Grouse Hollow Journal: August 2016

Monday, August 29, 2016

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 25, 2016 by Greg Koelker

Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime, (or he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.)

This last week mountain man Ben was here with his girlfriend, Christine and their dog, Scout of the West. It was great to have them here for most of a week to hang out and catch up and break bread together even if it was hot and humid and stormy. Coming from the Rockies, these two and their pup were not used to the humidity for sure. Ben did go for some long runs up the ridge though. Christine and Ellen hosted a birthday party for Ben on Wednesday night; he was 37! It is always good to see some of his La Crosse buddies, and to reacquaint ourselves with some of his college friends who still live around La Crosse, as well as having our nephews Jason and Chet and his wife Kim here. We actually had 3 Bens here that night as well as 2 Scouts. We had some fun with one of the Ben’s children. Soon to be a new first grader, Dillon, is missing his front teeth and when I asked him what happened to them, he told me without missing a beat, “My dad and I box!” Ellen asked him if he wanted to see Ben’s Scout eat some broccoli (Scout loves it). Dillon was pretty skeptical asking her, “Is this some kind of knock knock joke?” He was amazed as Scout caught a few tid bits of greenery tossed as treats. Anyway, we sent Ben and Chris and Scout north in a shower on Saturday morning; they were heading to upper Michigan to visit her folks. Ben called around noon to tell us he had just waved to Lambeau Field. He texted later that they were off the road by 5:30 in Harbor Springs.

Ben had brought along his Bowtech compound bow so he could practice this week. He is going into the mountains to hunt elk as soon as they return. I was showing him my crossbow and had him shoot it. Christine and Ellen came up to the shop to see what we were up to; Chris said she had never shot a bow before and always wanted to try. She added that she hadn’t even watched Ben shoot. When I asked if she wanted to try shooting the crossbow, she was game. After showing her how to aim and telling her not to worry about “kick” like from a gun and not to let her thumb get too high on the stock under the cables and bow string, she was ready. I cocked the bow and loaded up a target bolt for her. She held the bow up and steadied it. When she found the target in the sight, she was able to focus it and squeeze the trigger. She hit the target first time. She fired it again and loved it. She was hooked. I had an old youth sized fiberglass recurve bow, so I suggested they get a bow string for it and some target arrows when they went to town and she could try that. When they came home later, they had a new Bear takedown recurve and some target arrows. (My fiberglass bow turned out to have a crack in it.) Chris shot and shot and got better as she practiced. Later Ben got a sight and arrow rest and a few more arrows. Chris won’t be hunting, but she is really up for more archery. So hand a man or woman a bow and they may love shooting it. Teach that person to shoot it and get them a decent target bow and they may be hooked for life.

Ellen’s cousin Cindy and El’s Uncle Jerome Hauk came to visit on Sunday. Jerome said Cindy didn’t tell him where they were going when they left home; it was to be a surprise. We were the surprise! Jerome is pretty incredible. He was 99 in July, but had never been to Grouse Hollow. He said he was figuring out the surprise as they headed north along the Mississippi. They both remarked on how high the river is. Anyway, after an initial tour of the house, we had a great visit out on the porch, sharing fishing stories and stories about growing up on the farm near Cassville and of serving in WWII. Jerome loves fishing. He said he got his boat all ready this spring, but due to the high water on the Wisconsin, he never got his boat on the river this summer. They were delighted when I fried up some Canadian walleye filets. El prepared garlic mashies, her special cashew, craisin and vinaigrette salad, sliced tomatoes, green beans, and peach crisp with ice cream for dinner. Yeah, I know - it don’t git no better. We will see Cindy and Jerome next at Squirrel Picnic in October.

Until next time, get out - Wisco Scout has been growing webbed toes this last week, me too. We had almost three more inches of rain over three days. I am ready for the grass to quit growing so fast. Still the garden is amazing. I am not even close to being tired of fresh tomatoes; Ellen has been harvesting them by the five gallon bucketfuls. We had 50 degrees on Monday morning, having the effect of making me want to go squirrel hunting. Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 18, 2016 by Greg Koelker

I am eating a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with my morning coffee as I tap this out this morning, trying not get mayo on the keys.

Anyway, Ellen and I fished on Wednesday morning last week. The air was cool and the water like glass as we motored north out of Goose Island. We found a nice mess of bluegills and perch under docks and in some lilly pads. We started out hooking some small bluegills, but eventually some big ones started showing up. We eventually anchored with a gentle breeze out of the south at our backs. We enjoyed the quiet and cool morning with few bugs. It was not calm in the boat. We were both nearly constantly pulling in a fish. I made a lot of tackle and did surgery on a number of deep hooked fish. By 10:30 the sun was getting high and warm and the fish must have gone on break, so we motored south. I thought we could try a different way to the landing. I wasn’t entirely wrong, but I realized things weren’t just right when I saw cars far away in the park off to the east - and north. Anyway, after a couple turns and miscues we made it in. I asked Ellen to motor the Queen onto the trailer when I got it in the water. She hit it perfectly. Because the water was so high, the dock wasn’t really usable as the ramp to it was a foot under water and there was a guy with four little kids trying to drown worms from it. I bet he was having fun. Anyway, I cleaned 22 nice sunfish and perch and we had a feast that night. (For those of you who care, El made homemade fresh tartar sauce with fresh dill in it, she sliced tomatoes, and baked red potatoes. We topped off dinner with her blueberry crisp.)

