Thursday, November 18, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Wisconsin Outdoor Report for Mid-November: Gun Deer Edition

For about 600,000 hunters, Christmas arrives Saturday morning across Wisconsin. To say Santa has delivered in spades could be an understatement. While deer populations are not as high across Northern Wisconsin as they were five or ten years ago, conditions couldn’t be much better than they are this weekend. We received a heavy snow last weekend and most of it is still on the ground. Cold temperatures will be the rule throughout the weekend with a slight chance of rain in the south on Sunday. Nearly all of the crops are off the field as well. Deer should be concentrated in heavy cover and will be easier to see thanks to the snow. I expect a big harvest this year. In buck only zones, the total harvest will be lower, but hunters should see more deer than they’ve seen in the last few years.

I’ll be headed down to the family cabin in Lafayette County. My dad and good buddy Jason Oswald from Foremost Outdoor TV will be joining me. FOTV’s Tyler Hinner has generously donated his opening weekend to filming the show. The hunt will be exceptional, but the camp environment is the most rewarding part of the weekend for me. Stay tuned for that video which is coming soon to a computer near you.

I hope everyone has a safe season. Be aware of your barrel and take it easy on the alcohol. Hunting is one of the safest sports to engage in and Wisconsin is one of the safest states to hunt in. Let’s keep up the good work.

Here’s a look at this week’s field reports:


The previously mentioned Tyler Hinner has been in a tree stand every day since October 20. Early this week, his vigil ended. As Tyler crept toward his stand he kicked up the biggest buck he’s seen all year. He froze, let the deer run off, and then worked downwind to head the buck off. In an hour he worked himself inside of 50yards of this giant nine pointer. A well placed arrow put this big boy on the ground. Perhaps the best part of the hunt… this is a public land monster. Anyone can do it. You just have to be willing to put the time in. Congratulations Tyler!

Tyler has seen deer activity remain constant despite being in post rut. This is probably due to cooler temperatures and increased cloud cover. Corridors just inside forest edges are the best bet to find trophy bucks.


Foremost Outdoor TV ProStaffer Jeff Bredemus is better known as our resident musky specialist, but he spends a fair amount of time in the tree stand as well. Jeff recently rang the bell on a nice Burnett County eight pointer. Great job Jeff!

Ice is beginning to form on many northern waters and all but the diehard anglers have called it a season. However, musky and walleye fishing is heating up on the Madison chain. Slow presentations are the key but you don’t necessarily have to go with small tackle. These fish are feeding for winter and are seeking big, easy prey.

Foremost Outdoor TV ProStaffer Cole Daniels is seeing a noticeable increase in migratory ducks on the Mississippi. Cole hunts near Prairie Du Chien area and reports big flocks of divers such as canvasbacks and goldeneyes. Field hunting for geese has also been very good but requires scouting. The crops have been out for a while so “fresh” fields are scarce and the birds are a bit scattered. The upcoming deer opener is a great opportunity for dedicated waterfowlers. Lake Puckaway near Beaver Dam is one of Cole’s favorite duck hunting lakes during gun deer season. Deer hunters push a lot of birds out of the Grand River marsh and surrounding fields and the competition for ducks on the main lake is minimal.

Of course, most of our staff will be deer hunting this weekend. If you want to keep tabs on how we are doing, check out www.treetalk.mobi It’s new from Foremost Hunting and a great way to keep tabs on fellow hunters. You don’t have to be part of the crew to post either. Everyone is invited and it’s possible to text your report in from your mobile phone. We look forward to hearing your story!

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Connect With Us:

Check Us Out On Twitter

Followers