Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026

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Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

Steve Heiting

Wisconsin Outdoor News launches series investigating deer herd issues in northern counties

Deer hunting and Wisconsin have long been interconnected.
For years, especially in the north, the closure of schools and businesses for the November gun deer hunting season was more fact than legend. Fans attending Green Bay Packers games at Lambeau Field in November traditionally wear their blaze orange hunting clothing to stay warm. Buffalo County in the southwestern part of the state is the top-producing county for trophy bucks than any other in the nation. Even the state’s professional basketball team is known as the “Bucks.”
While deer hunting in Wisconsin is rosy on the surface, there is trouble brewing in the northern tier of counties.

Wisconsin Outdoor News launches series investigating deer herd issues in northern counties Read More »

Muskies now the fish of 10 casts? Live sonar changes how anglers fish for these popular predators

The muskie is known in angling lore as the “fish of 10,000 casts.” Almost always tough to catch, a muskie is usually more willing to follow a lure to boatside than strike it, leaving those who fish for them frustrated yet tantalized, and wanting more. Anything – be it a new lure or technique – that lessens the downtime between catches is welcomed by muskie fishermen.
Enter forward-facing sonar (FFS), also known as “live sonar,” a relatively new technology that allows anglers to not only find fish in real time, but to watch their lure and how fish react to it.

Muskies now the fish of 10 casts? Live sonar changes how anglers fish for these popular predators Read More »

Buying live sonar? Here’s what to know about rigging it on your boat

Chances are good that you have heard of forward-facing (or “live”) sonar.
Perhaps you may have already bought the relatively new fish-finding technology. Maybe you’re trying to determine if it’s for you. Live sonar is a big consideration for many, and once you’ve decided to add it to your fishing boat, you’ll face another big question: how you want it rigged.

Buying live sonar? Here’s what to know about rigging it on your boat Read More »

Steve Heiting: A ‘no-frills’ turkey vest that has stood the test of time

The shotgun scope filled with gobblers. Four of them had charged from the woods to confront the jake decoy. Now they were swatting it with their wings. When one bird separated from the pack, the crosshairs settled on its neck. He collapsed in a feathered heap after I pulled the trigger.

Steve Heiting: A ‘no-frills’ turkey vest that has stood the test of time Read More »

Heading west to hunt mule deer? Following these steps can help fill tags

Few things are as much fun as an out-of-state hunting trip. Not only will there be a strong sense of adventure, but there will be months of increasing anticipation.
In many cases you will learn something new on your hunt that you may be able to apply back home or on future hunts. For many of us, this trip will be to the Great Plains of the western states to pursue mule deer.

Heading west to hunt mule deer? Following these steps can help fill tags Read More »

Learning from experience: Here are nine things not to do while deer hunting

Because I’ve made so many mistakes over 40 years of hunting deer, I like to think that I’ve become sort of an expert at avoiding them. At least until my next one.

Learning from experience: Here are nine things not to do while deer hunting Read More »

Three cures to help you catch muskies after summer cold fronts

Easing the boat into the narrow bay, I could sense our fishing success was about to change.
Through five hours of fishing under cloudless skies we had raised only a single, lazy muskie, but now the conditions finally felt right. We had chosen the bay because it faced eastward and was, thus, protected from the stiff northwest breeze that followed the passing of a cold front. All day the thick weeds that lined the back of the bay had been warmed by the sun, and cabbage tops protruded above the surface.

Three cures to help you catch muskies after summer cold fronts Read More »

Want a giant walleye? Try fishing for muskies

Just as I had done a thousand times that week, I swung the big crankbait around in a figure-eight alongside the boat. As the crankbait hesitated in a turn, a fish flashed out from beneath the boat and T-boned the lure.
I set the hook and grunted “Fish!” to let my partner know I was hooked up to what I thought was about a 40-inch muskie, judging by the width of its head. But I was stunned to see a white tip on the fish’s tail waving much farther back in the water than it should have been.
I’m a muskie fisherman first, and all the walleyes that hit muskie baits were incidental catches. But when something occurs multiple times when fishing, you’ve discovered a pattern, and big walleyes on big baits is a great one.

Want a giant walleye? Try fishing for muskies Read More »

Catching muskies from the ‘wrong’ side of the boat

The muskie’s “shadow” on the side imaging electronics was unmistakable – and it appeared in the opposite direction of where we were casting. At my suggestion that he throw a cast at the fish to see what would happen, my friend Charlie Buhler lobbed a soft plastic bait.
As he worked the lure, a muskie appeared behind it. Buhler swung the multi-tailed lure into a big figure-eight, and the water exploded as the muskie grabbed on. What Buhler did to catch that muskie is what some anglers call “wrong way” casting. Let me explain.

Catching muskies from the ‘wrong’ side of the boat Read More »

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