Dogs Day

From time to time at work the dog versus cat versus neither discussion will come up. I've never been one to back down from an argument so I always support my stance that dogs are clearly superior to cats. I'll pet a cat or even play with one if its around and friendly, but I have no desire to own one. I'm a dog man.

A few weekends ago, I was reminded about some of the reasons I love dogs so much. My dad, a friend of his and myself took my parent's dog, Sasha, out to a local game farm for her first pheasant hunting excursion and it was an absolute blast.

Sasha is a one-year-old golden doodle (half golden retriever, half poodle). At home, she's spoiled rotten so I wasn't sure what to expect from her out in the field, but she was impressive for a rookie.

I absolutely love watching a bird dog work. Their nose to the ground when they're on a trail, running full speed, dashing in and out of brush and grass with seemingly no regard for personal well-being. And then the joy in their eyes after they've flushed a bird and are retrieving it to their owner. It's great.

While Sasha certainly had some rough edges, she did flush some birds and seemed to be working to find pheasant scent. She also was genuinely excited to be out there, running around with what seemed like endless energy. She did wear out as the day went on, however, and started watching the other dog we took along. She'd still work in spurts but it seemed like she was content with her eventful morning and, to be honest, I was happy with her morning too. I think my dad, the proud owner, was also pleased that she didn't embarrass him and that there is hope that she can one day turn into a good bird dog.

The next time I stop by my parents' house and am mauled by Sasha as I enter the door before soon chasing her around the house trying to get my shoe or coat or something else she has decided to play with, I'll have a little more respect for her. She's a bird dog now.

No luck my 2nd time out either

For those that read my sturgeon-spearing column (Rookie spearer: No luck this time) and were interested, I also went without seeing a sturgeon on Sunday, the second day of the season.

My friend Joe came out with me on Sunday. He had been spearing with his uncle as a kid, but hadn't been out in years. We had a good time and saw a lot of fish, but they were mostly sheepshead and no sturgeon. Lonny Ziemer, the guide who provided the equipment and shack for us, put us in six feet of water and we could see to the bottom relatively easily. One guy in the group speared a sturgeon that was about 40 inches and several others missed their shots at fish, so it was a day full of activity, but we had no idea since we never left our shack for longer than a trip to the car parked 20 feet away.

There's a chance I'll try to get out again this weekend if the season is still in full swing, but it's starting to look unlikely that I'll be able to pull it off. If I can't get out, I'll have to try to do it again next year. I had a blast and am now hooked.

Here are a few photos from Saturday and Sunday:

The view down the hole Saturday

My home for the weekend

The view down the hole on Sunday

Look back soon for a post about going pheasant hunting with my dad and his dog, Sasha. It was her first time out and it was quite an experience.

Braving the cold

It is brutally cold outside, but area sturgeon spearers are loving the weather. It means ice is being made on Lake Winnebago and hopefully there will be enough for trucks by the weekend. At last check, it seemed there likely would be enough to safely take vehicles out on the ice. Thank you Mother Nature for the good timing.

Speaking of sturgeon spearing, I will be going out myself on Saturday. While I've hunted and fished my whole life, I've never tried my hand at spearing and I'm really looking forward to it. Lonny Ziemer, a captain at Rod Bender Guide Service, will be helping me out with the basics. I'll be writing a column about my experiences that will appear in The Reporter. Watch for it.

Here are a few photos from my last ice fishing expedition:

The lake was ours...

We caught a lot of these "monsters"

Joe watches over a tip-up

Nate shows off one of the best catches of the weekend

First weekend on the ice

Well, I finally got out on the ice.

I spent two days at my parent's cabin in northern Wisconsin last weekend and had a pretty successful outing.

We jigged one day and caught quite a few pan fish, but they were mostly tiny. The other fisherman said they had better success a day earlier and proved it with a tasty fish lunch. Nate, a family friend, landed a nice northern on a tip-up, but the other northerns we brought in were in the "snake" category.

The first night was culminated with a trip to Golden Eagle Pizza, easily my favorite pizza joint of all time. My sausage, mushroom and onion pizza did not disappoint, though in the old days Golden Eagle Pizza served my favorite pizza topping, green olives, which would have went great on top of my pizza concoction.

On the second day, the other fishermen left and Joe and I decided to fish exclusively with tip-ups. We had 10 flags in the six or so hours we were set up and hauled in seven northerns. Joe caught a fat 25-inch northern that was the best we saw all weekend, though Nate's was probably close to the same size.

