HUNT REPORT FEB13TH - MAR 12TH
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: RUGER1022
13-Feb-24
Put on about 5 miles scouting big timber spots . Strange walking on soft ground & no snow . Good news , my big buck is still alive , found his tracks leaving the big swamp & heading to the Oaks .
Called Coyotes using the mating & challenge call . 1 barked at me but didn't show . I'm sure it went downwind .
Lincoln County.
From: casekiska
14-Feb-24
Since last fall's hunting seasons I have only been to camp and out in the woods one time; and I haven't been able to shoot my bow beyond the 14 yard distance I can get on my basement range. That's typical for me. Sure am looking forward to Spring arriving and spending more time at camp, almost can't wait! I'm certain there are many on this forum who feel the way I do. Maybe we're weird, unusual or slightly off kilter compared to our neighbors or the guys at work. But so what, being able to venture afield and follow an arrow on its distant arc towards the target has gotten me through my years. I would have not had it any other way. We outdoorsmen, we bowhunters, we have something relatively few others have. For this, I am thankful.
From: Live2Hunt
14-Feb-24
Yes we do Case!!! I have an ice fishing trip for 4 days the end of the month then it will be finnish a couple deer mounts, a fish, then go up to the cabin and do wifes wants (new ceiling and new floor in bathroom). Then, my shop addition will be starting this spring sometime. I probably will not be in the woods til my turkey season the beginning of may. I will get out on my range and shoot my bows. Been shooting a low poundage wing gull to work on form.
From: RUGER1022
14-Feb-24
I was just in the backyard shooting a new bow .I can't remember the last time I could shoot outside in the middle of Feb . With no snow on the ground .
From: Hoot
14-Feb-24
The snow will be back here tonight in Vernon county (3-5"). I was just starting to think about doing some outdoor projects.
From: Drop Tine
14-Feb-24
Bucks are still holding. Sauk County.
From: wihunter86
14-Feb-24
Why do you call it “my buck”?
From: grape
14-Feb-24
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention this…..so the acorn crop this year was the best I have ever seen, BUT I also have never seen so many acorns STILL on the oak trees. If you’re spending time in the woods, check that out. Here in NE Wisconsin there are trees that are loaded. We are making maple syrup. My wife pointed it out about a week ago. Check it out.
From: RUGER1022
14-Feb-24
Grape , Acorns are everywhere in my hunting spots . Not enough deer .
From: RUGER1022
14-Feb-24
Grape , Acorns are everywhere in my hunting spits . Not enough deer .
From: grape
15-Feb-24
I can’t believe there are sooo many still hanging on the trees.
From: Bow Crazy
15-Feb-24
I was out the last two days cutting wood for our small maple syrup operation. Yes, plenty of acorns still on the ground in Monroe County too, deer finding them easy with no snow. The woods is tore up by the deer and turkeys looking for them. A neighbor found three sheds, I haven't started looking some of our bucks are still holding. A great start for the deer heading into 2024. BC
From: MjF
16-Feb-24
Six fresh inches of snow, sheds would be covered up, its 13 degrees out, I'm heading out for some rainbows again, was nice last week not using the hub but will have to today.
From: MjF
16-Feb-24
From: Hoot
16-Feb-24
Nice trout Mike!
From: Hoot
16-Feb-24
Nice brown trout Mike!
From: MjF
16-Feb-24
Hit the road by 7am, 13 degrees out in the morning, super cold day, fishing on 4 inches of ice. I have good gear but that wind was nasty so I walked back to the truck and got my hub& heater, was toasty warm after that and limited out by 2:30. Was another awesome day on hard water, hope it continues to make ice, heading out on Sunday for some sunnies and crappies, don’t know what to expect, first time being able to get on this lake. Spud bar will be in hand.
From: retro
16-Feb-24
Nice fish!
From: Live2Hunt
16-Feb-24
Envious Mike, I will be out the next few weeks with a 4 day trip in the mix. Come on cold nights!!!!!
From: MjF
16-Feb-24
I am usually fishing Lake Superior but don’t trust the ice in the Bay.
