- 226,582. That's how many deer were killed during this year's nine-day firearms season. Compared to nearly 244,000 last year, that's a 7% drop.
After a rough opening weekend, deer hunters found more deer. State-wide opening weekend deer killed was down nearly 18% compared to a year ago. But after the season ended - deer numbers improved to only a 7% drop.
Jeremy Holtz is a wildlife biologist in Oneida County. He says after the harsh spring experienced earlier this year, the lack of success could have been a lot worse.
"If you look at Northern Wisconsin, we're down 7%, maybe 12%, " Holtz explains. "With the late hunt, and the rough winter we had, there is no question we could have had far worse impact."
In Onieda County: nearly 2300 deer were killed. That's includes 1500 bucks - compared to more than 1600 in 2012. Also less than 800 doe were taken compared to 1000 last year. One of those having some success was 14-year old Payton Hartman of Rhinelander. She got not one, but two doe. She was able to fill both her brother's and her own permits.
Vilas county saw 130 fewer bucks dropped - an 11% decrease. Steve Janisse of Three Lakes was fortunate enough to get on the board. He bagged a four-pointer north of Eagle River.
"Deer are moving around pretty good around here," Janisse said. "I saw lots of doe before I saw this buck."
Two complants the DNR is hearing as reasons for a drop in deer available to shoot, too many anterless permits issued and too many natural predators.
"There is no doubt about it, deer are delicious and everything wants to eat them," Holtz adds. "We have hunting seasons for all all predators. We issued less antlerless tags for the second year in a row."
Holtz adds, final numbers should be available by early March. Then the state can determine how many antlerless permits if any will be issued in each county for next year's hunt.
MADISON - After a slow start on opening weekend, deer hunters saw only a 7% drop in the number of deer killed compared to 2012. That's according to the DNR's preliminary numbers released Tuesday afternoon.
Opening weekend saw nearly 18% fewer deer registered compared to 2012. Cold temperatures and the late start were among the factors for the poor showing. However, as the temperatures increased during the hunt, so did the numbers.
In Oneida County, 2297 deer were killed during this year's hunt. 1505 were bucks, while 792 were doe. In 2012, 2686 deer were registered. That's a 14% decrease.
TOMAHAWK, EAGLE RIVER - In boys hockey Tuesday night, Chequamegon/Phillips opened the season in Tomahawk. The co-op known as the Seals, knocked off Tomahawk 9-1.
Meanwhile, Northland Pines faced state-ranked Wausau West in Eagle River. The #2 ranked team in the state proved to be too much. Wausau East scored the game's first three goals to defeat Northland Pines 3-1. Zach Peterson scored two of the Warriors three goals. Justin Zahn had the other goal for West. Wausau West improved to (2-1).
Steven Spencer scored the lone goal for the Eagles. Northland Pines fell to (1-1).
MINOCQUA - In girls hockey Monday night, the Lakeland T-Birds opened the season with a home battle with Tomahawk. But the Hatchets proved to be too much. Tomahawk shutout Lakeland 3-0.
Meanwhile, in girls basketball, Lakeland knocked off Chequamegon 63-25.
To catch highlights of both games, click on the video above.
THE NORTHWOODS - Many people head to the Northwoods to vacation during the holidays. Milwaukee's Aaron Fiscal came up to try his hand at musky fishing. With help from Gary's Guide Service, Aaron caught not one, but three muskies. He boated one on his first cast of the day and the largest was 45 inches. With an experience like that, chances are he'll be back.
Craig Gallek came all the way from New York City. It was his first visit to the Northwoods and he also caught 3 muskies on the trip with Gary's Guide Service. His biggest was 46 inches and all fish were released.
And sometimes guides themselves take advantage of the great fishing around the state. Jeff Van Remortel of Minocqua was in Sheboygan county when he reeled in this gorgeous brown trout. Jeff was fishing with his buddy Jon who also caught one. The trout was 28 inches and released after this great photo.
Those two words best describe last week's opening weekend of deer hunting. It wasn't just the Northwoods struggling. Every county in the state was down from last year's totals. Several factors caused the drop.
"With winds gusting near 20 m.p.h. people were not sitting in the woods as long," DNR wildlife technician Eric Borchart explains. "Also our dder numbers are lower than a year ago."
- Girls basketball season began for several area teams on Tuesday night. In Elcho, the Hornets knocked off Tomahawk 51-45.
Also in girls basketball, Phelps opened the year with a 39-28 home victory over Niagara. Phelps senior Ashley Volkmann scored her 1,000th point of her career in the win.
In boys basketball, Antigo improved to (2-0) with a 50-36 win over Merrill.
To see highlights of the Elcho-Tomahawk girls game, or the Antigo-Merrill boys game, click on the video above.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Wisconsin's high-scoring offense has garnered much of the attention during the school's best start in 20 years.
It was the Badgers' defense that did the hard work Wednesday night in a 48-38 victory against Virginia.
"I'm glad we won like this," Josh Gasser said. "It's about time we played that way defensively."
Gasser led all scorers with 11 points and Wisconsin limited Virginia to its lowest point total since a 77-36 loss to Connecticut on Nov. 29, 1993. The Cavaliers shot just 23 percent (11 of 47) and went 1 for 11 on 3-pointers.
Christian Hackenberg, Penn State ruin Wisconsin's BCS hopes
Submitted: 11/30/2013
MADISON - A bright future for Penn State emerged on a cool, crisp day in the Midwest.
Strong-armed freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg figures to only improve for the Nittany Lions.
Hackenberg played with the poise and touch of a seasoned veteran, throwing for 339 yards and four touchdowns, and Penn State pounced on a slew of Badgers blunders before holding off a late rally to upset No. 15 Wisconsin 31-24 on Saturday.
