The annual gathering of AGLOW outdoor writers, content creators, podcast hosts and other fishing and hunting communicators, took place recently in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. AGLOW stands for the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers. While that name has been around for nearly 70 years, the organization has grown to include members from all over the globe. It’s evolved to include more than writers too, recognizing creators in new media spaces.
The Metropolis Resort, a familiar sight along I-94, played host. A fitting location with conference rooms, food service, plenty of (dog friendly) hotel rooms and….a Dairy Queen. For families visiting during the summer, the water park and go kart track is bustling with kids. We had the place to ourselves for the week, due to the offseason conference. The outdoor fire pit worked well for our hospitality nights.
Fishing Lake Wissota
The week is filled with industry-expert led seminars, learn it/do it sessions and other networking events. We also had the chance to fish Lake Wissota with local bass tourney angler Brad Goeman. Our goal was to boat a muskie and then a variety of smallmouth, walleye, pike and crappie. We crushed it and filmed it for the Fish Hunt Forever Youtube Channel.
The Day Afield in Eau Claire
We also had the chance to visit the “oldest continuous operating gun club in the state of Wisconsin.” Opening in 1907, the Eau Claire Rod and Gun Club has expanded and moved from it’s original location. We interviewed some of the guys who’ve been there for a long time, shot trap and had the chance to try out suppressors on a number of handguns and AR’s.
There was a trip to Whispering Emerald Ridge Game Farm scheduled for the afternoon, so I figured I’d get Tiny some preseason work. I walked with Trent Marsh of Riton Optics, Kevin Michalowski and Ed Combs from Delta Defense and Mike Slack from Engaged Industries. Most of those guys live in the defense/big game world, so they don’t get in the upland space often. We saw some firsts and Tiny actually pointed a few of the birds during the walk. Whether that was her faint pointing genetics (thanks Boone!) coming through or the fact that these birds held tight when she’s used to runners, we may never know. But, right after that trip, we hunted the Minnesota duck opener and chased a crippled blue-winged teal into some prairie grass. The wounded duck couldn’t fly so it held tight before trying to run, similar antics that a rooster would employ. Tiny locked up for a few seconds before the duck made a break for it. It was fun to see.
Recent Fish Hunt Forever Posts
- Week 711: MN-FISH Summit Recap & Minnesota Made Fish Batter
- Week 710: Wakeboat Controversy, Fishing & Hunting License Audits, and More…
- Week 709: The 5th Annual SJR 500 Rainy River Fishing Tournament
- Week 708: Guide Licenses and Big Fish
- Week 707: BIG Changes for Non-Resident Waterfowl Hunting
The Awards-In-Craft
The conference always concludes with the Awards-In-Craft ceremony. MC’d by Lake of the Woods Tourism Director Joe Henry, the AIC awards are given to members of AGLOW in categories ranging from magazine publishing, newspaper articles, podcasts, tv shows and more.
We look forward to the AIC event each year because it’s a chance to be judged by outdoor professionals. We’ve won Emmys and that’s cool and all, but most Emmy judges aren’t spending time hunting and fishing like AGLOW members. In fact, this year we submitted two Prairie Sportsman episodes for both AGLOW and the Upper Midwest Emmys. I thought they were slam dunks for the Emmy awards and they weren’t even nominated! But, they both won 1st place awards at AGLOW. Thanks to the sponsors, American Sportfishing Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation and Whitetails Unlimited.
Prairie Sportsman Awarded
I was most proud of winning for this episode on Old Dogs:
We also had a great time learning more about the history of the Northwest Angle. Not only does the creation of this exclave have it’s own unique story, but the history of it’s residents and it’s travelers is rich. From petroglyphs and pictographs to gold mines, massacres and more. We took a tour and documented it on this episode of Prairie Sportsman:
Podcast Awards
Sporting Journal Radio/Fish Hunt Forever podcast was well represented once again, winning awards for:
2nd Place Fishing:
3rd Place Hunting:
Photography Awards
We spend a lot of time with cameras. A LOT of time. So the photo and video categories are important for us. We took home some big wins including:
1st Place Hunting: Saskatchewan Meat Processor – Bret Amundson
1st Place Fishing: Caught in the Act – Bret Amundson
2nd Place Fishing: All the Fixin’s – Dan Amundson
2nd Place Scenic: Sunrise over the Swamp – Dan Amundson
My whitetail photo from Saskatchewan was also chosen as the “Pete Czura Best In Show” award winner. A prestigious honor that I’m grateful for.
Fish Hunt Forever YouTube Awards
Our Fish Hunt Forever YouTube channel also had an award winner. This 2nd place video from Dan called “Behind the Scenes at the Bassmaster Open” at Kentucky Lake.
Finally, a 3rd place award was given for the Prairie Sportsman ice fishing adventure at the Northwest Angle with Jennifer Pudenz of Adventuress:
Podcasts From The Conference
We’re thankful to the AGLOW organization, judges and the hospitality we we’re shown by Visit Eau Claire. We had a great time spending time in the area, seeing old friends and making new ones. We also recorded a few new podcasts while we were there including these two:
These shows are also available to download wherever you get podcast, including Spotify, Apple, etc.
Photos from the Trip
Here are more pictures from our trip:
