into thefood plot about 80 yards from us. Icouldn’t believe it. I had just lostthe bet. Again, Devin slowly got hisgun into position and waited forthe right shot opportunity. Beforethe sound of the shot had left thevalley, the doe hit the ground andlay motionless. Another well-placed shot! Before my optics wereeven off my eyes, I uncontrollablyyelled, “Great shot Devin—youpinched again!”

There we were again, grinningfrom ear to ear, only this time Ivolunteered to do the field

dressing. We were having so much funI forgot that we had to physically dragboth deer back to the logging roadwhich was quite a jaunt. But I’ll tell youwhat—with all the laughing, jokingand swatting each other on the back Ireally don’t remember all the physicalwork involved. A double pinch?

Not even on my best day. Acts10:13 OWO

Recently honored by Outdoor Life, RayHowell is founder of Kicking Bear, a nationalorganization dedicated to enriching the livesof troubled and at-risk young peoplethrough outdoor experiences. Connect withwww.kickingbear.org.

RAY HOWELL

KICKING BEARDevin’s double “pinch”

Given the opportunity by Ray Howell and Kicking Bear, Devin Landers made shots that endedit quickly for two Wisconsin whitetails.

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 15

By Dick Henske

After decades of fishing the lakesand streams of northern

Wisconsin as a resident of ManitowishWaters, I’ve learned that crappies inMay are a “best bet” bite. They come into spawn and move to feed, but remainin or near the warm, shallow, weedywater for an extended period of goodfishing. The odds are good that you canhit the jackpot.

One effective presentation is aweighted bobber over a mini jig tippedwith long, soft plastics. Use plasticswith long, slender tails, but they mustbe flexible. This system works on ournorthern lakes, depending on weather,from the walleye opener until the endof May. I look for shallow weed bedsand move until I start to catch a fewfish; then I "work" the area. Crappiescan be congregated in areas no biggerthan a volleyball court. Warm, low-wind days in a stable weather patternare the most productive. On windydays crappies suspend in deep waterjust off the weed edges.

I use an ultra-light rod and line,which allows me to cast a long waywith the weighted bobber to locate fish.

However, each lake has its own charac-teristics. I fish in Vilas and IronCounties and find it easier tocatch crappies in the dark-stained water lakes.But you need tobegin by targetinglakes known tohold crappies.If you’re notsure, ask atthe localbaitshop.

Usethe twitchand jerkmethodwith thebobber; try tokeep itmoving.Sometimes justthe wave action onthe bobber is enoughto move the tail andtrigger a strike. Cutting theplastics paper-thin to initiate eventhe slightest movement often will dothe trick. Colors vary, but white,purple, green and black work for me.Carry a lot of rigs; northern and musky

will rip off your baits.You really don't need

live bait, but if you feel youmust, put a wax worm on thehook tip. This will usually getyou a perch or one or twobluegills. I leave about threefeet of line between thebobber and jig. Experiment!

Big bluegills can be hardto come by in northernWisconsin. Scout out goodlakes and learn to fish them,knowing that characteristicsoften differ and so too mustyour approach. I actually startcatching suspended pre-spawn gills in mid-Aprilstaging in deep water off thespawning beds. I have thebest luck on clear lakes wheresome gills spawn at 8 to 20foot depths.

We have experienceddrought for three years andmost lakes and flowages areextremely low. The oldhunting dog and I can walkthe sandy shores looking forspawning beds with the bestfishing often found on themore remote walk-in lakes. Iseldom see any fishermen

and it’s great to be out soaking up sun,catching those gills!

Consider two methods. I use a flyrod with black mini-poppers once thefish are in the shallows for a dynamitelimit of pure fun. You need a lot ofpoppers because the trees get you onback casts and the fish can be tough onthose little poppers. Buy a whole cardfull. A big bonus is the amount of bassthat you will catch and release.

My other method is similar tocrappie fishing, utilizing an ultra-lightrig with the same jigs but different plas-tics. The most effective is a small mini-black worm. You may need a waxworm to find a school or to catch reluc-tant fish. The plastics I use vary in colorand shape. Store-bought ones workwell. Let your bait sink to variousdepths and slowly retrieve. A piece ofnight crawler will work too, but whenI'm fishing all I need is a snuff box ofjigs and plastics and a snuff box of waxworms. That's it!

Use a creel if you want to keep ameal. My wife, Mariel and I lovebluegills and I take eight or 10 for a fishfry. But never over-fish this wonderfulresource of ours. Fish are vulnerable

when on the beds.Finally, I will use a light, 12-foot

aluminum Jon Boat that fits in the backof my pickup for some of those back-inlakes with poor shorelines to walk. Anold electric motor helps move usaround. Don't forget your Polaroidglasses to help you spot thosespawning beds.

Close and wonderful encounterswith bear, deer, fishers, wolves, andlots of loons and migratory birds willbe part of your Wisconsin earlysummer experience. Just remember thisphrase….

"Always leave the area you fish orhunt cleaner than when you came."

Even in pristine northernWisconsin, even in the back country,the shame is that you will not have tolook long to find another person’strash.

See you on the water!OWO

Retired principal Dick Henske ofManitowish Waters hunts and fishesWisconsin, Canada and the westernstates. Rarely does he miss a day in thefield.

The Best Bet BiteNorthern Wisconsin crappies and gills

Alone on the shoreline of a walk-in access only lake in Vilas County, Dick Henske ofManitowish Waters works beyond the cover of a downed tree for staging bluegills inpre-spawn. English setter Maggie waits for the next hit too. (Photos by Dick Ellis)

Although the bluegill fishing on a small walk-inonly lake in Vilas County is virtually non-stop May20, the fish reaching eight inches or more like thisone held by Dick Henske are few and far between.Two very large gills reaching more than nineinches were among the catch taken by Henske onanother walk-in lake the day before.

16 May/June 2008

our gun ownership someday trans-lates into “felon” with the stroke of ourlawmaker’s pen, is already here too.

“The answer’s been here all along,”Heston wrote. “You simply…disobey.Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course.Nonviolently, absolutely. But when toldhow to think or what to say or how tobehave, we don’t. We disobey socialprotocol that stifles and stigmatizespersonal freedom. I learned theawesome power of disobedience fromDr. King…who learned it from Gandhi,and Thoreau and Jesus, and every othergreat man who led those in the rightagainst those with might.”

As Heston said, when the Redcoatscame door to door to confiscate the guns,they didn’t succeed. The muskets wentout the back door with their owners. In

our peaceful resistance, know that wewon’t go out the back door. The right tostand in our own front doors unafraid,even with our guns locked away in thecabinet, is uniquely American andearned by better people before us. Butearned too by our own law-abiding useof firearms and respect for the sanctity ofhuman life.

We understand, freedom killers,that under the wrong governing climateyou can probably legislate us, theAmerican gun owner…We the People…into wearing the label of criminal. Butyou understand, that even if that everhappens, you still can’t have our guns.Ever. OWO

The second amendment, firstEDITOR, from page 5

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 17

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18 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

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On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 19

June is not too late to take a youngangler out on the water to experience

great sunfishing action. Whether youhave a first-time angler in tow, a youngoutdoorsperson looking for somesuccess, or an adolescent who needssome time outside with Dad and/orMom, bluegills are the perfect answerand June is the perfect time.

With the sun at its zenith for theyear, water temperatures warm upbeyond that magical 70-degree rangethat really pulls bluegills into the shal-lows to make their dinnerplate-sizedspawning nests in the sand or gravel.The fish—especially those pole-bendingsunnies that generate whoops andhollers from anglers of all ages—willnever be as accessible as they are now.

So get out on the water. Cruise theshallows, looking for spawning beds.By the time you spot them, the fish willhave fled to deeper water. Just anchorup and wait; the bluegills will be backsoon. If you’re shore fishing, poke alongand look for spawning beds; the nestsare easy to spot. It’s funny, but boatanglers are always trying to get theirbaits as close to shore as possible, whileshorebound anglers want to cast out asfar as they can!

While you’re waiting for the fish toreturn, rig up. Use light spin-cast tacklefor your youngest anglers, generallythose under the age of 13 or 14. Don’tburden the littlest kids with a cheapcartoon-character outfit. Instead, getsomething decent and reliable. Youshould be spooled up with good-

quality, eight-pound test monofilament.Bobber fishing is best. Who doesn’t lovewatching a bobber go down? I’ve seen ita million times, and I still get excited.Every time. Kids do too.

Use light, thin pencil-style floatsthat offer little resistance to fish. Tie on alight-wire, size 6 or 8 hook; light-wire isgood because it will easily straightenout and you won’t lose your entire rig ifyour young angler gets tangled up in alily pad stalk, brush or other snag.Long-shanked models are best becausethey make hook removal much easier;these fish are hungry for a meal andaggressive at defending their nests, andthey will do their best to swallow youroffering.

A smallish garden worm, threadedlightly on the hook, works great. Sodoes a nightcrawler half. Waxwormsattract June bluegills too (stick to asmaller hook, or use a tiny teardrop ice-fishing jig.) My favorite June bluegillbaits, through, are small crappieminnows. Minnows seem to discouragethe smaller sunfish from biting, whileattracting the real slabs.

There will be plenty of action, souse the opportunity as a learning expe-rience. Let the young angler cast outand set his or her own hook. If you missa few fish, no big deal; there will bemore to come. Take fish off the hookyourself, though. You don’t want abluegill spine cutting your trip shortand souring the experience.

Take some time to study the beau-tiful fish you catch. Differentiate the

orange-bellied males from the yellow-chested females. Note the beautiful bluemarkings on the jaws and lower gills(hence the name bluegill), the hand-some black ear flap, the purples andyellows flecked on the fishes’ sides.

Take some breaks. Even if thefishing is grand, your little fisherpersonmay decide they need a change ofactivity or scenery for awhile. Bringalong plenty of snacks and juice drinksfor just such a purpose. Soda pop andgranola bars do the trick for my adoles-cents.

Go chase frogs on shore together.Take a hike. Watch birds. Play in theshallows and investigate bugs, crayfishand other natural wonders that youfind. (And they are all wonders toyoung imaginations.)

Most kids love to save some fish—to show off at home, to prove theirskills, to commemorate the trip. Be opento the idea, and eat those bluegills, forthey will provide the finest fish dining

you will ever experience—better thaneven, dare I say, the vaunted walleye.

Filleting a bluegill can be difficult:Most fish are a third to half a poundand only six to seven or maybe eightinches long. A better plan is to scale thefish (get the young angler to help withthis step), lop off the head and tail, pullout the innards, then make cuts alongboth sides of the dorsal and anal fins,and pull those fins out with a pliers.

Roll the fish in cornmeal, crackercrumbs or a commercial mix (I love FryMagic), and cook in hot oil. The sideswill curl up. “Fillet” the fish with abutter knife right on the plate and beprepared for mass consumption.

Unlike other anglers, I am in norush to finish my family’s panfishingseason. In fact—for bluegills, June is thebest month of all! OWO

Native son Tom Carpenter watches birdsacross the country and writes about theavian world for many publications.

TOM CARPENTER

CUB’S CORNERJune gills on the bed

The oriole loves summer, returningto Wisconsin in late spring from

tropical wintering grounds in Centraland South America. A male oriolecreates a spectacular sight in his feath-ered finery of fiery-orange and jet-black. Insects and fruit are the culinaryattractions now, and June is the perfectmonth to observe orioles whetheryou’re fishing, camping, hiking or justout in the yard. Orioles do fine inrural, suburban and even urbansettings, as long as there are maturetrees around.

Look for a stunning bird withblaze-orange chest, belly and back,and black head and wings. Femalesare a drabber blend of grayish-orangeand olive-yellow.

Listen for the oriole’s beautiful,flute-like hoo-li song of four to eightnotes.

Search with binoculars for anoriole nest—a woven basket of plantfibers and bark strands suspendedfrom the tip of a branch high in a tree.Leave out pieces of string and yarn(under eight inches long, so they don’t

tangle the birds) for the orioles touse.

Attract orioles with orange halvesimpaled fruit-side-up on a deck rail ortree trunk. Set out a tray of grape jelly.Feed sugar water in an oriole feeder.

Did you know that the Baltimoreoriole (East) and Bullock’s oriole(West) were once considered distinctspecies? But they readily interbreedwhere their ranges overlap alongprairie river corridors, and are nowknown simply as the northernoriole. OWO

TOM CARPENTER

BADGER BIRDSNorthern Oriole

Big gills keep novice anglers of all ages happy—and busy—in June. (Photo byDick Ellis)

20 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

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On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 21

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By Gary Engberg

The Madison Chain of Lakes allhave good fishing with each lake

having its own “special” species. Thelargest lake in the “Chain” is 9,842 acreLake Mendota, which besides havingtrophy walleye and northern pike,holds big smallmouth bass.

Anyone who fishes LakeMendota should have a quality mapand good electronics in order to findand fish the abundant mid-lake struc-ture (rock bars and humps), sharpbreaking drop-offs, and the manypoints which are all prime smallmouthlocations throughout the summer.Study a lake map before going fishingon Lake Mendota for success. The bestmaps are made by MappingSpecialists (866)-525-2298. Their mapsare very accurate with a GPS coordi-nate grid that will help you in findingthe prime underwater structure thatLake Mendota possesses. Theminimum size for smallmouth onMendota is 18 inches, but there aremany larger fish.

Spawning is completed on LakeMendota by the end of May. The firstkey to fish Lake Mendota smallmouthis to work the deep weed edgesaround the lake that range from 12 to20 feet deep. Try anchoring outsidethe deep weeds and make long casts

with a slip float, a 1/16 ounce orangeSlo-Poke jig, and a fat and lively leech.I’d put the slip-float rod in a holderwhile casting with another rod. Fancast with a 1/8 ounce Slo-PokeWeedmaster jig and a leech or half of anightcrawler. If you don’t likeanchoring, try working slowly offyour bow mount trolling motor. Isuggest using a 7 to 7 ½ foot rodbecause the longer rod allows for alonger cast which won’t spook thesmallmouth.

Another key is to concentrateon the lake’s rock bars and humps thatare located in the main basin and offthe numerous points. Smallmouth inLake Mendota like rock, gravel, andthe hard bottoms that attract theirfavorite food, the crayfish.

A live bait rig is good forfishing outside the weeds and up anddown the lake’s deeper structure. Puta bullet or slip sinker (1/4 ounce)above a barrel swivel, tie on 3 to 4 feetof fluorocarbon line, and then use acolored hook or a floating jig headbaited with a leech or a piece of night-crawler. This rig can be slowlydragged up and down breaks, up andover rocks, and along the lake bottom.

Here are some prime smallmouthareas to fish on Lake Mendota:

• Try fishing the deep weededges on both sides of Picnic Point,

Second Point,GovernorsIsland, and offMaple Bluff.

• Work therock bars and thehumps north ofthe Brearly StreetBar on the eastside of the lake.Here, there arerocks and weedsand numerousinside andoutside turnswith some openpockets to cast.

• Dunn’sBar, out fromGovernor’sIsland, is anotherprime location.Cast slip-floatsand leeches up tothe rocks, weeds,and bar edges.Also, drag jigs upand down thesteep breaks forsmallmouth.

• There’sstructure north ofSecond Point,where the depthsand contours

change rapidly from 20 to 40 feet. Tryfishing the sharp contours with a jig ora rig.

• West of Second Point is theCommodore Bar which tops off at 15feet and drops down to 60 feet. Useyour electronics to see if fish arepresent on the bar and again either jigor rig the fish.

Spinner baits, buzz baits, and in-line spinners will work when burnedacross the weed tops. The noise, flash,and vibration attracts bass that areburied in the weeds or cruising theedges. White and black spinners withgold and silver blades are my favoritesfor Lake Mendota.OWO

Contact D and S Bait and Tackle at(608) 241-4225, ask for Gene. Guides:Tony Puccio (608) 212-6464, Wally Banfi(608) 644-9823, Gary Engberg (608) 795-4208, and Ron Barefield (608)-838-8756.

Contact Gary Engberg Outdoors at 608.795.4208 or gengberg@chorus.net. Orvisit www.garyengbergoutdoors.com.

