Lodi, WI
3/3/10

March 1, 2010 ~ Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

I am on my way home from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.   First of all I want to apologize for not blogging since the 17^th of February, it seemed to get a little hectic with the games and my family arriving.

As you probably know the curling competition didn’t go quite like I was expecting.   We had some tough games, losing nail biters and then some not so close games.  But the rest of my Olympic experience has been so much more than I expected.    Read on……..

First of all, the Proctor and Gamble House that was for family and friends of athletes was just so nice and comforting.   Each day the house was open for lunch and dinner and snacks throughout the day.   There were 4 floors, the basement had huge round tables with 3 big screen televisions to watch all the Olympic Games and it was where all the good food was served.  The 1^st floor is where there was a huge family room with very comfy couches, bean bags and seating area with huge screen televisions, snacks and computers with internet access that everyone had access to.   The 2^nd floor was my son Desmon’s favorite, there was a Pringle Lounge -you could taste test 24 flavors of Pringles, plus they had a WII Station set up there with 2010 Olympic Games and there was the Pamper Station for anyone with toddlers and babies, a room to run and play, there was a Crest Room where you could get your picture taken and they would put you on a snowboard, skiing, speed skating or any other Olympic Sport.   Then the 3rds floor was my daughter Sierra and niece Tory’s favorite – Spa Room, you could get your hair or make-up done, hand or foot massage and other pampering necessities, also on this floor was the Tide Room – you and/or your family could drop off their laundry and come back and pick it up 24 hours later all cleaned and folded.    This was a great place to meet and/or hangout with family and friends, plus you were able to meet many other athletes and their families.  My kids met many athletes here and medalists, they were quite excited.   Thank you Proctor and Gamble for your generosity!

On our teams day off of curling  I was able to go to the semi-final women’s hockey game USA versus Sweden with my family and a couple of friends.   It was a good game for the USA and fun to cheer them on, we had many Canadians cheering against us, I guess they didn’t want to meet us in the finals.    We won 9-1.

After the curling games were over, my family and a couple of friends took a trip, which consisted of a train, sea bus, a bus and a cable car to Grouse Mountain.   When we got on the cable car there was no snow. About ¾ of the way up the ground was finally all white.    Grouse Mountain lodge is where the Today Show was televised during the Olympics and also a hangout for all the adventurous folk, it was open 24 hours a day during the Olympics.    We had a nice lunch up there and decided to go ice skating and since we didn’t have the attire to ski, the family instead went limo skiing, which isn’t even close to skiing but at least you got to ride down the mountain.    The downside that day was it was very foggy on our way up on the cable car so there wasn’t much to see, but by the time we got up the mountain the fog had disappeared and the view was magnificent and then on our way down the cable car in the evening the view of Vancouver was amazing, we were able to see the torch lit up and the Olympic rings on the water were lit up in gold for the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team who just won gold that evening against the USA.

My family was able to go to the Women’s Snowboard Cross event in Cypress one day, they really enjoyed this event, even though it rained the whole time they were there and by the time they got home all they wanted to do was take a very hot shower to warm up.   That evening we went to the medal ceremony at the Canada Place, it was when Jeret “Speedy’ Peterson from the USA received his Silver Medal in Freestyle Skiing.   Right after the ceremony there was a concert with a very popular Canadian Band “The Newfoundland and Labrador”, it was a great band to dance to.

I was able to take my daughter Sierra, nieces Tamara and Tory to the Athlete Village one day and another day I was able to take my son, Desmon and husband, Karl.    How it works to get a pass to the village, is you have to put a request in days before with all their passport information, then you find out the day before if they were chosen to come to the village.    The USA athletes are only able to bring 40 guests in a day into the village, which seem like a lot but it really isn’t with over 218 athletes.    My visitors were able to check out our Penthouse and take some pictures of our beautiful view, they toured  he fitness facility which is very nicely equipped with the most modern workout equipment, shopped in the athlete store, went in  the cafeteria and ate a few items from McDonald’s and hung out a bit in the Vitamin Water Red Shed ~ which was a hangout for athletes, you could play many kinds of video games, paint on the big screen, watch Olympics on the big screen televisions, get on the internet, play shuffleboard, shoot pool or just relax.    They all enjoyed seeing the athlete village and running into all the amazing athletes.

My last full day in Vancouver I was hoping to get a ticket to the USA versus CANADA men’s hockey game – but that didn’t happen – there were only about 35 tickets given out in a lottery to the USA athletes.   My teammate Allison did get a ticket, I was so jealous!    Since I didn’t get a ticket I decided to go for a nice run down by the BC Place where the hockey game was being held, I just love hearing the energy from the crowd and seeing all the fan’s dressed in their Canadian or USA attire.    I then ended up watching the hockey game in the cafeteria, where everyone no matter what country they were from was glued to the television.    When the hockey game went into overtime, I ended up going back to the Penthouse and watching the rest of the game with my teammates, we had the windows open so you could hear the crowd roaring from the BC Place.   It was such an exciting game for everyone and a great way to end the competition of the Olympic Games; it would have been sweeter if it was a USA victory though.

The Closing Ceremony was a bit different than the Opening Ceremony; first of all we only had to leave two hours before the ceremony instead of four.    Our team got dressed in our Ralph Lauren attire and took lots of pictures before we headed down to meet the rest of team USA.    We went to the BC Place with all the other USA Athletes and stood in line for a good hour and ½ before we were able to go into the ceremony.   Waiting, ended up going quite fast, we walked around talking to all the other athletes and congratulating all the medalists and taking lots of pictures.       When it was time to walk into the BC Place, all the athletes from all the countries walked in together instead of one country at a time, which was neat.     The ceremony was much shorter than the opening ceremony; there was lots of great music, acting and Canadian traditions throughout.   The closing ceremony was much lower keyed than the opening and a sense of sadness came over me because my Olympic experience was coming to an end, especially when the flame went out on the torch.   All of us athletes were sent down on the main floor to mingle and dance while there was still music playing; it was time to say our goodbyes to all our new friends and competitors.    When the ceremony was over we walked back to the village thinking of the many memories we were going to take away from this experience of a lifetime.

