- Well, hey everyone.

Welcome to Michigan Out Of Doors.

Thank you so much for joining us this week.

We have a short show this week because our PBS stations are pledging, but we are jam packed with all sorts of brand new stuff.

We're gonna kick things off by tagging along on the World Ice Fishing Championship.

You won't wanna miss that.

Teams from all over the world came here to Michigan, just north of Grand Rapids to compete in that.

It was a really cool story.

Then we're gonna tag along with some bunny hunters chasing a few beagles.

Doing little rabbit hunting on this week's show.

And I think we're gonna have time for a small bragging board as well.

Make sure you stay tuned, I'm Jimmy Gretzinger.

It's time for Michigan Out Of Doors.

♪ From the first spring rains to the soft summer breeze ♪ ♪ Dancing on the pine forest floor ♪ ♪ The autumn colors catch your eyes ♪ ♪ Here come the crystal winter skies ♪ ♪ It's Michigan, Michigan Out Of Doors ♪ - [Man] What a beautiful day in the woods.

♪ Some day our children all will see ♪ ♪ This is their finest legacy ♪ ♪ Wonder around the love of Michigan ♪ ♪ As the wind comes whispering through the trees ♪ ♪ The sweet smell of nature's in the air ♪ ♪ From the Great Lakes to the quiet stream ♪ ♪ Shining like a sportsman's dream ♪ ♪ It's a love of Michigan we all share ♪ - [Narrator] Michigan Out Of Doors is presented by By Country Smokehouse, a sportsman's destination since 1988.

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(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Jay's Sporting Goods, trust the tradition.

(soft music) - [Man] A few weeks back, I was in the small town of Lakeview, Michigan to cover day two of the 2025 World Ice Fishing Championship with 10 countries competing in this two day tournament.

Things were looking good for team USA as they had the lead after day one.

- Oh, this is gonna be a very important day.

It is the second day of the world championships.

I don't know, a lot of pressure we're tied for first, but we always finish strong.

Every tournament we've done, we've finished better on day two than day one.

And I hope that's, if we do that, we are gonna be gold medalists here.

But we knew that this was gonna be a battle right to the end.

'cause we are matching them up at their strength, which is little fish and fast.

So we are matching up with their strengths of fishing and we're not afraid of nobody in the world doing this.

I've been training them and they know what to do.

So I'm cutting them loose here in just a few minutes and it's gonna be an exciting three hours.

(loud horn blowing) We have started.

- [Audience] USA!

USA!

(man laughing) - We've got some of our fans.

Alright, thank you guys.

(upbeat music) (man laughing) I started fishing in 2010, which was in was Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

And we won a gold medal then.

I didn't realize even what we did then, because it's been very difficult.

I've been around the world now.

I've been to Kazakhstan twice, Ukraine twice, Bulgaria, Belarus, Finland, Poland, oh, I don't know some other countries a lot via Lithuania.

I've been to all them countries fishing and I'm so proud to bring it here and we're gonna see what happens.

It's a five man team event here.

It's 10 teams here this year, which is 10 anglers in each zone.

So we had five zones on Saturday.

We got five different areas on day two, complete the other end of the lake.

It's been mostly blue gills, probably 80%, 90% blue gills, some crappies and some perch thrown in.

Probably a couple shiners.

And they caught a Bullhead the other day and they went crazy over the Bullhead.

So they were taking pictures.

It's worldwide famous, this little Bullhead is, but they did catch one.

So I was stunned to see that - [Narrator] This style of fishing is very different than what we're used to.

These anglers are targeting small fish, using very small equipment and no electronics during the actual tournament.

- [Chas] They are allowed to use electronics for mapping with say, Vexilar or whatever, fine depth.

And they can do mapping.

But the rest of it, on like game days, there's no electronics, all hand drilling, no power drilling.

It's pure fishing here.

You know, it's getting after 'em type of things.

You drill a hole and you fish.

Usually, I wouldn't even dream of going without my Vexilar and my panoptix these days, you know, but now it's just pure fishing.

As you watch 'em, they drill a hole and they fish, they drill a hole and they fish.

It's the purest sense of fishing that we have.

