The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced preliminary totals for the 2026 spring turkey season.
Wisconsin turkey hunters registered 47,725 birds this season, 8.6% above the five-year average of 43,953. This spring also marks 50 years since wild turkeys were successfully reintroduced in Wisconsin. The first statewide hunt took place in spring 1983.
Turkey numbers remain stable, and birds are now found in all 72 counties.
“The reintroduction of wild turkeys in this state has been a remarkable success,” said Taylor Finger, DNR game bird biologist. “2026 marks the 44th year we have been hunting turkeys. With mild winters and average to above-average nesting and brood-rearing conditions the last several years, Wisconsin’s turkey population is very healthy, and we continue to see stable harvest trends that indicate stable to increasing numbers across most of the state.”
The 2026 spring turkey season began April 12 with the two-day youth hunt for hunters younger than 16 and ended May 26. The regular season was divided into six separate one-week periods, opening April 15 and closing May 25.
A total of 254,226 authorizations were available this spring, and hunters applied for or purchased 235,429 of them.
The statewide fall turkey hunting season opens Sept. 12 and runs through Jan. 3, 2027. The deadline to apply for the 2027 spring turkey season is Dec. 10. Hunters can apply for harvest authorizations through the Go Wild license portal.
Any harvest authorizations not awarded in the December drawing will be available for purchase in March as bonus harvest authorizations. More information is available on the DNR’s turkey hunting webpage.
Manitowoc Salmon Derby 2026 set for July 3-5 at Manitowoc Marina
The Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen 2026 Salmon Derby is scheduled for July 3-5 at the Manitowoc Marina.
The derby will award prizes for the top five fish in these categories: king salmon, coho salmon, brown trout, lake trout and rainbow trout. Winners will be announced at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 5.
The event also includes a Super Tournament from 5 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 4. The top cash prize will be based on the number of boats entered.
A free kids’ derby is set for 8-10 a.m. Saturday, July 4, at the Manitowoc Marina. Registration starts at 7 a.m. All children who participate will receive prizes.
Live entertainment is also planned. Bellarain performs from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, July 3, followed by Steve Thuss from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Andy Satori performs from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, July 4, followed by the Dave Steffen Band from 6 to 9:30 p.m. The Kolache Brothers perform from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 5.
Adult derby tickets are $30. Children 15 and younger are $10 with an adult derby ticket. No tickets will be sold after the derby begins.
Tickets are available in Manitowoc at the Manitowoc Marina and Harbortown Citgo; in Two Rivers at Seagull Marina and Klein’s Hardware Hank; and in Sheboygan at Jeff & Grace’s and The Wharf.
Tickets can also be ordered by mailing a ticket form from the NEWGLSF website with $30 per ticket to Tom Nowak, 911 19th St., Two Rivers, WI 54241. Checks should be made payable to NEWGLSF.
Reedsville Sportsman Club ladies’ trap league starts July 7
Reedsville Sportsman Club will hold a ladies’ trap league on Tuesdays from July 7 through Aug. 25.
For more information, call Val Manlick at 920-905-4310 or email vlmanlick@gmail.com.
Reedsville Sportsman Club is 2 miles north of Reedsville on Pleasantview Road.
Westshore Sportsman’s Club scholarship application deadline is June 30
Westshore Sportsman’s Club is offering a $500 scholarship.
To be eligible, applicants must be members of the club, children of members or grandchildren of members, and must have completed their second year of college by June 30.
Applications are available from Mike Casebeer at 920-553-1255 or on the club’s website.
Applications must be returned or postmarked by June 30.
Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center offers June Dairy Month curd burger special
Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center is celebrating June Dairy Month with a curd burger special.
The special features a one-third-pound burger topped with battered Henning’s cheese curds and creamy cheese sauce on a hard roll from Johnston’s Bakery. It is available all month.
The special is offered from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, while supplies last.
Visitors can also check out Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center’s new seasonal menu.
That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.
Outdoors columnist Bob Schuh’s “Scoping the Great Outdoors” column appears each Sunday in the Herald Times Reporter. Reach him at 920-682-3106 or bobschuh@lsol.net.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Bob Schuh column shares turkey totals and local outdoors news
Reporting by Bob Schuh, Special to Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
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By Bob Schuh, Special to Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin | USA TODAY Network
