Cottontail Classic winners and more news in the latest Manitowoc outdoors report

Cottontail Classic winners and more news in the latest Manitowoc outdoors report

Camp Tapawingo is holding a pancake breakfast Feb. 24 and offering spring break day camps March 26 and 27.

Bob Schuh
Special to Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN
Maribel Sportsman’s Club held its 35th annual Cottontail Classic Feb. 10. Left to right, from first to sixth place, included Cody Kakuk, Doug Oswald, Logan Blazer, Nick Kropp, Jerry Schaus and Matt Cherney.

Maribel Sportsman’s Club held its 35th annual Cottontail Classic and Super Hunt Feb. 6. All winners were determined by luck of the draw with 254 hunters taking part.

In the Cottontail Classic, hunters could register up to their limit of three rabbits. First place went to Cody Kakuk, second place went to Doug Oswald, third place went to Logan Blazer, fourth place went to Nick Kropp, fifth place went to Jerry Schaus and sixth place went to Matt Cherney.

The Super Hunt consisted of 47 three-person teams. The first-place team consisted of Michael Meeuwsen, Lucas Klarkowski and Chris Skog; second place consisted of Logan Genz, Andrew Heald and Deron Oswald; and third place consisted of Max Streichert, Jerome Streichert and Joe Mathu.

Maribel Sportsman’s Club Super Hunt winners from the first-place team included Michael Meeuwsen (from left), Lucas Klarkowski and Chris Skog. All winners received cash prizes.

In the main gun raffle, first place was a Browning AB3 Sporter .308 with Vortex scope that went to Ava Sand. The second-place gun was a Weatherby Element camo 12-gauge that went to Dave Gremore. The third-place gun was a Savage 93 Laminate Stainless .17 with scope that went to William Bonde. The fourth-place gun was a Stoeger Condor over/under .410 that went to Joanna Liska. And the fifth-place gun was a Henry Golden Boy .22 that went to Don Sipiorski.

The Hunt Gun was a Winchester SXP 12-gauge that went to Tiffany Novitski.

The first Walk Around Gun was a ATI .410 over/under that went to Joe Niec, followed by an ATI 28-gauge over/under that went to Kenneth Olson, a Browning .22 pistol that went to Kurt Christoffel, an EAA .45 auto pistol that went to Christian Becker, a Ruger .243 rifle that went to Michelle Wegner and a Franci 28-gauge semi-auto that went to Thomas Watzka.

The memorial gun was a Henry .44 magnum in honor of Tom Meyer that went to Kevin Dworak.

The Sweetheart raffle went to Tammi Koch.

The beagle puppy was won by Brynlee VanWychen.

In the Mystery Raffle, No. 1 went to Debbie Wendt, No. 2 to Scott Paquette and No. 3 to Shawn Reilly.

The Food Pantry Raffle had people bring in non-perishable food items for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Rob’s Family Market in Manitowoc. Jared Smith was the winner of that raffle.

Thirteen kids also went home with various prizes in a free kids’ raffle.

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

Read last week’s column:Spring hearing begins — and more news in your latest Manitowoc outdoors report

Camp Tapawingo plans pancake breakfast, spring break day camps

Camp Tapawingo, 915 W. Tapawingo Road, Mishicot, is hosting a pancake breakfast Feb. 24.

The breakfast will consist of all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausages with milk, water and coffee to drink. It will run 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and cost $7 per person for ages 13 and older, $5 per person for ages 5-12, and free for ages 4 and younger. The camp will also have an open house for winter activities, if weather permits.

Meanwhile, Camp Tapawingo will also host two spring break day camps. Session 1 is March 26 and Session 2 is March 27. Day camps are open to ages 7-14 and run 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The day includes lunch and activities. Price is $35 per participant.

For more about events at Camp Tapawingo, go to camptapawingowi.org.

Whitelaw club’s annual statewide fishing derby is Feb. 24-25

Whitelaw Sportsman’s Club will run its 21st annual statewide fishing derby Feb. 24 and 25.

Weigh in is prior to 7 p.m. Feb. 24 and 3 p.m. Feb. 25.

Register to fish from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Whitelaw Sportsman’s Club or Klein’s Hardware/bait shop in Two Rivers or Popp’s Harbor Town in Manitowoc.

Entry fee is $5 per fisherman with a 100% payout. A separate kids’ division also has a $5 entry fee.

Fish categories include northern, walleye, perch, whitefish, crappie, bluegill and trout.

Contact Jeff Dietrich at 920-629-3686 or Don Dietrich at 920-323-6115 for more information.

Food and beverages will be available, with chicken booyah being served from 9 a.m. until gone. Raffles run all day and cash raffle tickets are available from club members.

Choose Wisely booklet on safe fish consumption published online

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, announced the online publication of the 2024-2026 Choose Wisely booklet, which outlines guidelines for safe fish consumption.

Fish are full of important nutrients like omega-3s and are a great source of lean protein, but the DNR and DHS said they may also contain pollutants from their environment and the food they consume that can cause health risks for humans.

To address this, DNR fisheries staff routinely sample fish from areas with suspected pollution or contamination as well as from heavily fished areas.

Based on the levels of contaminants found, like polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury and perfluorooctane sulfonate, experts are able to determine the amount of fish that is safe to consume over a person’s lifetime to avoid negative health impacts.

“We test for contaminants in fish from a number of locations each year and use those new results, along with past testing, to update the advice for those newly tested waters,” said Sean Strom, DNR environmental toxicologist. “It’s important for anglers who frequently eat fish to be aware of advisory updates.”

This updated version of the Choose Wisely booklet identifies new advisories for Wisconsin waterbodies that have either elevated or decreased levels of contaminants.

“When you follow Wisconsin’s fish consumption advice, you are still able to enjoy the many health benefits from eating fish while limiting your contact with contaminants that can build up in them,” said Dr. Sheryl Bedno, DHS chief medical officer for environmental and occupational health.

Waterbody-specific consumption advice can be found in the updated online booklet and by using the DNR’s online query tool.

Read more by Bob Schuh:Click here to read more Scoping the Great Outdoors columns

Reedsville club offering Friday night fish fries through March 22

Reedsville Sportsmen’s Club will have its Friday night fish fries now through March 22.

Serving will be 4-8 p.m. with eat in or carry-out available.

They will have perch, chicken strips, French fries, German potato salad and cold potato salad available.

To order out, call the club at 920-754-4884.

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 bobschuh@lsol.net.