Lake Mendota BronzebacksThe where & how on the Madison Chain

Bob Zownir of Madison with a smallie.

24 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

Outdoor Criss Cross

Answers on page 32

By Terry Bitz

Iwas having a telephone conversationwith DNR Warden Jennifer Niemeyer,

working out details of me riding with herwhile she went out on a patrol. Part of theconversation went something like this:

Niemeyer: “I will need to you signa waiver. If we get into a gunfight orsomething, we need to make sure youdon’t sue the department if somethingbad happens.”

Me: “Is there anything in thewaiver that assures me I can’t be used ahuman shield if there is a gunfight?”

Niemeyer: “No.”Me: “Can I turn on a siren if there

is a high-speed chase?”Niemeyer: “No.”Me: “Can I handcuff someone if

you have to take them down?”Niemeyer: “No and you need to

quit watching so many episodes ofCops.”

Me: “Hmmm, well okay. I need astory so I’ll sign it.”

Niemeyer is one of the gamewardens that serve in the Kenosha area.Actually, one warden position iscurrently unfilled, so at this time, she isthe only warden for Kenosha County.

Serving here since 1999, she has

become a recognized and respected faceamong the local outdoors community.Ten years, according to Niemeyer, is thelongest any warden has served in thiscounty. She’s not far away fromreaching that mark.

Niemeyer earned her four-yeardegree from UW-Platteville beforeentering certified law enforcement

training. One year of training with theDNR followed before she was assignedto Kenosha County.

Typical of others in the field, it washer love for the outdoors that causedher, a self-described tomboy, to decideto become a warden. “I grew up fishingwith my dad on the Mississippi. I lovedfishing. I loved the outdoors,” she said.

Unfortunately, she can’t partake inoutdoor activities as much as she’d like,especially in fall when she works longdays. Niemeyer does fish occasionallyand finds time to hunt deer and water-fowl.

On the morning I rode along withher, we checked anglers in Kenoshaharbors. I promised not to reveal any ofher secrets, but I can say that she oftenscopes out the activities of people froma distance before checking them out inperson.

“People are not going to violate infront of a warden,” she said as shepicked up a pair of binoculars.

Our first encounter was with agentleman ice fishing for trout in theSouthport Marina. He had finished forthe morning when we pulled up.Niemeyer stepped out of the truck,announced who she was, asked himsome questions about his activities, andthen requested to see his fishing license.He responded that he had lost it andhad not gotten a replacement. That is aproblem and it turns out to be acommon violation.

Of the anglers she checked on thismorning, both violations involvedpeople having purchased licenses, but

Solitary WomanWardens police outdoors with little help

Continued on page 26

Conservation warden JenniferNiemeyer checks Kenosha fishermen for licenses.(Photo by Terry Bitz)

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 25

No nation suffered more during thecourse of World War II or

contributed more to the victory overNazi Germany than the Soviet Union.While the exact number will never beknown, conservative estimates are thatmore than 20 million Soviet soldiersand citizens perished. By way ofcomparison, the United States lostapproximately 600,000 soldiers in alltheaters of the war.

By the time the western allieslanded at Normandy in June of 1944,the Soviet Union had already turnedthe tide of the war. The Osterfront hadbecome a mass grave - 80 % of allGerman casualties occurred fightingHitler’s war for “Lebensraum (LivingSpace)” in the east. Well before Britishand American bombers had a decisiveeffect on German industry, theWehrmacht had been bled white at thegates of Moscow, in the streets ofStalingrad, on the steppes of Kursk,and in countless other Osterfront(Eastern Front) battles.

Germany launched its attack onRussia in June of 1941with the FirstWorld War’s best rifle, the MauserModel 98. Slightly modified in 1935, itbecame the 98K, still a five-shot, boltaction repeater, firing 8 mm cartridgesand weighing over eight pounds. It wasa relic compared to the semi-automaticM1 Garand rifle fielded by the UnitedStates.

Poorly prepared and led, the resultof the officer corp purges of the 1930sand Stalin’s stupidity, Russian soldiersdied and surrendered by the millions inthe first year of the German invasion.In this environment, the 98K was goodenough. Soon, it would not be.Blinded by early conquests, Hitler andhis generals made numerous strategicand tactical errors, not the least ofwhich were the atrocities committedagainst Soviet citizens and soldiers,many of whom had originallywelcomed them as liberators fromStalin’s tyranny. As the Red Armywent on the offensive, the 98K wouldprove woefully inadequate in the faceof Russian hordes armed with subma-chine guns and ready to reap bloodyvengeance.

At the onset of the war, the RedArmy was so ill-prepared that itssoldiers sometimes went to battlewithout rifles and ammunition. If therewas to be another war, that wouldnever happen again. Soviet citizensand soldiers would be armed, andmany of them with the weapons of

their former foes. While the westernallies destroyed captured Germanarms, the Russians collected and refur-bished them in preparation for the nextwar.

This month’s feature is one suchweapon, a rebuilt Model 98K manufac-tured by Mauser in 1944 and capturedor surrendered somewhere on theEastern Front. From there, it, andperhaps millions of others, werereturned to Mother Russia where theywere disassembled, refinished, rebuiltand stored. Some were later used toarm communist insurgents in Korea,Vietnam and China. Others were putaway in armories throughout theformer Soviet Union where they wouldlanguish for decades, covered in greaseand shellac, later to be sold to collectorsof the capitalist west.

So-called “serious” collectors arenot much interested in RussianCaptured 98s (RC 98s). There is virtu-ally nothing “original” about them,except their battle scars, and seriouscollectors crave originality. An unfired,matching numbers, 98K brought backby a U.S. veteran in a duffle bag at theend of hostilities is worth far more thana conglomeration of unmatched, re-blued parts with an Eastern Frontprovenance.

Obviously, Russian armorersweren’t considering the needs ofadvanced American gun collectorswhen they thoughtlessly and totallydisassembled captured 98s, threw theparts into bins without any pretense ofsorting rare versions from the common-as-dirt kind and - horrors!! - obliteratedevery swastika proof mark they couldfind.

Having suffered under theswastika, those toiling away in Sovietarmories after the war weren’t muchinterested in preserving any remnantsof the Nazi occupation. Rather, theydefaced them with punches as part of

the rebuilding process. Quite a numberof RC 98s, however, do have theirswastikas intact, and these command apremium. A rifle with its receiverstamped with a deaths head or singlerune “S” denotes that it had beenrepaired by its Nazi owners in an SSarmory, quite possibly one located in aconcentration camp.

With the exception of those on thestock, this month’s featured versionhad intact swastikas buried under athick coat of authentic Cold War-era,Eastern Bloc goop. Copious amountsof denatured alcohol applied to woodand metal revealed them, a very nicelaminated wood stock, and a mid-glossblue finish on the metal.

Closer examination displayed lightpitting on the exterior of the bolt andabove the wood line of barrel. Pittingwasn’t so light under the woodline,rather it was moderate to severe,although not enough to affect theintegrity of the steel or the safety of theshooter. It was enough to be disap-pointing, just like the bore, which,while it had very strong lands andgrooves and did shine some, waspitted. One should probably expectthat of a rifle that was fired in battle,under horrific conditions, who knowshow many times, with corrosive

ammunition. Although far from pristine, this

rifle is probably in better shape thanmost ordered from the majorimporters. In fact, it was hand-picked.Expecting an RC 98 with glisteningmetal, mirror-like bores, and fine woodstocks from a luck-of-the draw mailorder (or anywhere else) would be amistake.

What can be assured is a historicalrelic that will work and may look goodafter the nasty red shellac is removed.Be warned, however, that whilehideous in appearance, many collectorsconsider the shellac to be part of thegun’s history. That being the case, theybelieve that it should be preserved. Isay hooey. The shellac was put on as atemporary wood preservative for thesame reason cosmoline was put on itsmetal parts. Any amount of use willcause the shellac to flake off, so what’sthe point of making an effort topreserve it?

Even the rare find with an excel-lent bore, however, may not producetack-driving accuracy. Barreledreceivers were rarely returned to theiroriginal stocks by Soviet armorersresulting in sloppy wood-to-metal fitnot conducive to bulls eyes.