I want to say thank you to VANCOUVER for the unbelievable hospitality you have and the AMAZING place that you live.

Also, a big thank you to all the great supporters I have had throughout my Olympic experience.

Tracy

Lodi, WI
3/1/10

Explore Original works by local artists in downtown Lodi during Gallery Night Friday, March 5th from 6-8pm.
Participating Galleries include: The Nesting Shops, New Discoveries and Mill Street Gallery (on the corner of HWY 60 and 113), Different Directions and Gary N-Ski Photography(on the corner of HWY 60 and Lodi St.) A Voice For The Arts Gallery (in the old Lodi Enterprise building) and The Downtown Coffee Grounds: showing local artists’ works and serving locally roasted coffee, dessert, beer, wine and Friday night fish fry.

Lodi, WI
2/26/10
by Gary Engberg
©2010 GAry Engberg Outdoors

Early Walleyes and Saugers on the Wisconsin River

Saugers, like this one, are plentiful in the rivers and lakes around the Lodi, WI area.

This is the time of year when I and I know many of you have “cabin fever” and are looking forward to a true Wisconsin tradition, river fishing for walleyes and saugers. It’s been a typical Wisconsin winter with some cold weather and enough snow to keep you busy shoveling. Personally, I’ve kept busy with my new Lab, Katie, who has to be doing something outside with her boundless energy. Plus, I’ve been doing some ice fishing, looking for eagles and wildlife to photograph, feeding over 100 pounds of bird seed a week, and getting ready for the sport show and seminar season. But, I’ve had enough of winter and the stable and sunny days last week had me thinking of walleye fishing on the Wisconsin River.

It is not unusual to be fishing open-water on the Wisconsin River below the dams at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin Dells, and Nekoosa in February. In the last decade, there have been a few years where walleye and sauger fishing started this early. Most people think that the “spring walleye run’ starts in March and April when the temperature hits the magic 40 degree mark and all the walleyes in the Wisconsin River system decide to migrate toward the first impassable structure or the dam’s on the river system. The truth is that walleyes and saugers start migrating upriver toward the Prairie du Sac Dam in the late fall and winter and find an area where they will hold till spring. This location is usually a deep water location with access to shallow water feeding flats that have bait fish. These “holding areas” can be close to the dam’s scour hole which is usually the deepest water below the dam that was formed when the water was high from the melting of winter’s snow and rushing through the open dam gates. There is water over 30 feet deep below the Prairie Dam which is deep water for the Wisconsin River where farther downriver 10 feet is considered deep. The scour hole is only 20 to 30 yards below the dam gates. Though many walleyes and its cousin, the sauger, can be very close to the dam, there are locations downriver 2 to 3 miles that will also hold fish this time of year before the spawn. This time of year, many of the smaller males will be active and arrive before the larger female fish. This is why you’ll often go through dozens of smaller, non-legal walleyes and saugers before you catch a legal fish. The legal size for walleyes on the Wisconsin River is 18 inches and the sauger must be 15 inches with a daily bag limit of 3 fish of any combination.

I wasn’t the only one thinking about starting the outboard motor up and heading to Sauk City or Wisconsin Dells! There have been anywhere from 10 to 15 boats out fishing most days for the past week. Even Sunday, there were a handful of boats fishing even with the threat of a snow storm. There is little if any skim ice on the east side of the Prairie Dam where there’s a slack water area. The west side of the dam is where the fast water constantly flows. You’ll soon be seeing anglers wading and casting for walleyes on this side. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some wader’s this week, but they better have 4 ML thick neoprene waders for comfort and warmth. Wilderness Fish and Game employee, Dean Carlson, caught over 30 walleyes and saugers in a few hours last week while anchored and drifting with his trolling motor below the dam. Dean caught a limit of fish, but chose to release them. The other anglers told me the same story, but one hardy angler said that he had caught a 27 inch walleye near the Highway 60 Bridge just after dark the other night. Wilderness Fish and Game (608-643-2433) has the best bait in the area and they (Wally, Wayne, and Larry) said that they’ve been constantly busy with angler’s buying minnows and having fresh line spooled on their reels. You also can get a reliable fishing report when buying your bait.

The weather report for this week looks pretty good with temperatures in the 30’s and a stable barometer. If you can keep the rod tips on your rod open from freezing, then it’s warm enough to fish. I hope to get out by the middle of the week as long as my outboard starts. The forecast is for sunny skies and not much wind which if you dress properly is very comfortable.

As far as equipment goes, you want to use 6 to 8 # monofilament line like Berkley Trilene in the green color (to match the stained river water) on an open-faced spinning reel (Shimano, Daiwa, Garcia). I match this with a 6 foot medium or medium-light rod with a fast tip (G. Loomis, Fenwick, St. Croix) and you’re about set for a rod and reel. As far as terminal tackle goes, have a good supply of jigs from 1/8 ounce to 1/4 ounce in assorted colors like black, blue, purple, chartreuse, orange, green, and glow. You’ll also need some plastic twister tails, shad tails, and ringworms in the same colors as the jigs. The forage in the river is larger now before any new hatches, so use larger plastics and minnows. I recommend Kalin’s, Walleye Assassin, and Berkley Powerbaits in my plastics. The scented Gulp is also a top-notch attractant for walleyes and saugers. Finally, have some quality hooks of different sizes, a few beads, some split shot, and a few slip sinkers for live-bait rigging on a “dead” rod. Some days, the walleyes want just a plain hook or a hook with a bead above as an attractor and a minnow. Buy minnows in a couple sizes because early in the year the fish can be selective.

Most anglers anchor and fish directly below the dam while casting and retrieving their jigs/minnows, vertical jigging, or drifting while controlling your boat with your trolling motor. The most important thing to remember is to fish very, very slowly. Retrieve your casts slowly, change your jigging cadence from slow to slower, and keep moving around till you contact active fish. Most if not all of your walleyes and saugers are within a foot of the bottom and they won’t chase a minnow very far. Then, you may choose to work from shallow water (less than 10 feet) to deeper water or vice versa. It’s not important to get on the water at day break, let the sun rise and warm things up for a few hours. But, try to fish the last hour after the sun drops below the tree line because that is the time both walleyes and saugers will move shallow to feed. I had fresh walleye fillets the other night and they are soooo good and rival the fresh bluegill that I’ve been eating. Eating fresh fish regularly is great!

The area ice fishing has been hot and cold. The Madison Lakes have slowed down with bluegill and perch activity inconsistent. There are some mid to high 20 inch walleyes being caught on Lake Mendota after dark and late at night for the all night guys. Even Pancake Bob has been having a tough time with bluegills and he’s an excellent ice angler. The only “hot” bite that I know of is on Crystal Lake where fishermen have been doing very well on crappies after dark and into the night. The magic depth has been 10-13 feet using minnows and a slip float or small bobber. The crappies are all around 9 to 11 inches with a few larger ones. Crappies, like walleyes, muskies, and largemouth are some of the fish that will be active and feed at night. Any questions, photos, or comments go to www.garyengbergoutdoors.com

Lodi, WI
2/22/10

The Lodi Valley and Dane County Chapters of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will be leading a moonlight hike on Sunday, February 28, starting at 7:00 pm from the Robertson Trailhead on Lodi Springfield/Riddle Road.  Watch for the yellow “Ice Age Trail Event” signs.

Take time out to enjoy nature with others. Families are welcome. An astronomer will on hand with telescopes to help with viewing Mars, the Pleiades, and the
Orion Nebula.  This full moon is known as the snow moon.

Walkers should wear clothing appropriate to the weather with sturdy shoes or boots.  For more information contact Bill at 592-5666.

Lodi, WI
2/19/10
by Gary Engberg
©2010 Gary Engberg Outdoors

The Sturgeon Spearing Opens and the State Recorded is Smashed

The Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season opened this past Saturday morning, February 14^th, to below zero temperatures and a sunny sky. As soon as the sun rose, the temperature rebounded and one could not have asked for a nicer February day. By mid-morning, the sky was bright blue, the warming sun was shining, and thousands of sturgeon spearers were in their shanties waiting for a big fish to come by their hole.

Sturgeon Record the new state record 212.2 pounds and 84.2 inches speared by Ron Grishaber of Appleton

The glorious day turned out to also be a record-smashing day for the opening of the 2010 Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season. DNR fishery technicians have been seeing and handling sturgeon over 200 pounds for a few years, but none have been speared until Saturday. Finally, one of these “super-trophies” was speared by Ron Grishaber of Appleton, Wisconsin on Saturday morning. Grishaber registered the huge sturgeon (212.2 pounds and 84.2 inches) at the Harrison Registration Station, west of the village of Sherwood.

This was not the only record broken on Saturday. There were a record number of lake sturgeons greater than or equal to 100 pounds registered this day with 31 taken from Lake Winnebago and 3 from the Upriver Lakes. And the other record broken was the largest male sturgeon ever registered weighing 116.8 pounds and being 71 inches long. This fish was registered at Critter’s in the town of Winneconne. This sturgeon came from the Upriver Lakes of Butte des Morts, Winneconne, and Lake Poygan.

Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes were gin-clear last week which would have helped the spearer’s by giving them greater visibility. But, the water on the west shore dirtied up from the flow of the Fox River. The best spearing and visibility was on the east side of the lake and up north near Stockbridge. This is the area where the record fish was speared and where the most fish were harvested. Water clarity can change daily and many people were moving their shanties to the east side and north end of Lake Winnebago for the last few days of the season.

I talked to and interviewed Ron Bruch, who is the Fisheries Supervisor for the entire Winnebago System, and Ron said that “the number of these very large fish in the Winnebago population has been increasing over the last 15 years due to the regulations developed by the DNR fisheries staff and the Winnebago Citizens Sturgeon Advisory Committee, and implemented in the late 1990’s and designed to decrease the annual exploitation of adult female sturgeon (which are the largest fish in the fish stock and also the most vulnerable).” There also were large hatches of sturgeon over a 20-30 year period in the early 1990’s that are now entering the “super-trophy” size in their life. Lake sturgeon and especially females are believed to be able to live to be 150 years old or more. The 212 pound record-breaking sturgeon hasn’t been aged yet, but is thought to be well over 100 years old. The previous state spearing record was a 188 pound and 79.5 inch sturgeon that was speared by David Piechowski of Redgranite in 2004. This year’s record fish was not only a record speared fish for Lake Winnebago, but also a Wisconsin state spear record topping a 195 pound fish speared on Lake Pokegama in Vilas county in 1979.

Here are a few interesting facts about this record sturgeon that was speared on Saturday.

• This fish hatched from an egg its mother laid in approximately 1910. This is when most sturgeon stocks were decimated by commercial over-harvest which had driven the sturgeon population to such low numbers that even after 100 years of protection are just now showing small signs of coming back.
• The fish would have been of legal size in 1918, the year that World War 1 started. The sturgeon harvest was closed from 1915 to 1932. The first “modern” spearing season was in the winter of 1931-32 with a 30” minimum size limit and a 5 fish per spearer season bag limit. This record sturgeon was legal size for all spearing seasons held since 1932.
• The fish first spawned in 1936, the year Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam.
• Lastly, this fish most likely made spawning runs up the Wolf River 19 times in its life (females spawn once every four years after they reach maturity at age 25-27 years); would have laid a total of 11.4 million eggs in its life, and produced an estimated 228 one year old lake sturgeon in its lifetime.

In last weeks column, I told you that the Lake Winnebago system has the largest self-sustaining population of lake sturgeon in the world and is used as an egg source for reintroduction programs throughout the lake sturgeons original range. Lake Winnebago is the third largest freshwater lake in the United States with 137,000 acres and 88 miles of shoreline. The sturgeon, as I said is slow growing, long living, and late maturing with growth rates of the male and female similar till they reach 40 inches and after that the females live longer and grow much bigger than the males. Most fish over 60 inches are females which can live to well over 100 years as the record sturgeon will show.