World competition, one fish can make the difference here between winning and getting it done.

'Cause we're gonna be so tight.

This is gonna be a cat and dog fight right to the bitter end.

I can't even watch my guys going at it right now.

I've set the table, got 'em all out working.

They got their spotters, they know what they gotta do.

Just best for me to stay out of the way and let 'em go.

I've set the table for 'em.

- [Narrator] Another unique thing about this tournament is the weigh-in.

It's not really about catching big fish, it's about catching the most total weight.

And since we have strict limits on what you can keep here in Michigan, the crew had to create a catch and release weigh-in system that ended up working out quite well.

- The World Competition asks to weigh all the fish in a three hour window.

Well, obviously here in Michigan we have a limit of 25, so our spotters are gonna watch and when they see somebody getting close to 20 some fish, we're gonna pull all 10 anglers buckets, one from each country.

We're gonna bring 'em in, we're gonna weigh 'em.

So what the guys do is we've got a couple of fish masters that are gonna strain the fish out and get the slush and the snow and anything else that that's in there out so we can get an accurate measurement, put it up here on the scale, at which point I'm gonna give a reading of the scale.

I'm going to enter it into the KeepNet app that we're using to track all the scoring.

We also have a scribe that is doing a paper backup of that.

And then those numbers are tallied later to determine the winner of the zone.

- [Narrator] The way the weigh-in system works, the spectators really had no idea how things were going throughout the day, but one thing's for sure, there was lots of support for the USA ice fishing team.

And before the tournament wrapped up, I was able to catch up with one of those supporters who was a former USA team member and a familiar face in the world of ice fishing.

- Hi, I'm Dave Genz.

I'm here at the World Ice Fishing Championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they've kind of titled me here as the Godfather of modern ice fishing.

You know, I started ice fishing.

Well actually I quit my job when I was 40 years old and been in the ice fishing business ever since.

Started tournaments, oh, in 1979, I put on my first ice fishing tournament and I've fished in the World Competition in 1992 when I was up in Canada.

And it's pretty exciting to, you know, I've carried the USA sign in the parade walk, walking down the streets up in Lake Simcoe.

Thatwas , you know, makes your heart feel good when you get to do that.

And I noticed that our team members here for Team USA are, you know, they're proud to be representing their country and it's really exciting to, you know, see and watch this.

In 1992, up in Canada, team USA was able to win a silver medal.

And I've been very proud to have this hanging around my neck at different events.

Several years ago, team USA won the gold medal.

Last year in Mongolia, I believe, they won a silver medal, that's really a big deal to compete against the people all over the world and kind of on their turf.

They're the ones that kind of made the rules and team USA has adapted to their rules and is able to compete with them now.

- [Narrator] It was pretty incredible to see people from all over the world sharing one piece of hard water here in Michigan.

Unfortunately, team USA had a tough day too and ended up finishing sixth overall, with Lithuania finishing first.

Tournaments like this one can often be decided by just a few grams and medals are always hard earned.

Thanks to Myron and the crew for inviting me out.

And good luck to the team going forward as they represent our country around the world.

(soft music) - Well, what we're gonna do now is shift gears a little bit and get off of the hard water and head to the woods.

We're gonna tag along with some guys that were chasing some beagles and some bunnies and that is always a ton of fun.

And now that the weather is improving a little bit, so are the scenting conditions.

And we had not a great day as far as a lot of rabbits, but we had a really great time.

(upbeat music) - [Nick] My boys, this one is the son of her.

- [Man] Okay.

- [Nick] And then that one's related to her.

[Man] Who do we got here?

- [Nick] This is Bugs, this is my old female.

I do a lot of competing with her.

- [Man] Okay.

- We're gonna go kill a couple of bunnies.

(dogs whimpering) - [Narrator] Today I was just north of Coopersville, Michigan, tagging along with some guys chasing beagles and bunnies today.

These guys get out quite a bit and we were hoping for some good runs today.

- [Rodney] This my old girl Zanna.

She's nine this year.

- Wow.

- This is one that started it all for me.

I like her so much, I got her tattooed on me actually.

- Oh wow.

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] As we hit the woods, the fog just started to lift.