Rarely costing more than $300, RC98s are an inexpensive way to start aninteresting gun collection. The numberof variations are immense and priceshave nearly doubled in the past severalyears. There are few better bets on thesurplus market and only one othersoaked with as much history - the 98'sSoviet counterpart, the Russian 91/30.

In fact, every gun collector shouldown both and can for less than $400.OWO

S. Wilkerson is an award-winningWisconsin journalist, firearms expert andstudent of the second amendment.

S.WILKERSON

SURPLUS FIREARMSVeteran of the Osterfront

Russian captured Model 98Ks are among the hottest rifles on today’s surplus scene. Prices have escalated in the past several yearsand rumor has it that there may be no more to be imported. (Photos by Dick Ellis)

Intake Swastika proof marks increase thevalue of Russian captured 98Ks.

26 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

During a recent visit to the vet forsome puppy shots, the vet said

Cocoa, our new yellow Lab, waslooking great, but warned me, “Let’ssee that she doesn’t weigh more than 25pounds at the next visit.”

It seems the American penchantfor obesity also extends to our pets, andthis can be particularly troublesome foryoung dogs, especially large breeds.Puppies that grow too quickly have amuch greater chance of developing hiptrouble than do dogs that are kept attheir proper weight. This is commonknowledge among reputable breedersand trainers, but the average dogowner seems to love a chubby puppy.Couple that with the average puppy’sdesire to dive into a food bowl as if thefood offered is the first seen in days, it’seasy to see why many people overfeedyoung dogs.

But, of course, there are differencesof opinion. And one came up when Itook Cocoa to her very next appoint-ment. She weighed in at 22.6 poundsand the vet promptly told me, “Shelooks a little thin.”

I reminded my vet that she hadtold me just three weeks earlier to keepCocoa under 25 pounds by the nextcheck-up. Adding that I had been care-fully following the feeding directionsstated on the Purina Puppy Chow (forlarge breeds) bag, I countered thatCocoa appears to be doing very well inall aspects of her puppyhood, with thepossible exception that she can’s sit stillwhen anyone under 10 years of agewanders too near.

Still, the vet told me to increaseCocoa’s feed a bit and said, “It’s prettyhard to overfeed a puppy.”

Knowing I was about to increasethe pup’s feed anyway, I opted not tostart an argument and just agreed tokeep Cocoa on the appropriate feedingschedule.

In this case, I disagree with the vet.You can overfeed a puppy. And indoing so you are not only endangeringthe puppy’s health now, you are estab-lishing a pattern that will likely lead toan obese adult dog. With dogs, as with

people, extra weight does nothing goodfor the body. Joints deteriorate faster,other medical problems appear earlierin life and, as a rule, life expectancy isshortened.

The solution to all of these prob-lems is education and followingthrough with a proper feedingprogram. I’ll state clearly that I am notin the employ of the Purina Company,nor do I receive any discounts or

special privileges by mentioning them.But I have found the Purina website(www.purina.com) to be anoutstanding resource for informationconcerning all aspects of dog care.True, this is a promotional website witha vested interest in getting people touse Purina products, but beyond that itis helpful, insightful and easy to use.

Here is my favorite entry on thePurina website concerning feedingpuppies: The amount of food offered toa puppy will vary depending upon itssize, activity, metabolism, and environ-ment. For the best results, develop aregular feeding schedule, such as threesmall meals a day for younger pups.You can gradually reduce to onefeeding in the morning and one in theevening as your puppy ages. An over-weight puppy not only presents a poorappearance, but the excess weight cancause bone abnormalities. Anytimeowners have questions or concernsabout their animal's body condition,they should consult their own veteri-narian.

Proper feeding instructions areincluded on each bag of Puppy Chowand should be followed unless yourveterinarian gives you other instruc-tions. If you do that, you will insurethat you are properly feeding your newbest friend. OWO

Kevin Michalowski is author of “15Minutes to a Great Dog” and “15 Minutesto a Great Puppy” (Krause Publications,$12.95 each) and has been training dogsfor 10 years. If you have questions orcomments on dog care, email him ataskdogtalk@hotmail.com.

KEVIN MICHALOWSKI

DOG TALKFood for thought

Much like people who watch what they eat, properly feeding your new best friendwill allow him to lead a healthier life, and very likely keep him around longer.

“An overweight puppy not only presents a poor appearance, but the excess weight can cause

bone abnormalities ...”

not having that license on them.“We see more people are not

carrying their licenses,” she said.Niemeyer noted that people who

lose or forget their license often ask ifthe warden can look up the license inthe system. The warden can, but theviolation is the same whether theangler never purchased a license orforgot it at home.

Over the years, Niemeyer hasgotten to know many of the localoutdoors people, even those who haveoccasionally violated the regulations.

“Some of these guys I have beenchasing for years. It’s a cat and mousegame,” she said.

I asked her if she’s ever been insituations she would considerdangerous.

“Absolutely. The same people thepolice encounter, we encounter too,”she said. “You can never becomecomplacent. The nice guy could hurtyou.”

She has been in a couple of fightswhile on the job and occasionallypeople get into arguments with her ortry to run away. Niemeyer depends onlocal law enforcement to back her upsince there are only a handful ofwardens in the region. She says she hasdeveloped a close working relationshipwith the sheriff’s department, since

much of her work occurs out in thecounty.

“I should write a book someday.Some of these people come up withcrazy ideas,” she said.

She and another warden, forexample, came upon a person who wasusing his fishing license as bait on thePike River. When she asked him for hislicense, he reeled in his fishing line andshowed them his pink-colored licensehanging on the hook.

Besides doing her work, shespends time talking to various groupsabout outdoor issues and safety. Shealso spends a lot of time doing follow-up and paperwork for her job.

“The more we are outside, themore paperwork we have to do,” shesaid. “I don’t have my own secretary.”

“So besides being outdoors, whatis another benefit of the job?” I asked.

“We get a lot of cool toys,”Niemeyer said, laughing. Words froma lone Kenosha warden...playing avery important game. OWO

Terry Bitz is a freelance writer who residesin Pleasant Prairie, WI. He can becontacted at tbitz@wi.rr.com. His websiteis www.outdoorconvergence.com.

BITZ, from page 24

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 27

Two hours into a “last chance”spring turkey hunt, the gobbler

answered the hen call deep fromwithin a wooded hollow in the rollingfarm country of Grant County. Maybe,with a lot of patience and a little luckthis Tom,already asurvivor ofthe first fiveofWisconsin’ssix splitseasonswould nowbe withoutthecompanion-ship of hensand vulner-able. Thenagain, with declining success ratescorrelating with each split season asthe heavily-hunted birds becomestreetwise to hunter calling anddecoys, maybe not.

In the wee hours, I had taken thelong ride from Waukesha County toWisconsin’s southwest and zone 11 indriving rain for a final crack at success.Fresh in my mind was the Aprilencounter with a gobbler that hadfallen for the enticements of my mouthcalls to flirt with a decoy at 30 yards. Ihad missed the perfect shot.

By luck of the draw I had pulled asecond permit and a second opportu-nity to fill a tag. Thunderstorms gaveway to a billion stars just 20 miles eastof Fennimore. The agony of a blownopportunity was about to give way tothe ecstasy of the most memorablehunt of a lifetime, more challengingand rewarding than any hunt of anykind in an outdoor reporter’s life in thefield.

Sitting, moving and calling fromthe field edges with the diaphragm callfrom first light into the first two hoursof a new day brought no responsefrom any gobblers. From deep in thehollow as I beckoned from a long thinwooded finger connecting woodlotsand surrounded by rolling fields ofgreens and browns, Tom finallyanswered.

Our conversation would continuevirtually non-stop throughout the day.When we did occasionally cease ourbanter, it was only as we jockeyed forposition. My 47-year-old body wasbecoming ripped up in thorns, wet andmuddy as I was again able to use theexcuse of hunting to play in the dirt

like a little boy. Would he ultimatelygobble 200 times? 300? I do not know,but his verbal enthusiasm was withoutrival.

