April 18, 2008
Hayward Area
Most lakes are now down to 16 to 18 inches of solid ice. Nearly all access areas have become unusable to any kind of vehicle traffic and some shorelines on the west and north sides of the lakes have begun to show some open-water areas. Anglers have had decent catches of perch, crappies and bluegills.
Madison Area
Most of the ice is gone from the Madison chain, and guys are just getting out in search of panfish in the shallows. There have been a lot of crappies in the Yahara River and up into Cherokee Marsh. In Jefferson County, anglers were catching some legal walleyes on the Rock River in Watertown. Dip-netters
Anglers making seasonal fishing transition in state
Grand Rapids, Minn. – Anglers continued to fish through the ice in many areas of northern Minnesota much of the week while enjoying warmer temperatures and summer-like breezes. Even though the shorelines are pulling away, solid sheets of ice remain intact from Hackensack and points north. In a few cases, the heat actually may allow
Banquet/Fundraiser
April 18: Southwest Wisconsin Longbeards NWTF Banquet, 5:30 p.m., Dodger Bowl. For more info call Jerry Ruetten, 608-588-7541. April 19: Neillsville Area WTU Banquet, 5:30 p.m., American Legion Hall. For more info call Jill Artac, 715-456-7395. April 19: Burnett County WTU Banquet, 5 p.m., American Legion Hall. For more info call Don Chell, 715-689-2233. April
Lawmakers consider funding council
St. Paul – The idea has yet to gain traction in the House, but a citizen-legislator council to advise lawmakers on spending for fish and wildlife habitat still is making headway in the Senate. The 10-citizen, six-legislator council would recommend to the Legislature how it should spend about $91 million per year of the constitutionally
No special deer season slated for the northwest
Bemidji, Minn. – Efforts of local landowners, federal sharpshooters, and contracted marksmen who shot deer from a helicopter have taken enough deer that the state officials have called off a possible four-day special deer season for northwestern Minnesota this spring. The deer-thinning effort is being conducted in a portion of Minnesota where bovine tuberculosis has
VHS concerns are demise of state’s ‘walleye wagons’
Madison – State conservation groups that have bolstered natural walleye spawning efforts each spring through their operation of lake-side “walleye wagons” will have to find a different way to make a conservation contribution this spring. Walleye wagons are out, thanks to VHS concerns, according to Steve Hewett, of the DNR Bureau of Fisheries Management. Hewett
N.Y hunting license sales decline again in 2007-08
Albany – Hunting license sales took another dip this past season in New York state, but didn’t show the double-digit decline DEC officials at one time feared. Instead, total hunting license sales in 2007-08 declined by less than 5 percent after a late run on licenses just prior to the regular Southern Zone firearms deer