Shad from inside the stomach. The sturgeon gorge themselves with dead shad from the winter die-off

Now, the lake sturgeons are protected and according to sturgeon expert, Ron Bruch, reaching a near capacity in the Winnebago system. The shanty count on Lake Winnebago was 4033 on Saturday and 490 shanties on the Upriver Lakes. The Sunday count had 4009 shanties on Winnebago and 469 on the Upriver Lakes count. The system-wide harvest count on Saturday was 656 sturgeons with 515 from Lake Winnebago and 141 sturgeons on the Upriver lakes. These figures can be broken down into 68 juvenile females, 256 adult females, and 191 males for the total of 515 sturgeons. The Upriver count had the following; 28 juvenile females, 38 adult females, and 75 males (141 total) speared. Lake Winnebago was at 38.4% of the adult female harvest cap and the Upriver lakes are at 51.4% of the adult female harvest cap after opening day.

The sturgeon numbers on Sunday declined after the record-smashing Saturday. There were 56 juvenile females, 163 adult females, and 124 males speared (343 total) on Lake Winnebago on Sunday. On the Upriver Lakes; 9 juvenile females, 9 adult females, and 37 males (55 total) were registered on Sunday. Thus far, 1054 sturgeon have been harvested and registered as of Sunday, February 15^th.

Given these numbers the sturgeon season should continue for a few more days. Lake Winnebago is at 62.9% of the female harvest cap (180 for 90% closure and 247 to hit the 100% trigger closure) and the Upriver Lakes are at 63.5% of their female harvest cap (20 to hit the 90% trigger and 27 to trigger the 100% closure cap). The number of spearer’s declines during the week which should allow keeping the season open a few more days.

This fun and tail-gate atmosphere at Lake Winnebago is well worth the drive just to see the fish and the people. This is truly a Wisconsin tradition that will continue and grow as more and more people are introduced to this unique outdoor activity. The comeback that the Winnebago system has made is amazing and a tribute to the DNR and the many local conservation groups that have made all this possible for the Wisconsin sportsman.

www.garyengbergoutdoors.com

Lodi, WI
2/18/10

February 17, 2010 ~ Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

Sunday and Monday we finally got to practice at the Olympic Curling Venue; it is only about 10 minutes from the Olympic Village, which is nice that we don’t have to travel too far. It is a very great venue, each team has their own locker room, and we had three love seats moved into ours and we decorated it with all our cards and signs from home so we could be comfortable when we were there, it looks sweet. The ice arena is nice and bright-the rings in the ice are blue and green, a little different than the typical red and blue.

Yesterday was our first game; we played Japan and lost in a measurement 9-7. It was a tough one, definitely not how we wanted to start competition but we have lots of games in front of us. There are ten teams at the Olympics for curling and we play a round robin, then the top four teams are in the semi-finals, #1 seed plays #4 seed and #2 seed plays #3 seed and winners play in the finals for the gold medal and the losers of that game play for bronze medal. After our game we went to the Proctor and Gamble house to spend time with our families and friends that are already here. My family will be here Friday, I can’t wait.

Today, we played Germany and had another heartbreaker; we lost 6-5 on the last shot of the game. I felt like the team played better and we are going in the right direction, we now just need to get a win under our belt and keep movin’ on!

Chat with you soon~

Tracy

Lodi, WI
2/17/10

February 13th, 2010 ~ Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

The days are flying by and I haven’t had time to fill you all in.

The US Men's and Women's Olympic Curling Teams pose for this photo with Vice President and Mrs. Biden

Friday the day of Opening Ceremonies was a whirlwind.   We had the day off of curling practice, but had a great workout in the morning and a nice lunch before we had to get ready.   We had to be dressed in our opening ceremony attire and ready to go by 1PM.     We all met up to go on our first excursion for the day in the parking lot – all you could see is a sea or red, white and blue.   That is when I spotted Snowboarder Shaun White and made sure that I had a picture taken with him, for my kids.    Then we hopped on buses and were headed to meet the Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, Gold Medalist Olympians Vonetta Flowers –2 man Bobsled, Peggy Fleming – Figure Skater and Mike Eurizone – Hockey player.   Vice President Biden congratulated us on representing the USA and sent us good luck wishes and a go USA speech.    Each sport then had there picture taken with Vice President Biden and Jill. (See below)

Then we were off to the arena where all the athletes from all the countries had to get organized in alphabetical order to get ready to enter in the Vancouver BC Place for the ceremony.    Being at the end of the order, it took a while before we actually got in line, when we did get in line, we were all excited chanting USA, while other countries were chanting back, and this went on for quite awhile.   It was nice to meet athletes from the all the other sports, find out when they compete and tell them you will be cheering them on either in person or by television..     When we were getting closer to the entrance to the Ceremony, it got louder and louder, all you could hear was the chanting of USA, USA, plus you could feel all the energy that was coming from us and in the BC Place.   When we got to the entrance we had to stop and then you could hear them announce the United States of America, it sent chills down my spine and then the crowd was wild and we made our entrance, waving, jumping up and down with a big smiles on our face.    We marched around the stage waving with joy and then made our way to our seats.    The ceremony was breathtaking at times, there was sorrow for the athlete that passed away earlier that morning from a luge accident, then there were many moments that I was in “awe” of the show and when the torch came into the BC Place, especially with Olympian Wayne Gretzky and when the flame was lit, it still gives me chills.    After the ceremony was over we took a lot of pictures it was hard to leave, it was such a special moment. (See picture below).

Saturday, we had our last practice at the Richmond Curling Club, which was quite busy, with the Scottish, Norwegian & USA men’s teams practicing the same time we were.   There was much more media there and people watching our practices.   That night our team went to the Short Track Speed skating which was very thrilling to watch, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and trying to move with the speedy skaters.    We first watched the semi-finals 1500 M men’s short track , then the women’s short track relay, which is unbelievable that they don’t crash and how they do their hand off, then it was back to the 1500 m men’s final, which had my heart racing, the race goes so fast.    The USA won two medals, Apolo Ohno won the Silver Medal and J.R. Celski won the Bronze Medal, quite exciting for the USA!

Tomorrow is our big day to practice at our Olympic Curling Venue.

