Ray, my source for fishing, etc. in the Eagle River area, described pan fishing as "non-stop bluegill bite" and the walleyes having a "very good sporadic bite."
The area received four inches of new snow last week and 100 miles of snowmobile trails are open for riders.

Whitetails will finally have a break! Locally, the muzzle-loading, four-day antlerless and late archery seasons were slow. Registrations were down from previous seasons.

While the DNR reported that the preliminary gun deer kill was up 3.6 percent, a couple of Natural Resource Board members are questioning those numbers. Board member Greg Kazmierski reportedly said he would have questions if the estimated total deer kill of 300,000 was achieved.

That number would be similar to the four previous years, but unlike those years, that harvest would supposedly leave 1.4 million deer on the state's landscape, "the highest ever over-winter population."

Kazmierski stated that using buck harvest numbers, he believes the current over-winter numbers are closer to 700,000. He "intimated" that the DNR numbers were not correct.

NRB member Terry Hilgenberg said he had fielded lots of questions about the number of antlerless permits available in the northern part of the state. He suggested that hunters do not believe the number of deer they saw warranted the high number of tags.

Al Phelan, co-chair of the Conservation Congress's Big Game committee, pointed out positives from the 2011 hunt, but stated that his group that hunted Grant County, an area supposedly 100 percent over goal, didn't see many deer. Checking with other Congress members around the state, Phelan said the hunters were seeing fewer deer.

While we don't have many beavers in this area, there is a Beaver Management Survey taking place to gather public opinion for the revision of the state's beaver management plan.

According to the DNR's Todd Naas, public listening sessions and webinar held to discuss the plan have been poorly attended and only 161 people have submitted a survey to date.

If you have an interest in contributing to the plan's revision, you can contact Naas at 715-685-2914 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The DNR, responding to overwhelming support on a question from the spring hearings regarding the hours at the agency's service centers, is expanding those hours. Starting last week, centers will gradually phase in updated hours that will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Clients wanted the centers to be open during the lunch hour, and this change should take care of that concern. I would call ahead to make sure the hours have been phased in.

The National Shooting Sports foundation recently announced that it has awarded $299,200 grants through its Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative to 41 colleges and universities for shooting sports.

UW-Platteville received a $10,000 grant. The new club has 200 members and a core group of 30 who have taken on leadership roles.

The Summer Olympic Games in London, despite the best efforts of London's mayor and its organizing committee, will be providing free tickets to shooting events. Back in August, these parties decreed that free tickets would not be available for shooting events because the highly structured matches might "glorify guns."

Shooting groups, outraged by the edict, responded that "The Olympics represent the international peak of safe and responsible shooting."

One member suggested that linking Olympic shooting events to crime would be like a thief using a Formula One car as a getaway car.

The Wisconsin Waterfowl's Association's Between-Lakes Chapter is having a banquet on Feb. 25 at the Eagles Club in Chilton. Contact John Regan at 920-775-4019 for more information.

Kiel fish and Game will host a five-man spring trap league on Sundays from Feb. 26 through May 6. Contact Ken Werdeo at 920-565-3320 for more information.

Until next time, keep you hooks sharp, your feet warm and your powder dry!

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