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Eric Morken

Eric Morken is a writer and web editor for Outdoor News who lives in west-central Minnesota with his wife and two daughters. Morken graduated with a journalism degree from Augustana College (now Augustana University) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2007. He has worked in the journalism field ever since, and his outdoor work has been in print and digital publications across the country. When not writing about the outdoors, Morken is an active participant in them. He can be found doing some casual fishing in the summer and chasing turkeys in the spring, but his passion is centered around bowhunting whitetails. It’s a year-round commitment of scouting and hunting different regions of Minnesota and surrounding states on public and shared-private lands every chance he gets. Contact Morken at emorken@outdoornews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricOutdoorNews or on Instagram @elmorken.

Gear to prioritize when building a whitetail Sitka system for each part of the season

Features, Gear & Gadgets, Home Page News, National Hunting /

Does a hunter need high-quality clothing to kill deer? It’s not a necessity for everyone, but it can certainly make hunting a more enjoyable experience, as well as keep a person in the woods longer and help one be physically and mentally ready. 
If hunting is your passion, then good clothing becomes well worth the cost over many hours spent in the woods. Here is what my clothing system currently includes for each part of the whitetail season, as well as the pieces I would prioritize if I was just getting started building a clothing system from Sitka. 

Gear to prioritize when building a whitetail Sitka system for each part of the season Read More »

Huge trap shooting championship kicks off in Alexandria, Minnesota

Featured, Home Page News, Minnesota, National News, News /

The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League’s 2024 Trap Shooting Championship is up and running at the Alexandria Shooting Park in west-central Minnesota.
The event, which runs June 10-18 this year and is dubbed the “world’s largest shooting event,” will host more than 8,000 student athletes from more than 350 schools in Minnesota. All league-registered student-athletes are invited to shoot at the championship where they compete against trap shooters from programs of their similar team size. They also shoot against others at their same experience level in novice, junior varsity and varsity divisions.

Huge trap shooting championship kicks off in Alexandria, Minnesota Read More »

A passion for bettering habitat makes Craig DeJong Minnesota Outdoor News’ Person of the Year

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, Nature Page & Night Sky, News /

In late April, at his home near Glenwood in west-central Minnesota, Craig DeJong was asked to reflect on the many wildlife habitat projects he’s helped come to fruition.
“Would you want to see one?” DeJong asks. “I’d like to show you one because a picture is worth a thousand words on that.”
An hour later, DeJong is standing along a shoreline overlooking a small wetland on a state wildlife management area that’s been completely revitalized during the past few years. A mix of birds sing on this cloudy afternoon, a bit of mist in the air. The honking of Canada geese overwhelms the songbird chorus. It’s a completely different scene from only a handful of years ago, before work was done on the property.

A passion for bettering habitat makes Craig DeJong Minnesota Outdoor News’ Person of the Year Read More »

Angler lands world-record paddlefish in Missouri during his first time ever snagging

Home Page News, National Fishing, National News /

The 2024 paddlefish snagging season in Missouri got off to a remarkable start when an angler harvested a new world record fish at the Lake of the Ozarks.
According to a press release from the Missouri Department of Conservation, Chad Williams of Olathe, Kansas, snagged a 164-pound, 13-ounce paddlefish on March 17. The fish shattered the previous state record in Missouri of 140 pounds, while also narrowly surpassing the previous world record of 164 pounds. Call it a bit of beginner’s luck for Williams.

Angler lands world-record paddlefish in Missouri during his first time ever snagging Read More »

Video: Finding areas that pinch down deer movement within marshes

Featured, Features, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Finding habitat diversity is key when it comes to scouting for whitetails.
Those areas where multiple habitat types meet offer edges that serve as great travel corridors. They also often provide deer resources such as food, water and security cover. Some of these areas can be easily seen on a map, while other properties require quite a bit of searching when it comes to pinpointing hunting setups.  

Video: Finding areas that pinch down deer movement within marshes Read More »

Wisconsin bowfisherman harvests extremely rare golden bowfin

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, National Fishing, National News, News, Wisconsin /

Wisconsin’s Tanner Peterson describes himself as an outdoorsman and fireman in the short bio on his Instagram account, and now he can add the distinction of being the only known person in the state to harvest a golden bowfin.
Peterson, 22, who hails from the town of Salem in far southeastern Wisconsin, was bowfishing with his older brother, Gunner, on the night of March 7 on a Racine County lake. At about 11 p.m., Tanner arrowed an incredibly rare 19-inch bowfin that was bright orange in color.
“That was actually our first night on the water this year, so it was a pretty crazy experience for the first night,” Tanner told Outdoor News.

Wisconsin bowfisherman harvests extremely rare golden bowfin Read More »

Hunting a whitetails’ security cover: Here are keys to consistent success

Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Growing up deer hunting during the shotgun season in southern Minnesota, I learned there was a general mindset about hunting deer-bedding areas: Just don’t do it. You’ll chase deer from a property.
Honestly, doing so never felt necessary. The heightened hunting pressure was enough to get deer moving along river bottoms and through small woodlots. Thus, that mindset was hard to abandon, even after jumping into bowhunting after college in 2007. It was during a mid-October hunt a few years later that I became frustrated enough to change.

Hunting a whitetails’ security cover: Here are keys to consistent success Read More »

Perfect broadhead flight means finding the correct arrow; here’s how to do it

Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Enter an online archery forum and request people’s opinions on the best hunting broadhead.
You’re going to get a long list of strong thoughts. You may even start a fight.
Are fixed blades or expandables the way to go? Single bevel or double bevel? How heavy? What may get overlooked in some of the ensuing chatter on broadhead performance is how important having the correct arrow is for each archer’s specific setup.

Perfect broadhead flight means finding the correct arrow; here’s how to do it Read More »

E-bikes enter the equation for more hunters and anglers

Featured, Features, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Momentum has built during the past decade within a passionate segment of the hunting community that believes in being as mobile as possible.
The mindset is to hunt lighter and go further in pursuit of popular game species such as elk, deer and turkeys. Tools like hunting saddles and carbon fiber climbing sticks have been a big part of that movement. More recently, e-bikes have gained in popularity, too.
“Right here in the area where I live, four years ago me and two other guys had e-bikes,” Carl Kossuth said. “Now, you don’t see hardly anybody going into these places to hunt without an e-bike.”

E-bikes enter the equation for more hunters and anglers Read More »

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