"He really stepped up in a big way, and words can't describe how thankful I am to that guy," said offensive lineman and senior leader John Urschel.
Lions score 37 straight in 40-10 rout over Packers
Submitted: 11/28/2013
DETROIT - Matthew Stafford made up for some mistakes with three touchdown passes, including one to Calvin Johnson, to help the Detroit Lions score 37 straight points after an awful start to beat the Green Bay Packers 40-10 on Thursday.
The Lions (7-5) had lost their last two games, five consecutive against Green Bay and a franchise-record nine straight in their annual showcase on Thanksgiving.
The Packers (5-6-1) have a five-game winless streak for the first time since 2008, showing how valuable Aaron Rodgers is for the franchise. Rodgers has missed four-plus games since fracturing his left collarbone.
Matt Flynn became the fourth starting quarterback for Green Bay this year and was sacked seven times, once by Ndamukong Suh for a safety.
MILWAUKEE - Ryan Braun spoke publicly for the first time since serving a 65-game suspension last year. He used Performance Enhancing Drugs or PEDs.
Braun was taking part in a food drive near Miller Park this morning.
Braun admitted taking a "cream and a lozenge" to recover from injury during the 2011 season. That triggered a positive test in October. That led to the suspension and then his winning appeal on the grounds that Dr. Dino Laurenzi Jr., the sample collector improperly handled his urine sample. Braun criticized him in a February 2012 press conference after Braun had successfully appealed a 50-game performance-enhancing drug suspension.
GREEN BAY - Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has returned to practice on a limited basis but appears highly unlikely to play against the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
Rodgers has been out since Nov. 4, when he hurt his left collarbone in the first series of a 27-20 loss to Chicago. The Packers, 5-2 at the time, have been winless since then.
McCarthy said Monday that the chances of Rodgers playing were ``slim to none.'' On Tuesday, he said it was ``closer to none.''
Brandon Jennings has 15 points, 13 assists in win over former team
Submitted: 11/25/2013
AUBURN HILLS, MI - The Detroit Pistons haven't totally clicked yet after an offseason makeover, yet their new-look roster has shown a lot more potential than Milwaukee's.
Brandon Jennings made four consecutive 3-pointers in the first quarter against his former team, and the Pistons overwhelmed the struggling Bucks with a dazzling first half in a 113-94 victory Monday night.
Jennings was traded from Milwaukee to Detroit last offseason after four seasons with the Bucks.
Joe joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in July 2011 as the Sports Director.
Before coming to the Northwoods, Joe was the Weekend Sports Anchor at KBJR in Duluth, MN. Joe's resume includes working at WFRV in Green Bay, WDIO in Duluth, and WTCH radio in Shawano.
Joe has always had a passion for sports, especially football, hockey, and golf. Joe is a 2005 graduate from UW-Oshkosh with a B.S. degree in Radio/TV/Film. During his college days, he was the Sports Director for the university's radio station twice.
A native of Frog Station, WI (near Green Bay), Joe grew up watching the Packers, Brewers, and Bucks. In fact he also lists listening to old Packer radio braodcasts among his hobbies. Recently, Joe married his fiancee Amy.
When he is not watching or playing sports, he's likely reading or watching something on the American Civil War, or World War II.
Joe says,"In just a short time, I have really been made to feel right at home, thanks to the great folks in the Northwoods."
If you see Joe out on a shoot, please feel free to say hi and email any story ideas you may have.
Marisa Silvas joined the Newswatch 12 sports team in October 2011 as the Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter.
Prior to coming to WJFW, she was an editor/associate producer for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in San Francisco, CA. She also was a freelance field producer for NBC's Football Night in America and spent 6 years as a sports producer and editor for KNTV, the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate where she co-hosted a weekly Sports Sunday web show with Jerry Rice.
She graduated with a degree in Communications from Santa Clara University.
Marisa is new to the Northwoods and the cold weather but has lived in several different locations on her journey to Rhinelander. Coming from a family with military ties, she was born in Austin, TX, but also grew up in Mississippi, Lancaster, CA, San Antonio, TX before settling down in Campbell, CA for the past several years.
Marisa has always had a passion for sports and people and has followed her dreams to WJFW after pursuing a full time on-air job for several years.
Marisa likes all sports but is most passionate about the NFL, NBA and major league baseball. Since she has lived in many different locations her favorite teams are all over the country as well. You will see her following her favorites: the San Antonio Spurs, Oakland Athletics and yes, Packers fans, sorry, the Chicago Bears.
She is also an avid fantasy sports fan and has participated in fantasy football and hockey leagues the past 5 seasons. Feel free to ask her for the hot waiver wire pickup!
She and her husband of 4 years, Lyndon, have taken several vacations over the past few summers to visit all the MLB parks...she has now been to 14 and is excited to add Target Field to the list this summer! Her favorites so far are Wrigley, PNC and Miller Park. She and her husband also make an annual trek to Soldier Field to watch their beloved Bears and hang out in their favorite city, where they got engaged at the top of the Hancock Tower in 2007.
In her free time, she loves hanging out with her husband Lyndon and adorable puggle Walter. She also never misses her favorite TV show, Dancing With The Stars and with an extensive dancing background, someday dreams of being a future celebrity contestant and winner!
Marisa is very excited to be making the big move from sunny California to the winter wonderland of Rhinelander! If you see Marisa out in the field or around the town, feel free to say hi and buy her a hot chocolate, she's probably cold!
Disclaimer: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Neither Rockfleet Broadcasting / Northland Television, Inc. nor By Request Web Designs shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints.
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