From: MjF
17-Feb-24
I’m heading to Spirit Lake Iowa tomorrow morning to fish Okaboji. Anyone ever fish it?
From: RUGER1022
17-Feb-24
Caught 3 Perch today , until the wind got brutal .supper tonite , Perch filets , baby reds from the garden smothered with a garlic butter sauce & home made Cole slaw .
From: Groundhunter
17-Feb-24
From: Groundhunter
17-Feb-24
This little guy a real trooper. He is learning safe gun handling, but not yet ready for the field. It will come. But he likes to train, and ran his dog for us today. Brutal wind, tough kid.
From: Gileguy
18-Feb-24
Spent a few hours scouting and stump shooting. Wolf tracks everywhere, not sure how the few deer we have left can make it till fall. May give up bowhunting in Wisconsin, just fish and grouse hunt here.
From: MjF
18-Feb-24
Some monsters in this lake
From: Hoot
18-Feb-24
Nothing better to eat than fresh gills other than fresh inside venison loins. Nice gills Mike.
From: MjF
18-Feb-24
From: Hoot
18-Feb-24
Nice catch of fish.
From: MjF
18-Feb-24
On our way back home, it was a great day fishing, at first I was releasing the big bluegills thinking I was doing the right thing until I realized that they all were huge in size and if I wanted to bring anything home I better stop releasing fish. It was a good day
From: Ridge Runner
18-Feb-24
Some good eating fish there Mike .And Mike ( Ghroundhunter) very nice pics of the young lad,, dog, and birds . Love to see youngsters getting involved the right way .Well done
From: MjF
18-Feb-24
Live2Hunt they aren’t that big In Okaboji but every body seems to like them.
From: Live2Hunt
18-Feb-24
Now you really got me envious.!!!! I've got tomorrow off and am hitting the ice. Love fishing big gills through the ice. BTW, not many lakes with white bass in!!
From: Zonks
19-Feb-24
Coaching the HS Ice Fishing Team at Germantown...
From: Gileguy
19-Feb-24
A couple nice northern this morning. Ice won't last long with the warm weather in our forcast
From: MjF
19-Feb-24
Nice
From: MjF
19-Feb-24
Let’s see how they taste. What oil do you fry your fish in?
From: Live2Hunt
20-Feb-24
Whatever the wife has at home or peanut oil if I am going to do a fry. I went yesterday. Caught fish but not exactly what I was looking for, could not break 9" gill. Kept a few 8-1/2" fish. What are you breading /battering with Mike, tasty looking. There was 11-12" of good ice on the lake I was on.
From: MjF
20-Feb-24
John my wife cannot eat anything with gluten in it so I use Idahoan potato flakes, I make hers first then I add whatever I like for myself.
From: sagittarius
20-Feb-24
From: MjF
20-Feb-24
Going through Iowa on Friday the open water in ponds were loaded with geese.
From: sagittarius
20-Feb-24
This is 50 light geese we got on Saturday, Feb. 17, near Essex, Iowa. Ended up with 100 birds for three days. With the odd, winter/spring, migration is very different this year.
From: MjF
23-Feb-24
Headed to Alma Wi right now, try for walleyes and perch
From: Live2Hunt
23-Feb-24
Good luck Mike. Never been down there to try that. Everyone I know is amazed that I don't go down there because of my fishing activities. I would like to, but the number of people playing bumper boats and fighting at the landings keeps me away.
From: MjF
23-Feb-24
So my friend and I get to Alma boat landing and start to check it out for shore fishing, this young gentleman walks up to us and says would you like to join me in my boat for fishing, I looked at my friend with a big smile, it’s a little slow but here we are fishing for perch and walleye on the river with a me friend.
From: Live2Hunt
23-Feb-24
Nice guy.
From: MjF
25-Feb-24
Heading down to Wabasha this morning, shore fishing the backwater sloughs for big jumbo perch. Next weekend with the big warm up should be good for walleye on the Mississippi
From: Live2Hunt
25-Feb-24
Lot of people do that Mike? Is it open?
From: MjF
25-Feb-24
From: MjF
25-Feb-24
A fantastic find, walking down a trail in one of the Mississippi sloughs I look down (I recreated the find) and found this beautiful 1898 Indian Head penny
From: casekiska
25-Feb-24
MJF - go buy a lottery ticket!
