The Armistice Day Storm

Seventy one years ago today was a day that will always be remembered as a tragic day in the great outdoors.  Armistice Day 1940 started out as a beautiful 60 degree morning and hundreds of duck hunters took to the marshes of the Mississippi river hoping for some good shooting. 

The shooting was not great early in the morning but as the day progressed the ducks began funneling down the river valley in ever increasing numbers.  At first there were wood ducks and mallards but soon canvasbacks, red heads, golden eyes and scaup began to show up in huge flocks of hundreds of birds.  By early afternoon the wind began to pick up in strength and with it came geese and swans by the thousands.

The bag limit then was 25 birds so the hunters were having action like they’d never seen before.  Then at about 2 o’clock it began to rain.  The rain turned to sleet and soon to snow.  The wind picked up and the waves coming down the river began to grow to 4 and 5 foot rollers. 

In the next hour the snow turned into a whiteout.  The wind grew and topped out at 70 mph.  Waves up to ten feet tall began crashing onto the islands where the duck hunters soon realized they were in very big trouble.

Some tried to get back to land in their little duck boats, and many did not make it.  Some decided to ride it out on the islands, and were found the next day frozen under their upturned boats.

Across the area, over 100 people died from the snow and cold.  Over a million turkeys froze in their brooder houses, hundreds of cattle and horses froze in their pastures.  Three large ships capsized on Lake Michigan and sank.  And, on the Mississippi river, 50 duck hunters had their last hunt.

It was an event that couldn’t happen today.  With the weather forecasts this could never happen, but it did happen 71 years ago today and it will always be remembered as the Armistice Day Storm.

Post by: Dan Bomkamp 

www.WisconsinLandValues.com

Tomorrow's Hunters

Veteran hunters have an opportunity to see to it that the hunting tradition is carried on to the next generation. This weekend, October 8 and 9, is the Youth Deer Hunt for kids from age 12 to age 15 who have taken Hunter’s Safety. The program allows one adult who is over 18 to accompany up to two youths and assist them in taking a deer. The adult must be within voice and visual contact with the young hunters at all times.

Another program is the Mentoring program that also allows youngsters to hunt this weekend. It is for kids 10 and 11 years old who have not had Hunter Safety yet. The same rules apply but the kids must be within an arms length, so it’s a little more restrictive.

The whole idea of the Youth Hunt is to give the kids a chance to hunt when the weather is nice, and there are not huge numbers of other hunters in the woods. It has been in existence for several years and is a very popular program.

Anyone who knows of a youngster who might like to hunt should contact them and offer their services. I’ve spent countless hours with kids in the woods and on the water and nothing is more satisfying than seeing the look on their face when they connect with that first deer or fish. It’s better than catching one yourself.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.RuralPropertyPro.com 

Try Trolling For Fall Walleyes

Fall walleye fishing, whether on the Mississippi or Wisconsin River is a game of hunting for the fish.  Fall walleyes are scattered, and rarely do you find a lot of them in any one spot, so stopping and casting to a rock pile or to the shoreline, is not very effective.

The way to find them is to troll.  There are many areas in both rivers to do this.  On the Miss. the rocks along the RR tracks and riprap along the islands is a good place to try.  On the Wis. the rocky shelf areas will hold many fish.  In either case, trolling will cover a lot of water and drag your lure in front of a lot more fish.

To troll all you need is a good fairly limber rod, line of 8# or 10# test and a handful of crank baits.  Bomber, Wiggle Wart, Shad Rap, and Storm Thundersticks are just a few that work well.  Pick the one you like and then you have to experiment with speed and the length of line behind the boat to achieve the right formula for success.  You must be bumping the bottom with your bait and once you find the right combination, you’ll start getting hit.

Trolling is a great way to cover a lot of water and search out those scattered fish.  And usually, when you troll you’ll end up with a larger overall catch than you usually get jig fishing.  

 Post by: Dan Bomkamp

Rural Wisconsin Real Estate Answers

Must-Have Fishing Equipment: Cooler/Ice Chest

One of the best things a fisherman can add to his equipment during hot summer weather is a good ice chest.