Now this first property is a honey hole for these guys and once we hit the woods you could see why.

Lots of brush piles and some nice lanes cut in spots as well, which makes it nice for actually getting a rabbit on camera.

- Well, we're gonna let these dogs get a rabbit jumped up for us.

We're gonna get in a circle and we're gonna shoot 'em, I guess.

Let them run around a couple times.

- Perfect.

- Yeah.

It's pretty wet out here.

It's been very cold and we got a bunch of snow and snowman snow out here, so it's not the best.

They kind of sink right into it.

The rabbits can just kind of glide right on the top of it, but.

- [Man] How's the season been for you this year?

- I just got home after being gone for a while guiding and I've been home running every day since I've been here and it's been pretty good.

- Nice.

- So it is what it is.

I got some friends that run my dogs for me when I'm outta state.

- Okay, - So.

- [Man] And you're outta state hunting?

- [Rodney] Yeah, yep, I guide full time.

So I was up in Canada for two months and then down in Oklahoma for a couple months waterfowl hunting down there.

- Wow.

- Yep.

So busy, busy guy on the road.

- [Man] Sounds pretty nice.

- [Rodney] Yeah, no, it's pretty fun.

So just get to hunt every day and travel over the United States and do that.

So can't be mad about that.

- [Man] And how old are your dogs?

- [Rodney] So my oldest female is seven and then her pup is turning two this June.

(dogs howling) - Okay.

- So.

A little ways to go on the younger male, but he's doing pretty good so far.

- [Narrator] Well we had one circling back our way, but from where I was you could barely see anything.

But Rodney had his gun up and was waiting for a good shot.

- [Man] Well what happened there?

- The dogs finally got one going and it didn't look pretty, but we got one so far.

- [Man] I could see 'em kinda getting through the trees, but I couldn't really get 'em on camera.

- So - Yeah.

Well there's one in here.

- We got one, another one went under hunting blinds, so.

- [Man] Yeah, there's a few out here.

- See if we can't get any more up.

- [Narrator] Well we covered this spot pretty good.

So we moved to spot number two about 10 to 15 minutes away.

Now this spot also holds a lot of rabbits, has some nice low areas and some really good edges as well.

Hopes were high - I say we jumped 'em like right here and now he is running in a big circle like that.

So he should end up back in this area right here.

That's where we're now.

I've been running hounds my entire life.

My dad had 'em when I was growing up.

My brother's got 'em as well.

But I've kind of had a hound at my house my whole life.

And when I turned 16 I started competing a lot more, got more into it.

So I've had coon dogs and beagles now.

- Nice.

- And yeah, I've always just had a couple beagles and a couple coon dogs back at the house and just something I enjoy the most.

Bring all my buddies out with me.

- [Man] And what do you like about this kind of hunting?

- [Rodney] I just like the dog work is the best thing about it.

Just natural genetic show.

Basically with these things, time in the woods is really what makes you have a good dog or not a good dog at the end of the day.

So I mean, just putting time into it and you can see the puppies that are progressing as from not knowing nothing to being a finished dog like this one or whatever.

Just it's pretty enjoyable to watch, watch 'em grow up.

I don't really shoot a lot, but I really enjoy watching the hounds work themselves.

You know what I mean?

- Yeah.

- So, that's my favorite thing about it.

- [Man] And how do you pick a spot when you're trying to... - Trying to find something?

- Yeah.

- My biggest concerns are always where the roads are at.

Just try to keep the dog safe, you know what I mean?

So I just drive around and I've been here for so long, I kind of know what has good game in it and what doesn't and what I can run and stuff like that.

So far off the road, this time of the year, it's a little scary running with like water, rivers and stuff like that in it just 'cause there's ice and then there's water on top of that ice and the dog can go through.

So I try to stay away from those kind of spots this time of year.

But really just big sections so I don't have to try to worry about my dogs getting off the property where I have permission to be.

But I mean, it's just part of being a hounds man.

You just kind of drive around, look for your spots and hope to God everything goes smoothly.

- [Man] Well, tell me what happened there.

- Well, the dogs rolled him for a while and we finally got him killed.