What with all the rain in the north last week, I was surprised to see that the river was beginning to fall on Thursday when Vince and I set forth into the back waters to hunt a fish fry. Like the day before, we found little ones right away, but eventually, every other one or two was a keeper. I got a nearly 12-inch perch, and we put 9 nice slabber perch in the livewell. Even smaller perch have huge filets, so this was looking good for Vince’s fish fry. He and his family were heading up north for a week on a lake, and he said he was taking those filets along as insurance for a fish fry there. It was getting hot, but the catching was cooling off, so I declared, “Okay, one more.” Then my bobber slammed down. I was fishing with a micro-lite pole and reel and had a time getting in the dandy slabber bluegill that had mugged my crawler rig. We and they were not done as it turned out. We caught at least half-a-dozen more of those slabbers each before the biting tapered off.

Ellen had casually mentioned that I should clean out the boat earlier in the week, so I spent Saturday afternoon bringing the Queen back from scow status. Ben and Christine will be here this week, and we may go for a boat ride. I have to admit, cleaning the boat is right up there with cleaning the basement for me so I let it go for a long time. The carpet was full of ground in sand and dirt and leaves; I wish I could have turned the boat over and shake it. The livewell had a certain aroma about it. There was mud splashed all over the sides and on the trailer from driving through road construction much of the spring and summer. After a thorough shop vacuuming, I took everything out of it and then soaped the heck out of it before power washing. Anyway, I wouldn’t eat off the floor, but the Mississippi Queen looks a lot more like a queen again.

Until next time, get out - the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Mississippi River Committee meets this Saturday at the Stoddard Legion at 9:30 AM. Hunting season is only a month away. Time to start scouting and checking out your gear and start practicing with your sharp stick stuff. Ellen has been canning tomato sauce using our pressure cooker. She plans on canning salsa this week. Our kitchen is a cornucopia of colorful veggies. Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 11, 2016 by Greg Koelker

You've heard of Girls Gone Wild perhaps? Well the Mississippi is going wild. The old girls running high and mighty with rain and floodwater. We drove down to Potosi on Sunday for the 50th anniversary celebration of Pete and Anne Uppena, Ellen’s cousins. The river is up in the islands and high along the shores. Surprisingly one could see sandbars rising out of the Wisconsin at Bridgeport, so maybe the state river isn’t carrying as much runoff as the big muddy just now. At Lynxville, some of the roller gates at the dam were pulled up - to let more water through I assume.

There are big doings on the wide flat north of the Lynxville dam. The dam was originally built in 1937 and refurbished during a decade or more in the 90s and 2000s. Now the Corps of Engineers continues a three-year habitat restoration project, using heavy construction equipment and dredging to move material to various locations within the pool for island development. The project is a part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program that included the work at Stoddard and Brownsville and more. Since 1986, the Corps of Engineers has restored more than 45,000 acres, or 62 square miles, of river and floodplain habitat within the St. Paul District. From the highway the project looks huge, and the Corps recommends extreme caution while navigating near the construction site.

The high water doesn’t seem to have hurt the fishing. Vince said he and Monty Gilbertson cleaned 76 nice panfish in two days out last week. Gotta get back on the river this week.

This last Saturday Cassville hosted the 30th Annual American Legion Post 352 Tonnage Tournament. Fishing teams pay an entry fee and head out to fill their boat with as many heavy fish as they can - this year there were 61 teams. Originally started as a means to help harvest over populating rough fish, Tonnage has grown into a sponsored fundraiser event. My information was taken from a participant and he told me this year’s winners weighed in 218 pounds of fish! Now keep in mind, this is not generally bluegills and walleyes; it is sheepshead, carp, buffalo, gar, pike, catfish, and whatever else they can legally land that will add pounds - it might include panfish and walleyes. I was told the winning team had two buffalo that came in at over 20 pounds each. El’s cousin said he and his partner weighed in 108 pounds and didn’t even place. At least two boats didn’t even register a fish. (Had I participated there would have been one more probably.) The party includes an of excess of fish stories, razzing, sunburn, and family rivalries. The legion provides food and drink afterwards. Post 352 uses the funds raised for community projects, scholarships, military funeral honors, and maintaining the Cassville Veterans Memorial site. The DNR closely monitors the tournament, so these fish don’t go to waste either.