When you catch a fish on a hot summer day it’s almost a necessity to put it on ice immediately rather than on a stringer or into a livewell.  Fish on a stringer in warm water will die almost immediately and in no time they’re bloated and floating.  The same thing happens in a livewell.  The water that is being pumped onto the fish comes from just under the surface and its way too warm to keep the fish alive.  The result is a bunch of spoiled fish or fish that will be less than appetizing for the table.

Take a small cooler along and fill it half full of ice cubes or chips.  Then when you catch a “keeper” toss him right onto the ice where he’ll die in a few minutes.  Instead of beginning to spoil, your catch will be nice and cool and much tastier when it comes time to eat it.  You wouldn’t take a chicken home from the grocery store and put it into a pail of hot water to store it, why do that to a fresh fish? 

A cooler is a great thing to have, not only keep your fish fresh, but it’ll keep your refreshments and bait cool too.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.WiLandValues.com  

Sand Sturgeon

The first time I caught a sand sturgeon in the Wisconsin river I thought I’d caught some kind of prehistoric monster.  It was covered with hard bony plates, had a head shaped like a shovel and a mouth that was under the head and looked like a suction tube. 

Well since then I’ve found that sand sturgeon are not just a strange looking fish, but very tasty too.  There are two sturgeons in the Wisconsin, the sand and the lake sturgeon.  The lake sturgeon is protected and has a very limited season each fall with size limits that make a “keeper” a hard thing to find.  But sand sturgeons are plentiful and you can keep 3 per day. 

How do you tell them apart?  A sand sturgeon is usually between 30 and 36 inches long, and very slim.  They are a brown/tan color and the tail has two lobes, the top lobe being twice as long as the bottom lobe.  Lake sturgeon are much heavier in the body, are a dark green to black color and their tail also has two lobes both of which are the same length. The easiest way to tell is their snout.  A sand sturgeon has a shovel shaped snout and the lake has a blunt snout.

Sturgeons do not have bones and have a primitive backbone called a notochord.  To clean them you cut off the head, then cut into the tail but not too deep.  Then twist and pull and the notochord will pull out of the back like a big rubber band.  Wash the hide and cut them into pieces and boil or broil like lobster.  Serve with melted butter.  They are much better eating than they are looking.

So next time you go fishing in the Wisconsin river and catch a strange looking critter, take it home and have it for supper.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.RuralPropertyPro.com  

Shorten The Wait At Boat Landings

Our part of the state has many fine boat landings.  Normally there is no wait to launch your boat but sometimes at the more popular lakes like Blackhawk, there can be a lot of congestion and a long wait, especially on holiday weekends.

If people would think a bit about it, there wouldn’t be any problems or wait time.  First thing to remember is to pull into area and get your boat ready before you back down to the water.  Put your lunch in, put your bait in, untie your straps and put your plug in.  Then when it’s your turn back down and get the boat off the trailer.  If you’re alone, move the boat to the side, out of the way and then get your trailer parked.  If you have someone with you, they can move the boat while you park.

When you come in do just the opposite.  Park the boat off the landing out of the way.  Then get the trailer backed in, load the boat and move it away from the landing.  Tie it down, put your cooler away and do all the other stuff up in the parking lot so others can use the landing.

If everyone uses a little common sense and courtesy, boat landings can be very fast and efficient.  

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.RuralPropertyLink.com  

Hot Northern Fishing

On those hot humid summer days when a big black storm cloud is building in the west, the last thing many people think of doing is going out fishing.  If you like to catch northerns, that is just what you should do on those kind of days.  I’ve fished the Wisconsin river bottoms all my life and the best days for fishing are those when it’s so hot you can hardly breathe, so humid you are drenched in sweat, and threatening to storm and blow you off the lake.

There’s something about high humidity, and low pressure that makes northern, and bass for that matter go on a feeding frenzy.  I’ve been on a local slough many times in those conditions when you get a strike or catch a fish on every cast.  Often if you get a strike and miss the fish, you’ll get another before you get your bait reeled in. 

A simple single hook bait is best.  Try using a spinnerbait, buzz bait, single hook spoon or top water bait like a Moss Boss.  The reason I prefer a single hook is that they’re much easier to get out of a toothy northern’s mouth.

You do need to keep an eye on the weather though.  When you can begin to see lightning in the west, it’s time to go home.  Getting wet is one thing, getting hit by lightning is another. 

