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”
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”
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”
If your social media feed looks anything like mine, you’ve probably seen a post or two on your app of choice about the historic cicada hatch that is set to occur in 2024.
This once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and the fear-mongering click-generating articles that have followed provide a frustrating glimpse at how little the average member of society knows about nature and our place in it.
The gist of many of these headlines is that, for the first time in over 200 years, two different broods of cicadas will simultaneously emerge, unleashing billions of creepy crawlers across the country.
Interestingly, many of the headlines and corresponding articles use the term “invasion” to describe the natural lifecycle of insects that have lived in our midst for, arguably, most of recorded history. In fact, cicadas are native to Wisconsin. They belong here.
By definition, an “invasion” involves some level of intrusion into another’s domain. In the grand scheme of the world, humans are the ones intruding upon nature. But I digress.
So before you allow these headlines to fuel your impending sense of doom, I ask that you give me an additional minute or two of your time to calm your nerves.
While I’m not one to rant about “the media” (I used to be a full-time member of it, after all), this whole thing certainly appears to be a collective exercise in, shall we say, curated storytelling.
Because while, yes, there are two broods of cicadas hatching in the United States in 2024 and, yes, this is certainly a rare event, that’s not the whole story. You see, there’s a pesky little detail that is buried in the majority of these articles and videos with clickbaity headlines. Many of them omit it altogether.
The two cicada broods in question (XIII and XIX) have different ranges. Meaning, they largely don’t live in the same places. The map below, from an NBC News article, gives a rough idea of where these particular broods are known to emerge.
See how little overlap exists?
While some scientists are excited about the potential overlap in Illinois, it’s worth noting that none of the overlap occurs here in Wisconsin.
Safe to say you don’t have to worry about seeing an apocalyptic swarm bugs in your yard this summer. In fact, it’s unlikely you’ll even notice an increased presence of cicadas at all.
In fact, few of these articles establish why this cicada hatch is even a problem to begin with. That’s largely because it isn’t one. Sure, cicadas make noise. But they are essentially harmless. We humans don’t own the world, we share it. Just because some bugs you don’t care to look at might pop up in your yard is not itself a reason to reach for the bottle of pesticide.
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve lived through plenty of cicada hatches. And considering there is no overlap of the ranges of these two broods in our state, it’s highly unlikely this one will be different than any of the others for the vast majority of Wisconsinites.
Plus, cicadas play several crucial roles as part of the larger ecosystem. They are a great food source for birds. They can improve the filtration of ground water and aerate the ground, plus they provide nutrients to the soil when they die and decompose.
Cicadas typically don’t feed on plant leaves, either. So odds are, your garden and landscaping will be just fine. Other than the bit of noise they produce for just a couple of weeks, they don’t negatively impact humans in any tangible way.
So don’t worry about the bugs. They have been living here longer than Wisconsin has been a state. There are plenty of other more worthwhile concerns in our world.
I make a conscious effort to keep my content enlightening, thought-provoking, and positive.
But a news story I was alerted to recently about train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio is going to make the latter difficult. Sometimes, we just need to bring the negativity forward and do our damndest to tackle it, however we can.
In my eyes, I couldn’t tell all of you that I care about the environment and our natural resources without at least openly reflecting on this incident.
I will be the first to tell you that I am not a scientist. I am no longer a reporter. I’m just someone trying to unpack a horrific, impactful event that seemingly no one is talking about.
Continue reading “Reflecting on the East Palestine train derailment”
Monarch butterflies were in the headlines in the summer of 2022 after they were officially listed as an endangered species.
Though their population has been on a steady decline in recent decades, this move caught much of the general public off-guard. But a look at the numbers shows that monarch numbers have decreased more than 80 percent in the last 30 years.
Continue reading “How to help monarch butterflies”
I’m going to be honest with all of you. I wanted to put together an article on tips for fishing spring crappies, but presenting myself as any sort of expert on the subject would be disingenuous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fishing crappies. They fight hard, taste great, and are relatively available in my part of the world. But I haven’t spent much time exclusively targeting these fish.