At times, I would angrily screamwithout interruption for 30 seconds for

him tocome tome, as hesimultane-ouslygobblednon-stopfor me tocome tohim. Theconversa-tion wasso intensethat Iguessed it

would draw in another bachelor Tom. Soon, it did. A big gobbler moved

in full strut silently across a plowedfield to me. Given the opportunity Iwould tag either bird. When theintruder first gobbled at 60 yards, I hadhigh hopes of my “hollow” gobblershowing himself to the competition.

Instead he moved quickly towardthe field, his dominant gobbling inten-sifying. The intruder tucked and liter-ally ran. My boisterous Tom retreatedagain to his lair, leaving us in our stale-mate and me to wonder if I washunting a special bird.

When the noon whistle ofFennimore sounded, I had hunted oneTom for five hours. I had not yet seenhim. An hour later and one-half milefrom his introductory gobble, my eyesfinally were fixed on a still white spotat 150 yards in a tall grass field. “That’shim,” I thought, and watched the headshake and turn red as he gobbled inanswer to my now familiar sweet talk.He assumed the full strut position, butremained “hung-up” and in no hurryto jeopardize his own safety foranother feather in the harem hat.

Still stalemated, he exited the fielddemanding that this “hen” follow. Icountered by moving 200 yards justinside the woodline bordering the fieldto take a stand where I had watchedhim strut. I would not call. If I “knew”Tom at all from this chess game, hewould panic in the silence and returnto the field and my new ambush.

I settled in against a tree, relievedagain at completing a move withoutdetection. This new, low visibility lairwas no different than the haunt of a bigbuck that has learned to survive. If

Tom did return, I would have justeight yards in the rolling field to locateand kill him. Behind me, the forestwhere he had disappeared was a thickmass of thorns and undergrowth. Irested my gun toward the field andsilently waited.

At 15 minutes, a bit panickedmyself, I risked a whispered “hello.” Ihad guessed wrong. The gobble wasshattering from the vegetation behindme, less than 40 yards. I spun aroundthe tree on elbow and shoulder, cameagain to the shooter’s position andwaited. A tense 10 minutes later, Imanipulated the mouth call to extend anear non-audible greeting. His returnsolo told me he was in my lap. Still, Icould not find Tom.

The minutes passed. Tom’sbobbing red head appeared through awall of thorns. When the shotgunbarrel slowly found that place, the birdhad disappeared to another. When thebright red target reappeared in thejungle, it required a seemingly time-eternal swing of four feet to place thebead of the barrel where it had to befor a quick kill. At just 10 yards, a full

choke load of number 5 shot foundonly head and neck.

I was physically exhausted andeven mentally tired. Like each of myrare duels with trophy animals, truesatisfaction mingled with a bit ofremorse as I fastened a tag. For the firsttime in years a worthy Tom would notbe on a roost as the sun slipped in thewest. It had been at eight hours fromfirst gobble; the longest hunt. I had amile walk out under a burning sunwith a very large bird on my back.

On the butcher’s scale at Bender’sFoods in Fennimore, Manger GillPierick would weigh the Wisconsingobbler at 26 pounds. The beard wouldstretch the tape to 11 inches. Manyspecial hunts in a lifetime are antici-pated; the hunter works to know ananimal’s terrain and habits and thenworks to tag him. As many, I think, arestumbled into, unexpected, and onlywear the label of “special” when thehunter looks back, and remembers.

Planned or accidental, patience isthe hunter’s most valuable possession.I will remember a Fennimore Tom, andthe longest hunt, forever. OWO

DICK ELLIS

ON WISCONSIN OUTDOORSThe wariest gobbler

Dick Ellis hunted one very verbal gobbler for eight hours over hill and valley in seasonsix in late May before tagging the big Tom at 10 yards in extremely thick cover. Thebird weighed 26 pounds and carried an 11-inch beard.

"The agony of a blown opportunitywas about to give way to the

ecstacy of the most memorable hunt of a lifetime."

28 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

By Bill Thornley

From a distance, a fox is a fox. AndI’m sure that if a fox could reason,

he would have trouble telling onehuman from another as well. But upclose, the story changes.

We tend to think of animals as aspecies, a basic group whose numbersare all alike in every way. But themore I am around animals, the more Iam convinced this is not the case atall.

As with humans, there are smalldifferences in every animal. A shortersnout here, a small mark there. Notmuch, but just enough to identifyeach animal, regardless of species, asa unique individual.

This brings up the matter ofpersonalities. Anyone who has a petcan tell you that animals each havedifferent personalities. In a litter ofpuppies, for example, you’re likely tohave one dominant animal, onecoward, one runt, and so on. Whilethey might look much the same, oneof those puppies is likely to nip yourhand, while another will lick it. Stillanother might whimper and shyaway at the thought of being petted,while his brother might love thefeeling of a human hand.

This is one reason I cringe whenthe “experts” say something alongthe lines of “Black bears hardly evercharge,” or other such blanket state-ments. How would you like to meetup with the one nasty one that will? Ifanimals do indeed have personalities,there is bound to be one grouch in thepopulation.

I recently met up with an animalgrouch. Or maybe he wasn’t so mucha grouch as he was just full of fire …

I could tell he was a little white-tail buck the minute he stepped out ofthe woods. The tiny buttons on hishead gave him away, but he alsocarried himself differently from thedoes and other fawns that werestarting to come out to feed.Weighing all of about 80 pounds, thelittle guy still had a feel of confidenceabout him.

I watched the deer from my backwindow. They come out occasionallyto search for tidbits in the old garden.That night there were about five doesand the little buck, by far the smallestin the group. I figured he was prob-ably a fawn of the year, but watchingthe little tough guy prance around Iwondered what his father must havebeen like. It seemed to me that Juniormight have had some pretty impres-

sivegenes inhim.

Hisbody wassmall, butalreadymuscular.Helookedlike thelittle kidon theplay-groundwho youjust knowis goingto turnout to bethe starathletesomeday.

Thelittlegroup ofdeermunchedcalmly onold

tomato plants, standing corn andbean sprouts as the afternoon sunneared the southwestern horizon. Justbefore dark the does seemed to getnervous, their heads popping up tolook into the woods. A few momentslater another buck, a fork horn,stepped into the garden.

He was by no means huge, buthe probably outweighed Junior by agood 30 pounds. His rack was small,but he was a mature animal.

Junior continued to munch away.The fork horn started to chase the

does out of the garden, shaking hishead and kicking with sharp hooves.It was cold that night, and he appar-ently didn’t feel like sharing his salad.Then he turned to Junior.

The little guy lowered his headas if to spar. I thought this wasstrange, since he had nothing butbuttons for antlers. The fork horn alsolowered his head. The two begangentle shoving, much like bucks do inearly fall.

Surprisingly, Junior held is ownagainst the bigger deer.

This continued for about aminute, but as the shoving went on itbecame apparent that the larger buckwas losing patience with the youngupstart. He started to swing his head

and lash out with his hooves. Iexpected Junior to run for his life. Buthe didn’t.

To my astonishment, the fightingsoon turned nasty. The fork horncornered Junior against an old fenceand kicked him so hard that whitebelly hair flew into the air.

Perhaps thinking the fight wasover, the bigger buck turned away. Icouldn’t believe my eyes as Juniorlowered his head and rammed thefork horn in the rump. By this time Iwas ready to grab some popcorn andstart cheering.

The fork horn turned quickly andhooked Junior, lifting him right offhis feet. The button buck did acomplete flip and landed on his side.The fork horn turned aside, and onceagain the button buck hit him in therump. What a little fighter!

The does had come back by thistime, and were running around likekids watching a fight in the schoolyard. Junior walked away from thebigger buck and I thought the conflictwas ended. But spinning around,Junior headed back toward the forkhorn, nailing him squarely in the sideand sending him crashing into thefence so hard that snow flew in alldirections. The way he lowered hishead on his stout little body, Juniorlooked more like a goat than a deer.

The fork horn stumbled,regaining his footing, and headed forthe hills. It was great! Junior hadstood his ground and overcome amuch bigger foe. And the foe evenhad the advantage of having antlers.It was one of the strangest encountersI’ve ever seen. Whitetail deer neverfail to amaze and fascinate me.