Try fishing for northerns one of these hot summer afternoons and I’ll bet you’ll be back the next day it’s like that for more.

Post by: Dan Bomkamp  

www.Southwest-Wisconsin-Real-Estate.com 

Gnats

If you live in Southern Wisconsin you know all about mosquitoes.  They’re a part of summer life.  But this summer we’ve been attacked by another smaller pest, the gnat.  These little devils don’t really bite much but they just hum around you and try to crawl into any hole in your face that they can find.

One solution is to wear a head net.  Of course when it’s 90 degrees, you really don’t feel like putting something over your head that will make you even hotter.  So there are a couple of home remedies that you can try.

One is Avon Skin So Soft lotion.  This is a very strong sweet smelling concoction that keeps the gnats away from you.  Just rub a little over your face and ears and they stay away.  The only drawback is that for guys, it’s a little feminine smelling.

Another solution is Vanilla.  Yes, the same vanilla you cook with.  Do the same with it rub it on your face and ears and it will keep the gnats away from you.  I like the vanilla smell much better too, it reminds me of dessert.

Try either one and you’ll be a lot happier outdoors than listening to those little gnats humming in your ears and face.

Post by: Dan Bomkamp    

Rural Real Estate: www.RuralPropertyPro.com

Crappies For Family Fun

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to entertain the family some weekend, try taking them crappie fishing.  Crappies are an easy fish to catch, are abundant and usually when you find one, you find a whole bunch of them. 

There are many places to fish for them in our area.  The Wisconsin River bottoms have nice crappies in every one of the dozens of sloughs that lay along the river.  Look for a tree top or a beaver house and you’ll usually find crappies.  Also Blackhawk Lake or Yellowstone Lake both have many nice crappies that are easily caught.

The simplest way to catch them is with a small minnow, a medium sized wire hook and a bobber.  Toss your bait out and you’ll soon see the bobber “sneaking” away.  You can also try small jigs or small spinners for them.  The thing is, crappies are easy to catch for anyone of any age.  They make a great fish for a family outing where success equals fun.

Take the family out and when you find a school of crappies, you’ll have a day of fun, and when you get home, you can have a great fish fry too.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

Wisconsin River Smallmouth Bass

A lot of people don’t realize that we have some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the entire state, right out in our Wisconsin River.  There aren’t a lot of places where you can spend a day fishing and catch the numbers and size of smallmouths that you can catch in the lower Wisconsin River.

Some years ago a friend and I put our boat in at Gotham and fished the shorelines back to Muscoda.  We only used topwater baits such as the Rebel Pop R and between us we caught and released 146 smallmouths with half a dozen largemouths thrown in for good measure along with a few northerns and even a walleye caught on a topwater bait.  Now that was a day of great fishing!

But, that day wasn’t unusual.  Ever since the DNR put a 14 inch size limit on bass, the size and quality of the fish has just exploded.  The numbers of big fish is amazing and there are trophies out there in great numbers. 

Fishing for smallmouths on the Wisconsin is a simple thing to do.  Get yourself a few topwater baits, a few small spinners and a few jigs and you’re all set.  It’s fast simple fishing and when you find that first school of smallies, you’ll be grinning from ear to ear as you fight these amazingly strong fish.

post by: Dan Bomkamp                                                 www.WisconsinLandValues.com

Here We Go Again?

The DNR is worried about the spread of purple loosestrife, an aquatic invasive plant that is crowding out our native plants.  Near perfect conditions last summer cause this weed to spread and thrive.  Now they’re asking people to help control it.  Nothing wrong with people helping….but I’m not sure that their idea of how to help is a good one.

If you’d like to help you can contact them and they’ll send you a beetle starter kit that will allow you to grow a beetle that feeds on purple loosestrife.  Yay, what a dandy idea, but wait, have they forgotten the dozens of other “cures” that turned out to be worse than the problem they were to fix?

It wasn’t too many years ago that they found the Asian beetle which was released to eat aphids on soy beans.  What a great idea.  But then when there were billions of these tiny little orange critters crawling around our soy bean fields, the fall came and the farmers picked the soy beans.  What happened?  The billions of beetles had no home, nothing to eat and they headed into town and began crawling into every crack and crevice they could find.  Remember the beetle wars? 

