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Patrick Durkin

Patrick Durkin: Sonar expert Rick Krueger solved Wisconsin’s 45-year mystery of two missing men

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

My dad’s oldest brother, Donnie, worked at Kellogg’s cereals in Battle Creek, Mich.
Each summer, he pulled his boat and its twin 50-hp Mercury engines 320 miles to a cabin he and Aunt Jeanie rented for two weeks on Lake Monona in Madison, Wis. That was the early 1960s, when rental cabins bordered the beach at Esther Park. Our family didn’t own a boat until 1968, so Uncle Donnie’s vacations offered us rare treats to waterski and fish from a boat. He especially liked fishing a rock pile just north of the cabin.

Patrick Durkin: Sonar expert Rick Krueger solved Wisconsin’s 45-year mystery of two missing men Read More »

A quick chat with Mossy Oak’s Ronnie ‘Cuz’ Strickland

Home Page News, National Hunting, Quick Chats /

Ronnie “Cuz” Strickland will turn 72 this month, and he’s in no hurry for a younger person to take his job as Mossy Oak’s senior vice president after nearly 40 years with the company.
Besides, it’s not easy to replace a man who considers his career a long-running string of divine interventions. Strickland joined Mossy Oak as a salesman in January 1987, less than two years after Toxey Haas launched his company and created its legendary “Bottomland” camouflage pattern.

A quick chat with Mossy Oak’s Ronnie ‘Cuz’ Strickland Read More »

Snapshot Wisconsin helps track the state’s elusive river otters

Featured, Home Page News, Nature Page & Night Sky, Wisconsin /

You’ll always find more otter puns than actual otters if you go looking for either.
Just google “otter puns” and you’ll find lists of 37, 40 or even 200-plus otter puns, jokes and one-liners. Some of them aren’t bad. What’s another word for an otter’s life partner? Its “significant otter.” Speaking of which, researchers can’t agree on whether river otters mate for life.

Snapshot Wisconsin helps track the state’s elusive river otters Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Unsightly fish sores don’t always make fillets unfit to eat

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

Few conversations are more futile than trying to persuade someone to eat a fish that’s scarred by a virus, parasite, bacteria or other nasties.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recognizes that challenge, which is why it includes this explanation on its fish diseases web page: “Even though we are reporting on fish disease in Wisconsin, we encourage you to continue to enjoy your fishing experience. You can enjoy catching and eating your fish as long as you fully cook them before eating.”

Patrick Durkin: Unsightly fish sores don’t always make fillets unfit to eat Read More »

Patrick Durkin: What happened to this bluegill? A handful of theories exist

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

When my grandsons catch a bluegill 7 inches or longer, it seldom swims another day. Catch and release? Save your breath.
The boys haven’t yet read stories by the immortal humorist Patrick F. McManus, but their thinking aligns with his comment in “Kerplunk,” one of his 2007 stories: “I remember only one fellow who practiced catch-and-release. He was eventually nabbed, I think, and placed in an institution.” Therefore, I paused July 4 when my grandson Connor Switzer, 8, agreed without comment to release a 7-½-inch bluegill with an ugly scar and dime-sized hole in its back.

Patrick Durkin: What happened to this bluegill? A handful of theories exist Read More »

Wisconsin’s Northern Highlands research station has been for answers for 80 years

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

You likely missed it, but the Northern Highland Fishery Research Area in Vilas County celebrated its 80th anniversary June 20, making it one of the world’s longest-running fisheries research projects.
So, let’s blow our kazoos and pop champagne corks to show we support the Wisconsin DNR’s commitment to research and science-based policy-making. Sure, lawmakers often ignore it, but we’re better served when data-driven facts steer and sustain publicly-owned fisheries.

Wisconsin’s Northern Highlands research station has been for answers for 80 years Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Salmon strike twice during Sitka fishing trip

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

Cool, crisp air creeping across the boat’s stern near Sitka, Alaska, raised goose bumps on my forearms. I shivered and considered retrieving a hooded rain-jacket from the cabin. Instead, I rolled down my sleeves.
Sarah Farber, the charter boat’s captain, looked up from a fishing knot she was tying and explained the sudden chill without being asked.

Patrick Durkin: Salmon strike twice during Sitka fishing trip Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Alaska’s magnificence reminds us of our fragile insignificance

Featured, Home Page News, Nature Page & Night Sky, Wisconsin /

Everyone who visits, passes through or lives in Alaska likes quoting a statistic about Mt. Denali, North America’s tallest mountain.
The oft-quoted stat isn’t Denali’s height – 20,310 feet, or 6,770 yards – above sea level. No, the oft-repeated statistic folks love, but few verify, is that only 30% of visitors trying to see Denali actually do, given the persistent clouds often blocking their view.

Patrick Durkin: Alaska’s magnificence reminds us of our fragile insignificance Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Landscapes endure despite varied users, abusers

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, National Fishing, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion, Wisconsin /

While hunting turkeys on public lands not far from Eau Claire, Wis., in mid-May, I noticed a unique property boundary sign nailed to a red oak.
The old yellow sign read:
“WILDLIFE SAFETY ZONE” in bold, black letters on the top two lines. The details followed: “NO HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, OR MOTORIZED VEHICLES. HIKING, PHOTOGRAPHY AND NATURE STUDY PERMITTED.”

Patrick Durkin: Landscapes endure despite varied users, abusers Read More »

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