Chat with you soon ~ Tracy

Tracy Sachtjen at the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Lodi, WI
2/13/10

Social Media Expert Wendy Soucie (www.wendysoucie.com) recently interviewed Tracy Sachtjen prior to her departure for Vancouver, BC for the 2010 Winter Olympiad. Good luck, Tracy-

Lodi, WI
2/12/10

February 11, 2010 ~ 1 Day until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

Tuesday, we had the morning off of training, so we slept in a little, hung out at our Penthouse Suite and relaxed.   Then teammate Allison and I decided to go for a run outside the Village and checkout Vancouver.    It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the mid – 40’s plus Vancouver has a great running path around the creek.   We saw many nice dining places and shops on our run.    Then we were off to breakfast at the cafeteria, it was so busy, I would have to say most of the athletes have to be at the village now.   We ended up sitting by other USA athletes and chatted with them a bit, it is great to hear about their sports and their training before they compete.

That afternoon the  team went to practice at the Richmond Curling Club in the afternoon, I ended up staying back at the village to do media shoot, a station was interested in photo shooting our patriotic room and checking out our scenic view.   I ended up meeting with the ladies at the curling club; we had a few meetings and off to dinner.   We were invited to have dinner at my friend Doris’ house, I met Doris years ago at World Championships in Switzerland and then she ended up marrying my high school coach.    It was so nice to hang out at a house and relax, have a great home baked dinner and to be able to taste test 3 delicious cakes.

Wednesday, was a busy day, practice again at the Richmond Curling Club and then off to pick up tickets and have lunch before our Press Conference.   The official Press Conference went well, the 5 of us ladies and Coach Wally sat up on a stage at table while the media could ask any one of us questions.   After that, each one of us walked around and had personal interviews.    After the Press Conference we were off to the Nike House, which was another unbelievable experience, we were welcomed with open arms and a big duffel bag full of gifts for each one o f us.    We were asked to try on the clothes and footwear in the duffel  to make sure they fit us, you can imagine the oooh’s and ahhh’s from each one of us,  we were spoiled again, but loving it.     Nike personnel then took us to the USA House to show us where it was, what it was all about and show us how to register.   The USA house is really neat, with many different activities to do while your there, I can’t wait till our families get to check it out.

We finally got back to the village in the early evening after the busy, busy day.   Natalie and I had to rush  off to a meeting, representing the men’s and women’s curling teams, with a representative from all other teams in Vancouver and conference call with the athlete representatives in Whistler to vote on our Opening Ceremony Flag Bearer.   After all of the voting our USA Flag Bearer will be 5-time Olympian Luge athlete Mark Grimmette.

Thursday was another busy day in the Village; we had a workout, practice at the Richmond Curling Club and more media.   Then we were off to the opening of the Proctor and Gamble House, all the USA athletes were invited to come and see all the neat accommodations they have for the athletes and their families.   The Proctor and Gamble house is a place for your families to go and feel at home and a place to meet up with the athletes.   Here is a little view of what they are offering: a Pringles Room with 24 flavors of Pringles – yummy, then a WII Room, a Spa Room, which definitely was a stop of mine, Pampers room for toddlers to play, place to drop off your laundry and pick it up in 24 hours, and lots of food and drinks.   My family is going to love this place, thank you Proctor and Gamble.

We also, had the USA Flag raising Ceremony at the Athlete Village in the evening.   All the USA athletes, coaches and staff gathered together and the ceremony was lead by Sandra Oh from Greys Anatomy.   I met the youngest USA athlete, Freestyle Skier Ashley Caldwell who is the same age as my daughter, 16; we got a picture taken together.    The ceremony was very festive and you can feel the excitement as we gathered with all the other USA athletes.

That was our past three days in a nutshell, I can’t believe tomorrow is OPENING CEREMONIES!

Chat with you later ~ Tracy

Lodi, WI
2/12/10
by Gary Engberg
©2010 Gary Engberg Outdoors

Sturgeon Spearer’s Look Forward to Opener This Weekend

All signs point to a successful sturgeon spearing season on Lake Wiinebago

This coming Saturday, February 13^th, the Wisconsin sturgeon spearing season opens on Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes of Lake Winneconne, Lake Buttes des Morts, and Lake Poygan. The spearing season lasts until February 28 or until the pre-set Winnebago System wide harvest caps are reached. Spearer’s had to apply for their spearing permit by August 1 for the Upriver Lakes where only 500 permits are allotted and licenses for both Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes must have been purchased by October 31^st. An individual can apply for a permit on either Lake Winnebago or the Upriver Lakes, but not both.

If you haven’t ever tried spearing for sturgeons, it is a tradition that is deeply rooted in the outdoor culture of Wisconsin. Spearing sturgeon goes back many generations to spearing families and groups of friends. Some families have traditions that go back to the early days of spearing with the Stockbridge Indians on the east shore of Lake Winnebago in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The “season’ is much like a huge tailgate party with thousands of anglers and their shanties dotting huge massive Lake Winnebago and having fun outdoors. The atmosphere is festive with families and groups getting together in the outdoors to socialize, see old friends, and hopefully get a chance to spear one of these prehistoric fish. Last year, an aerial shanty count had almost 5,000 shacks on the ice opening weekend. This year over 10,000 licenses have been sold, which shows that the sport is increasing in the number of participants and preserving this Wisconsin tradition.

The first spearing season in Wisconsin was in 1903 and later the season was closed from 1915 to 1931. But, the work and effort of the DNR and many other local groups have helped the growth of the sturgeon population to the point where it is now self-sustaining while still giving people the opportunity to spear.

Now, the Lake Winnebago System has the largest self-sustaining sturgeon population in the world and is used as an egg source for lake sturgeon re-introduction projects throughout the fish’s original range North American range. Lake Winnebago is the third largest freshwater lake in the United States encompassing 137,000 acres with 88 miles of shoreline. To put the lake’s size in layman’s terms, the lake is over 10 miles wide and 30 miles long with a maximum depth of only 20 feet.

Here’s a little about the sturgeon for those who don’t know much about this fish. The lake sturgeon is a slow growing, long living, and late maturing fish. Both males and females reach legal spearing size (36 inches) in 9 or 10 years. Both the males and females grow at similar rates till they reach 40 inches, and after that females grow much faster than the males. The female sturgeon usually live longer and therefore reach a much larger size and make up a majority of the fish over 60 inches. Females can live to be 100 years old while males have the potential to live to be 80 years old.

