Grouse Hollow Journal for February 27, 2014 by Greg Koelker

Oops! This above the berm at Stoddard, not Lake Winnebago.

The boys shooting it out at Gander Mountain.

The ice road on Lake Winnebago.

One of our trucks stuck in the mashed potato snow on Friday.

Out across Bago

My shadow toward evening Friday. It looks peaceful - it was frigid.

Sunset on Bago on Friday

The road crew on  Bago

Grouse Hollow Journal for February 27, 2014 by Greg Koelker

Someone once said something like, one has to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of flowers, sunsets and uneventful nice days; someone else said that we remember those extraordinary times in our lives that are most trying and filled with hardship. After this last weekend at the Battle on Bago, I think I have a better understanding of both sayings.

The trials started on Tuesday last week. Nephew Jason Junk and I had planned to head east to stay with his brother on Thursday so we could fish on Friday, but we decided we'd best head out a day early to get ahead of the forecasted ice storm and blizzard. We got in at nephew and niece Jared and Sonya Junk's home in Richfield around 8 Wednesday night. We guys, stayed up catching up and planning our strategies.

On Thursday, it was rainy and windy. Sonya is due with the couple's second son in the next couple of weeks, so after breakfast, we guys, including 2-year old Carter, got out of her hair and went to Farm and Fleet and Gander Mountain to get some “necessary” fishing tackle and ogle all the big boy toys.

In the afternoon, Ned Schauf of Cuba City, made it in and the four of us big boys went to nearby Slinger and Big Cedar Lake with a car load of tip ups to fish and catch up, in the rain as it turned out. The snow on top of the lake was a bit like cold mashed potatoes, so the going was a bit sketchy at best in Jared's Mazda SUV. We set out half a dozen tip ups and sat in the comfort of the car to wait upon a flag and solve the problems of the world, fishing wise anyway. Flag's proved elusive this day, so during a “break” in the rain, we each jumped out to gather up line. The break proved short lived and it was raining sideways on us before we had the gear stored back in the car.

That night Jared and Sonya had a fish fry for us topped off by super chewy, chocolaty brownies with pretzels on top.

On Friday morning, when we went out and loaded up the vehicles - we remembered our food this year - the weather had changed dramatically. The rain was now grainy, wind driven snow. The temp had dropped into the teens. In the headlights, it sort of looked like the snow pack in Jared's yard was migrating east, skimming over his driveway on its way to Lake Michigan.

We met Jared's buddies Nate and Steve of Delafield at The Reel Shot bait shop in Oshkosh. There I bought a pair of fleece-lined leather chopper mitts for $10. During the last couple of weeks, I bought bait, a new ice rod, line, and a number of jigging baits. These mittens proved to be the best purchase I made - maybe all winter. My hands never got cold all weekend. I could leave the mitts in my coat pockets with just the tops sticking out and slip my bare hands in when I needed. And let me tell you, it was cold - @#$% cold (as this is a family paper, @#$% means doggone). Opening morning of deer season in November was child's play compared to how Ma Nature tested us out on Lake Winnebago last Friday: temps in the low 20's, occasional snow, and nearly unending 25 mph wind with gusts up to 50 miles an hour. I don't even want to think about the wind chill stats. I have never stayed out in the elements for so long in conditions like this. The wind was so strong one time that I actually slid forward on some clear ice! The roar of the wind made communication difficult, even in a tent.

The ice itself put us to the test too. It was at least two and half feet thick and rough, with drifts and chunks of ice everywhere; Jared's power ice auger was our first casualty of battle. The blade began disintegrating in the first hole he drilled. By the second, the fins were completely peeled off making the drill pretty much useless as without the fins moving the ice up out of the hole, the operator has to try and lift nearly three feet of slush and ice up on the ice. We had three more power augers along or the battle could have been a short one. Jason had two reels fail on him next.

We used Vexillar and Marcum sonar fish finders, an Aqua Vu camera, and jigging Rapalas along with other jigging type baits and some minnows and spikes and wax worms to fish with. Steve, Jason, Jared, and Ned all caught a fish. Last year I caught one fish. This year I beat that record with four bites and zero hooked. We fished, drank some adult beverages, moved five times, got stuck and got out, and tried our best. Nate and Steve set up a grill and fixed some baked beans and brats for lunch, arctic style. At sunset, we pulled the plug and headed south; however, Nate and Steve set up a camp, planning to spend the night on the ice - in the cold and in the wind! Back at base camp in Richfield, we ate pizza and were soon sawing logs.

