Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report

The Parnell Tower at the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Dundee, Wisconsin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Spring finally arriving to Wisconsin's Northwoods

Despite some flurries still falling on Thursday, it appears that spring is slowly arriving in the Northwoods. Most of the state is now free of snow on the ground, with the exception of heavily wooded areas in the far north that still have a foot or more of snow. Spring is progressing rapidly in the south, with reports of bloodroot and round lobed hepatica blooming in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Lots of anglers are wondering whether lakes will be ice free in the Northwoods by the May 3 general inland fishing opener. While it depends on the weather between now and then, at this point most lakes still have upwards of 15 inches of ice covering them, so there is a definite possibility that the larger, deeper lakes will still be ice covered, so anglers may want to have alternate plans such as fishing flowages, lakes and spring ponds, as well as streams and rivers.

While northern lakes are still ice covered, access is poor with shorelines having a lot of soft grainy ice and a fringe of open water, so for the most part, the ice angling season has ended. Spring walleye fishing on rivers that remain open year round for game fish had been excellent on some waters, especially northern Lake Michigan tributaries and the Fox, Wolf, Wisconsin and Rock rivers. Action slowed this week, though, with mostly males reported, indicating runs may be coming to a close.

The first signs of the Lake Winnebago sturgeon spawning season were reported this week with pre-spawn activities at numerous sites. As spawning gets closer, male sturgeon actively cruise near the rocked shorelines of sturgeon spawning sites. This "cruising" activity was observedWednesday afternoon at numerous known spawning sites on the Wolf River.

Lake Michigan tributaries were generally running high and muddy but trout and salmon anglers were having some success for steelhead on the East and West Twin Rivers, Menomonee, Root and Pike rivers. A reminder, the early catch and release inland trout season closes this Sunday, April 27.

The spring turkey season is now open and turkeys are starting to break away from the winter flocks. Hunters in the first turkey period saw mild temperatures and conditions overall. With the snow melting in the north, deer have begun to disperse from their deer yards, with many being seen feeding on the grass that has just begun to green up.

The spring bird migration is ramping up, with the vanguard of warblers, including yellow-rumps, palm, pine, orange-crowned, hooded, black-and-white, and northern waterthrush seen in the south. The first whip-poor-wills have returned to the south as well. Overhead, the first kettles of broad-winged hawks have reached Wisconsin from their central and south America wintering areas. Loons are staging on southern lakes such as Mendota and Monona in Madison waiting for ice-out on northern lakes.

This Saturday will be the best opportunity to help out in state parks, with a dozen properties holding Work*Play*Earth Day events. Help out cleaning parks and doing minor maintenance projects in the morning and then stick around to enjoy the park in the afternoon. For information, search the DNR website for Work Play Earth Day.

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report

Warm, dry weather has returned for the Labor Day weekend, and along with that, fire danger levels have once again climbed to high and very high throughout much of the state. Burning permits have once again been suspended in many counties, and people heading out over the holiday weekend should be extremely cautious with fires and any possible sources of ignition, such as smoking materials or hot exhausts on vehicles.

Water levels continue to be low on many rivers and in marshes. The lower Wisconsin River continues to run extremely low. The St. Croix River is at very low levels for canoeing and fishing trips. The Wolf River is getting lower by the day making navigation dicey. The South Fork of the Flambeau River is low but the North Fork appears to be fine for paddling.

The early Canada goose and dove hunting seasons open Saturday, Sept. 1, and with many marshes like Horicon and Theresa mostly dry hunters are being urged to check traditional hunting area ahead of time to see if birds are even in the area. Many waterfowl hunters are looking to hunt along rivers due to the lack of water in many marshes. Wildlife crews have been busy mowing fields around sunflower fields to provide access for the dove season. Check the dove hunting pages of the DNR website for dove fields planted on state wildlife areas.

Fishing was slower in many areas during the dog days of August. In the north, variable and changing weather made for erratic fishing success. The most consistent action has been with musky, with anglers having quite a few catches of fish in the 32- to 42-inch size. Bass fishing has been a bit inconsistent in the last week. Walleye fishing has been fair, with many anglers using leeches and crawlers. In the south, warm water temperatures slowed game fish action on the Madison area lakes. Anglers were searching out deep holes and undercut banks where fish could escape the heat on Jefferson county waters, with some bluegills biting in deep water suspended 2 to 5 feet off the bottom.

