Several weather fronts have produced mixed results for hunters and fishermen alike in the Coulee region this week.

Tony Christnovich, at Schafer's Boats and Bait on Brice Prairie, said fishing success is "hit and miss." He said fish bite like crazy one day and the next day you can't buy a bite.

"Bluegills are still active on rocker jigs and wax worms near the bottom on Lake Onalaska," Christnovich said.

Anglers are having their best luck for bluegills below the railroad tracks off Hwy. 35. Crappies are in the dredge hole near Halfway Creek and also in the deep hole off Fisherman's Road on French Island, according to Christnovich.

"Bass are going after minnows and spinner baits," he said. "Northern pike are chasing just about anything that moves. I have also heard that fishing near the dams on the Mississippi River has picked up with sauger and walleye action improving."

Scott Gartner, at Bob's Bait and Tackle on French Island, said sauger, crappies, bluegills, perch, stripers and northern pike are providing pretty good action. However, he said largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, catfish and walleyes are little more difficult to catch.

"You really need to be in the right spot for bass. You can catch tons of small to medium ones right now, but it is pretty tough to get all big ones," he said.

Gartner said catfish action has slowed down as they enter their wintering holes by the dams. However, he said walleye action is heating up below the same dams. Willow cats have been the most popular walleye bait.

"Simply put, most fish are willing to hit as they enter the last good feeding days before winter," Gartner said. "Walleyes should really get going, but every other species will go with the temperature of the water.'

Meanwhile, Wisconsin's antlerless deer hunt in Earn-A-Buck, Chronic Wasting Disease and most Herd Control deer management units opens today and closes on Sunday. Hunter should check big game regulations to see what deer management units are open.

Several hunting seasons in Wisconsin open on Saturday, including pheasant hunting, and the re-opening of duck season in the Southern Zone, and Canada goose seasons in the South Exterior Zone and Mississippi River Subzone.

The pheasant hunting opens statewide at noon on Saturday and closes on Dec. 31.

"Wisconsin's wild, naturally-reproducing pheasant population experienced another challenging winter," said Scott Hull, DNR upland game biologist. "Both major surveys used to gauge pheasant populations in the spring showed decreases in 2009. The spring crowing count survey showed a 36 percent decrease and the rural mail carrier pheasant survey showed a 35 percent decrease in the number of roosters counted compared to 2008."

More than 70,000 hunters pursued pheasants in Wisconsin last year. The reported harvest was 360,207 birds.

Bow hunters are reporting better deer activity with bucks beginning to make scrapes and a few rubs.

Birding activity also continues to increase, especially with cooler weather, according to Karen Perry, at Wild Birds Unlimited in La Crosse.

"I had more white-crowned and white-throated sparrows show up at my feeders in the last two days," she said, adding that cardinal activity is also improving.

"Now that it's fall and going into the winter season, cardinals no longer defend territories so you could have anywhere from a pair to as many as 20 or more," she said.

Unlike some declining bird species, northern cardinals thrive in human-developed areas, where not only feeders, but abundant plantings and reliable water sources are present, according to Perry.

"Cardinals like to nest and hide in dense vegetation, so if you have a backyard that does not have good habitat with trees, bushes and brush you are less likely to see them in your yard," she said. "They prefer a hopper style or fly-through feeder and will come to a tube feeder if there is a tray attached."

Cardinals prefer black-oil sunflower seed, but also eat striped sunflower, sunflower chips, safflower and peanuts. They will also eat millet, cracked corn, small fruits and mealworms, according to Perry.