We slept in on Saturday and bid Ned a safe trip back to Cuba City. The three of us debated heading back to Winnebago, and Winnebago won the coin flip. We didn't get on the ice until after 10 AM. On the way, Jared texted Nate and Steve - they were still alive - and they had spent the night on the ice in a tent. And even after all that, they got a rock, fishing wise anyway. If they started catching fish, they would call. Pat Kolbe texted that he caught some white bass, but when his North Fond du lac High School Fishing team drilled holes near him, the fish quit. We got a tip from Eli that guys near Pipe on the east side were getting fish and then we heard guys three miles out from Quinney were hammering them. We went there.

If the fish had been biting, they weren't by the time Jason and Jared had drilled ten holes and we dropped lines in. The weather was still windy, but sunny and like a spring day compared to Friday. We met up with Eli and John MacDonald out on the ice and then headed across Winnebago to Oshkosh and the weigh in. Jason had a white bass with a slim possibility of finishing in the top 700. At the Battle headquarters we stumbled our way into the crowd, listened to the band, and then carved a way back out. We found Jason who said the top fish at that point was a 9-pound walleye. Later we saw that an over 9-pound lawyer (aka eel pout) was the top fish. A 5-pound lawyer won the F-150. Jason's .88 pound white bass finished like 2107^th. Rats.

On the way home the boys were reading posts on Lake Link about the Battle and some people were upset that in 2013 not a single eelpout or lawyer fish were registered and in 2014 there hundreds. This is the beginning of the spawn for eelpout they said. Others questioned the perfidious practice of going online to find unused Battle tickets to buy after catching a mess of big fish. Ticket sales ended before Friday morning's opening time - officially. One guy wanted 20 tickets! Another post even complained about the band in tent.

Anyway, we did finish the Battle with a welcome and warm dinner of sloppy Joe's and cheesy potatoes and ice cream and more of Sonya's brownies. No doubt the boys and I will remember the 2014 Battle on Bago if for no other reason than Ma Nature's daring us to come back and meet the challenge (and Sonya's brownies). Win, win, I say.

Until next time, get out - I may have retired from teaching, but I did teach Carter, my 2-year grand nephew, to say “boomshakalaka!” and “good stuff Maynard!” Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for the week of February 13, 2014

That's me in the red flannel.  

Grouse Hollow Journal for February 13, 2014 by Greg Koelker

I won't put down some of the words I used to refer to my “friends” who voted for me to be a Bergen Township delegate to the Vernon Electric Cooperative District Committee Conference this winter. (No doubt, Editor Matt would delete them but I'll save him the trouble.) Last week, when I told Vince that I was elected, he said, “I've been checking your name for as long as I can remember.” With friends like this who needs . . . well, you get the idea. I am not a joiner, necessarily anyway, so I was not too fired up about missing an ice fisheree up on Lake Onalaska to spend a Saturday at a meeting where I wouldn't know exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I could have made a call and bowed out of the meeting, but Ellen reminded me that I am retired and I could go fishing the next day, so I went.

Things started going wrong right away, not doing much to allay my apprehension that I was in for a long boring morning. I saw the road sign that read Saugstad Road, and I turned right, much to the consternation of “Berta,” the lady in my GPS on my smart phone. I finally got turned around and got to the Vernon Electric headquarters just in time. Inside things started looking up; the first person I saw that I knew was Karla (Proksch) Stanke. Karla grew up just up the road from our farm. She and her sister Kathy often watched over Ben and Mark back in the day. She was too busy to reminisce too much, but it was really nice to see her and catch up a bit. The next person I knew was Dave Olson of De Soto. Dave is an old friend going back to the days of summer little league when our boys played together and then when I taught and coached his children, Sarah and John, at De Soto. He told me to listen with an open mind and I would learn something. After that, I started visiting with a delegate from Shelby named Mark and we sat together. We both grabbed a coffee and donut and headed for a table. The meeting was just getting started when I put down my folder and immediately dumped my nearly full cup of coffee on the table and all over a couple of handouts and my apple fritter. Mortified, I went for paper towels while a couple of the guys used napkins to start the cleanup before I got back. Anyway, everyone was gracious about the whole mishap except me, I guess.

