By KATIE Gervasi Michigan Department of Natural Resources MARQUETTE — The day begins hours before sunrise. Gear, food and water are packed. Preferably leaving the dock by 4 a.m., conservation officers in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Great Lakes Enforcement Unit ...

“It’s shining brightly, it’s looking pretty right, from early morning to real, real late at night.” — Bob Seger As easy as a melody, our little raft floated across the top of the water, pushed gently onward by a warm summer breeze. There was no need to paddle, only to drift and to ...

Upper Peninsula Keweenaw Bay: Lake trout fishing continues to be good for those trolling and jigging. A couple nice brown trout and a small number of Chinook salmon were caught. Marquette: Decent numbers of lake trout are coming in near the White Rocks and Granite Island in 120 to 200 feet. ...

MARQUETTE — Things like tapered leaders and improved clinch knots, instead of bicycle tires and hiking boots, were the focus on Wednesday at the Noquemenon Trail Network Singletrack trail off M-553. “Trails on the Rise” was part of the new Trail Talk series sponsored by NTN Singletrack ...

“So, I’m up here in the north woods, just staring at a lake, wondering just exactly how much they think a man can take.” — John Prine I was sitting, relaxing when a cool breeze fluffed the curtain at the window as it rolled in through the mesh screen. It wasn’t long afterward that I ...

MARQUETTE — An endoscope can give a viewer a look at the inside of a paper wasp nest, something only a paper wasp typically would see. However, MooseWood Nature Center is one place that has an endoscope for such a purpose — with the bonus that the wasps inside are long deceased. The ...

Upper Peninsula • Keweenaw Bay: Anglers did well bobbing and trolling for lake trout. A few Chinook and coho were caught trolling spoons and flies, but most fish were lake trout. • Marquette: Fishing picked up with some boats doing well bringing in four or more fish. Many were fishing for ...

“Ain’t no sand in my pocket, never do sit down; I’m just a cross-tie walker, where the freight trains run.” — John Fogerty Driving over the alternating rocky and muddy bumps and bogs in this old railroad grade, my Jeep rocks from side to side. My body moves sympathetically to the ...

MARQUETTE — The Tour Da Yoop, Eh cycling event travels throughout the Upper Peninsula — no surprise there, considering the tour’s name — but safety still is paramount, even in rural surroundings. The tour first was held in 2018, but is open to the public this year, with the event ...

Upper Peninsula Keweenaw Bay: Anglers have been targeting lake trout while trolling spoons and the occasional fly 40 to 60 feet down or when bouncing along the bottom. A few Chinook and coho were also caught. • Marquette: Overall fishing is slow for this time of year as many boats struggle ...

“Just take the green from the grass, and the blue from the sky up above; and if you colour my world, just paint it with your love; just colour my world.” — James Pankow Within the whirling maelstrom of summertime travels and travails, I’ve somehow found a few moments to become ...

Upper Peninsula • Keweenaw Bay: Fishing was sporadic as those coming in with lake trout had anywhere from one to limit catches. A few reports of salmon, steelhead and brown trout however anglers were marking baitfish as well. More anglers were launching from Traverse Bay which was a little ...

MARQUETTE — The Adventure Building Camp was where the smell of sawdust and the sounds of power tools mixed with the smell of milkweed flowers and the sounds of baby barn swallows. Kids of various ages have been working in sessions this summer at the Dead River Storage warehouse not far ...

“Long as I remember, the rain’s been coming down; clouds of mystery pourin’ confusion on the ground,” — John Fogerty I’m not sure exactly what time it was, but it was late at night or early in the morning. I had fallen asleep watching television and I got up to head to ...

CHARLES CITY, Va. (AP) — Sturgeon were America’s vanishing dinosaurs, armor-plated beasts that crowded the nation’s rivers until mankind’s craving for caviar pushed them to the edge of extinction. More than a century later, some populations of the massive bottom feeding fish are ...

MARQUETTE — To many people, sitting around a campfire is one of the best ways to spend an evening outdoors. If it’s not too close to the flame, mosquitoes might feel that way too. Local inventor Earl Senchuk of Marquette has developed what he calls the Crown FireTent, which might make ...

Upper Peninsula • Marquette: Fishing was hit-or-miss with some boats getting four to eight fish while others reported zero to three. The fish were scattered throughout the water column. This trend could continue for the next week or two with the recent bug hatches and water temperatures in ...

“Ever since the British, burned the White House down, there's a bleeding wound in the heart of town,” — Bob Dylan Right now, it’s after midnight and I’m rolling through the Maryland nighttime on a bus heading north and east, back home to the Great Lakes State. With my reading ...