There have been dozens of these cures over the years that have ended up being worse than the initial problem.  Maybe I’m pessimistic but releasing yet another exotic species doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.  I’ve got enough beetles in my house already.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

Da Plane! Da Plane!

If you wake up one of these May mornings and see a plane flying low over the hills and woods don’t panic.  They’ll be folks from the DNR who are spraying for gypsy moths.  They spray very early, right after dawn and fly low so the spray is concentrated in specific areas.  The spray will not hurt people, pets or wild animals.

They use a compound called Foray which contains a bacteria that is present in soil but that will kill gypsy moth caterpillars that ingest it.  It’s a perfect compound since its natural and doesn’t affect anything but the gypsy moths. 

The DNR has been battling the spread of these little critters for many years.  They are just one of the never ending new pests that threaten our outdoors.  They’ll probably never be able to stop them but they can slow them down which helps.

So if you see a plane low over your woods, don’t worry, it’s the good guys.

www.DanBomkamp.com

Whiteout is Coming Soon

www.danbomkamp.com

Those who are fans of my books have been waiting for this one for a bit longer than usual.  Normally I have a new book ready each fall but I got a little behind this past summer and didn’t get Whiteout finished on time.  But I’m happy to announce it’s now finished and being printed as we speak.

I’ll have copies of it for the Morel Mushroom Fest in Muscoda on May 14 and 15.  Each year I sit near the Muscoda Theater and sell my books to local folks and visitors from other cities and states who come for the festival.

Whiteout is a fictional version of the great Armistice Day Storm of 1940.  The storm which killed 167 people in Wisconsin and Minnesota bore down on the area on Armistice Day that year.  The morning started out in the 60’s and hundreds of duck hunters set out for the marshes dressed for warm weather.  By early afternoon a blizzard blew in and the temperature dropped and whiteout conditions caught many people unprepared.

I think the readers of my books will enjoy my account and my characters in this telling of the story of the Armistice Day Storm.http://www.danbomkamp.com/about

Strong Current but Some Fishing Action

Despite strong currents in both the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers, there are a few fish being caught.  At the dams on the Mississippi they are getting white bass and still getting perch behind the long wall of the dam.  These are 12 inch perch and bigger so they’re really worth the effort.

On the Wisconsin the current is still very strong but the water has dropped back into the banks of the river.  My brother tried it this week and got one smallmouth and a real surprise, a brown trout.  While trout are very rare in the river, they do show up in the spring, often after a flood.  They get washed out of trout streams and the river water is fresh and cool enough for them to survive.  Catching one is quite rare but it does happen.

We need some warm days and nights to get the water temperature up a bit and then we’ll see much better fishing.  Next weekend is Opening Day for inland waters and hopefully the weather will be better for a lot of anglers who will be heading out to the lakes and rivers.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

The First Turkey Season

To those who had the first hunting period for turkeys…..my sympathy.  Wow, I don’t think there could have been worse conditions.  I hunted in the same type of weather many years ago and it was not fun. 

Turkeys are hard enough to hunt when it’s nice out, let alone in the conditions we’ve had this past week.  The only way a hunter could have been remotely comfortable was if he had a pop-up blind.  Then with a little heater it would have been ok, except for the fact that the turkeys probably didn’t make a peep.

Turkeys do not like windy weather and we’ve had wind, snow, sleet, rain and cold all week.  If you could design the worst conditions for turkey hunting, it would be what the hunters had this week.  It makes it pretty hard to crawl out of a warm bed at 4am to go out into the woods.

But, not all is lost.  There are still left-over permits available for the 5^th and 6^th seasons.  You can buy them at license stations or online at www.dnr.wi.gov .  They cost $10 and you can buy one per day until they are all gone.  The way the year started out, those late seasons may be some of the best we’ll see, so you still have a chance.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.RuralPropertyPro.com

A Flood Is Not All Bad

Right now the Wisconsin River is out of its banks and even the river bottoms are running full and with quite a current.  It makes fishing very hard if not impossible.  But this flood will make things much better in the coming months and years.

Anyone who runs a boat on the river during the summer knows how hard it is to navigate.  The sandbars are sometimes nearly from bank to bank with a small channel or none at all.  A good flood will scour out those bars and create a new channel that will be deep and easy to run next summer.

