Family-Outdoors

  MADISON, Wis.  – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will celebrate the Northern Highland Fishery Research Area's (NHFRA) 75 th   year of operation on June 20, 2021. Located in Vilas County, the NHFRA is the DNR's longest-running fisheries research project and an umbrella project for multiple fisheries research initiatives, contributing to understanding how fish communities respond to fishing regulations, environmental change and angler practices. The NHFRA was founded in 1946 to establish experimental fisheries research lakes to understand the role of angler harvest in altering the fish communities' size structure and growth rates. More recently, NHFRA lakes have been used to test regulations on length limits, bag limits and gear restrictions for several Wisconsin species. The NHFRA angler survey dataset is one of the longest continuous fish harvest datasets in the world, featuring a complete record of every angler who has fished the lakes and every fis...

Lots of people caught the excitement of fishing last summer. It's easy to join the fun! Free fishing weekend (June 4-6) is a great time to learn how to fish, take your family fishing, or introduce a friend to fishing. Outdoor fun awaits at hundreds of Iowa lakes, thousands of miles of rivers or a neighborhood pond.  Here's a few tips for a fantastic fishing weekend. Keep the fun going all summer long – buy your  fishing license  today! Attend a free, hands-on fishing event to help get your family started. Check our  general fishing calendar   for a list of this weekend's fishing events. Find a list of stocked lakes and ponds that are easily accessible in neighborhood parks and along trails on our  interactive Iowa Community Fisheries Atlas . Get tips for taking kids fishing and catching crappie, bluegills and yellow bass on our  Ready to Fish website .

By Larry Pape Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Visit any fishing tackle store and you might be overwhelmed with the selection of what is “required” to go fishing. There are lures, jigs, plugs and poppers of every color and shape and rod and reels of every price range. The truth is that a stick, string, hook, weight and optional bobber is all it takes to have a fun evening of fishing at the lake. Let’s discuss what you really need. For your stick and string, an inexpensive push-button reel with 6- to 10-pound monofilament string will catch most fish. This type of spincast fishing outfit is widely available for a range of prices. Fishing rod and reel sets for about $30 will last a lifetime. Better yet, most of us know a grandpa, uncle or neighbor who will have one of these sitting in the shop that will be free for the asking. This style of fishing rod seldom wears out and may just need new string and grease. Don’t be shy: That grandpa or neighbor also probably will help and go fishing ...

Spring officially arrived March 20 with the vernal equinox and temperatures leading into it were very spring like, bringing a close to much of the outdoor winter recreation across the state. Snowmobile trails now remain open in only a handful of northern counties on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism's Snow Conditions Report (exit DNR) and more are expected to close with warm weather this week. Many state parks and forests have discontinued ski trail grooming, so even if a spring snowstorm arrives most trails will not be groomed. Most mountain bike and horse trails are closed and will remain closed until they dry out. There is still up to 2 feet or more of snow in some northern counties, making it a great time to get out and explore on snowshoes, which are a must for trekking out in the woods. Flood waters were rampant last week in some areas of southern Wisconsin but many went down over the weekend. As of March 20, the Trempealeau River had dropped to minor flood stage and the ...

If you want to start a good debate, that's not about politics, get amongst a group of trout fishermen - fly fishermen, spin fishermen...doesn't really matter - and come up with the top ten trout waters in America. You better be good friends before the debate starts, because things are bound to be spirited!  Where do you even start? The criteria for a top stream for you might be simply fishing that's fast and furious.  Your buddy might insist that the setting be wild and lacking in crowds.  Someone else might feel like fish might have to be wild and native, or they are not worth catching. David Mann wrote a good conversation starter over at our sister site, family-outdoors.com . At his article, America's Best Trout Streams , he ranks his top ten, and you will see a little of about everything.  My only major area of disagreement with him is leaving off all mention of Alaskan streams like the Kenai River. See...there is always gonna be some room for dispute!

Observation platform over the Mississippi River in Pikes Peak State Park, Iowa, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) NORTHWEST NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI RIVER SOUTHEAST SOUTHWEST NORTHWEST Blue Pit Channel Catfish - Good: An occasional catfish has been caught on cut bait on the jetty. Blue Sucker – Good. Clear Lake Yellow Bass - Excellent: Farmer’s beach (just outside the weed edge), MacIntosh swim beach and the Ventura jetties have been producing well. Hy-Vee and other rock reefs continue to produce. Try also the channel between the little lake and big lake has. Action has picked up this week with anglers reporting fish on every cast, at times. Walleye - Good: Walleye action is starting to pick up in certain areas. Use jigs and a minnow or cut bait in many of the same areas that yellow bass are biting. Channel Catfish - Good: Catfish are biting near the grade on cut bait and minnows. Try the last couple hours of the day or early morning. Black Crappie - F...