Don Marquardt, of Manitowoc, shared the photo accompanying this week’s column of the 9-point buck he arrowed in the Kellnersville area in November.

To score a rack, it needs to dry down for 60 days, so Stan Zirbel just recently scored Marquardt’s buck with a net score of 135-6/8 inches gross and 125-7/8 inches net. The rack had an 18-7/8-inch inside spread.

Don’s buck is now qualified for the Pope and Young and also the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club record books.

Congratulations, Don, on a great buck. This one will be hard to top!

Scoping the Great Outdoors: Read on for more outdoors news from throughout Manitowoc County and beyond.

Read last week’s column:Cottontail Classic winners and more news in the latest Manitowoc outdoors report

Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen Banquet coming up March 9

Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen Banquet will be at City Limits, 3627 County Road CR, Manitowoc, March 9. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and the buffet dinner will be served 5-7 p.m.

Banquet tickets are available through March 6 at Popp’s Harbor Town Citgo in Manitowoc, Klein’s Hardware Hank in Two Rivers or from Fred Schnell by calling 920-901-6020.

Tickets are $35 and no tickets will be sold at the door with a limit of 300 banquet tickets sold.

Raffle ticket packages must be picked up at City Limits between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. March 9, or when doors open at 4:30 p.m. If picking up tickets in the morning, use the back door. Raffle ticket packages must be ordered in advance from Fred Schnell by calling 920-901-6020.

In addition to a great dinner, hundreds of prizes will be included in the form of door prizes, raffle prizes, and silent and live auction items.

Northeastern Wisconsin Great Lakes Sport Fishermen support natural resource preservation/ enhancement plus events that promote outdoor youth mentoring.

Clarks Mills club’s statewide fishing derby will be March 2-3

Clarks Mills Sportsmans Club will hold its 16th annual statewide fishing derby March 2-3.

Weigh-in is prior to 7 p.m. March 2 and final weigh-in is before 3 p.m. March 3.

Register at Popp’s Harbor Town, Klein’s Hardware Hank, Spudz and Schuh Factory. Entry fee is $5 for both kids’ and adult derbies.

A sheepshead card tournament will also be held at the club at noon March 2.

Food and refreshments will be available all weekend.

For more information, contact Tyler Kiel at 920-323-4343. Clarks Mills Sportsmans Club is west of Clarks Mills on Clarks Mills Road.

Maribel club names big buck winners

During the February meeting of the Maribel Sportsman’s Club, winners of the big buck contests for gun and bow seasons were announced.

Mary Ann Rabitz had the big buck in the gun contest with her 6-pointer while John Rabitz had the big buck in the bow contest with his 8-pointer.

Congratulations to these winners!

DNR weighs in on national wolf recovery plan proposal

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources stated recently it is aware of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to focus on a national wolf recovery plan.

This proposal would result in no change to the listing status, and wolves in Wisconsin would remain on the federal endangered species list.

The DNR said it will continue to follow the guidance laid out in the recently approved Wolf Management Plan to the extent consistent with the listed status, the DNR’s authority and applicable laws.

The Wolf Management Plan details how the listed status of wolves in Wisconsin determines what management tools are available.

As a reminder, while the wolf is on the endangered species list, hunting and lethal depredation control are prohibited.

The DNR said it will continue to partner with USDA-Wildlife Services to address wolf conflicts in Wisconsin. If you suspect wolves in the depredation of livestock, pets or hunting dogs, or if wolves are exhibiting threatening or dangerous behavior, contact USDA-Wildlife Services staff immediately. If in northern Wisconsin, call 1-800-228-1368 or 715-369-5221; in southern Wisconsin, call 1-800-433-0663 or 920-324-4514.

While gray wolves are listed as a federally endangered species, it remains unlawful to shoot a wolf unless there is an immediate threat to human safety.

For more on wolves in Wisconsin, visit the DNR website for additional information on wolf management.

More Bob Schuh:Click here to read more ‘Scoping the Great Outdoors’ columns

Sturgeon spearing on thin (or no) ice this year

Ice conditions this winter are poor, at best, leaving the sturgeon spearers using extra caution or keeping them on land.

Lake Winnebago ice has been pushed around, making for treacherous conditions.

I have not had any reports regarding the ice on the Upriver Lakes, but being smaller bodies of water, they maybe are not moving around nearly as much.

Some of the spearers who tried their luck have been having some limited success, including several sturgeon over the 100-pound mark.

Some of the sturgeon registration stations on the east side of Winnebago have been closed for most of the season.

The southwest side of Lake Winnebago seems to be the hotspot this year, but only because the ice is slightly better on that corner of the lake.

Just be very cautious on any ice-covered water this year — we don’t need any of us to become a statistic!

That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.