With the advent of technology and life, new things pop up for us all over the place. Public forums for hunting and fishing have their place but also have their shortcomings.
As time progresses people seem to walk away from the sites as it provides less opportunity to become engaged unless you make a direct comment on the blog post. On top of that people will post rude comments that administrators do not have time to take care of. Being able to post behind a handle that does not show who you really are is an easy way to attack others.
In the past couple of years, I have spent less time on these forums and more time on facebook groups to gain knowledge from fellow outdoorsmen to see how it is going.
The two more popular groups are the Wisconsin Rut Report and Lake Winnebago Junkies.
Being able to post and seeing others posts is something that has been beneficial for a lot of outdoorsman due to the open nature of looking into someone’s personal space so to speak.
I enjoy Lake Winnebago Junkies because it lets me know what people are catching and I can see their catch. I also like the page because the fishing clubs are very active with it to let me know when I do fish on Bago what the ice conditions are like.
Wisconsin Rut Report page has allowed me to see what others are shooting around the state for deer. It is amazing how many deer get harvested and the sheer size of those deer from around the state.
John Ford, co-founder of Wisconsin Rut Report started the page because he travels a lot and wanted to share real time information on deer movement. With the loss of deer registration stations and not being able to see harvested deer the site has grown to be the largest deer hunting page in the state with nearly 42,000 members and growing.
Ford said, “We have a great group of administrators and we work hard on keeping the page free from negativity and belittling.”
That seems to be the biggest thing that scares others away from sites such as this and Ford and co-founder Jim Olsson do a great job squashing that bug.
These sites have also been good for people like Mike Thayer who is an avid photographer in the South Eastern part of the state. Thayer follows several urban bucks around and takes great wildlife photos and shares them on the webpage. This keeps people interested not just during the times of the rut.
As turkey season approaches the information will switch over to turkey season, finding shed antlers and general scouting information.
I have gained several friends via facebook that I follow and communicate with due to the pages. I will admit that at times it is frustrating watching the page on days I struggle and then see others being successful. I reload however mentally and it motivates me to work harder and smarter from the things I see on the pages.
If you are a hunter you should check out the page, Wisconsin Rut Report and become a member. If you fish the Bago system join the Junkies group. You do not need to participate you can simply just watch what others post and enjoy.
