Articles

Anglers out of their depth on flood-changed St. Louis River

Darrin Severance kept a close eye on his depth-finder as he eased his big Ranger through the channel of the St. Louis River. He was navigating a shallow stretch at the upstream end of Spirit Lake. The sonar device told him he had just 2.3 feet of water beneath his boat.

• Darrin Severance
• Depth finder
• Army Corps to check for safe channels on St. Louis River

Outdoors blog: Trail cameras capture the critters of spring

Wisconsin wolf population drops slightly

After Wisconsin’s inaugural season of wolf hunting and trapping last fall, the state’s wolf population has declined only slightly.

• Wolf

Outdoors blog: Wisconsin wolf population declines slightly

Wisconsin wolf numbers drop slightly after hunting, trapping

After the inaugural season of wolf hunting and trapping last fall in Wisconsin, the state’s wolf population has declined only slightly.

Two lynx facing off: 'Sighting of a lifetime' (with video)

Bill Hansen, who with his wife, Cindy, owns Sawbill Canoe Outfitters at the end of the road north of Tofte, Minn., experienced what he called “the sighting of a lifetime” Saturday evening.

• Areavoices: Outdoors with Sam Cook
• Two lynx

Outdoors blog: North of Tofte, two lynx square off -- captured on video

• Two lynx facing off: 'Sighting of a lifetime' (with video)

Minnesota fishing opener may not see open water in much of the Northland

Minnesota’s fishing opener is looming Saturday, and nearly all lakes from Duluth to the Canadian border were still locked in ice. Opening weekend provides a much-needed jolt of income for all kinds of businesses across the Northland.

• Minnesota fishing opener info
• Ice-covered lakes make for a lonely fishing opener in Wisconsin

Field reports: Minnesota ranks highly on angling participation, spending

Anglers who fish Minnesota waters spent $2.4 billion in 2011, according to survey data released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The amount includes direct spending for both resident and nonresident anglers, according to a Department of Natural Resources news release.

Northland author details influence of deer on our landscape, culture

As a deer hunter himself, Al Cambronne of Solon Springs is fascinated by deer. But he found himself taking a broader look at whitetails in America.

• Al Cambronne

Columns

Sam Cook column: Hunting trip made memorable by Great Plains hospitality

We met her in a convenience store where we had stopped to pick up some ice. The three of us were in new territory in northeastern Montana, hunting sharp-tailed grouse.

• Sam Cook
• Haybale camp
• Christoffersen family

Sam Cook: Familiar youth begin to make their marks

The e-mail popped into my inbox the other night, and I recognized the name of the sender. He was a young man who had grown up in Duluth, the son of family friends, a high-school skiing teammate of our son and daughter.

• Sam Cook

Sam Cook: Enjoying the musky mornings and golden days of grouse season

The old tote road trail not only looks right on this opening day of Minnesota’s 2012 grouse season — it smells right, too.

• Dan Mettner of Duluth

Hopes, dreams wait for their school bus

Sam Cook column: It’s a new school year, and those first few days are always dicey. So many unknowns. So many risks to take.

• Sam Cook

Bowhunters quietly thin Duluth’s deer population

Sam Cook column: My wife came in from her flower garden the other day after we had returned from a four-day trip. “Well, the deer are now eating my gladiolus and impatiens and snapdragons,” she announced.

• Sam Cook

Sam Cook: The iWorld is at your fingertips

I’m standing near the 5,516-foot summit of Big Bald, one of the high points along the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. Am I at the top? Can I go higher? Wait. It occurs to me I can check this.

• Sam Cook

Like all good dogs, Chico was a teacher in the field

SAM COOK COLUMN: I can still see him locked up on point, every rib on his gaunt frame showing, lungs heaving, forepaw raised, tail high. We called him Chico; he was an orange-and-white English pointer.

• Chico in action

Canine friends wag their way into our hearts

SAM COOK COLUMN: We come to know our dogs like we know our families. We know what every hesitation in their gait means, or the flick of an ear, or the scrunch of a brow. Then one day they are gone, and we wonder how we will go on.

• Sam Cook

Enjoying the slow slide of summer

SAM COOK: The word came down from the birders late on Tuesday. The nighthawks were moving.

• Sam Cook

Duluth Retriever Club honors volunteer's memory by naming field for him

It’s a perfect place to train retrievers. The 40-acre field with a narrow pond is part of the Duluth Retriever Club’s property along Lester River Road north of Duluth. Now the parcel has a name: Ron Nelson Field.

• Ron Nelson