From: oldhunter
25-Feb-24
It's value would be about the same as the cost of two gallons of gas.
From: oldhunter
25-Feb-24
Double post
From: MjF
26-Feb-24
Two gallons of gas for a penny.... I will take it.
From: grape
26-Feb-24
What a time to be outside in February
From: grape
26-Feb-24
From: grape
26-Feb-24
From: CaptMike
26-Feb-24
Was out on a local lake in Waukesha county on Saturday. Ice was still about 6" thick but not sure it will last much longer with temps in the 60's and rain that is forecast for Tuesday. Still seeing lots of bucks with both horns.
From: oldhunter
26-Feb-24
" Two gallons of gas for a penny.... I will take it."
Even though it"s face value is one penny, if you sold it for collectors value, you would likely have enough money to buy two gallons of gas. So, Yah, you could get two gallons of gas for a penny. I would suggest getting the gas before the summer prices kick in. You might wind up with only one gallon for a penny.
From: Live2Hunt
26-Feb-24
Leaving Thursday morning for a 4 day ice fishing trip by Balsam Lake. Sucks that the cabin we rented is on the North shore of the lake we are on. That may be open along the shore. Bringing waders.
From: MjF
26-Feb-24
Live… good luck, I packed all my hard water gear away. With this warmer weather water temps will rise and the fishing should pick up.
From: Live2Hunt
26-Feb-24
Thanks Mj, should be good timing. Last year we had a blast, I was releasing 9-1/2 to 10-1/2" gills. We were able to keep our 8 to 8-1/2" limits no problem for a fish fry Saturday night.
From: RUGER1022
26-Feb-24
A weird year. February, no snow , no ice . Catching 20 inch Smallies. Will try the dams Tuesday for some Walleyes . I'm sure the run will be early this year .
From: RUGER1022
26-Feb-24
Trees & bushes Budding early . Not a good sign .
From: Live2Hunt
26-Feb-24
That is not good.
From: grape
27-Feb-24
Trees are budding. At the end of tapping trees here.
From: RUGER1022
27-Feb-24
Fished below a dam on the WI River from 3:30 to 5:30 . 1 Smallie but Not a single Walleye or even a hit .
20 years ago on a 63 degree day this time of year you had 15 to 25 people fishing .
I was the only one there. Sad .
From: MjF
28-Feb-24
Need a few more days of warmer weather, I believe water temp is a tad on the cold side yet. Fishermen will let you know when there biting
From: RUGER1022
28-Feb-24
Temperature plays a roll for some go by temp. but others spawn at the same time every year .
On a long nasty winter some will spawn in cold water under heavy ice .
We have caught Walleyes with eggs in them from mid Feb . To Mid April .
From: Ridge Runner
29-Feb-24
Took having an extra day of the month to get back to my roots but finally got out rabbit hunting today , Son and I took a walk for bunnies and grabbed some cameras and ropes off some stands We only got one but jumped a few more ( my reaction time is slower) Was good to get back to what I grew up doing Even dug out my old brown hunting coat , Over 45 yrs old ( old Luxemburg Sportsman’s Club pin from 1978 on it )Nice day to be in the woods
From: Ridge Runner
29-Feb-24
Forgot to get a pic of rabbit , called my son on way home told him to take pic Said to late as he had to clean rabbit right away before his 4 yr old hunting buddy got home from day care as he would be mad that he didn’t get to go along lol
From: grape
01-Mar-24
Headed to White Fox on the 18th to fish pike on Tobin Lake Glen. Still over three feet of ice. Keep November in mind for the fall. Deer have had a great winter there.
From: MjF
01-Mar-24
Have to renew my Wisconsin and Minnesota fishing license today then tomorrow morning I'm heading down the Mississippi shore fishing along the way to Winona MN, staying the night fishing near Lock and Dam No. 5.
From: RUGER1022
01-Mar-24
There's no better fishing anywhere in the state than the Mississippi River. Walleye, pike , white bass , Catfish , just to name a few.
