Anglers take over inland waterways

The kids showed up and the trout cooperated.

Several families headed to Fireman’s Park in the Town of Mountain May 6 for the first day of Wisconsin’s inland fishing season.

While others headed to their favorite trout stream or launched their boat in a lake in search of walleye, the park’s small pond off of state Highway 32 also had its share of anglers.

Dan Derks, of Stephensville, brought his 9-year-old grandson, Porter Derks, of Shiocton, to fish for brook trout that the Mountain Fire Department stocks in the pond.

It didn’t take Porter long to catch his limit before the pair headed out in search of panfish on a nearby lake.

“We go around from place to place,” Dan Derks said. “We were on the Wolf River a couple of weeks ago for the walleye run. He’s learning.”

He said the pond, which is only open to youth anglers, is a good way to introduce kids to fishing.

“I brought his dad here years ago and when I was younger, I used to fish the North Branch of the Oconto (River) out of Lakewood,” he said. “I’ve been coming up here since ‘73. I told him, ‘Let’s go there and maybe there’ll be some trout.’ I never dreamed there’d be this many people here. When I brought my son here, there were two people here.”

“I like reeling in a fish and seeing how big they are,” Porter Derks said.

Meanwhile, 13 miles up Highway 32 in Lakewood, Derek Soletske helped customers at his store, Mighty Fine Sport Shop and Fireworks.

The inland fishing opener is a big deal in the Lakewood area, according to Soletske.

“A lot of people look forward to this and why not?” he said. “You’ve been waiting all winter and now’s the time to get out there and experience whatever happens, A lot of people are coming up this weekend for trout. You come in next weekend and it might be different. It might be walleye. Yesterday and today, we’ve been selling licenses like crazy. You can get them online if you want, but a lot of people like to come in and get a nice paper copy.”

Soletske said anglers have choices in the Lakewood area, which also includes the communities of Townsend to the north and Mountain to the south.

“We’re surrounded by 30 lakes in a 10-mile radius,” he said. “There are so many options.”

One of those options is the South Branch Barrier-Free Fishing Trail west of Mountain. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest operates the trail, which provides access to 11 fishing sites on the South Branch of the Oconto River, as well as rustic campsites.

Aiden Bell and his grandfather, Mike Lewis, drove 60 miles from their Embarrass home and arrived at the trail at about 6 a.m. for a day of trout fishing.

Bell, a freshman at Shawano Community High School, waded in the stream while Lewis watched from one of the trail’s wooden piers that extend over the river.

“I like working for what I get,” Bell said. “Here, you can go out in the middle of nowhere and fish. I think it’s pretty cool. I can’t believe how clear the water is.”

Opening day is part of one of Soletske’s busiest weekends of the year.

“This is the definite kickstart to the season,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a couple of months now. This is that first little start to the beginning of summer.”

Operating a business in a small northern Wisconsin community has its challenges, Soletske said.

“It slowed down the couple of years we dealt with the pandemic,” he said. “Your summer months are definitely what you look forward to. You expect the winter months to be a little slower. You do have ice fishing, but it’s not as popular as summer fishing and other outdoors sports.”

Soletske has high hopes for the summer.

“We’re hoping for a great one,” he said. “We’re due. It’s been a long winter and people are motivated. Even yesterday when it was raining, it didn’t slow down in here. People didn’t care if they got rained on. They just wanted to get out there and enjoy the fishing.”