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  

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