Dave Olson was right. I learned a great deal about our power cooperative. After Vernon Electric Cooperative Board President, Bernadine Hornby was designated the meeting chair and welcomed us, director of Office Services, Karla Yanske began the meeting, sharing with us the changes in technology in running the VEC offices and records. They now use paperless files, online bill pay and examination, online and smart phone contact with the people in the field, and more. Director of Operations and Engineering, Craig Buros, shared the changes in how linemen in the field can interact with the office, client, internet, and keep records of their time and services. The people in the field show up on a computerized map, so everyone working together knows where each other are. The huge paper files and books of maps of customers and even power poles are readily available on their smart phones or Ipads. Director of Marketing and Communications, Dave Maxwell, showed the features of the VEC web site including the easy ability to check one's usage and records, see what's new at VEC in the online newsletter, and more. CEO and General Manager, Joe McDonald began by talking about “the good news”, like how there were no actions needed at this meeting regarding rule changes, and that business is good enough that there was no rate increase to deal with. The coop experienced a record low number of outages this past year. Joe talked about the coop's renewable energy emphasis and project that includes a large solar field near the Westby facility.

There was more; I even learned how to really explain a BTU - light a single match and let it burn and you have created a BTU. I was impressed with how VEC has begun to modernize our business and especially how the people who have to fix outages and take care of our supply lines and such can now use Ipads and smart phones to see what's happening, find and record and take care of problems, and communicate with each other without a pile of paperwork. The lunch was good too.

While we ate, we discussed this winter's special attributes and how we heat with geo-thermal, how another delegate heats mostly with a huge fireplace, and how another has a $60,000 solar array set up. They did door prize drawings then too and I won a $45 gift certificate that I immediately put toward our electric bill. Sweet! I'll go again if they want me.

So I guess I will recant my dark thoughts towards those who voted for me. I always enjoy a day when I can meet new people and learn something new. Vernon Electric will be sponsoring a VEC Night at Mt. La Crosse on Friday, February 21 with deals on tickets, ski rental, and lessons. Take the kids.

Until next time, get out - I am getting ready for the annual Battle On Bago Ice fishing trip with my nephews Jason and Jared Junk. I hope to make an ice fishing trip to North Dakota with my friend Doug Ledbury yet this winter too. More on these later. Enjoy.  

Grouse Hollow Journal for the week of February 6, 2014

14 7/8" Third Place Large Mouth hooked with 2lb. test line through the ice.

Grouse Hollow Journal for February 6, 2014 by Greg Koelker

Well, I guess we had what amounts to the sort of January thaw we could expect THIS winter last week - like one day in total. I guess that one warmish day could explain why some animals that normally sleep all winter were out and about. I guess that's why I got a call from Ellen asking me what I thought she should do with Scout. Ellen and Scout are not creatures who hibernate in the winter; my “girls” go on a walk up our ridge, often on snowshoes every day. Last Wednesday it was so nice out that El decided to deviate from their usual trek and check the Oak Stand and food plot field for deer and turkey sign. On these hikes, Scout loves bounding about sticking her head into every little hole in the snow, sniffing every pile of “sign,” and chasing squirrels and birds. To our knowledge, in her over eight years, Scout has never attempted an assault on a skunk - believe me, from what we now know, that would have been hard to conceal from us. Anyway, at the Oak Stand gate, Scout saw something and took off after it. El said she just thought it must be a squirrel-as-usual. Ellen added that she saw the squirrel's tail and wondered why it didn't just run up a tree. Then she realized with a bit of horror - and a second too late to call off Scout's charge - that the “squirrel” had a white stripe down its back. Scout bounded in on the surprised, and no doubt half-awake and cranky, skunk and got a head-on Hellfire-missile-sized dose of shock and awe polecat style. Scout acted like she had been hit by Johnny Jolly, Clay Mathews, and Brad Jones all-at-once at the line of scrimmage, and immediately started yelping and whining, and shoving her head into snow to relieve the agony of de-scent. She rolled and rolled in the snow. Unbelievably, after that, Scout tried a second assault on Pep'e le Pew! Ellen was able to call her off, but the damage was done.

