Brule River steelhead numbers up

      The numbers are in, and they're a pleasant surprise. Wisconsin's Brule River took a run of 8,130 steelhead last fall, the best in several years, said Dennis Pratt, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist in Superior. Pratt said the total was "a surprise, considing all the reports of poor fishing success."

       That total was about 1,500 higher than the fall 2008 run.

       Seventy percent of last fall's steelhead were repeat spawners, Pratt said, which meant that a lot of them were big fish.

        Those fish spent this past winter in the Brule and will be moving up to spawn when anglers return for the March 27 steelhead opener from U.S. Highway 2 to Lake Superior.

        Past year's fall-run totals were: 2008, 6,640; 2007, 6,345; 2006, 7,290.

       John Fehnel, who owns Great Lakes Fly Shop in Duluth, was impressed with last fall's run.

       "Wow," he said. "I think that's a good number, actually really good. It's looking like it's going to be steady. It's not increasing dramatically, but 2,000 fish [above the 2008 total], that's quite a difference in the numbers.

       Some anglers complained that the Brule wasn't producing as many fish last fall, Fehnel said, but the size of fish was good.

       "We can't complain about that," Fehnel said. "We were averaging 8-, 9-, 10-pounders."

 

    


Posted by: samcook on 3/17/2010 at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Leftover Wisconsin turkey permits on sale Monday

    Remaining permits for Wisconsin's 2010 spring turkey hunting season will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday, March 22. Leftover permits will be first issued for sale by zone, one zone per day, with each zone having a designated sales date.
    In total, 225,729 permits were available for the spring 2010 turkey season. More than 149,000 permits were issued to hunters who applied for permits by the Dec. 10 application deadline, leaving more than 76,000 permits available after the drawing.
    Hunters should check the turkey zone map [PDF] to verify where they want to hunt and then check the turkey permit availability page to see if permits are available for the period and zone they want to hunt in.
    Sales will start at 10 a.m. Monday and continue through midnight each day or until permits are all sold. These sales will be held for five consecutive days with customers able to purchase one permit per day. Any remaining leftover permits for all zones will go on sale March 27 and will continue until sold out or the season ends.
    The following zones have leftover permits. The scheduled sales dates are as follows:

   

The fee for turkey permits is $10 for residents, and $15 for nonresidents. All hunters will also be required to pay the spring turkey license and stamp fee, unless they have previously purchased the license and stamp, or are a 2010 Conservation Patron License holder. Residents and nonresidents will have equal opportunity to purchase over-the-counter permits. Purchasing these permits will not affect preference status for future spring or fall turkey permit drawings. A select number of disabled turkey permits for several state parks are also available for leftover sales. Disabled hunters should note that these permits will only be available through DNR service centers.

Leftover permits can be purchased over the Internet through the Online Licensing Center; by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4236); at license sales locations; or DNR service centers during the time they are open for counter service.
       The spring 2010 turkey hunting season runs from April 14-May 23. The season is divided into six five-day time periods.

 
 
 

Posted by: samcook on 3/17/2010 at 11:35 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Nearly 700 eagles passed over Duluth Tuesday

    The first big push of bald eagles over Duluth occurred Tuesday, when counters with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory counted 679 of the birds at the West Skyline Parkway observation area. Earlier, the birds had been trickling through in smaller numbers. That total is not a record for the spring count, but it is likely to be one of the biggest days of the spring count. The single-day record for bald eagles in the spring count is 822, set on March 23, 2004.

   This could be another big day. If you'd like to hang out and watch the migration for a while today, take Skyline Parkway to the overlook just below Enger Tower.

   From 2,200 to 3,400 bald eagles pass over Duluth each March on their northward migrations, according to Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory records. For more information, go to www.hawkcount.org.

 

 

 

Posted by: samcook on 3/17/2010 at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

DNR clarifies turkey baiting rule

    In a news release today, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources clarified the baiting rule as it applies to turkey hunting, which opens next month. Here's the statement:

"A person may not hunt turkey with the aid or use of bait or feed or in the vicinity of bait or feed if the person knows or has reason to know that bait or feed is present.

"An area is considered baited for ten days after the complete removal of all bait or feed.

"Bait or feed includes grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, or other food that is capable of attracting or enticing turkey and that has been placed by a person. Food that has not been placed by a person and resulting from normal or accepted farming, forest management, wildlife food plantings, orchard management, or other similar land management activities is not bait or feed.

"A person otherwise in compliance with this subpart who is hunting on private or public property that is adjacent to property where bait or feed is present is not in violation of this subpart if the person has not participated in, been involved with, or agreed to baiting or feeding wildlife on the adjacent property."

     

 

 

Posted by: samcook on 3/16/2010 at 9:15 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Want to make 10-grand catching walleyes?

