Manitowoc outdoors report has details of a spring migration bird hike & more news
Bob Schuh has the latest outdoors news from across Manitowoc County and beyond.
Glacial Lakes Conservancy will hold a spring migration bird hike starting at 7:30 a.m. April 19 to kick off Earth Day.
The hike will be at GLC’s Willow Creek Preserve. Jack Coulter, GLC volunteer and birding expert, will lead the group on a 90-minute walk to spot new migrants and record them in eBird.
Birders of all levels are welcome. Space is limited. To reserve a spot, email Miriam at miriam@glaciallakes.org.
Snow Riders' fish fry is March 28
Kettle Range Snow Riders will hold a fish fry March 28 at Mishicot VFW Hall, 314 W. Main St., Mishicot.
Serving will be 4:30-8 p.m., offering perch, walleye, cod and chicken tenders. Homemade desserts will be available. Call 920-323-6950 to order carry-outs.
Rifle & Pistol Club hunter safety course starts April 8
Manitowoc Rifle & Pistol Club, 7227 Sandy Hill Lane, Two Rivers, will hold its spring hunter safety course from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 8, 10, 15 and 17, and finishing from 9 a.m. to noon April 19.
Cost is $10 per person. Register on the Wisconsin DNR Go Wild website or contact Mike Rozmiarek at 920-901-6103 with questions.
Tropical Blast nets over $48K for Woodland Dunes
Woodland Dunes Nature Center & Preserve in Two Rivers raised more than $48,000 at its ninth annual Tropical Blast Feb. 22 at Sepia Chapel in Two Rivers.
“We’re so happy with how the community has supported this event for years. Our sizable restoration projects and education programs depend on this funding,” said Nancy Nabak, Woodland Dunes’ communication and development coordinator.
Attendees enjoyed a great meal, fantastic live and silent auctions, and raffles including a kayak, a fat-tire bike and an electronic bike as prizes.
Nabak added, “We just really want to thank all who supported us and hope they’ll come join us for a hike on our trails soon.”
Volunteer committee members of the Blast included Kay Baum, Lynn Burzynski, Doug DeVries, Judy Goodchild, Wendy Lutzke, Melissa Nuyssen, Lynn Rennert and Jason Ring.
Walleye reward tag study continues
Together with Walleyes for Tomorrow, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has announced the continuation of the walleye reward tag study in the Bay of Green Bay and its major tributaries.
The Bay of Green Bay and its tributaries support a world-class walleye fishery, allowing anglers to catch walleye of all sizes, including trophy-sized fish.
The popularity of this fishery continues to be a major draw for anglers locally, statewide and throughout the Midwest.
The DNR began the reward tag study in spring 2024 and will continue implementing the study with walleye tagging efforts this spring, thanks to funding from Walleyes for Tomorrow.
The study aims to better understand the walleye fishery and gain estimates of walleye exploitation rates (i.e., the percentage of the walleye population that anglers harvest each year).
DNR staff will tag up to 5,000 walleyes with yellow floy tags throughout five major spawning areas around Green Bay this spring — Sturgeon Bay and the Fox, Oconto, Peshtigo and Menominee rivers.
In addition to the yellow floy tags, 400 red reward tags will be distributed throughout these areas.
If you catch a tagged walleye, the fish can be harvested if it is legal to do so (within bag limits, season restrictions, etc.) or released. Any tagged fish not meeting minimum length requirements should be immediately released after collecting the necessary tagging information described below. People should keep the tag intact when releasing any walleyes and follow responsible catch-and-release practices.
Anglers are encouraged to report all walleyes that are caught with any color floy tag, including the following information regarding their tagged fish: tag number, tag color, species, length, location caught, date caught and whether the fish was harvested or released.
Reward tags will be red and say, “REWARD $100.” All red reward tags will have a date printed on them, which is the date the reward is valid until. While the tagged walleye does not need to be harvested to receive the $100 reward, anglers must provide proper verification that they caught a walleye with a reward tag. Verification must be done in one of the following ways:
- if harvested, present the physical tag to the DNR; or
- if released, take a close-up picture of the tag that includes the three-digit tag number and a picture of the angler holding the walleye with the attached tag visible.
To report your catch to the DNR, email DNRFHGBFISH@wisconsin.gov or call 920-662-5411. To mail in a floy tag from a harvested fish, send it to: ATTN: Fish Biologist, 2984 Shawano Ave., Green Bay, WI 54313.
Anglers who report a yellow or green (from previous tagging years) floy tag will receive information about the fish, including date, location, size, sex and possibly age at the time of tagging. Anglers do not need to provide picture verification or mail in the physical tag when reporting walleyes with a yellow or green floy tag.
Reports of captured or harvested tagged walleyes will help the DNR guide walleye management throughout Green Bay and its tributaries by tracking angler harvest, exploitation rate, spawning site fidelity, summer movement patterns and growth rates.
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. He can be reached at 920-682-3106 or bobschuh@lsol.net.