The same thing happens in the bottoms when the water comes up and a current runs through the normally quiet waters.  The current will loosen big chunks of bogs and move them out of the sloughs.  It will also scour out some of the weed beds clearing places for the fish to hide and lay eggs.  Instead of a solid mass of vegetation, many of the sloughs become small lakes with open water for much better fishing.

The current will also wash out some of the smaller bluegills and bass and those that are left behind will have more food and a better chance of growing up to be a “keeper” fish.

Floods are nature’s way of restoring things in the water world.  While they sometimes are inconvenient, they do a lot of good too.

Wisconsin River Properties For Sale

post by: Dan Bomkamp

Turkey Hunting for the Kids

This weekend is the Youth Turkey Hunt.  It’s a great time to take a young hunter out and let them have a chance at a Tom.  The regular season opens next Wed. so this gives the kids a chance before the birds have been shot at.  And there are lots of birds out there.

The past week has seen many Toms standing in the fields all puffed up strutting for any hens that will watch them.  The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend so there should be lots of chances for a successful hunt.

Any hunter over age eighteen can accompany two youth hunters that are between ages ten and fifteen.  The kids must have a valid carcass tag for ANY season.  The tag must be for the zone they are hunting though.  If they don’t get a bird in the youth hunt, their permit is still good for the regular season.

If you’ve never taken a young hunter out…do so.  You get all the fun of the hunt and then get to see the excitement of a youngster when they see that first Tom.  It’ll be something you and your young hunter will never forget.

post by: Dan Bomkamp          Wisconsin Hunting Land

Trade That Jig Pole for an Ultralight

It’s time to put away your ice fishing poles and get out your spring fishing gear. But you don’t have to wait for spring to come, you can go right back to where you were fishing on the ice and keep right on fishing. Those fish are still there, they haven’t gone away. If you had a good spot on late ice, there’s no reason not to fish there now also.

Rig up your lightest rod and reel with the same jigs you used on the ice, and use the same baits and go right back to your favorite spot. In some cases you can fish off the shore, and others you’ll need a boat. But to think the fish are gone is a mistake. Whatever caused those fish to be in that area in the first place is why they’ll still be there. And with a little change of gear, you can go back and catch more of them.

It’s been a banner year on the Mississippi for big perch. Late ice had many fishermen at Cold Springs catching 12 inch beauties along the railroad tracks. If you’re willing to take a little hike down the tracks I’d bet you can come back with more of those golden beauties.

Choose your favorite spot and then give it a try with your light poles and the jigs you used through the ice. And now you don’t even have to drill a hole to get to them.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/

A Ten Pound Walleye?

Have you ever wondered how many ten pound walleyes there were out there? I can tell you there are not many. The journey from egg to ten pound trophy is a long and hazardous one and very few fish make it to that goal.

In the spring, female walleyes move into areas that have a good gravel bottom and current to lay their eggs. A healthy female will lay about ½ million eggs. One problem that sometimes happens is that the female lays her eggs in high water conditions and by the time they are ready to hatch, they are on dry ground. If the eggs are in a place where they will be underwater, they take between 12 and 30 days to hatch depending on water temperature.

On the average, about 90% of those eggs that hatch will not survive to adulthood. The baby fish that do make it to adult will have a perilous life. Some will be eaten by bigger fish, some caught by fishermen and some just will be injured and die. Less than 1% will live long enough to become a 10# fish. It takes a combination of good genetics, luck and a good habitat to get a fish that big, and that combination is rare.

So next time you go out and happen to catch a big fish, walleye or any species, remember that you’re holding a very special critter. If you want to have a trophy to remember your fishing trip, by all means take it and have it mounted. But if you’re just going to chop it up and eat it, think about letting it go. That fish had all the right stuff going for it and it didn’t get to trophy size easily. Let it pass its luck and genetics onto the next generation and take some little ones home for eating. It’s a cool thing to watch that beautiful fish swim away, knowing that it will live on and make many more fish for you to catch in the future.

post by: Dan Bomkamp
 
http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/

Ice Fishing is Nearly Over

The nice sunny days have taken a toll on the ice. While it’s not gone yet, it won’t be long until the ice will be too rotten to fish on. Some places are fine yet. If you have a favorite lake that is sheltered with some trees and gets a little shade it should be fine. Those lakes right out in the sun and those with a lot of springs are getting a bit treacherous.