Junior had all the makings of adominant buck, even at this tenderage. If ever there was a cocky, confi-dent animal, he’s the one.

I don’t think he fought the forkhorn to defend the does. I think hejust didn’t like being pushed around.This is not to say he would havetaken on a 10-pointer. No, he prob-ably would have had the good senseto run like mad.

But someday he might get hischance. He isn’t king of the woodsyet, but that night the little buck withthe big heart was certainly an animalto admire.OWO

Bill Thornley is an outdoor writer fromSpooner.

The Bigger They AreLittle buck fought from the heart

It's not always the biggest rack in the forest that shows the most heart. The author enjoyed a rare show of defiance near Spooner from a nubbin buck with true grit. (Photo by Dick Ellis)

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 29

Spring turkey hunting inMississippi usually provides allthe excitement a hunter canhandle.Throw in a bonus hoghunt, and the combination wassweet and sour.

“Tom, I love hunting turkeys, butif I’m flying south this spring, I want togo after some wild hogs too!”

I was talking to my Mississippifriend Tom Wiley, brand manager andinventor of Flextone Game Calls,owned by Wildgame Innovations.Wiley had just invited me to chase somespring gobblers with him.

“Well, I’m happy to hear that,”Tom answered. “I love hunting hogsand the meat is delicious. Besides, theturkeys aren’t cooperating for me muchthis year. They will be tough.”

When I arrived, Tom told me hehad some new Barnes crossbows weneeded to try out. We couldn’t use themfor turkeys, but since we had somedepredation permits for a locallandowner, we could use the crossbowsto take down some hogs.

I was excited. The plan was set:shotgun for turkeys in the morningsand crossbow for hogs in theevenings—a perfect combination.

Noxubee County, Mississippi has areputation for lots of hogs, especiallyalong the hardwood bottomlandaround Yellow Creek. Tom easily linedup a hunt for wild Russian boars on a2,000-acre ranch that was managed forwhitetails and wild turkeys. The ranchowner was eager for us to kill theporker pests. The hogs were ripping updeer bedding areas and food sources,which was booting off some of hiswhitetail population.

Landowners who have the goal ofgreatly reducing their wild hog popula-tion prefer that you hunt them overfeeders and you shoot as many aspossible. So in the days prior to thehunt, Tom had set up some ladderstands and loaded some feeders withcorn that was enhanced with WildgameInnovations’ Intensi-Fire, a feeder addi-tive attractant to jump-start the use ofthe feeders. The feeders were set to gooff every 30 minutes from 5:30 untildark. Additionally, Tom piled upWildgame Innovation’s “Hog Heaven”granular scent attractant and pouredsweet-and-soured corn-flavored “PigLickor,” which is a liquid attractant, on

the ground around the feeders.I liked the idea of getting into a

treestand during the green months ofspring. A 20-foot-high seat wouldcommand a great springtime view. But,Hogs have great snouts and can easilysmell danger. It’s definitely not a surething that hogs show up every day, orwill let their guard down long enoughto present a good shot.

We only had two days to hunt, andwe hit it hard. The fist day proved thatthe turkey hunting was indeed difficult.We hit the woods from sun-up until1:00 p.m. both days, but saw and heardvery little action.

The first afternoon hog huntingwas also uneventful for me. I just staredat a spouting feeder. However whilewalking to his treestand, Tom did see agiant 350-pounder. The boar was so bigthat Tom had to do a few double-takes

to convince himself the black blob infront of him was a wild pig. But Tomnever had a shot at the beast. The pignever turned broadside, and Tomdidn’t want to take a risky shot with acrossbow while standing on the groundless than 20 yards away. Skeweredporkers can get ornery. But soon themonster winded him and bolted downthe gully.

On the second afternoon, Tomgave me the spot where he saw theheavy-duty pig. With just an hour left ofshooting light, a decent hog appearedfrom the thick pine trees. This pigimmediately sank its snout into a pile ofcorn soaked in Pig Lickor. But it wasnervously looking back in the woods,like it was stealing his big brother’sdinner and didn’t want to get caught.My hopes were that the giant boar fromthe day before would come out to kick

this one’s butt and start eating up thesmorgasbord lying on the ground. Thenmaybe I’d get a shot and the whoopper.

But that perfect scenario neverbecame reality. Instead, the good-sized130-pounder just kept crunching away.With just 10 minutes until quitting time,the hog turned and presented a shot. Ireleased the bolt from the BarnettRevolution and it jolted the four-leggedRussian porker.

With little light to navigate, deepswamps, and thick pines, I was a bitnervous about the task of trackingblood. Hogs are tough and can run off aways before they collapse. It didn’t helpwhen Tom looked at the blood trailleading into the swamp, and hissed,“Do you have snake boots on? It’s thethick sh… shtuff in there!”

I clenched my teeth and smiled.Yes indeed, I did have my knee-highsnake boots on! I absolutely hate snakes.

We eventually found our prize andcelebrated. We ended the hunt withouta wild turkey, which left a sour taste inmy mouth. But when the freezer isfilled with plenty of pork sausage, life issweet. With the help of a good friend, Igot the taste of southern-fried hoghunting. And to top it off, it was myfirst crossbow kill. I hope that more ofboth will follow in my years ahead.

If you are a Wisconsin-born hunter,like me, and you’re after a southern-state hunting experience, Mississippi isyour ticket. The state has a bounty ofpublic and private land hunts with highpopulation of deer, wild turkey andwaterfowl. But while you’re at it, askthe guide, outfitter, or landowner abouta bonus hog hunt. Most landowners donot like hogs on their property, andpermission to hunt them is fairly easy tocome by. Hog hunting is definitely anexciting adventure, plus removingdestructive hogs helps in the never-ending task of wildlife managementand conservation.

Learn more about hunting Mississippiat www.visitmississippi.org.and check outproducts from Wildgame Innovations atwww.wildgameinnovations.com. OWO

JJ Reich is an outdoor writer who con -tributes product-related articles to severalnational magazines and websites. He isalso the author of Kampp Tales OutdoorAdventures hunting books for kids. Learnmore at: www.kampptales.com.

JJ Reich found tough turkey hunting in Mississippi but did find success hunting wildpigs that most landowners consider a nuisance. Permission to hunt is not a problem.

JJ REICH

REICH ONSweet and sour pork

“However while walking to his treestand, Tom did see a giant 350-pounder.

The boar was so big that Tom had to do a fewdouble-takes to convince himself the black blob in

front of him was a wild pig...”

30 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

DARRELL PENDERGRASS

OUT THEREOne man’s dream is another man’s ...Believe it or not my seven-year-old

son Jack has a paid subscription toOutdoor Life magazine, his name is onthe cover and everything. That beingsaid, it was no surprise when the recentApril edition showed up in themailbox.

However, it was a big surprise thatI got to read it before the boy gunked itup with candy-bar chocolate andsugary gum from looking at thepictures of big deer and massive bears.“How come you never get anythinglike that, Dad?” It was also a surprisethe magazine didn’t get mixed into thegazillion horse-equipment catalogs andbrochures my wife receives daily.

“I thought I cancelled thatsubscription,” Queenie said aboutJack’s magazine. “Hand it over.”

I tucked it under my arm and ranup the driveway and off toward thebarn, looking back over my shoulder.On Queenie’s command, her Bostonterrier Rosie chased after me, but Imanaged to escape without getting bit.

My wife will sic that dog on me fromtime to time when I get out of range.

I love Outdoor Life. In the barn,seeing the ‘Best Places To Live! Top 200Town for Hunters & Anglers’ headlineon the cover actually made me smile,and led me to wondering if there werereally places where men can still hide

from their girlfriends and wives; whereoutdoor dreams don’t simply die onlengthy lists of chores. I would like tolive in one of those places. Most every-thing about Outdoor Life makes mesmile though, from Patrick McManus

and his humor column to the ThisHappened To Me features of real lifeanimal attacks and woodland-mishaps.

From where I sat on a hay bale Icould see the bug-eyed Boston terrierlooking at me through the boards in thebarn. It gave a low growl. It keptcircling the door.

