I’ve always had an interest in birds.
Both sets of my grandparents had feeders in their yards, and when I visited I always enjoyed watching the flurry of activity that came with the approach of hungry birds.
Continue reading “How birding has made me a better outdoorsman”
Keeping a hunting and fishing journal is something that has been on my list for a long time.
I’ve been trying to keep a journal, with varying degrees of success, for the better part of the last four hunting seasons.
2020 was the first time I committed to making a proper outdoor journal a reality. As of this writing, I’ve been on 126 fishing trips, 17 hunting trips and enjoyed seven dip netting sessions that year.
This past year, I was able to continue the trend of success by completing another yearly journal.
I also regularly found myself going back to the 2020 edition for tips and ideas. It was an incredibly valuable tool. It even settled a couple friendly disagreements.
Continue reading “Tips for keeping a hunting and/or fishing journal”
Nathan’s note: This article originally appeared in Badger Sportsman Magazine my senior year of college. This was my Father’s Day gift to him in 2013. It was the first outdoors article of mine that was ever formally published.
Though there are some things I would change about it structurally in hindsight, I didn’t make those tweaks. I feel this is an accurate representation of where I was in my life and career at the time.
Everyone who hunts seems to have a father and son story, if only just one. I have been blessed with many.
I feel like there is a time in every man’s life where he becomes grown up enough to realize exactly how much he means to his father. With this realization comes the natural pondering of what a struggle it must have been to raise a son. This is typically followed by an appreciation for undertaking such a thankless task.
Continue reading “Thanks dad, for everything”
Sharing the outdoors with others is truly one of my favorite things about hunting and fishing.
During this past opening day of duck hunting in Wisconsin, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do exactly that. This turned out to be a hunt that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Continue reading “An opening day duck hunt for the ages”
Fishing for northern pike can be a great way to introduce new anglers to the sport.
These fish are opportunistic feeders and put up a great fight. They’re also relatively easy to find as mature pike have no natural predators other than humans. Many times, these fish are accessible from a variety of shore locations as well as spots accessed by boat. And they can also be found during most any time of the year.
Continue reading “Must-have northern pike fishing gear for beginners”
Catch a release is a wonderful practice for helping conserve our fish populations. But practicing proper catch and release is even better. And that’s something we can all be better at, myself included.
Fish are unable to support their own body weight when out of the water. So while it is always important to keep these tips in mind, they become especially crucial when handling larger ones.
Properly handling a bass comes down to four easy steps:
Continue reading “How to properly handle a bass”
While I won’t claim to be the person who “discovered” this method, I have spent a lot of time perfecting it recently.
It all started when I was fishing my most recent bass tournament. I was in a river spot and found myself in a pinch. The water was very shallow, but the fish were quite active. My initial plan was to hop fathead minnows off the bottom using a sinker or a jighead. The trouble was, my weights kept getting stuck on the rocky bottom.
Continue reading “Weightless minnow presentation for fall bass”
There’s nothing quite like the excitement of trying out a new fishing spot. And there’s nothing quite like the disappointment that comes when it doesn’t pan out.
While patience will forever be a virtue of fishing, there’s something to be said for cutting to chase.
There’s a special section in my tackle box for “scouting baits,” a small collection of go-tos that help me quickly assess what is (or isn’t) going on in a new location.
Continue reading “Three baits for scouting new fishing spots”
The spring-like stretch of weather we enjoyed in early November in Wisconsin was projected to come to an abrupt end, thanks to an approaching cold front. I knew I had to get out bass fishing one more time before the smallmouth bass likely went into winter mode for the remainder of the year.
Continue reading “Calling an audible for fish No. 500”
Nathan Woelfel Outdoors 