Many youths had opportunities last weekend in the state’s annual youth turkey hunt, and now we’re three days into the first of six seven-day regular spring hunt periods.
Last year, the spring hunt produced 50,435 registered birds, the fourth-most in state history. More than 5,000 of those were taken in area counties, including 1,243 in Oconto, 944 in Manitowoc, 850 in Marinette, 654 in Brown, 651 in Door, 596 in Kewaunee, 155 in Florence and 154 in Forest.
Whether from a comfortable chair in a ground blind or bundled up in camo seated on a comfy cushion, back against a large tree, the winter-weary wild turkey hunter has a front row seat when the woodlands come alive at dawn.
If you’ve never hunted turkeys before — or have never been successful at it — scouting is key to putting yourself in position. Next, be sure to pattern your shotgun to learn effective range for whatever load and choke will be used.
Once the hunt begins, the use of a decoy or two and a ground blind in an area known for turkey travel, feeding, strutting or roosting often pays off, especially if you or others aren’t particularly good at sitting still.
Talking turkey is a big part of the hunt. Diaphragm calls can be difficult for a beginner to master, but almost anyone can sound like a hen with a quality slate or box call. Whatever you choose, try to be in position well before legal shooting light in a known roost area for the ultimate experience.
That first gobble as the sky starts to brighten always brings goosebumps.
Bird tagged or not, just being out there to hear and see the woodlands come alive is worth the brutally-early start to your day.
Brown trout fishing on Lake Michigan and Green Bay has been very good this spring, when the winds allow. The top 25 fish in last weekend’s Door and Kewaunee tournament, headquartered at Baileys Harbor, were all between 12.56 and 18.28 pounds. Many smaller fish in the three to seven pound range have been caught, often in just 10 to 20 feet of water.
Meanwhile, walleye are wrapping up spawning duties in the Fox, Oconto, Peshtigo and Menominee rivers, as are suckers and steelhead there and in lakeside tributaries.
Smelt dipnetters and seiners have been out trying their luck. There have been some good catches by trawlers in deep water on Lake Michigan out of Two Rivers this spring, and smelters were hopeful some might wander into the shallows.
County Deer Advisory Councils (CDACs) will be meeting the next two weeks to vote on this fall’s antlerless quotas and season recommendations. A summary of the recent online public input will be available soon at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Hunt/cdac. Use the dropdown menu to find county-specific information.
The Kewaunee County meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday, April 21 in the meeting room at the highway department on County F near Footbridge.
Manitowoc’s is the same night, starting at 6 p.m. at Woodland Dunes Nature Center near Two Rivers.
Brown County hunters meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 in the Lake Michigan Room in the DNR office on Shawano Avenue in Green Bay, and Marinette’s is Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. at Crivitz Village Hall. Oconto County’s meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 28 at the Fox Ridge Game Farm near Oconto Falls.
The Great Wisconsin Birdathon began Tuesday and runs through June 15. It’s like a walk-a-thon, but instead of logging miles, participants log bird sightings in the state’s largest fundraiser for bird conservation. Bird enthusiasts raise support and awareness for conservation by forming a team or donating to a team.
Last year, more than 600 birders combined to raise $117,846, just shy of the 2023 record. An advisory committee selects projects to fund. Learn more at https://www.wisconservation.org/great-wisconsin-birdathon/.
Native plants help pollinators, birds and other wildlife survive and even thrive in Wisconsin. The number of native plant sales and nurseries specializing in selling native plants has been growing. Learn more and find out where you can buy at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/endangeredresources/nativeplants.
The 2025 Wisconsin DNR and Conservation Congress spring hearings offered online input through Wednesday at 6 p.m. Results, which are advisory only, will be posted in the coming week at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing.
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