The first step onto the ice is the worst in most places. The ice gets thin next to the bank where the sunlight warms up the mud and sand and melts the ice. Once you get across that first few feet the ice is usually pretty good. But that first step can be a little scary.

Take a plank or a short ladder along and lay it across that long step and you’ll be safe to get out to the good ice. And it’s worth it. The fishing for the next week or so will be as good as it has been all winter, and the fun of sitting out on a nice spring day is just what we’ve been waiting for.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

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High Water Woes

As usually happens, just when the walleye fishing was getting good below the dams, the water began to come up and the gates were raised. When that happens, the current gets fierce and the fish get blown away. This happens nearly every year and especially in years when we have a lot of snow like we had this year.

The only thing a fisherman can do is look for places where those fish have gone. They are out there somewhere and if you search long enough, you may find them. You want to look for places where the fish can get out of the strong current, feed and rest. Often side channels are good places to look. Check out slack water behind islands and anything else in the water that makes an eddy. The fish will get into those slack places and wait for an easy meal to swim past.

Also look for places where the water temperature may be a bit warmer. Check out side streams and below power plants where the warm water discharge runs into the river. On both the Wisconsin River and Mississippi, there are lots of places for those fish to hold, and if you find them, you’ll find a bunch of them. It’s worth the time to go looking.

Post by: Dan Bomkamp

Outdoor Sporting Properties For Sale

Jigs for Walleys

If I had to choose one lure to use for the rest of my life it would be a jig. Jigs can be fished many ways, come in lots of configurations, and are cheap. And, they are the best way to fish for spring walleyes that you can find.

The vast majority of walleye fishermen fish their jigs vertically. That is, they try to keep them right below the boat and in contact with the bottom. Boat position is vital and a good trolling motor will give you the chance to move the boat along at the same speed as the current, which will let you keep your jig vertical. Why worry about that? Because if your jig is bouncing straight up and down it’s less likely to get snagged than if it’s way behind or in front of the boat dragging on the bottom.

Use a jig that will allow you to keep in touch with the bottom but no heavier than it takes to keep that contact. Why again?....because a walleye bites by flaring its gills and sucking your jig and a bunch of water into its mouth. A lightweight jig will pop right into the fish’s mouth while a heavy clunker will not. The result with a very heavy jig will be missed strikes and bad hook-ups.

Choose a plastic tail or hair tail that you like and you’re in business. In the spring the water is cold and the fish are sluggish so work your jig slowly. Be alert for that little tic on your line and in no time you’ll be reeling in a walleye or sauger. Spring walleye fishing can be fast and lots of fun. Get out and enjoy it while the water is still in good shape. With all the snow we have this year we’ll probably have a flood and many times that ruins the walleye fishing. So get out as much as you can while the getting’s good.

by: Dan Bomkamp

http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/

Spring Walleyes + Cold Water = Stinger Hooks

The ice is out below many of the dams and many fishermen are out after spring walleyes. When the water is cold these fish bite very lightly. Often you feel a tic on your line and reel up to find your minnow is gone or missing his tail, or that your twister tail has been pulled partly off your jig. That’s because walleye and sauger hit short in the cold spring water.

The solution is a stinger hook, which is nothing more than a small treble hook that is attached to the bend of the jig hook. The stinger hangs at the tail of the minnow or twister and often catches the light-biting fish in the chin. Without them, the fish per strike rate is very low.

You can make your own by buying a box of #8 or #10 treble hooks. Then cut an 8 inch piece of mono and double it, putting the two cut ends together. Tie the doubled line to the treble hook and you end up with a treble with a loop of line on it. Then cinch the loop over the bend on your jig hook and you have a stinger hook that cost you about a dime. If you compare that to a price of about $1.50 for a package of “store bought” stingers, you can see it’s much cheaper to make your own….and they work just as well.