Pic is my self many years ago with a basket of 12 Walleyes between 15 & 20 inches caught in 3 hours by my partner & myself .
From: xtroutx
01-Mar-24
There are lots of good places to fish.
From: MjF
01-Mar-24
Xtroutx there sure is, my brother and I do not have a boat so shore fishing is it for us, our favorite spots are the boat launches. Opening weekend last year we fished a little 300 acre lake and landed a 29, two 27s and two 25 inch walleyes of course releasing those and catching our limits. Those boats going back and forth from the launch creates a trench and those walleyes were stacked in there and is the same at other launch’s every year. Our go to lure is the white Mr Twister, awesome for the area lakes we fish.
From: MjF
02-Mar-24
Caught about 20 kept 6 all 11 inches, fish fry tonight. Caught some crappies and 1 northern.
From: Hoot
02-Mar-24
Nice walleyes guys. Also a very nice catch of perch.
From: Ridge Runner
02-Mar-24
Coming home from officiating a college track meet at Ripon today, Going across the Fox River on 172 you could have walked across the River boat to boat between De Pere & Green Bay , Unbelievable how many boats were out there . Nice day brought the people out , Wish I could have safely stopped and took a picture
From: MjF
03-Mar-24
Anyone experiencing difficulties with Bowsite.... says I have a message click onto it and then says error, pages and forums are distorted.
From: Hoot
03-Mar-24
Mike - No problems here.
From: RUGER1022
03-Mar-24
MJF , 10 years ago I asked myself , " why am I using a $ 20,000 boat tp catch $ 10 worth of Walleyes or Bluegills " .Sold the boat , Been fishing shorelines & dams only the last 10 years . We do very well fishing ponds , streams , creeks , & wing dams . Boat launches can be really good at times.
From: MjF
03-Mar-24
Shore fishing has its benefits besides I have friends that have boats lol
From: Hoot
03-Mar-24
Mike I take that back The main page is all fu*ked up as my bowsite for PM's.
From: MjF
03-Mar-24
Yes so is mine
From: Live2Hunt
04-Mar-24
Our Ice fishing trip went good. We found a decent lake we could get onto and fish. Caught some, but not like on fire big bull gills catching. Enough for a fish fry for 7 and some brought home. Always a great trip with my sons, and my friends and there sons. Fishing, cook outs on the ice, bantering, dirty clubs and beer at night, nothing better. Boats? I river fished basically 100% of the time most of my life. It was just what I grew up with and I could have a bad fishing day be refreshing and good just because of my surroundings. Now, if your out in a boat and have a bad fishing day, throw in some idiots in other boats, having to deal with the boat landing, trailering, etc, then your day is worse. I'd rather be running out to a trout stream, steelhead stream, fly fishing smallmouth, or throwing for musky on a river?
From: xtroutx
04-Mar-24
I enjoy any type of fishing from small little trout stream to lake Michigan salmon and walleye fishing and everything in between. When I got my boat back in 2010 I wasn't really looking but I couldn't pass up the deal. $3,000 for a 16 lund deep V tournement series with a lot of extras. 60 hp motor, 2 trolling motors, live well and more. 14 yrs later its still running strong and gets used a lot. Maybe $300 to $400 maintenence over the last 14 yrs. As far as the crowds at boat landings I am usually on the water before most are out of bed so it don't bother me. I can still get 2x what I paid for it so I cant complain. I wouldn't get rid of it.
From: Hoot
04-Mar-24
Rick - What a great buy. Did you feel guilty? LMAO
From: xtroutx
04-Mar-24
lol Jim, A guy a work bought it new and barley used it. He found a wood lath that he wanted and that was that. It all happened over coffee before work one morning. I had already seen the boat a year before at lake vermillion and couldn't believe it was that boat he was talking about. I got over the guilt. :)
From: MjF
06-Mar-24
Rick…. Nice score
From: Live2Hunt
07-Mar-24
I know guys that would go down to the Mississippi at dusk and wait for all the people to load up to leave, then fish all night.
From: MjF
08-Mar-24
On the Mississippi again few perch no walleyes yet
From: MjF
08-Mar-24
From: MjF
08-Mar-24