The Journal Sentinel reported this last week about a new virus that was determined to have killed largemouth bass on Pike Lake last year. The researchers feel that the virus has been contained to that area. Biologists have determined fish kills near La Crosse on the Mississippi River were caused by lack of oxygen. The story I read says, “Hot weather exacerbates such conditions because hot water holds less oxygen and speeds up decay of vegetation and other organic matter, a process that consumes oxygen. The news release says oxygen levels near zero have been noted recently in backwaters near La Crosse. Recent rains have flushed the oxygen-depleted water into other parts of the river. “ From what I can see, the river is really grassed in, so it may be awhile before this problem goes away.

Until next time, get out - Ellen’s tomatoes are making my day lately. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches for all three meals a day. Tonight I had a chicken, cheese, lettuce, AND tomato sandwich for supper. Um um. She picked a huge batch of perfectly formed garlic this last week. She is getting a few green peppers and she may have to wear a helmet to protect herself from exploding zucchini. Still, for some reason her cucumbers faded away. Oh well, we'll just have to rough it with a trip to the farmer’s market. She baked more zucchini bread the other day. I suggested zucchini muffins next time. What a wonderful time to be an epicure such as myself. Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 4, 2016 by Greg Koelker

Boy! I have had some great months in my life, but the one we just got over does not rank among them. I started July with lyme’s disease and two weeks later, when I started feeling a little better,, I reacted to the medication with some such or other stomach disorder, so I was really sick again. On top of it all, the medication advisories recommended “Do Not Use Alcohol!” Talk about insult to injury.

My ambition recovered this last week and I got back to mowing some of our trails and the ridge road and several food plots. The clover and root veggies in the wildlife plots have been overgrown with queen anne’s lace and a few tall thistles, some reaching as high as the roll bar on the tractor. I tried to miss the many milkweed plants as I mowed to leave them for the butterflies. It was also disturbing to see hundreds of Japanese beetles crawling on and falling off some of the taller plants as the John Deere roared over them. I hope I smashed a few at least. My better-half has been making war on the Japanese beetles. She sprays some bug spray in an ice cream pail and then uses the lid to invite the copper/green nasties to take a swim. She’s got quite a few, but . . .

Early Sunday morning, Vince Ruetten and I motored north out of Goose Island in search of a fish fry. After drifting around Gundersen Bay a bit, we finally found fish. We had fun catching little bluegills and every so often tossing one decent fish into the livewell. We caught sunfish, white bass, perch, sheepshead, some small bass and one decent flathead catfish. When the menagerie was filleted down in a bowl for frying, the Ruttens had enough for a dandy supper. Bella and Jenny fixed Vince and I eggs and bacon with some sliced tomatoes and avocado for a late breakfast too. It don’t get no better.

Our neighbors told us to help ourselves to their sweet corn patch, so El and I dropped up and visited with Andy Beitlich before we filled a five-gallon pail with perfect corn. He told us Angie had a new a new baby girl this past week. Congratulations, Kids! Three boys and a girl. Wow! Very cool. Anyway, we plan to fix some of their sweet corn and steak and tomatoes for supper tonight. We will probably toast the new baby girl, Callie and her parents - I finished my meds yesterday and I can have a cocktail again. Whew! Steak, sweet corn, and fresh tomatoes is my almost favorite summer meal. The best summer meal is basil, brie and tomatoes as I have written so many times before. We will have that later this week - with wine, maybe.

If you’re interested, mark you calendar for August 20 when the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Mississippi River Committee (of which I am the secretary) is meeting at the Stoddard Legion at 9:30. The public is invited to attend.

On Sunday, Ellen and I met Janus, pronounced “JAY ness” from Denmark. He is a foreign exchange student staying with our neighbors the Sikoras. As far as first impressions go, he nailed it with us. Not sure how we did with him. Anyway, I look forward to getting to know him.

Until next time, get out - i used to work around some news directors who actually cared about real news back in the 70’s and 80’s. People like Gene Carlson, Mark Quade, and John T. Hoffland for example. What I see today on the networks - and I don’t care which one it is - is all just inflated hyperbolic malarkey. One presidential candidate insulting another IS NOT NEWS - anymore at least. It doesn’t matter who. I propose that everyone write their national news outlets. ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, NPTV and NPR, Bloomberg and even Comedy Central and their local papers and demand that they never mention the candidates for president unless they say something of import, something newsworthy, like presenting a new plan to fix Social Security or defeat Isis or make the IRS fair. A real plan, not cheap shots - with details and facts. Why would that be so hard? There must be a few paragraphs of national and international news about wars and refugees, the Olympics, fires, floods, famine, drought, revolutions, etc. - people actually working together to help someone maybe? Something more news more worthy than calling someone crooked or thin-skinned or racist or traitor. Who cares? So what? Tell me something that matters in the REAL WORLD. It is pretty obvious these slurs stick to both sides. You want to do something that gets their attention for real? Quit watching these “news” programs and reading these “news” sources altogether and see how they like it then. Believe me, it could work. Go fishing. Enjoy!