Outdoors - Pierce County Journal

My fishing buddy Kailu was born in Hawaii and now resides in North Carolina. He was a worthy fishing companion.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Kailu’s Wisconsin wish

We are at the end of June and I have yet to write a single article about fishing. The reason being is that the foraging and turkey hunting seasons are time sensitive. In other words, I … more

By Dave Beck | 6/25/25

Though I didn’t get a turkey, the discovery of oyster mushrooms made up for it.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Stubborn tom leads to discovery

The spring turkey seasons have now passed for another year. I’m not in the woods nearly as often as I am when I have an open turkey tag in my pocket. To be honest, having an open tag … more

By Dave Beck | 6/18/25

Whenever I encounter fawns, I try to get by them as quickly as possible so as not to cause them more stress.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Fawn season

Last week I journaled about my mushroom hunt of the year. I found so many ‘shrooms in one spot that I left more than I picked. After eating those mushrooms, I decided to go out for … more

By Dave Beck | 6/11/25

I lucked out and found the mother lode of Wisconsin’s gold, otherwise known as morel mushrooms.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Wisconsin Gold

Springtime weather can be fickle and forecasting it can be difficult but not as hard as predicting the peak of the morel mushroom hunting season. Wisconsin Gold (morels) may show up in April if … more

By Dave Beck | 6/4/25

Honest to goodness here is “my view” as I write this week’s column. If you look closely, in the center of the window you can see the moon. If you look directly under the moon, you can see a black dot. That dot is a strutting tom turkey who wants nothing to do with my calls and everything to do with the hen that he has been following for a hundred plus yards from across the crest of the field.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A live episode of OTT

I’ve been doing this writing side job for some 30-plus years, and you’d think that by now I would plan for editorial deadlines. For the most part I do, but every once in a great … more

By Dave Beck | 5/28/25

I won the turkey hunting lottery when I called not one, but two toms into the area of my blind.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: The wait is over

Last week I had just enough time to get in two days’ worth of turkey hunting before I had to submit my weekly homework. It was just enough time to deal with a few birds and to get … more

By Dave Beck | 5/21/25

Dawson Sotona, 6, Spring Valley, caught a 2.57-pound, 20-inch brown trout opening day, making him the Eau Galle Rush River Sportsman’s Club’s youth contest winner.

Eau Galle – Rush River Sportsman’s Club holds 49th contest

The Eau Galle – Rush River Sportsman’s Club held its 49 th annual trout fishing contest Saturday, May 3, 2025 at the Ellsworth Rod & Gun Club. It was cool in the morning and … more

By Lin Linder | 5/21/25

Even though my quest for a turkey wasn’t successful, my foraging bag was filled with young fiddleheads.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A great consolation prize

It’s the tail end of the spring turkey hunting seasons and you haven’t heard much about it because up until now, I haven’t been hunting. Somehow, someway, I seemed to have … more

By Dave Beck | 5/14/25

The white plastic tubes help protect this year’s plantings. The next row represents planting from three years ago while the firs in the background are from my first tree planting season in the early 2000s.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A way to thank Mother Nature

It seems to me like Arbor Day is kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of national holidays in that it doesn’t get a whole lot of respect or attention even though it’s been around for over 150 … more

By Dave Beck | 5/7/25

Outdoor Tales & Trails: The greatest things of Spring

As I sat down to “pen” today’s article I did so with the idea that I wanted to celebrate the greatest days of the outdoor calendar year: when spring has sprung. From that … more

By Dave Beck | 4/30/25

If you want to know what it feels like to look for a needle in a haystack take a walk and look for something this small in an area this big.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: lifelong quest

It seems like whenever I am on my computer or phone and have a random thought, a related feed or pop-up appears on my screen like magic. Does that ever happen to you? I don’t remember … more

4/16/25

Outdoor Tales & Trails: They got the best of me

We seem to be at the end of the dark winter tunnel with the light of springtime getting brighter every day. These days a sure sign is that the Pierce County back channel boat landing is a pretty … more

By Dave Beck | 3/19/25

I was scarcely 15 minutes into my shed hunting hike when I spotted the first one, which is usually the hardest to find. I knew the second half had to be nearby.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: A tale of two sheds

The first official shed deer antler hunt is over. I went out prepared loading up my backpack with a few bottles of water and energy snacks ready to put in a four-hour hike that at times was … more

By Dave Beck | 3/12/25

The Wisconsin DNR reports that first-time spearer, 22-year-old Hayley Herzig of Fond du Lac (pictured above with the biggest sturgeon of 2025) speared a female weighing 180 pounds and measuring 79.3 inches, the fourth largest sturgeon in Wisconsin history.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: The Sturgeon Festival

From an outdoor recreation standpoint there are not many things in Wisconsin that I have not done. Today I am going to tell you the one thing that I have never done but I have always wanted to … more

By Dave Beck | 2/26/25

The drake wood duck is my favorite duck because of it colorful head crest and plumage.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Beauty & the Beast Part II

Last week kicked off the very first OTT edition of Beauty and the Beast. For review, pre-spawn male brook trout represented the former and the odd-looking mole the latter. I am not a fan of … more

By Dave Beck | 2/5/25

During my last musky fishing outing of the season, I almost fired myself as netman. Somehow, despite the struggle, the musky landed in the boat…finally.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: If a person has it coming…

My dad is a lifelong euchre player with extraordinary confidence. He is always willing to give constructive criticism and free advice. Even though you may not know my dad, … more

By Dave Beck | 1/22/25

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Those crafty critters...

Happy New Year! Although it’s the start of a new year, it’s near the end of the fisher trapping season. Fisher trapping is a tough gig. The time and effort put into it does … more

By Dave Beck | 1/2/25

The best tracking crew I could ever ask for: My nephew Brandon, his three kids and my brother Whammer.

Outdoor Tales & Trails: Muzzy Season Part II

For review, last week I told you about my return down river to the Rush Creek area. I went muzzleloader hunting in the spot where I shot at my first archery deer. That hunt was a long time … more

By Dave Beck | 12/18/24

Shoutout to the entire Ruemmele hunting party from Hudson. This is an awesome old school meat pole picture that includes four bucks and two does.

Oh deer! Pierce County 2024 deer hunting gallery

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) celebrates the conclusion of the 2024 nine-day gun deer hunt, which kicked off the holiday season in Wisconsin with opportunities to enjoy the … more

12/4/24

Ryan Beierman and his son Owen Beierman.

RF man saved by son in gruesome bear attack

Ryan Beierman and his 12-year-old son Owen of River Falls thought they would be embarking on a normal hunting and fishing trip to their cabin near Siren, but everything changed in a hurry when Ryan … more

By Andrew Harrington | 10/16/24