So he started way out there and ran a big circle, came back right where we jumped him, ran him up in this little section and then that was the end of that.

- [Man] So we should have stayed right where we jumped him, right?

- Right where we jumped him, man, I mean he came within what, 15 yards where we got him going at.

So kind of cool.

- [Man] Well I saw you raise your gun up, I was like, whoa.

- Yeah, we got him so.

- [Man] Well, good shooting.

- I had to wait and make sure I knew where all the dogs were at and everything first.

So he was a little bit far, but, didn't matter I guess.

- There we go, success.

- Success.

- [Narrator] The amount of rabbit sign here was crazy, but just not a lot of them moving today.

But Rodney was with Kyle and actually had time to get his cell phone out and capture this shot on camera.

- [Man] He's coming right at us.

Don't shoot yet.

Shoot him, shoot him, shoot him.

He stopped, shoot him.

Shoot him.

(gun firing) High.

- High?

- [Man] Yeah.

(gun firing) (dog howling) - Is he still there?

- Yeah, dogs will get him.

Well, tell me the story.

- Well, the dogs were circling around and we seen it about a hundred yards out and kind of zigzagged towards us and got a shot at it.

Had to shoot twice, but, hey.

- Just to make sure?

- Yep, just to make sure we got it, but yeah, here we are.

- [Man] Nice.

- Well this always seems to happen on a rabbit hunt.

We've got three guys out here today with guns.

One camera.

All three guys have killed a rabbit today, but I was not with any of the one that actually shot a rabbit when they shot a rabbit.

Near them, but not close enough to see the rabbit.

So that's kind of one of the hard things about taping rabbit hunts.

You never know quite where they're gonna hop out, but it's been a good day, good day to be in the woods.

Actually, it was a little overcast and foggy this morning, but it's been a really pretty day.

Dogs have run really well, a couple of really good dogs here, but just some thick cover to get 'em on camera, but been a good day overall.

Always fun to get out rabbit hunting.

(soft country music) Well hey everybody, thank you so much for watching Michigan Out Of Doors this week.

Make sure you are joining us over the next couple of weeks.

We're excited for all the stuff that's happening around the state and we are taping our big Buck Night West on March the 13th in Grand Rapids at the Ultimate Sports Show.

If you want to come see that, it is a lot of fun.

Get to hear those stories and see those racks up close.

And we are giving away a firearm that night as well.

So should be a great night.

Make sure you are joining us over the next several weeks and if we don't see you in the woods or on the water, we'll see you right back here next week on your PBS station.

- [Narrator] Michigan Out of Doors is presented by.

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With GreenStone's Recreational Land Loans, we'll help you finance acreage of any size so you can own your own place in the great outdoors.

GreenStone - [Narrator] By SCI, SCI helps protect, promote, and preserve wildlife through conservation practices, which include hunting.

SCI supports and funds conservation programs in the state of Michigan.

Learn more how you can get involved at a chapter near you.

- [Narrator] By Show Span, producing consumer shows that include the Ultimate Sports Show in Grand Rapids.

Over 350 exhibitors, outdoor gear, boats, seminars, lake Ultimate and Big Buck Night.

The Ultimate Sports Show at the DeVos place in Grand Rapids.

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Learn more at one of 10 monthly meetups or online at networkoutdoors.com.

- [Narrator] Closed captioning brought to you by Doubled D Ranch Foundation, a nonprofit 501 C3 foundation working to make hunting and fishing accessible for those with disabilities.

(upbeat music) ♪ When I wander far away ♪ ♪ A dream stays with me night and day ♪ ♪ It's the road that leads to my home state ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ Changing seasons, paint the sea ♪ ♪ Like rainbow, child, in a hidden stream ♪ ♪ The whitetail deer in the tall pine trees ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ That's where I'm from and I'll show you my hands ♪ ♪ Lord above, I love this land ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ From the Keweenaw down to St. Joe ♪ ♪ Kalamazoo east to Monroe ♪ ♪ Sault Ste.

Marie and back again ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ ♪ That's where I'm from and I'll show you my hands ♪ ♪ Lord above, I love this land ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ (soft inspirational tune)