    The City Auto Glass Walleye Classic will be held May 22 on Lake Vermilion with headquarters at Fortune Bay Casino. Two-person teams will compete, with the top team taking home a guaranteed $10,000. Proceeds from the non-profit tournament go to scholarships for area kids. For registration information, go to www.cagwalleyeclassic.com.

Posted by: samcook on 3/15/2010 at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

What's that sound?

      I stepped outside early today to feed the dog and heard something I haven't heard in several months -- a robin singing. He was all cranked up, letting the world know he was back and ready to set up nesting territory. I didn't go looking for him. It was enough to know he was there -- a week or so before the usual influx of robins.

      Robins are common enough critters. They're not as handsome as male cardinals. Their call is not as dramatic as that of a common loon. But that first morning you step outside or open a window and hear a robin, especially after a northern winter, you have to stop in your tracks and listen. OK, you think. Spring.

      That today happened to dawn clear and warm merely added to the effect of the moment.

      This comes on the heels of a splendid Sunday, the first day of sun after five days of drip, drizzle, fog and rain. A friend and I made a bicycle ride along the North Shore from Duluth to beyond the French River. We were among throngs who made their way to the lakeshore. Every river was pulsing tannin-stained water into Lake Superior. Anglers stood or sat all along the shore, trying to catch a trout or a salmon. A couple trolled out on the lake in boats. We saw a kayaker and two canoeists. Many other bikers pedaled up and down the scenic highway -- and let's hear it for the city crews (I'm assuming) who swept sand and grit from the shoulders all the way to the McQuade Small Craft Harbor.

     Other folks walked dogs, ran, picnicked, climbed on rocks, threw rocks into the lake and otherwise soaked up the sun and warmth. I'm sure some people traveled up to Gooseberry Falls State Park, where the falls must have been spectacular with runoff. I don't know that I've ever seen so many people crawling around on the shore in a single day -- well, if you leave out Grandma's Marathon.

     We needed that. We needed the sun after a week of slop. We needed the warmth. We needed blue vistas. We needed to feel legs pumping oxygen-rich blood through our veins.

     And Monday, we needed one robin, singing its heart out.

Posted by: samcook on 3/15/2010 at 8:35 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Gunflint resident in NY Times winter camping story

     Mike Prom of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters at the tip of the Gunflint Trail north of Grand Marais is featured in a New York Times story about winter camping and lake trout fishing. The story was written by Gustave Axelson, managing editor of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine. The story is set in Cache Bay of Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park.

      Here's the link: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/travel/escapes/12laketrout.html

 

Posted by: samcook on 3/13/2010 at 8:28 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tischer Creek in full runoff mode

Tischer Creek was full of runoff Friday morning. (Sam Cook / scook@duluthnews.com)

I stopped to see how Tischer Creek looked this morning on my way to work. It was raging through its rocky bed, racing down to Lake Superior, completely ice-free. I'm guessing many streams in the Duluth area are also wide open and full of water. As Pete Gravett of Hartley Nature Center said yesterday, the ground is still frozen, and all of this snowmelt and rain has to go somewhere. This would be a good day -- or a good weekend -- to check out the rivers.

However, be careful. The path along Tischer Creek was still icy, with meltwater running over the top of it. On the steeper stretches, it's downright dangerous. Some sort of cleats or Yaktrax would help, but it's still going to be a bit dicey walking until all the ice is gone from the paths.

Here's one more shot of Tischer Creek from this morning. I was in the stretch between Vermilion Road and East Fourth Street.

Posted by: samcook on 3/12/2010 at 9:52 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Snowmobile trail grooming comes to close

     It's over. The snowmobiling season, that is. Or, at least it's official now.

     The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that, due to rain and warm weather across the state, snowmobile trails have deteriorated rapidly and riding conditions may not be safe in many parts of Minnesota.

   Earlier this week, snow conditions were still good in northern Minnesota, but that situation has changed dramatically in the last couple of days, according to the news release. Local clubs have put up “Trail Closed” signs on many of the grant-in-aid trails, and this will probably be the last week that state trails are groomed, according to the DNR.

   

.

Posted by: samcook on 3/12/2010 at 8:09 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Minnesota turkey permits on sale Monday


    Turkey hunters who were unsuccessful in Minnesota’s spring hunting season lottery may apply for surplus permits starting at 5 p.m. Monday. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources makes surplus permits available at all license agents and online at www.mndnr.gov/news. Online information also includes details on surplus license availability and the status of lottery applications.

     Hunters who did not enter the lottery will be able to purchase any remaining surplus licenses beginning at 8 a.m. March 22.

Posted by: samcook on 3/11/2010 at 3:24 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Blog Archive: Next »