Walleyes continued to draw considerable fishing pressure on Green Bay. The bite on the east shore was a bit inconsistent but walleyes were still being caught. Action on the west shore seemed to be moving north of Oconto. There was good news for perch anglers along Door County as the cooler water improved the perch bite with some larger perch being caught.

Lake Michigan summer fishing patterns are starting to change, with there not being a tight thermocline anymore. Trollers have been catching mostly chinook, along with some coho and a few rainbow and lake trout. Fishing was also starting to pick up at piers, with action reported at Manitowoc, Two Rivers and Sheboygan.

There were more reports of white-tail bucks beginning to shed velvet this week and spots are fading on fawns. Cold fronts earlier this week brought the first large push of warblers into northern and central Wisconsin, with blackburian, Nashville, golden-winged, magnolia, and Tennessee among those reported.
Apples, acorns and hickory nuts are already heavily dropping off of trees. Sunflowers, asters and goldenrod are blooming. Bright red clusters of jack-in-the-pulpit berries are easily spotted on the forest floor. Sumac and some maple leaves are beginning to turn red. Wild rice is starting to ripen, but ricers will have to search for good beds, as the unusual spring and summer weather was apparently not favorable for beds this year.

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report summary for March 29, 2012

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the continued mild spring weather, most areas of Wisconsin are reporting that many spring events are occurring as much as a month early from most years. Lake ice is gone from most lakes even in the far north. Walleye runs on rivers are peaking or nearly over in many areas when they would normally just be starting in many years. Walleye spawning on northern lakes is already well underway and Chippewa Indian tribes have begun spearing. Many spring ephemeral flowers are and blooming and cherry and crab apple trees are blossoming. Sandhill cranes are doing mating displays and tom turkeys are displaying and gobbling. Frogs, turtles and salamanders have emerged.

The mild cool-down in the last week, which still has temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, has slowed some activity. Northern pike and musky are already done spawning in the south. Sturgeon were actively spawning but the drop in water temperatures slowed that activity. That could pick up again with a warm-up in the forecast. Sturgeon had made it upstream as far as the Shawano dam.

The walleye run on the Wolf River and throughout the Lake Winnebago System came early and fast and walleyes have begun making their way back to the lakes. Prime spawning activity lasted just a couple days. On the Wisconsin River the walleye run is in full swing below the Nekoosa Dam to the Petenwell Flowage, but is about complete below the Wisconsin Dells dam with many fish showing back up in Lake Wisconsin. Walleye runs are near peak on the Menominee and Peshtigo rivers in the northeast.

The ice is now out on Lake Superior and people are preparing for smelt fishing which opens April 1. Lake Superior anglers have been capitalizing on early warm weather and ice out bringing in some good catches of trout and salmon from along the south shore. Strong numbers of steelhead were still being caught on the Lake Michigan tributaries in Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Sheboygan counties. Rain in the last week had tributaries in the south running high and muddy, but good numbers of anglers were still fishing the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Root rivers and Oak and Sauk creeks, but success has decreased in recent days.

While the game season is closed on many inland lakes, anglers have been having some good early success for crappie and bluegill especially in the southern and southeastern lakes. White bass and suckers are running and providing some very good action and dip netting.

Chorus frogs and spring peepers had been very active, but quieted down with the cool spell. Salamanders are emerging now as well. Painted and Blanding’s turtles have been seen sunning themselves on rocks or logs. Coyote pups are being born this time of year in burrows and red fox pups may already be here.

Pasque flowers, marsh marigold, Dutchman's britches, bloodroot and hepatica are blooming. May apples and prairie smoke are emerging.

The recent record warm temperatures across the state and region have resulted in a large number of early records for bird migration and this week early nest records were reported for killdeer and wild turkey, both species weeks ahead of a typical nest initiation date. Ruffed and spruce grouse are drumming and displaying in the north and prairie-chickens are displaying at leks in central Wisconsin. The large numbers of snowy owls that wintered in Wisconsin are now leaving the state for the arctic, with multiple snowy owls reported this week at Ashland and 10 seen at the Oconto harbor.

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