Hey guys, I live in northeast IL and have considered buying a WI tag to hunt the public grounds primarily in Walworth county. More public land in WI is closer to me than in IL. Is it worth the time and non resident fee? Anyone hunting those properties? How many deer do you see in a day? Any decent bucks ever seen? Thanks a ton!
I do hunt some of those areas. However.. I only hunt them in September for like 5 or 6 hunts.. then I'm always back to Illinois. Got a specific piece in mind? I can give you a lowdown on what I know about certain pieces.
I live in the middle of the Kettle Moraine Southern Unit. That is right where Walworht, jefferson and Waukesha counties meet. I hunt there sometimes. Do you have a specific place in mind???
No, I don't have a specific one in mind. I was going to start scouting in a few weeks. I have a friend that lives in Twin Lakes that I got into bow hunting this last season and I was going to help him scout some of these spots for him to hunt for sure, and he keeps harassing me to get a WI tag. He has permission to hunt 65 acres that is a fair spot that I can join him on, but I'd like to check out some of the other public ground too. My oldest son will be 11 next season and he will be ready to hunt. I need to get him on some deer. He can't do WI until 12, so, I need to go with what I know and get my son on an IL deer. But, still might do a WI tag for those weekends or days my son can't go. Instead of driving to the nearest IL spots I have which are 2 plus hours away, it would be nice to drive less than an hour if it's worth the time. Could even open up some weekday hunts instead of just being a weekend warrior. Any opinions or experience on any of the spots would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch.
AFD, if your not doing anything this sat, a bunch of us are getting together for a fisheree in Bristol Wi., which is towards kenosha, by I-94. That would be a good place to go & meet some of us that hunt Il/Wi. Go to the "watercooler" posts, and look up the icefishing tourney w/JFerg7 the post starter. I hunt alot of Walworth Co. public hunting land. PM me, I'll give you some info on where to go. I have family that live in Lake Zurich, so I know that your about 45 min. from the Wi line.
i hunted WI last this past yr making my return sice i was 17yrs old. i ended up eating my tag, but had fun. now i cant help but think what i was missing out on leaving my "home base" hunting land gallivanting up in WI. from now on, i will shoot a deer here first before i head north...errr south, east or west for that matter!!!!!!!!!
Good luck on finding a doe to shoot. I hope they get rid of the earn a buck for next year. I've hunted the southern Kettle Moraine years back theres deer there just have be persistant.
Guys, I truly appreciate the feedback, opinions and offer to meet at the derby. I've sent a few PM's and look forward to meeting some of you someday. If anyone ever needs fishing help on Geneva, let me know. I used to help a friend with his guide business there in the past.
The South Kettles and the North Kettles are 2 great places to hunt!!!!!!! There are a lot of deer in both forests! Good luck!
The guide I used to help is Tom Billings. Lake Geneva Fishing Guide Service. He does many corporate outings through the resorts on the lake. I helped him when he needed to take 20-30 fisherman. Pretty funny seeing a charter bus come down to the launch and unload. The guy you went with is John Trossen.
Walworth county is the way to go just this past season the deer numbers still seem to be up. I was reading the data on buck kills from 2008 and I was pretty impressed. I am always hearing of some nice bucks coming out of that county and I just may have to put it back on my radar. T