Continue reading “A crash course on crappies”
Being able to quickly break down a body of water is a key to catching more fish.
One of the simplest ways to begin that process is by assessing fishing pressure.
The amount of fishing pressure a particular spot receives can teach you a lot about what you’re dealing with in a given location and play a large role in your success rate.
You can learn a lot about a spot by observing how many people fish it and how they go about doing so.
When it comes to pressure from other anglers, fishing spots fall into one of four categories. Here is how to fish each one of them.
The spot everyone fishes because there are a lot of fish
We’ve all spent time here.
The local honey hole that everyone knows about because it produces each and every trip.
Scratching out a fish or two from a location like this is rarely a challenge. But few people get the most out of these spots on a consistent basis.
The key here is to show fish something different than the same old same old. If everyone is using live bait, try artificials (or vice versa).
If everyone uses a gaudy color, try a more natural presentation. You can almost never go wrong with natural.
When fish are heavily pressured, sometimes, it pays to stand out from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional or try an off-the-wall technique or bait.
Another way to give yourself an edge is to fish these spots during what others deem as “off” times. Learn how to attack these locations when the weather or water levels are sub-optimal and you’ll be catching when everyone else is sitting on the couch.
You can also try to fish species outside of what the masses are going after. Nearly every bass spot is also a panfish spot. Rough fish are also present just about everywhere. Changing up your target species every once in a while can deliver some surprising results.
The spot everyone fishes because it’s easy
These locations can be a trap. It’s all about psychology and keeping yourself honest.
It can be tempting to set up where all the boats, shanties, or shore anglers are. But a crowd doesn’t guarantee a catch.
The herd isn’t always right. And even when it is, there are limits.
It’s amazing how often the second person to a spot simply begins fishing within close proximity of the first person because they assume the first person knows something they don’t. When, in reality, the first person just stopped at the closest or most easily accessible spot that seemed reasonable.
The third person then falls in line behind the first two and the cycle continues.
Frequently, this vicious process concentrates anglers in a spot where there simply aren’t that many fish.
On the rare occasion the group is actually on fish, there aren’t enough active ones to go around.
Be wary of these spots, especially if the number of people doesn’t line up with your personal experiences in that location.
Do your due diligence. Try to fish on the edges of the crowd and don’t be afraid to break away if things are slow.
The spot no one fishes because there (seemingly) aren’t any fish
This is another potentially dangerous spot to get caught up in.
You can’t always take these locations at face value, but sometimes you should. It’s important to use your head in situations like this.
If you’ve been eyeing up a spot where you rarely see people, take stock of what you see when you arrive. If water levels or flow are bad or there is a lack of structure, this place probably isn’t worth your time.
But if it passes the eye test, give it a shot. Be patient. If there is structure and a decent amount of water, the overwhelming odds are there are fish present, even if it appears barren to everyone else.
It’s possible the average person just isn’t fishing this spot correctly, whether it be with sub-par techniques, less-than-desirable tackle, or they are targeting the wrong species or fishing at the wrong time of day.
Put in your time and make your own decisions about the merit of these kinds of spots.
The spot no one fishes because it’s hard
There is a lot of success to be had here.
Generally speaking, the average angler is closer to lazy than ambitious. This person is trying to enjoy their free time and is reluctant to put in any more effort than necessary.
But if you are willing to dedicate a little extra time and energy, you can enjoy some amazing fishing.
Dust that old kayak or canoe off and get into those backwaters.
Take a hike downriver from the popular spot and see what you find.
If you’re on the boat, trust your instruments and your knowledge and stick to your game plan regardless of what others are doing.
Explore maps and pinpoint some logical locations people may miss because they aren’t obvious.
Being adaptable and willing to get away from the pressure of other anglers can set you up for a great trip.
Sometimes, you just have to take the risks others aren’t willing to take. The results can be astonishing.
Conclusion
No matter where you fish, you are always in one of these four locations. The faster you figure out where you stand, the sooner you will be catching fish.
Be aware. Be adaptable. And be honest with yourself.
You’ll be on the fish in no time.
Nathan Woelfel Outdoors 