These anglers pose with one of last year's trophy sturgeon from Lake Winnebago

There were extremely high sturgeon harvests in the early and mid 1990’s which negatively affected the Winnebago sturgeon population. But, new regulations that were implemented in 1997 have reduced the harvest exploitation and allowed the population to recover to the robust numbers that now exist. Ron Bruch, the Lake Winnebago sturgeon biologist for the last 19 years, said “I am very glad to report that the sturgeon population and spear fishery are just as good as they were 19 years ago. In fact, the resurgence of 150 pound fish in the population over the last ten years adds a super-trophy element to the fishery that spearer’s haven’t seen since the 1950’s.” Bruch believes that it’s just a matter of time before the 188 pound record sturgeon speared by Dave Piechchowski in 2004 is broken. Every spring during the DNR population assessments, there are fish in the 200 pound class netted by DNR technicians. Because of the continued growth and development of the sturgeon stock, the DNR has raised the system wide harvest cap this season on adult females for the 2010 season to 740 sturgeon which is nearly double the caps first set in 1997 when the harvest cap system was introduced to prevent the exploitation of the fish.

This season the pre-set harvest caps are; juvenile females on Lake Winnebago 280 sturgeon and the Upriver cap is 70 fish for a total of 350 juvenile females, adult females on Winnebago is 666 fish and Upriver cap is 74 fish for a total of 740 adult female sturgeon, and males on Lake Winnebago is 800 fish and Upriver cap is 200 sturgeon for a total of 1000 males. The DNR will close the season on Lake Winnebago when one of the two conditions occurs; at the end of the fishing day in which 100% of any of the Lake Winnebago caps is reached or exceeded or 24 hours from the end of the fishing day within which a harvest of 90% to 99% of any one of the three Winnebago harvest caps are reached. The season will close on the Upriver Lakes when; at the end of the fishing day when 100% of any of the three caps is reached or exceeded or 24 hours from the end of the fishing day within which a harvest of 90 to 99% of any of the caps are reached.

The resurgence of the sturgeon population is another of those “good” DNR stories much like the re-introduction of the wild turkey from Missouri into Wisconsin. After reading all the negative DNR stories about deer and CWD in Wisconsin, it’s encouraging to have a story with a good ending! If you’re interested in learning about the sport or just want to see what it’s all about and have an interesting time, take a drive to the Lake Winnebago area this coming weekend. There are registration stations all around the lake and you can find a map and a list of these stations on the DNR website at http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/regulations/2010/documents/2010WinnebagoSturgeonSpearin .

As of now, this coming Saturday looks good for the sturgeon spearer with good water clarity, plenty of ice, and moderate weather. Warm weather, rain, and run-off can all affect the season and turn a good one into one you’d rather forget. I’ll be there this weekend and I hope some of you come to the Fond du Lac and Oshkosh areas to check out this winter tradition and hopefully see some of these “monster” fish.

If you have questions or ideas contact me at www.garyengbergoutdoors.com anytime.

Lodi, WI
2/11/10

The U.S. Army has proposed limiting camping and other future uses in lieu of cleanup for certain areas at Badger Army Ammunition Plant.  If approved by state regulators, the request will relieve the Army of its responsibility to clean up soil contamination on land parcels slated for transfer to the State of Wisconsin, the Bluffview Sanitary District, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The Army’s recently-disclosed proposal challenges a 1995 permit approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) which specifies both the contaminants of concern and the maximum amount of contamination that the Army can leave in soils after cleanup.  The Army wants to increase allowed levels of the carcinogenic explosive 2,6-DNT, for example, from 4.29 to 620 parts per million(ppm).  Soil cleanup goals for lead would increase from 30 to 500 ppm.

“The Army is spending millions of dollars trying to avoid a cleanup that is so easily accomplished,” said Laura Olah, Executive Director of Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, a community-led group that has worked for sustainable reuse of the closing military base for almost 20 years.  “Much of the contamination is limited to the top few feet of soil where it can be easily and safely removed.  The military simply doesn’t want to spend the money required to do a good job.”

The Army’s proposal relies on land use controls to help limit human exposure to residual contamination.   These controls could include prohibiting camping, restrictions on hunting, restrictions on grazing/agriculture, fences, deed restrictions, and re-classification of certain areas as “industrial.”

“This initial proposal is specific to the Settling Ponds – an area that spans the width of Badger from U.S. Highway 12 to the Wisconsin River,” Olah emphasized.  “However if this is approved, we expect the Army to ask for similar concessions in other areas that are still under investigation.”

The Settling Ponds are located along the installation’s southern boundary and were first used in 1941.   Altogether the site is comprised of Final Creek, four Settling Ponds, and five Spoils Disposal Areas, covering approximately 70 acres.  During active production years, these man-made ponds received sanitary and industrial wastewater from the entire facility and surface runoff from the Nitroglycerine, Rocket Paste, and Magazine storage areas, and ultimately discharged into Lake Wisconsin at Gruber’s Grove Bay.

Lodi, WI
2/11/10
by Gail Lamberty

Gail Lamberty, Market Manager for the Lodi Valley Farmer's Market in Lodi, WI

While our president was giving his state of the union address last Wednesday evening, folks from L.O.D.I. (Lodi Area Opportunity and Development, Inc.) gathered at the Northern Edge Supper Club. It was the annual opportunity to review the business climate in the area. Certificates and awards were handed out and general encouragement was given to new businesses. A really terrific table of green energy saving options was set up for viewing. It was fabulous to meet young people starting new business adventures with the support of this seasoned group.

The Lodi Valley Farmers’ Market has for many years been the recipient of the generosity and support of L.O..D. I. Rog Severson invited me to report on the “state of the Lodi Valley Farmers’ Market”. It was a delight to thank them on behalf of the market team for their faith in the market from its early days. Their generous support has not only been financial by providing a critical portion of our very limited budget, but significantly participatory as well. Looking at the audience I recognized faces of both regular vendors and regular shoppers at our market.