I did notice this issue has a dispro-portionate amount of ‘male enhance-ment’ snake oil advertisements and‘discreet home video’ bedroom lessonproposals—which makes me wonderwhat other things Jack is getting toknow about when he’s studyingraccoon trapping techniques. Outdoormagazines seem like a bad place toadvertise such gimmicks. Speaking formyself, if I’ve got a hundred dollars tospend it’s going to be on a new fishingreel, not to spice up things in theboudoir. Besides, I don’t need my engineto be revving for an entire 24-hour day.

In reading I noted the ‘Best Places’article. Quote: “Through ExhaustiveResearch OL Reveals America’s Top200 Towns For Hunters And FishermenTo Call Home.” Alright. Seems thewriters visited communities all over thecountry—from sea to shining sea—looking for the place with the perfectcombination of fishing and huntingopportunities; to public land proximity;to livable gun laws. Outdoor Life is progun—but not obscenely so.

I’ll get to what it is you’re allwondering. The No. 1 place to live foroutdoorsmen? Mountain Home,Arkansas. Which doesn’t matter to ushere in the Northland all that much. It’sa long ways away from here, and we’dprobably get sunburned if we visited.

But No. 58—well, No. 58 out of theentire United States, out of all of theplaces in the nation to wet a line orhang a deer stand—is Ashland,Wisconsin. Right here.

Queenie’s little dog starteddigging viciously at the door, pausingevery so often to snarl and drool. Thenthe dirt would begin flying again. A

cold shiver went down my back. I’vebeen bit by that beast before.

Outdoor Life editor-in-chief ToddSmith summed up what they werelooking for in his journal. “We wantedto find slower-paced places wherepeople put greater value on sunsetsand clear streams than on McMansionsand BMWs. A place where familiescome first, housing is reasonable, crimerates are low and folks don’t shoot youfunny looks if you walk into the localbank dressed in camo.

“To those lucky enough to beliving in one of the towns we selected,congratulations. We hope you’re livingthe dream.”

Two thoughts come to mind. I livevirtually in one of the top 58 places foran outdoorsman to live in all of theUnited States, selected over thousandsand thousands and thousands of otheroutdoor places, and I neither catchmany fish, nor shoot any deer.Obviously the magazine ranking is notbased on my success. But I can imaginehow lean my limited success would beif I lived in—say—the 150th greatestplace. Better stay here, where I’m at.

As for living the dream? Bustingfrom the barn and heading for thehouse, I middle-age sprinted across theyard with the magazine rolled insidemy jacket and a growling maniacBoston terrier at my heels.

Dream? I’m living a nightmare. OWO

“Out There: Twenty years of family,fishing, farming and a life afield,” a collec-tion of stories by Darrell Pendergrass, canbe purchased for $15 at The Daily Pressin Ashland, Chequamegon Books & Coffeein Washburn, Grand View Food Mart andRedbery Books in Cable. Or send $15 and$3 for shipping and handling to DarrellPendergrass, 52405 Otto Olson Road,Grand View, WI 54839.

“I’ll get to what it is you’re all wondering. The No. 1 place

to live for outdoorsmen? ...”

Share OWODo you know anyone else

that may enjoy reading OnWisconsin Outdoors? Next

time you’re picking up a copyfor yourself, grab a couple

extras for colleagues, familyand friends.

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On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 31

Dear Hunter Daily,Although the downward trend seems to be slowing according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service,the hunting and fishing sports are losing more and more participants. How then can we continueto stand in the face of attacks by anti-hunters, vegetarians, and Ted Turner?

—Larry McDermmot, Black Earth

Dear Conibear Smith,I don’t trap and in fact spend everySunday in front of the boob tube. But,do you think Bret Favre will stayretired?

—Mark Sankey, Waukesha

Dear Rex Rodsalotta,If it stays cold into the May inlandseason, where do we look for walleyes?

—Phil Rawson, Phillips

Dear Larry,We need to stand together in unity and cooperation as a single body of sportsmen andwomen and in particular with respect for each other and we will persevere against allchallenges. Look. I do it–despite working with a numbskull like Rex Rodsalotta just tothe south of me– sitting there in his pretty little mirrored sunglasses, perfect flyhatand trout vest. He probably doesn’t even fish and I know getting him to buy a cold oneafter a board meeting is like pulling teeth. Do you know he trims his mustache everyweek? He was the first one in seventh grade to get one of those fruity leisurely suits.Which reminds me... continued at www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com

Dear Phil,You want to look shallow forspawning fish through mid-May, onhard sand and rock. Also, it’s funto examine the walleye briefly forthe first signs of Spring...themilking males...the egg ladenfemales. You can usually findthese just below the spear marks.

–Rex

On Wisconsin Outdoors Board of Directors

Dear Mark,No way, the man just can’t do it.Few people know that I was Brett’sbackup during his first profes-sional season when that consecu-tive game streak started. A fewof us wore facemasks back then butnot Brett. In fact, we’re prettysure he went through the season of´26 in a coma after a vicious hit.You hear about this. Another hitbrought him back just beforeEisenhower was elected. Brettactually retired in ´36 too, butthat might have been just comababble. He’ll be back.

—Conibear

Hunter Daily

Conibear Smith Rex Rodsalotta

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UPCOMING EVENT AND INTERESTING NEWS

Send your organization’s news to: submit@onwisconsinoutdoors.com

We will do our best to post it in the On Wisconsin Outdoors

publication or on our website atwww.onwisconsinoutdoors.com

Columbus Sportsman's Association (CSA) www.columbussportsman.comYouth Trap League will be held starting May 12 for anyone 12 to 17 years of age. Contact Steve Steinbeck at 920-887-3936 for more information.May 3: 4th annual Introduction to Shooting Sports. Firearm & Archery Safety, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Muzzleloader and Archery Shooting. Contact Paul Mayerat 920-927-3445 for more information. (Rain date May 4)May 10: Annual Flea market where we sell anything from boats, guns, ATV's, trapping supplies, etc. It all depends on what the people have to sell. ContactLarry Schroeder at 608-576-8894 for informationMay 17: Memorial Shoot (used to be the Shilling Shoot) along with our 10 gun raffle. Tickets are still available for this raffle. The shoot will be Individual or 5 manteams (Lewis - 100 bird) with additional prize money beside the registration fees. Contact Dan or Colleen at 920-326-5833 for ticketsMay 17: Start of our 3D archery competition. Both Saturday and Sunday, continuing to the first part of September. Contact Dan Fehling at 920-927-5462.

The Chippewa Valley Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society www.ruffedgrousesociety.orgwill hold its 26th Annual Sportsmen’s Banquet on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at the Ramada Inn Convention Center, 205 S. Barstow Street, Eau Claire, WI,beginning with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m., live and silent auction, games, drawings and door prizes; highlighted with the finestselection of quality firearms, artwork and collectable’s. As with all RGS fundraisers, proceeds from this event will be used to restore and protect grouse andwoodcock habitat. For more information and/or tickets contact Betthauser at 715-858-6604.

Mathews, Incorporated Receives Manufacturer of the Year AwardMathews, Incorporated is one of 63 Wisconsin businesses nominated for the 20th annual Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Awards for outstanding achieve-ments in manufacturing. Mathews, Incorporated of Sparta was recognized as the 2007 Manufacturer of the Year in the Medium Company category. The Manufacturerof the Year Awards recognize Wisconsin companies that demonstrate a commitment to business excellence which has a positive impact on the company andthe state, making Wisconsin a better place to live, work and play. Mathews is the largest grossing archery manufacturer in the world. The company producesarchery equipment including premiere bows, traditional bows, bow accessories, bow strings and apparel. Mathews has put approximately 800,000 bows in thehands of archery enthusiasts, and as the official bow of the National Archery in the Schools Program, 2.3 million youth have shot a Mathews bow.

George Curtis named 2008 Conservation Communicator of the Year for “It’s Your Environment”George Curtis, producer of the "It's Your Environment" cable television program, was named 2008 Conservation Communicator of the Year by the WisconsinWildlife Federation April 12 during a ceremony at the Ramada Inn in Stevens Point. Oshkosh attorney Curtis has helped educate the public about a myriad ofconservation and environmental issues. His self-funded program generally features one or two knowledgeable guests discussing topics that often include habitatpreservation, hunting safety, water quality protection, and stewardship of our natural resources. Curtis started the program because he believed "there was acritical need for the public to learn more about the environment."

