Opening morning of Wisconsin’s second turkey season delivered a surprise.
My brother, Rick Schuh, pulled into my yard at 4:45 a.m. We loaded my Yamaha Ranger and headed to the woods.
When the birds started singing, Rick hit his turkey call, and at least six toms answered from different directions. Several hens appeared at once, chased by four toms.
We watched and listened for the next half hour as the birds stayed about 70 yards out. They never came to the calls, then drifted west.
Rick told me to relax until he spotted more birds, so I pulled my gun in and held it against my leg.
About 30 seconds later, Rick whispered to me to get ready. Another tom showed up gobbling, and a couple minutes later another came in, too.
They were still too far for a shot, but one slowly worked closer. When he came into range, the tom stretched his neck high to see the decoy. Rick lined me up and gave me the signal.
At the shot from my 12-gauge Mossberg, the tom flopped briefly, and it was over by 6:25 a.m.
Back at the shop, we looked him over and found three beards: 8.5 inches, 4.5 inches and 4 inches. The tom weighed 20 pounds and had 7/8-inch spurs.
After cleaning the bird, we stopped for breakfast at Wagner’s Country Restaurant in Francis Creek. Our text messages kept lighting up with congratulations.
Green Bay walleye fishing: Wisconsin DNR’s $100 reward tag study returns
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, along with Walleyes for Tomorrow, will continue the walleye reward tag study in the Bay of Green Bay and its major tributaries.
The bay and its tributaries support a popular walleye fishery. The study is designed to help managers better understand the fishery and estimate exploitation rates, or the percentage of the population anglers harvest each year.
This spring, the DNR plans to tag up to 5,000 walleyes with yellow floy tags and 400 walleyes with red reward tags. Tagging will take place in five spawning areas: Sturgeon Bay and the Fox, Menominee, Oconto and Peshtigo rivers.
Reports of captured or harvested tagged walleyes will help guide walleye management throughout Green Bay and its tributaries.
If you catch a tagged walleye
Anglers are encouraged to report any walleye with a floy tag, regardless of color, by email at DNRFHGBFish@wisconsin.gov or by phone at 920-662-5411. Reports can also be mailed to DNR Green Bay Service Center, Attn: Fisheries Biologist, 2984 Shawano Ave., Green Bay, WI 54313.
Include the tag number, tag color, species, length, location caught, date caught, and whether the fish was harvested or released.
Red reward tags say, “REWARD: $100,” and include a valid date printed on the tag. The fish does not have to be harvested to receive the reward, but anglers must provide verification.
To verify a red reward tag, anglers can either turn in the physical tag (if the fish is harvested) or submit photos (if the fish is released). Photo requirements: a close-up of the tag showing the three-digit number and a photo of the angler holding the walleye with the reward tag still attached.
Anglers who report yellow or green floy tags will receive the history of DNR encounters with that walleye, which may include the date, location, size, sex and possibly age at the time of tagging. Photo verification or mailing in the physical tag is not required for yellow or green floy tags.
Anglers may harvest tagged fish if it is legal to do so, or release them. Fishing regulations apply. If you release a tagged fish, leave the tag intact and follow responsible catch-and-release practices.
Green Bay events: Delta Waterfowl banquet set for May 14 at Stadium View
The Packerland Chapter of Delta Waterfowl will hold its annual banquet Thursday, May 14, at Stadium View Banquet Hall, 1963 Holmgren Way, Green Bay.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
For information, call Emmie Kucera at 715-938-3402 or email dessartemmie@gmail.com. You can also contact Eric Johnson at 920-676-0621 or ericjo366@yahoo.com.
Manitowoc Gun Club: Summer trap league runs May 7-Aug. 27 (how to register)
Manitowoc Gun Club will run its summer trap league May 7 through Aug. 27.
Thursday trap runs from 6 to 10 p.m. while Tuesday shooting is from 6 to 8 p.m.
The league consists of 500 targets from the 16-yard line and is a five-person team league.
Preregistration is required for all new teams at the clubhouse on Clover Road.
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: Second turkey season yields a three-bearded tom in Wisconsin
Reporting by Bob Schuh, Special to Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
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