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Patrick Durkin

Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s Roy Case launched bowhunting’s ‘shot almost heard round the world’

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

Bowhunting historian Bill McCrary says it’s accurate to call Racine’s Roy I. Case  (1888-1986) the father of Wisconsin bowhunting and co-founder of the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association.
“Roy Case left his fingerprints on every aspect of archery in Wisconsin during his era,” McCrary said.
But even those acknowledgments probably sell Case short. McCrary, 79, of Madison, says no other bowhunter can equal the impact Case had on archery and bowhunting in Wisconsin the past century.

Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s Roy Case launched bowhunting’s ‘shot almost heard round the world’ Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Smallies get more doubt than love on anglers’ menus

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

During summer fishing trips to Canada in the 1990s, my wife never assumed we would catch enough fish before noon to feed our three daughters shore-lunch on the nearest island. So, we never left the cabin without hotdogs in the cooler.
“Just in case,” Penny said.
Realize, too, that we aren’t snobby about which fish we eat. Although our girls fought over walleye cheeks, we never held out for “walters.” For shore lunch, we regularly pan-fried northern pike and smallmouth bass on the old two-burner Coleman stove.

Patrick Durkin: Smallies get more doubt than love on anglers’ menus Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Bluegills rival any fish in taste, fight

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

Few argue the bluegill would make a worthier state fish than the muskellunge, Wisconsin’s longtime holder of that title. Bluegills, after all, aren’t particular about where they live.
In ancient times, their likely range extended from the eastern half of the United States to southeastern Canada and northeastern Mexico. Their range expanded in recent centuries through intentional and unintentional transplants, spreading the species throughout the United States and northern Mexico.

Patrick Durkin: Bluegills rival any fish in taste, fight Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s drumming grouse numbers take big jump during latest spring survey

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, National Hunting, Opinion, Wisconsin /

Six years after Wisconsin policymakers panicked over declines in the ruffed grouse population, the state’s “thunder chickens” climbed atop their drumming logs in big numbers this spring.
The DNR reports that statewide drumming rose 57% from a year ago, increasing 60% in the north and 41% in central areas. Drumming fell 56% in the Driftless Region. This spring’s drumming data fell just short of four previous highs since the surveys began in 1993. Those highs occurred in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2011.

Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s drumming grouse numbers take big jump during latest spring survey Read More »

Patrick Durkin: 28 boating fatalities in 2023 sets Wisconsin record

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

Wisconsin set a tragic record in 2023 when 28 people died while enjoying the state’s lakes and rivers by fishing, hunting, paddling, jet-skiing, waterskiing or motorboating.
Most of those folks drowned. Only one died in a collision. The record toll marked the 12th year since 2005 that Wisconsin recorded 20 or more boating-related deaths. The previous one-year record was 25 fatalities in 2017 and 2021.

Patrick Durkin: 28 boating fatalities in 2023 sets Wisconsin record Read More »

Jefferson County judge’s navigable water ruling faces likely appeal from Wisconsin DNR

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

A Jefferson County judge’s recent ruling that forbids boaters, anglers and other water-borne recreationists from entering flooded private lands can’t be enforced outside the county and faces a likely appeal by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
That’s the opinion of former DNR Secretary George Meyer, who was a water-regulations attorney throughout his three decades with the agency, including his 1993 through 2002 stint as agency head. The DNR won’t comment on Circuit Judge Bennett J. Brantmeier’s June 24 ruling that restricts public access to navigable waters over private land, but Meyer said the agency is reviewing the case.

Jefferson County judge’s navigable water ruling faces likely appeal from Wisconsin DNR Read More »

Patrick Durkin: Registering nonmotorized recreational ‘assets’ makes sense in Wisconsin

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

Those of us with long memories perked up in April when voters at Wisconsin’s annual conservation hearings supported registering nonmotorized recreational “assets,” which often go adrift or are left stranded on weak ice.
Imagine that, making folks pay fees to register canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, nonmotorized boats, portable ice shanties and other equipment that help us hunt, fish, explore, soak up sunlight and breathe fresh air. Other states, like Minnesota, impose such fees to cover work by conservation wardens and law-enforcement officers to reunite owners with their possessions after severe storms or simple carelessness.

Patrick Durkin: Registering nonmotorized recreational ‘assets’ makes sense in Wisconsin Read More »

50,000 turkeys shot during Wisconsin’s spring season for first time since 2009

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

Wisconsin’s turkey hunters broke the 50,000 harvest mark for the first time in 15 years when the spring season ended May 28 with a registered kill of 50,435 jakes and gobblers.
By most accounts, few turkey enthusiasts would have expected that to happen. In fact, here’s what this reporter wrote two years ago in a post-season recap of the spring 2022 hunt: “Wisconsin’s largest flocks and best hunting are history, and that particular history won’t repeat itself. Wisconsin hit its turkey-hunting peak from 2007 to 2009 when the statewide harvest averaged 52,630 jakes and gobblers three straight springs. The spring harvest hasn’t cracked 50,000 since, and it’s doubtful we will again.”

50,000 turkeys shot during Wisconsin’s spring season for first time since 2009 Read More »

Tales of when predators attack…turkey decoys

Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, Wisconsin /

Nature’s surprises often turn routine hunts into lifetime memories.
Sometimes you smile, wondering why a mallard hen would expose her waddling brood to avian and terrestrial predators by marching them across a bare 300-yard field in mid-May. Other times, you can only shake and twitch, wondering how you got between a protective cow moose and her calf on a mountain trail before first light. Which brings us to my friend, Walt Larsen, a Minnesotan who hunts turkeys each spring in Iowa, Wisconsin and his home state.

Tales of when predators attack…turkey decoys Read More »

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