Anyway, back to the phone call. I suggested El go home and check the web for some solution or other we could use to cleanse our erstwhile - and now incredibly odiferous - canine companion. I called the usually helpful DNR helpline. The guy said that was a new one for him, but he googled it and gave me a recipe for cleaning up skunk odor. El called with a recipe - pretty much the same one the DNR guy said - that included peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. I stopped at ACE hardware on my way home and was shown some Animal Odor/Stink powder and I got a couple pints of peroxide at Walmart. We don't have a heated garage or anywhere we could think of to give Scout a bath, and it was going to be really cold that night, so I decided to try the dry powder Mr. Stink to avoid a frozen dog in the morning. I put on some old shop clothes and a pair of rubber gloves and opened the can. Scout did not care for the stuff at all, but after a ten minute wrestling match, I got her pretty well dusted down. I put some in her kennel bedding too. I gave her another dose the next day, but she was still banned from her kitchen rug for the duration, at least until she started stinking like a dog again anyway.

After having Scout get up wind of me on a walk the next day, I finally called a couple dog groomers on Scout's behalf. The pet grooming business must be good, because when they heard what my problem was, they were suddenly booked up until at least Valentine's Day or thereabouts. One lady recommended the Ship Shape Dog Wash in Crossing Meadows shopping mall, and she recommended something called Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor remover. Ellen and I drove out there, like 18 miles, and bought the cleaner. The dog wash was warm, It has a raised stainless steel tub with a sprayer and dryer hose and place to set what you want coming out in the water, like rinse, tearless shampoo, hair conditioner (I'm not kidding), flea and tick wash, etc. We donned our rain gear (they had plastic aprons hanging on the wall, but we didn't notice them until we were done.) and then had to wrestle Scout up the steps into the tank. We really motivated after that close contact by the way. Anyway, I plugged a $10 in the slot and we started. I don't know when we have belly laughed so much in recent times. I sprayed Ellen and she sprayed me - both accidental shootings of course. Scout did everything she could muster to escape, but she was finally resigned to her fate. We lathered and rinsed and repeated and then washed her with the tearless shampoo. The dryer sort of helped, but the towels we brought were a good idea. El remarked that it was too bad the dog wash doesn't have a video camera set up to record the process like they do when one goes whitewater rafting and such, and then they try to sell you a picture. I think I would have bought that. Scout got to ride home in the cab with us. The dog wash and Skunk Odor remover proved to be “the bomb” (as El's brother Bill likes to say) on the problem. We heard later that Viroqua has a dog wash too. We learned something and had fun doing it. Scout got back in the kitchen, and in a twist on Mark Twain's quote about picking a cat up by the tail, if you charge a skunk head on, you learn things you cannot learn any other way. Let us hope Scout was paying attention.

Until next time, get out - Vince and I fished at the Jiggn' Jamboree on Stoddard Bay on Saturday. The ice is really thick so we didn't drill many holes. Vince pulled in a nice largemouth bass, that was maybe an inch too short to satisfy the law, and then we caught some bluegills. He got a dandy 9-incher. I hooked something big and got the fishes head started up the hole (keep in mind the ice hope is like a 2-foot tunnel fraught with edges to get hooked on). Vince knelt down and snagged the bass onto the ice with his fingers. I borrowed a tape from a guy nearby and the fish was almost 15 inches, so I had something register at the contest. The weather was crazy with flurries, sunshine, breeze and wind, and low gray skies. Anyway, Vince had a perch and a bluegill in the top three spots on the board moments before the weigh-in closed. I had that bass. Unfortunately, both of Vinny's fish were edged out. My bass was third and I got a cash prize! The last time I won fish prize at a fisheree, I was probably ten years old and down on Bertram Lake. I hooked a huge crappie. My dad had to chop - with a spud - the hole a little bigger for me to get it out on the ice. I think I won a 6-pack of beer back then. Enjoy.