Make up a bunch of them at home and stick them in a piece of Styrofoam and you’ll be ready to fish. I guarantee you’ll get more hook-ups than with a plain jig hook.

post by: Dan Bomkamp
 
http://www.ruralpropertypro.com/

The Perch Are Biting

I called one of my old fishing buddies who lives on the Mississippi and checked to see how the fishing has been. He reported that the big perch are still biting and so are the bluegills and crappies. This has been a great year for perch, with fish from ten to eleven and even twelve inches being caught. A twelve inch perch is a fine fish and great eating.

A couple of places that have been really good are Green Lake at Blackhawk Park just north of DeSoto, and DeSoto bay. Both have been consistently good this winter.

The water is open below the Genoa dam and many fishermen have been fishing for walleyes there. They are catching mostly sauger and a few walleyes right now and most are small but it’s pretty fast fishing. Some are catching fifty to sixty fish per day.

Spring is just around the corner and soon we’ll see some really great fishing after what has seemed to be a never ending winter.

by: Dan Bomkamp

Time To Get Ready For Walleyes

The spring walleye season is just around the corner. Yes, I know the rivers are covered with ice but all it takes is a week of warm weather and we’ll see them begin to open up. You can get your summer fishing gear ready now and then when we have open water you’ll be all ready for fishing.

The most important part of your fishing equipment is your line. The boat, motor, rods, reels and lures are very important but the line is what connects you to the fish and keeps him there until you get him in hand. If you have old rotten line, you’re taking a chance of loosing a trophy walleye this spring.

If you use mono it needs to be changed. Monofilament line wears out in a short time and gets brittle if it’s not worn out. The super braided lines are much tougher and last a lot longer. They’re a bit more costly to purchase but last longer so in the long run they’re more economical.

If you use the super braided lines you MUST use a good knot to tie your lure on. A fisherman’s knot will slip because the line is so slick. The best knot to use is a Palomar knot. They’re easy to tie and very strong.

Get your lines changed and then you’re on step closer to spring fishing. Then if you hook into a trophy walleye, you’ll have the confidence to know you’re not going to break her off because of some old rotten line.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

Wisconsin Waterfront Properties

Turkey Permits Are Coming

The DNR has held it’s drawing for spring turkey permits and the successful hunters will be notified by post card this coming week. They drew over 145,000 permits for the 6 hunting periods starting April 13. But don’t despair if you forgot to apply or didn’t get a permit because there are over 80,000 leftover permits still available. They go on sale on March 21.

The leftover permits cost $10 each and you can buy one per day until they’re gone. This gives the avid turkey hunter a lot of chances for a long season. Last year hunters took over 47,000 turkeys in the spring hunt. When you think back about 30 years to when they first brought Missouri birds to Wisconsin, that 47,000 figure is astonishing. Before that time there were no wild turkeys in Wisconsin and now they are everywhere in the state. This is one of the most successful programs the DNR has run in many years. Of course the wild turkey is a tough bird capable of living almost everywhere, so that helped a lot.

There are thousands of turkeys in our area of Wisconsin. If you’ve never experienced the thrill of a spring turkey hunt, you really should give it a try. We have some of the best turkey hunting in the state, right here in our back yards. It’s a glorious time of year and a hunt that you’ll long remember.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

The Perch Are Back

Many years ago an ice fisherman could go to the Mississippi river and if he was willing to take a long walk or a dangerous ride out across the ice he could come home with a pail of jumbo perch. There was a place about two miles out from Ferryville called Brown’s lake that produced huge perch in the 12 inch range. An enterprising fellow there in Ferryville took the doors off an old car and hauled fishermen out to Brown’s for a buck a piece. Those were the days before snowmobiles.

For many years perch could be caught at a place called Shady Maple near Stoddard with great regularity. That all came to a halt when we had a flood in the 80’s that filled the spot in with sand and mud.

Until this year perch have been pretty hard to come by but this year they have come back. Many people caught nice perch and lots of them below the dams at Lynxville and Genoa this spring. Now they are getting 12 inch perch at a new spot just above Stoddard that was built by the Corps of Engineers just for fishing. It is a series of rock dams that have been dumped into a big bay north of town and those rocks have drawn in lots of bluegills, crappies and big perch.

Anyone who has ever gotten into a school of perch knows how much fun it is to fish for them and then to eat them afterward. They are delicious and when you have fish 11 and 12 inches, they make some dandy fillets. Get some minnows or big flashy jigs and give them a try.

post by: Dan Bomkamp