At our December market team meeting, we decided to thank Rick and Annette Fassbender who are the owners of the Northern Edge Supper Club where we gather on Friday afternoons during the growing season. We wanted to publically acknowledge them and the L.O. D. I. annual event was the perfect opportunity. In 2009 the market initiated the 5th Friday Market Dollars give away program. In each month that has a 5th Friday a drawing is held to give away dollars that are spent exclusively at the market. It is donations from the community and groups like L.O.D. I. that make it possible.

As I presented Annette with her $50 certificate for market dollars, she announced to the group that she would use it to purchase items to be used in her restaurant kitchen this summer. Bravo Annette!! Buy Fresh, Buy Local at its very finest at the Lodi Valley Farmers’ Market, wouldn’t you say?

Lodi, WI
2/10/10

February 8, 2010 ~ 4 Days until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

I am not sure where to begin explain my last three days.

We left Saturday for Vancouver, we arrived at the Vancouver airport and we were greeted by many volunteers, they were so helpful and nice.  We then had to get our credentials before we picked up our luggage, which made it official that I am an Olympian!  The Women’s and Men’s USA Curling teams were bussed to the hotel where we went through processing.   During processing you get your Olympic gear, which was overwhelming.   Three suitcases later, which were all filled with Nike and Ralph Lauren clothing, shoes and accessories was awesome, if anyone knows me, I love all that stuff!      We then had to try on our opening and closing ceremony attire to make sure we knew how to wear it and to check if we needed any alterations, then off to ring fitting and to pick out our Olympic watch, fun, fun.   We then took our three pieces of luggage to our room, instead of 4 pieces of luggage between two of us, we now had 10 pieces of luggage and as you can imagine not much space left in our hotel room.

Sunday morning, we had our last Team USA briefing, with 1996 Gold Medalist Dan O’ Brien in Decathlon and 1998 Gold Medalist Aerial Skier Nikki Stone, it was a motivating send off before packing up  to move to the Athlete Village.   We arrived in the Athlete Village and were taken to our Penthouse Suite; where all five of us are staying.   We were told before we arrived how lucky we were to get this suite, that the view is unbelievable and it was quite spacious.     Well, when we got to the door to our Penthouse Suite, we were in amazed by the view and when we opened up the door and saw the size of the suite we were pretty excited.   On each of our beds there were gifts from P & G, which was very thoughtful; it was many of the things that you will need extra of when you are gone from home for over 3 weeks.

We then toured the Olympic Village, checked out the shop and maybe spent a little money.    We decided to check out the Olympic Village Cafeteria, which has every type of food you can imagine.   I made sure I went to McDonald’s so I could tell my son that I went to McDonald’s today and it was “free”.    We went to the athlete hangout where everyone was watching the Super Bowl; there are pool tables, WII games and much more, and it’s decorated pretty funky.

Today[Monday], we had our first practice since we left home.   It was at the Richmond Curling Club, it was nice to get back out on ice with the five of us girls and our coaches.   We then went shopping to buy a few things to decorate our room.   Went back to our Penthouse Suite (love saying that) for the next 3 weeks and did some patriotic decorating, it definitely looks very festive!    Nicole, Allison and I went and had a workout with one of our USOC trainers at the athlete fitness center, which was quite busy, you can tell more athletes moved into the village today.   Then off to dinner with the team at the athlete cafeteria, it seems every time I go there I never know what to have to eat because there are so many options.   Then we went back to the Penthouse watched a movie and relaxed together, nice way to end the day.

Chat with you later ~ Tracy

Debbie McCormick, Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad, Natalie Nicholson and I showing our patriotic spirit!

Lodi, WI
2/10/10

The Lodi High School Forensics Team captured its fifth straight conference title last Monday night at Marshall High School. In a close competition with Lakeside Lutheran and Watertown Luther Prep, Lodi edged out Lakeside by six points, scoring a 259 to Lakeside’s 253. Earning individual medals were Andrew Bulovsky (extemporaneous speaking), Greta Reed (solo humorous),  Janine Yeh (solo humorous), Holly Hargis (radio), Phoebe Mogharei (public address),and  Emily Stephenson (oratory).

In addition to the conference meet, the team recently competed at the Berlin and DeForest Invitationals. Even though they had a partial team and did not place, individuals were finalists or place winners. At Berlin Andrew Bulovsky (extemp), Emily Wimmer (radio), Katy Lang (4 minute) and Taran O’Reilly (solo humorous) were all finalists. At the DeForest meet,

Our finalists included Kim Breunig (poetry), Emily Stephenson (oratory), Stacy Veach (prose) and Emily Wimmer (radio). Andrew Bulovsky took first in extemporaneous, and Holly Hargis took a first in radio speaking.

The team begins the state tournament trail with sub-district in Lodi on February 15.

Congrats to the LHS Conference Champion Forensics Team!

Lodi, WI
2/10/10

Merrimac town board members Terry Frosch, Steve Peetz (Chair), and John Gaedke, consider and later passed a resolution urging the Army to clean up groundwater contamination that is affecting groundwater, wetlands, and surface water in the rural township.

Last Wednesday (2/3/10) night, Town of Merrimac board members unanimously passed a resolution calling on the U.S. Army to clean up groundwater contamination that is affecting private drinking water wells and is discharging into the wetlands and surface water of Lake Wisconsin at Weigand’s Bay.

The action follows the release of a new Army study showing that concentrations of the carcinogenic explosive DNT exceed state groundwater standards and that low levels of solvents may have also migrated outside Badger Army Ammunition Plant.

The primary source of the contamination is the Deterrent Burning Ground – a closed hazardous waste disposal site located in the northeast corner of Badger. In September 2009, groundwater testing at the site detected DNT at 3.8 parts per billion (ppb) which is 76 times higher than the safe drinking water advisory of 0.05 ppb.

The resolution urges the Army to “take immediate and proactive steps to assure that drinking water wells are clean and free of contaminants from Badger Army Ammunition Plant,” adding that the Army should offer “regular free water testing to all residents at and near the Weigand’s Bay area” in order to assure that families who have not been tested are included in the Army’s water monitoring program.

