Morel Mushroom Hunting: Another Great Reason to Own Land in SW Wisconsin

Between morel mushroom hunting (shrooming) and turkey hunting, human traffic in the woodlands this time of year is second only to the fall gun whitetail hunt. While pursuing wild gobblers gets many hunters excited, morel mushroom season here in southwest Wisconsin offers one of the best outdoor sporting opportunities. The challenge rivals that of any big game hunt due to the morels’ stellar camouflage. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing or planning and there isn’t a bit of expensive equipment involved. Another big plus for morel hunting is no bag limit.

The classic shroomer gear includes hiking boots, an empty bread bag, and a stick for moving aside plants to better see the morels. Some claim a mesh onion bag works better than the bread bag since it isn’t so easily torn by prickly ash or multiflora rose bushes. Morel hunters seem to be good at keeping secrets, at least about locations where morels are found. When showing off their bounty, the story of the hunt is often vague when it comes to “where” as hunters know that next year that same place will likely bear morels again.

I’ve been a shroomer most of my life, but a recent article in Wisconsin Outdoor News taught me a few things I didn’t know. Here’s a little excerpt about how morels grow:

 

Like many mushrooms, morels only come above ground during the final portion of their sexual reproduction to produce and release spores, which are blown about, and a few land on a place to live, grow, and eventually reproduce.

But these spring molds are also different. They do a great deal of their growth and getting their reproduction started the fall before we see their fruiting bodies (mushrooms) the following spring. This means that the abundance of the crop is somewhat dependent on growing conditions the previous summer and autumn.

The article also came with a word of warning:

A final caution: Some folks, maybe 15 percent of us, are allergic to morels and get sick when we eat them. This does not mean you’re eating false or spoiled morels, but it may mean you’ll have to give them away, sell them, or simply play the game of catch and release, using a camera instead of a picker’s bag.

For those of you who can't get enough morels, you might enjoy the Muscoda Morel Mushroom Festival held this year May 19th-20th. You can enjoy a whole weekend of activities centered on the morel mushroom and this area where they are so prolific. The American Legion Auxiliary will have a food stand serving - you guessed it - fried morels. Watch for their booth near the Kratochwill Memorial Building.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so I’ll repeat another caution that I’m sure you’ve heard before. During morel season you may be sharing the woods with turkey hunters, so do not wear red, white, blue, or black clothing when morel mushroom hunting. Stay safe, enjoy the hunt, and reap the rewards at dinner.

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