I'll post some pictures and related stories of the trip in the coming days.

Danger: Thin Ice

Well, news on the ice fishing front continues to be a letdown. I haven't stepped a foot out on any ice and it doesn't look like I'll be able to anytime soon either. The ice conditions across the state are less than desirable due to the warm weather.

Amie Jo Schaenzer of The Reporter did a story on the ice conditions on Lake Winnebago the other day: http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/FON0101/701100491/1288/FON01.

The plan is to hit the ice by my parent's cabin in northern Wisconsin the weekend following this upcoming weekend. We'll see if there is enough ice to put up some tip-ups and do some jigging too. I haven't been up to the cabin since the "winter" season started. A cold spell over the next couple weeks would be nice.

Here's hoping for some cooler weather and some snow on the ground.

Tip-up!

(photo from http://www.ontariofishing.net)

While my busy schedule and an unseasonably warm beginning to December have not allowed for any ice fishing yet, I've got the itch to drill some holes.

Hopefully after the holiday season is over, I'll be able to make the treck up to the family cabin in northern Wisconsin to try my hand at some tip-up fishing and perhaps some jigging as well.

While the lake that my family's cabin is not the greatest for trophy fish, there are plenty of northern pike and panfish to keep any fisherman busy and the set up couldn't be better.

As soon as I do hit the ice, I'll report back here with the results. And good luck to all the other ice fisherman out there.

Freaky deer story has legs

Wow, what a day we had here at The Reporter yesterday. The second I got in, I knew it was going to be an unusual day. The e-mails and phone calls poured in all day from media outlets (and interested citizens) wanting to know more about Rick Lisko and his seven-'legged' deer. (Original story ----> here.)

As bizarre it was for me fielding calls, I can't imagine the attention Lisko, a self-described "hermit," was getting (Read related story here). He even had an interview with BBC last night. Despite being "overwhelmed," Lisko seemed to be enjoying the attention the seven-'legged' deer brought him.

For me, part of the fun was checking to see where my story and the Associated Press version of my story ended up as the day wore on. It started with local newspapers like the Oshkosh Northwestern and Appleton Post-Crescent and then branched out to other Gannett-owned papers like the Detroit Free Press and USA Today. Soon it started popping up on countless Web sites and blogs including those from many prominent newspaper, TV and radio Web sites including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Boston Herald, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, WGN-Chicago and many others. I also found it on the Web sites of Canadian, British, African, Russian and Asian news outlets. Many of the Web sites linked back to The Reporter's photo gallery of the deer, which in turn attracted 296,827 page views for the gallery and 486,372 page views for The Reporter Web site as a whole, the most page views in Reporter history.

The headlines for the story also took on a life of their own.

Some were pretty funny:

- Tastes like genetically modified chicken

- Is It a Buck or a Doe?

- Oh, dear! A seven-legged deer

- Wis. deer bucks the norm

- Hunter bags deer with 7 legs -- but that wasn't the strangest part

Others focused on the fact that Lisko ate the deer:

- Hunter Bags 'Tasty' 7-Legged Deer

- Hunter eats deer despite its deformities

- Wisconsin Man Runs Over, Eats Seven-Legged Transgendered Deer

- Man eats a 7-legged, transgendered deer

Others were incorrect:

- Hunter says seven-legged dear still tastes good (Dear tastes good???)

- Wisconsin Hunter Shoots 7-Legged, Trans-Gendered Deer & Eats It (Shoots? He hit it with his truck.)

- Wisconsin Hunter Catches Deer That Has Seven Legs (Catches? Again, he hit it with his truck...)

And most of them were pretty straightforward:

- Deer has odd appendages

- Wisconsin hunter bags deer with 7 legs

- Hunter Comes Across 7-legged Deer

- Seven-legged intersex deer found

- Wisconsin bow hunter finds seven-legged deer

- Seven-legged deer involved in crash

- 7-'legged' deer killed near Waucousta

- Deer has 7 legs, both male and female reproductive organs

- Hunter Runs Into Deer With 7 Legs, 2 Reproductive Organs

- Wisc. man bags a small buck with seven legs, male and female sexual organs

- Hunter Bags 7-Legged, Dual-Gendered Deer

- Bow hunter finds seven-legged deer

- Hermaphroditic deer found with 7 legs

- Man Runs Over Deer With Seven Legs

The one thing that was obvious as the day wore on is that people love bizarre news and this story was very strange. So, if anyone out there knows of any other extra-appendaged animals in the area, make sure to let me know!