The town is also concerned about how the contamination could affect surface water. Weigand’s Bay is a natural fish hatchery and provides habitat for several species of wildlife that includes numerous fish and reptiles, as well as several bird species that include herons, cranes, osprey, and the American Bald Eagle, the resolution emphasizes.

“Failure by the U.S. Army to prevent and eliminate contamination in this valuable watershed jeopardizes not only the quality of life of town residents, but negatively impacts the recreational opportunities that supports the economic base of this township and surrounding communities,” the resolution concludes.

The resolution was passed in response to a request from Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, a local environmental group that has been pushing for cleanup and restoration of the ammunition plant since 1990.

The town will be asking federal and state officials to support the action by sending similar letters to the U.S. Army.

Lodi, WI
2/9/10

Lodi, WI
2/9/10

Lodi, WI
2/8/10

February 4, 2010 ~ 8 Days until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

Today is the day I am packing my bags for Vancouver.   I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to pack, I hear you get a lot of gear, but what about all the favorite things that we already have been sent?    I also, want to pack all the nice cards and signs that everyone has given me this week to hang all over our Condo and locker room to feel all their good vibes through the next few weeks.

This week has been a busy one, getting our final practices in, finishing up work before leaving and the exciting “Good Luck” send off parties.   Tuesday, my teammate, Nicole and I were honored at the Badger Men’s Basketball game versus Michigan State.   Right before the game started we took center court with Barry Alvarez, which was also the same time that the Michigan State players came out to court, “WOW”, you could just feel the energy in the Badger Fans.   I now understand what home field advantage really means at the Kohl Center, very intimidating.     Then Wednesday morning at 5AM our Lodi YMCA workout group got to train at the Lodi Curling Club.   We did a bit of a workout, then I taught them how to curl and we played a mini game.   It was a lot of fun.   That evening was my send off party at the Lodi Curling Club.   I have pretty much grown up at the curling club, my parents curled there when I was little, I would go cheer them on and then I started competing at the Lodi Curling Club myself.   It was a great evening, there were so many people there to send me off it was amazing.   The Mayor of Lodi, Mikel Bilkey came and declared it Tracy Sachtjen day on February 3, 2010, which was quite an honor.    It says something about living in a small city – I love LODI!   I can’t thank everyone enough, on all their support and well wishes, I am a very lucky person.

I also found out today that it is official, I am the eldest female USA athlete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, oh geez!

Chat with you soon from Vancouver~

Tracy

Lodi, WI
2/8/10

Each year, the Lodi Reads Leopold committee works to find ways to make Aldo Leopold’s writings relevant and interesting to modern Lodi residents.

Participants have hiked, built benches, watched movies and more – all in addition to the ever-present readings from Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac.”  This year, the group is taking the project to the streets by coordinating an outreach project for Leopold’s ideas.

“Leopold’s 1949 book has always been at the heart of the Lodi Reads Leopold events, and the words still seem to apply to our lives,” said Patti Herman, Lodi Reads Leopold committee member. This year, the group is hoping to apply fresh perspectives through a series of events from now through the end of March.

Rather than a single day of readings, for this eleventh annual event, the readers will make Lodi Reads Leopold an interactive program by taking “A Sand County Almanac” into the places where Lodi residents live and meet. To do that, LRL volunteers will be attending the March meetings of many local organizations. Volunteer readers will give a 15-minute presentation, including a reading and a brief personal perspective.

“We’re very excited to have this opportunity to discuss Leopold across the community,” Herman said. “We expect there will be some people for whom this will be their first experience hearing Leopold read aloud, and they’re in for a treat!”

Additionally, a community forum event will be held Saturday, March 6, during the statewide Aldo Leopold Weekend. “Homegrown Meals: How can Lodi citizens eat nutritional and locally-produced food?” is the topic. The forum will be held from 10:30 until noon at the Lodi Woman’s Club Public Library.

Confirmed panelists will include D&D Piggly Wiggly co-owner Duane Westlie, Lodi Canning Company President Bob Goeres, Lodi Farmer’s Market Manager Gail Lamberty and Lodi School District Food Service Director Paula Larrabee. According to emcee Bill Haupt, the forum will address nutritional, environmental and economic concerns relating to the local food movement.

“This is a topic that seems to be gaining steam as a movement in Wisconsin and throughout the country,” Haupt said. “Given our strong agricultural culture and resources, it seems natural for us to examine this topic and the potential benefits it can provide to our community.”

Leading up to the forum discussion, the Lodi Public Library will host a book discussion on Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food.” Anyone who has read the book and would like to discuss it can join in at 7 pm on Monday, February 22 at the library.

“We’re sure that many topics of conversation from the book discussion are likely to overlap with the panel discussion,” said library co-director Trish Priewe. “This way, over a span of the next month or so, people will be able to read a book, think about and discuss their impressions of the book, and then attend the forum to discover new avenues and local approaches to implementing those same ideas.”

Lodi Reads Leopold began in 2000 when a group of local citizens met to read aloud from “A Sand County Almanac.”  Since then, the idea has spread to other communities and also spawned state legislation that designates the first full weekend in March as Aldo Leopold Weekend to celebrate the life and works of this Wisconsin conservation leader. To learn more about Lodi Reads Leopold, visit www.lodireadsleopold.org.

If your group would like to participate in this Leopold outreach project and has not been contacted, please contact Patti Herman at 592-5666 or billpatti@charter.net to schedule a reader/presenter. For more information about the community forum, please contact Bill Haupt at bhauptlodi@aol.com. To reserve a copy of “In Defense of Food” or for more information about the book discussion, contact the Lodi Public Library at 592-4130 or www.lodipubliclibrary.org.

Lodi, WI
2/8/10

Lodi's Tracy Sachtjen will compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as a member of the USA Women's Curling team. Go Tracy!

As many of you probably know, Lodi is honored to have Tracy Sachtjen, on the US Women’s curling team for the winter Olympics. Way to go! Attached is a copy of the TV schedule Tracy sent out yesterday – it starts on Feb 16 – and gives you the cable or dish channel you can watch and the local time.

Awesome! Please share with anyone whom may be interested.

USA Women’sCurling- Olympic TV Schedule