Family-Outdoors

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ spring fish spawning season is over and Iowa’s two walleye hatcheries are filled to capacity as netting crews caught and spawned 1,020 quarts of walleye eggs at the Spirit Lake hatchery and more than 760 quarts at the Rathbun hatchery. “We had a really good year,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of fisheries for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “The late ice out helps us increase our catch rates and catch more fish that are ready to spawn.  That shortens the netting season for the staff, even though we increased our egg take this year.” Northern pike netting in the sloughs connected to Spirit Lake occurred April 6-7. Muskies were netted along with walleyes in Spirit Lake East Okoboji Lake and West Okoboji Lake beginning April 14. Both species exceeded their egg requests as well. Northern pike were netted on the Mississippi River beginning April 8, and the pike fry were stocked on April 18. Walleyes were caught at Lake Rathbun,...

by Doug Reeves, assistant chief, DNR Wildlife Division As I was walking along a small rivulet adjacent to a field recently, something darted across the little stream so quickly that – even though I glanced as fast as I could – all I saw was a small wake the animal left. Then it darted quickly down the edge of the stream and off into the grass. At that point I was able to identify it as a meadow vole. Meadow voles, or meadow "mice" as I have often heard them called, are the base of the food chain in many grassland-dominated areas. Theirs is a very important function in that regard, and to say that they multiply like rabbits is putting it mildly, when conditions are right. Several species of hawks and owls, shrikes, red and gray fox, coyote, bobcat, weasels, mink and several species of snakes all find meadow voles a menu favorite. So they have to produce like crazy for the population to persist! But they have many other traits and behaviors that are worthy of admiratio...

Archery World Cup (Photo credit: Rick Bolin ) More than 500 archers registered to compete in the North Dakota National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament April 11-12 in Bismarck. Jeff Long, NASP coordinator for the State Game and Fish Department, said: “This program continues to grow every year, and all three winning teams committed to go to the national tournament, along with at least three of the top individuals,” Long said, while noting 517 registered this year, up more than 20 percent from last year. The national tournament is  May 9-10  in Louisville, Ky. The Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Bowhunters Association contribute a total of $3,000 in travel assistance to the first place team in each division, and $1,000 to the overall male and female individual winner. The high school (grades 9-12) state championship team was from Hankinson, the middle school (grades 7-8) champs were from Wahpeton and taking top honors in the element...

The hunting industry and sportspersons' groups are once again stepping up to support hunting and wildlife management in Michigan by sponsoring the sixth annual Pure Michigan Hunt. “We have the greatest sportspersons' groups and hunting industry right here in Michigan,” said Department of Natural Resources wildlife outreach technician Katie Keen. “It’s great that we can work together to help the resource, as well as making the dreams of three lucky hunters come true.” Every year, three winners are chosen by random drawing to win hunting licenses and gear. Each winner is awarded an elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, and antlerless deer license, as well as first pick opening morning at any managed waterfowl area. In addition to the licenses, winners receive prize packages donated by sportspersons' groups and the hunting industry that have totaled in value over $4,000 each. Shotguns, rifles, crossbows, camouflage clothing and memberships to natural resources group...

The Little Manistee River, which springs from several swamps in eastern Lake County just east of Luther, flows freely for 55 miles below the Luther Dam through northern hardwood and conifer forests into Manistee Lake. Largely ground-water fed, the Little Manistee is among the coldest and most-stable streams in Michigan. Historically, when folks thought of the Little Manistee, they thought of trout and steelhead; every tributary large enough to have a name is a designated trout streams. But trout weren't always the main focus of anglers. Before settlement, the Little Manistee was inhabited by Artic grayling, which were driven to extinction in the late 1880s or early 1890s. Extreme habitat loss from logging, fishing overharvest and possibly competition from introduced trout all likely contributed to the grayling's demise. The Little Manistee has been about trout - and in more recent decades, salmon - ever since. Brook, brown and rainbow trout had all become naturalized in the ...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Anglers and waters About 1.5 million licensed anglers. About 500,000 people are expected to fish on opening day of the walleye and northern pike season, Saturday, May 10. Minnesota has 11,842 lakes, 5,400 of which are managed by DNR fisheries. There are 18,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams, including 3,600 miles of trout streams. Average annual expenditure per angler is about $1,500. 1 Although not every kind of fish lives everywhere, 162 species of fish can be found in Minnesota waters. Participation and the economy Fishing contributes $2.4 billion to the state’s economy in direct retail sales, ranking Minnesota fourth in the nation for angler expenditures. 1 Fishing supports 35,400 Minnesota jobs. 1 Minnesota ranks second in resident fishing participation at 32 percent, second only to Alaska. 1 Minnesota is the third most-popular inland fishing destination in the country. 1 Minnesota ranks sixth among states with the highest n...

Trout fishing and southeastern Michigan aren't often thought of at the same time, but there's at least one shining exception to the rule. Paint Creek, in Oakland County, is simply a dynamite trout stream. The 15 miles of designated trout water below Lake Orion Dam to its confluence with the Clinton River has offered close-to-home trout fishing to southeastern Michigan anglers for decades. "We've been stocking and managing Paint Creek for brown trout for more than 50 years," said DNR Lake Erie Basin Coordinator Jim Francis. "It's always been a good trout stream. And in the past few years it's improved." Two relatively recent occurrences - a change in the strain of brown trout strain stocked in the stream and the removal of a dam about midway down the designated trout water stretch - have both contributed. "We're seeing more trout and more big trout," Francis said. "Our pounds-per-acre has gone up and we've seen a substant...

 The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's suite of outdoor education programs is finding success in public schools, teaching students about safe, ethical and fun outdoor recreation in Oklahoma and growing in popularity among students and school officials.     The Wildlife Conservation Commission recently met at the Jenks Public Schools' Education Services Center for it's April meeting and learned how the suite of programs is benefitting students in Jenks and statewide.     The Department's education programs have enjoyed significant growth and expansion into schools in recent years, such as the Archery in the Schools Program which has grown over a 10-year period from its original 10 pilot schools to about 425 schools across the state that participate today. The Hunter Education program, which has educated tens of thousands of sportsmen over the years and is credited for a reduction in hunting-related accidents in recent dec...

Great Lakes Temperature Map Click on the links below to jump to the report section that interests you most: Southeast Lower Peninsula Southwest Lower Peninsula Northeast Lower Peninsula Northwest Lower Peninsula Upper Peninsula This coming Saturday, April 26 marks the opening day of trout season on the Type 1 and Type 2 streams as well as the walleye, northern pike and muskellunge opener on the Lower Peninsula inland waters. The “Catch and Immediate Release” bass season for all the Lower Peninsula waters including the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and the Detroit River will also open this  coming Saturday .  Sucker spearing and fishing has been good on many rivers and tributaries.     SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA Lake Erie:   The daily limit for walleye in Michigan waters from  May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2015  will remain at six (6) fish. Detroit River:   Walleye fishing remains very good. Fishing pressure ...