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 33

It was a long pull of the sledto the cabin. What was long

ago known in the northwoodsas the moon of broken snow-shoes was upon us. The snow,hard and crusted in places, laydeceptively deep in others.March thaws had not yetreleased winter’s grip from thedeep woods, though the sunreached higher day by day.

While most would havetraveled south on the last daysof winter, we chose an irre-sistible call to travel to a wilder-ness site four miles from thenearest plowed road. The trailwas quiet. Only the distantnotes of a raven and here andthere the tapping of a downywoodpecker. A ruffed grouse,rarely seen among maturemaple, hemlock and pineappeared next to the sled, thenflushed to the lowest branchesof an ancient hemlock, a defi-nite exception to his normalhabitat. The trail eventuallycrossed the faint prints of abobcat on hard snow. Wherethe river rushed betweenislands of ice, were the tracks ofa fisher. Later in the eveningwhen the twilight shadows hadgrown deep blue, the moon,nearly full, peered over theEastern horizon. The land layquietly illuminated till themorning sun returned.

We live in a world wherewild nature is experienced by avery small percentage ofpeople. Most would hardlyknow where they could findsuch places here in theMidwest. Why would normal,intelligent people head back intowinter, to a land of old growthtrees, to lakes without cabins andhomes surrounding them, and travelthrough deep woods where few othersare met? Judging by the few suchareas that exist today relative to ourpopulation they surely are understoodto have little value. College students,retired professionals, and everyone inbetween seem to dream of green golfcourses and beach hotels.

Many of the 19th century literaryfigures saw something quite differentin nature. Thoreau, Emerson andWhitman, the transcendentalists,thought wild nature had much to

offer, even when few had yet crossedthe Mississippi. Thoreau said “Inwilderness is the preservation of theworld.” He described the effect ofbeing in a setting free of artificialimprovements as being “subtle yetpowerful.” In the 20th century, JohnMuir, Aldo Leopold, and Sigurd Olsonto name a few that had Wisconsinroots, made their case for wild lands asan inexhaustible resource for spiritualrenewal, the study of ecologicalprocesses and a better understandingof what it means to be human. In the21st century, these voices seem distant

and removed. The meaning of wild-ness, as a vision of order and the workof powerful unseen forces of which weare a part, is fading away.

There are a few places yet wherethe quiet music of a clear water streamflowing out of an undeveloped water-shed can still be heard. Does anybodyreally believe, as the poet Gary Synderwrote, that “Nature is not just a placeto visit. It is our home.”

For those of you who wonder,watch the reaction of a child to butter-flies in a forgotten corner of a field.There are a few that won’t ask for a net

and run off. Their adventurestruly begin where the side-walks ends. Take a group ofhigh school students and showthem the difference betweenan undisturbed native sedgemeadow, an unalteredremnant prairie, a nearbyhabitat project, or a canarygrass meadow, and they willsee the qualitative differenceimmediately. There is no childI have ever met that did notdelight in running down a trailto explore a wild place, findthe next rapids or see whatbirds and flowers were overthe next rise. Unfortunately,most never have such a realexperience unless it is with animage on the Internet or televi-sion. For those who would liketo find out, find a place if youcan, away from the grinding ofhighways, the high-pitchwhines of snowmobiles andmotorboats. There are a fewleft, though rare in southernWisconsin.

To really know what isthere, you have to leave yourcell phone behind, forgetabout the pressures of workfor a while, and be able tolisten not just outwardly, butinwardly as well.

Get out there! Notice thevariety of grasses and shrubsthat grow there, the species oftrees. Are there bird sounds?What kind of tracks can youfind? What native plantcommunity is it? Take childrenalong if you can. Those whoseinborn powers of observationhave not been dulled by toomany electronic, attention-robbing devices can show you

the way. There is nothing in a trulywild place that is not worthy of study,nothing of which we are not a part andnothing that is not beautiful in its ownway. If awareness and wholeness areour goals, we will not be disappointed.OWO

Terrill Knaack has been painting Wisconsinlandscapes and wildlife for 30 years. He isalso a photographer and a perpetualobserver of Wisconsin's natural history. To learn more about his work, see www. terrillknaack.com.

“A Prairie Garden” by Terrill Knaack.

T E R R I L L A . K N A A C K

S A C R E D G R O U N DWinter Wilderness

34 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

Here’s the rundown on six huntingand fishing products that you may

find useful in the woods, fields andwaterways. We did.

QUAKER BOY A’ BANSHEE For $23, this versatile, water-

proof box call is crafted with a walnutbox and curved cherry lid. The new“rapid fire” rubber-band system createsfast yelps and cutts – just quickly tapthe lid with your hand.

The call’s lid is curved (the long

way). This means more surface area ofthe lid touches and vibrates the curvedsides of the box, creating a differentand unique sound. Also, the undersideof the lid has a special, waterprooftreatment that needs no chalk or othermaintenance.

quakerboygamecalls.com(800)544-1600

FOOD PLOTS FROM A TO ZFor $10, this DVD teaches you how

to grow productive food plots. TheDVD covers all related topics fromwhen and where to plant, how to take asoil test, overcoming common mistakesand more.

If you grow food plots inWisconsin, it’s a no-brainer to use prod-ucts developed and tested right here inthe Badger state. Antler King is head-quartered out of Black River Falls, andhas been manufacturing premium seed,minerals and related food plot productsover 20 years. This DVD is just anothergreat example of their high-qualitygoods.

antlerking.com(715) 284-9547

GOBBLER GUILLOTINEFor $39 a three-pack, these deadly

broadheads by ArrowdynamicSolutions are designed for accurate andhumane head and neck shots onturkeys. The broadheads sport long,stainless-steel, fixed blades with a lethalcutting width of up to 4" x 4" at 125grains or 2.5" x 2.5" at 100 grains.

Watch the Internet videos of thisproduct in action and you will be soldon its impressive design. But, if you seethe product in live action, like I did,you will be absolutely amazed. You'llalso have a wild turkey in your freezer.

arrowds.com(512) 515-6299

BUCKWINGHUNTING SEAT

For $27, this lightweight, durableseat has 6 to 12-inch adjustable legs soyou can correct your sitting position toany angle. The legs also fold flat foreasy transport and there’s a quickrelease snap on the carry strap so youcan set up fast.

Did I mention this seat hasadjustable legs? With a simple click andpull, you can stretch out each leg inde-pendently. This design helps you staycomfortable while setting up on thedownside or upside of any slope, onany terrain.

buckwing.com(800) 555-9908

FLIP-FLOP FILLET BOARDFor $20, this durable fish cleaning

board features a unique flip-flop designthat clamps the fish’s head or tail inplace. The 7-inch-by-24-inch, plasticcutting board is portable, yet could beattached to a cleaning table.

Yeah I know, this contraptionlooks goofy. The task at hand iscleaning fish, not brain surgery!However, it works slick. Just clamp thehead of a fish, fillet one side then flip itover to cut the other side. Plus, therounded grooves allow for easy cleanup of a usually slimy mess.

rockhillproducts.com(330) 753-9500

ECHIP ELECTRONIC EMITTERFor $15 a three-pack, EChips emit

a tiny electrical jolt to replicate the livepulse of a distressed baitfish. EChipscan be mounted on any hook, lure or

bait, and batteriesare not required.Here’s how itworks: fish see theflash, action andcolor of your lure,

andwhentheyswimcloseenough,they

feel a pulse. I think the extra enticementof the pulse makes fish bite more often.EChips helped me catch a limit ofsalmon on Lake Michigan last summer,so I plan to try them on walleye laterthis year.

protroll.com(925) 825-8560

JJ Reich is an outdoor writer who con -tributes product-related articles to severalnational magazines and websites. He isalso the author of Kampp Tales OutdoorAdventures hunting books for kids. Learnmore at: www.kampptales.com.

JJ REICH

PRODUCT 6-PACKGreat gear for the woods, fields and waterways

On Wisconsin Outdoors May/June 2008 35

36 May/June 2008 On Wisconsin Outdoors

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