Ross Bielema

‘Recycled’ squirrel tails become fishing lures

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 08/20/2024 - 8:45am

Most of us have been recycling glass, plastic, cardboard, paper and other materials for decades.

An Antigo business that makes world-renowned fishing lures “recycles” squirrel and deer tails to dress their spinners.

Becoming 65, it’s clear Speedo days are over

Published by admin on Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:57pm

As you read this, I am less than a month away from the big 6-5.

Lord, I’m old.

As one approaches those senior moments and plentiful-but-pitiful discounts (see, the glass is half full), you are bound to contemplate those great milestones that are past and those that are coming.

“Your Speedo days are over,” a physical therapist recently commented.

Morel of the story can be quite delicious

Published by admin on Fri, 06/07/2024 - 11:43am

There’s a hunting season between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day that requires no hunting license and no weapon. There’s no bag limit, and you don’t have to gut the quarry.

The elusive morsels have some of the best camouflage on earth, and they can be impossible to find — until, like a white-tailed deer, they are suddenly just there.

Tungsten topples last-minute tom in miracle shot

Published by admin on Mon, 05/20/2024 - 10:32am

I’ve been called a pain in the butt by more than one person. Just ask my wife.

A real pain in the butt in the form of Piriformis Syndrome was threatening to ruin my precious spring turkey hunting.

Piriformis is essentially a mimic of sciatica pain, caused by muscle spasms in one buttock and radiating down the leg. Sitting and sleeping in certain positions was painful, but standing seemed to mostly relieve the worst of it.

Cats gone wild latest concern from DNR

Published by admin on Mon, 05/06/2024 - 10:30am

That friendly, fluffy pet cat found in 26% of all American households poses a real problem to songbirds, small mammals and other wildlife when that feline is allowed to roam, according to several wildlife agencies.

Wandering domestic cats are responsible for the extinction of several mammals, reptiles and at least 33 bird species globally, according to The Wildlife Society. One United States Department of Agriculture publication states that roaming cats may be the second-leading cause for bird extinction worldwide.

Sturgeon Guard back on duty at Wolf River

Published by admin on Mon, 04/22/2024 - 1:07pm

Like clockwork but depending on weather and water temperature, thousands of lake sturgeon migrate up the Lake Winnebago system to spawn and lay their eggs in the rocks of the Wolf, lower Fox and Peshtigo rivers.

Watching the thrashing, splashing fish — many 6 feet long or more — becomes a spectacle for thousands of fascinated visitors in April and early May at special viewing areas in Shawano, New London and Shiocton.

Does a ban on doe hunting help the herd?

Published by admin on Fri, 04/05/2024 - 12:45pm

Hunters frustrated at seeing fewer and fewer deer in the northern forest counties may have been thinking that a four-year ban on doe hunting there would bring about the massive hordes of whitetails seen there decades ago that our fathers and grandfathers still talk about.

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the bill March 29, along with several others related to the outdoors.

Tungsten shot loads make turkey hunting new again

Published by admin on Mon, 03/04/2024 - 10:37am

When it comes to bowhunting, I’m old-school. I carry a vintage recurve bow (usually a Bear) with no sights and a feather-fletched carbon arrow tipped with some sort of fixed-blade broadhead. I may have a stabilizer, but that’s it for tech.

When it comes to turkey hunting, I put the bow down and pick up a 3 1/2-inch chambered 12-gauge pump shotgun with some serious copper-coated loads, usually either No. 4 or No. 5 shot.

Does sturgeon spearing law need warm-weather clause?

Published by admin on Mon, 02/19/2024 - 10:33am

Long-time sturgeon spearers and residents living around Lake Winnebago have never seen a sturgeon season like this one and hope they never see another.

The worst ice conditions in modern spearing history didn’t stop a few from getting on world’s largest lake sturgeon fishery and bringing a few of these prehistoric fish to the snowless ice.

Conservation easement to bring recreation mecca

Published by admin on Mon, 02/05/2024 - 3:14pm

The largest conservation easement in Wisconsin history will bring a 67,000-acre timber and wetlands playground for the state’s ATV riders, hunters, anglers, trappers, hikers and other recreational users.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources finalized the conservation easement purchase of the Pelican Acre Forest on Jan. 26 from the Virginia-based Conservation Fund, the property’s current owner, said Jim Lemke, the DNR’s real estate section manager.