You may have seen news in recent weeks about an American company, Colossal Biosciences, proclaiming to have brought dire wolves back from extinction.
The headlines garnered a lot of attention in early April, even gracing the cover of Time Magazine. The hype around this announcement is understandable. This was quite a claim.
But here’s the thing: that’s not what happened.
Continue reading “Is the dire wolf back?”
Another year come and gone.
It’s time to get nerdy and put some numbers to my time in the outdoors in the past year.
I am sincerely delighted by how many of you check out this article each year. It makes me less conscious about my tedious number keeping.
For those of you who may be new to this tradition, I share this information to provide some context to the articles I post on this site each year. It is important to me that you know the depth of my experiences in the outdoors that my perspectives are rooted in.
Here is a look at how my 2024 shook out, by the numbers:
Continue reading “My 2024 outdoor adventures, by the numbers”
Throughout my life, I’ve spent a good deal of time in self-reflection.
This can be a difficult balancing act. Too much self-awareness can lead to an inflated sense of importance, overthinking, and general anxiety. Lack of it can lead to entitlement.
On either end of the spectrum, you can quickly lose perspective.
For better or worse, I have long been dedicated to taking stock of my logic and reasoning in my pursuit of living an intentional and purposeful existence.
Throughout my 20-plus-year deer hunting career, I’ve found this to be particularly true when I am sitting in my tree stand. Even the most engaging and active hunts generally offer adequate time for introspection.
Continue reading “Why I deer hunt”
Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released its preliminary harvest data for the 2025 Wisconsin 9-Day Gun Deer Season.
182,084 deer were harvested during the gun season, down 0.8% from last year.
As is often the case, these numbers were met with scoffs and grumbles from some whose basic retort can be summed up as, “ain’t no deer.”
Continue reading “A dive into Wisconsin Deer Hunting Data”
It’s no secret that stick baits are something of a cheat code in the bass fishing world. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has impacted bass fishing the way Gary Yamamoto did when he introduced us to the Senko in 1996.
In my experience, these plastics strike a balance of catching the volume and size of fish I’m after that few other options offer.
So It makes sense that loads of companies offer their take on the holy grail of stick baits. I’ve spent money with many of them.
But when I saw an Instagram post from Wisconsin-based company BIGG Mouth Fishing, I was immediately intrigued.
Continue reading “BIGG Mouth Fishing Stick Bait Review”
Recently, I spent lunch break fishing North Pier in Sheboygan.
I had the good fortune of speaking with a lot of very nice folks, many from out of state, who were out and about enjoying a beautiful day.
The most frequent question I got: what are all those dead fish in the water?
Continue reading “What are those little dead fish in Lake Michigan?”
There is no shortage of anecdotal and scientific evidence that being outdoors is good for your mental health.
The ol’ “getting some fresh air” trick has done wonders for countless people, myself included.
Disconnecting from the day-to-day and experiencing the beauty of the natural world, even for a brief period has a way of re-charging our proverbial batteries and leveling us out, often bringing about feelings of peace, calm, and relaxation.
But as you spend more time alone in nature, you’ll find these experiences can offer up more complex emotions. Some that, on the surface, may not necessarily seem positive.
Continue reading “Unpacking the feelings”
“If you want something you have never had, you must do something you’ve never done.”
The fact that this quote is frequently misattributed to Thomas Jefferson shouldn’t take away its sentiment. It certainly doesn’t for me.
After I came up empty in my mission to land my first inland trout on a fly rod during the early season, my friend Brandon offered me an opportunity. His family owns a cabin in Langlade County and he discovered an abundance of quality trout fishing spots during some scouting trips last year. He told me I was welcomed to join him for an adventure that would likely get me off the schneid.
Continue reading “Hunting for trout”
It’s Episode 42 of The Nathan Woelfel Outdoors Podcast!
In this show, I discuss some things I would like all of us to think about on Earth Day and every day. We cover why I believe humans take things for granted and why our environment can’t be one of them.
Continue reading “Nathan Woelfel Outdoors Podcast – Episode 42: The Big Picture”
Before you roll your eyes and go, “Oh great, another Earth Day think piece just like all the rest of ’em,” I hope you’ll hear me out.
Make no mistake, I am going to get up on my soap box. Today seems as good a day as any to do it. But I’m not going to take the cliche path of imploring you to plant a tree or pick up some trash. Though, those are always wonderful things to do.
In fact, even though there are loads of things we need to do to protect our planet, I’m not going to ask you to take any action at all. Not right now, anyway. My only ask of you throughout this entire would-be sermon is to stop and think. Because, unfortunately, I feel our society is in need of a mindset shift before we are capable of meaningful change.
Continue reading “My Earth Day Wish”
Nathan Woelfel Outdoors 