May 10, our neighbors, Kenny and Patty Marsicek, picked up Mary and I and we headed to Shawano.

Our first destination would be the Wolf River, just below the Shawano dam, to see the sturgeon as they made their way up the Wolf River from Lake Winnebago and the upriver lakes.

This year, the sturgeon were held back by cold water from the heavy snow that came a few weeks ago.

Some sturgeon were in the river at that time, but the cold temps put a stop to any spawning activity.

There were lots of sturgeon in that day, and pods of spawning sturgeon were all around the area.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports said the spawn would be fast this year, as it was late in the season because of that cold water.

After that, we went downstream to the Shiocton area. However, sturgeon were not in that area at all.

The very next day, the DNR report said most sturgeon left the Shawano dam and were headed back to Lake Winnebago and the upriver lakes.

We got lucky, as being a day later would have been a disappointment with the sturgeon leaving the Shawano dam area.

• Carl Bonde of the Maribel area had a successful turkey hunt this spring.

He was hunting on his own property behind his house. He saw a big tom, but this was going to be a drawn-out process.

It took close to an hour-and-a-half for the tom to come in. He came directly into the sun, so Carl could not see his sights.

After much fidgeting, the tom finally got in a shadow and Carl was able to make the shot.

The tom tipped the scale a tad more than 25 pounds, sported a 10-1/2-inch beard with 1-1/8-inch spurs.

Carl happened to shoot it on a hunter safety day at the Maribel Sportsmen’s Club, so he brought the tom to the club for the youngsters to see.

Note the whitish feathers in the center of the fan, which makes this bird quite unique.

• During the May meeting of the Maribel Sportsmen’s Club, the Scholarship Committee made its 2023 choice for the annual $500 scholarship.

Emma Schmidt, a senior at Mishicot High School, is this year’s scholarship recipient.

Emma will be attending UW-River Falls and will be studying to be a veterinarian. She is the daughter of Josh and Sarah Schmidt.

• Manitowoc County Fish & Game Protective Association will be providing two $2,500 scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year.

This continues a history of helping bring local students into careers involved in hunting, fishing, conservation and related programming.

For undergraduate students to be eligible for the scholarship, the student must be entering their junior or senior year of college.

For graduate students to be eligible for the scholarship, the student must have completed their undergraduate degree by June 30.

Deadline to apply is June 16.

Scholarship applications can be obtained by visiting mantyfg.org and clicking on scholarships or by contacting Dan Cichantek at 920-901-9449.

•Reedsville Sportsmen’s Club will be starting its summer trap league May 24.

This year, it is a Wednesday-only league. Shells will be available to purchase and shooting starts at 5:30 p.m. each week.

For any further information, contact Gerald Fischer at 920-901-3907.

• Westshore Sportsman’s Club is offering a $500 scholarship.

To be eligible for the scholarship, you must be a member, a child of a member, or a grandchild of a member of the Westshore Sportsman’s Club and have completed your second year of college by June 30.

Applications can be obtained by contacting Mike Casebeer at 920-553-1255 or download from their website, westshoresportsmansclub.org.

Applications must be returned or postmarked by June 30.

• Mark your calendars, as Maribel Sportsmen’s Club will hold its Father’s Day Eugene Ramesh Memorial Lewis-Class Progressive Trap Shoot June 18.

Registration is from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The club is putting the first $100 into the Lewis purse to build the prize. Food and refreshments will be available all day, along with multiple raffles.

Proceeds will go toward the new archery building addition and a percentage will also go to Pink Heals.

Maribel Sportsmen’s Club is next to Interstate 43, exit 164, State 147, Maribel.

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

Outdoors columnist Bob Schuh’s “Scoping the Great Outdoors” column appears each Sunday in the Herald Times Reporter. He can be reached at 920-682-3106 or [email protected].

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