FILE — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician Katie Renschen shows a lake sturgeon captured during an electrofishing survey on the Menominee River. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Temperatures are expected to reach well into the 80s this weekend as Michigan has its annual Liberty Hunt and Wisconsin opens its archery and crossbow deer seasons.

Deer hunters age 16 or younger and individuals with qualifying disabilities may participate in the Liberty Hunt. Hunters age 9 and younger must be licensed through the Mentored Hunting Program and accompanied by a qualified mentor.

The use of firearms, crossbows and other legal equipment is allowed during the Liberty Hunt, which is today and Sunday. Hunter orange is required.

In Wisconsin, more than 3,000 bonus antlerless harvest authorizations remain available in Florence County but for private land only. Wisconsin’s youth deer hunt is slated for Oct. 5-6.

Given the warm weather, deer hunters will need a strategy for handling their harvests. On Wisconsin’s bear opener, Millan’s Custom Butchering in Armstrong Creek, reported 25 successful hunters and urged customers to call ahead to schedule processing.

The mild winter of 2023-24 should help reinvigorate a deer herd that took a hit in 2022-23. More young deer are likely to be in the woods this fall, with more mature deer present in successive years.

Michigan’s ruffed grouse, small game and fall turkey seasons will open Sunday. Wisconsin’s opener for those same species is today. According to wildlife biologists, an above-average nesting and rearing season should result in good numbers of turkeys and ruffed grouse.

Michigan’s youth waterfowl hunting weekend is Sept. 21-22, while Wisconsin’s is this weekend.

Anglers taking part in the hook and line season for lake sturgeon on the Menominee River should be aware that some sturgeon may have a tag near their dorsal fin. If a tagged sturgeon is caught, the person is asked to submit this information to the county’s fisheries biologist to help the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in future management practices:

— Where the fish was caught (county, waterbody and location).

— The date of the catch.

— Tag number, color and material composition of the tag (i.e., metal or plastic).

— Overall fish length.

If the fish is released, please leave the tag attached.

The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers fishing the upper bay reported slow fishing. There were reports of some success near the east bank, Minneapolis Shoal, and near the mouth of the Escanaba River. Little success was had by coho salmon anglers in the Escanaba River and around the mouth. Anglers reported fish sightings in the area, although getting them to bite proved challenging.

Manistique: Anglers targeting pink salmon had success drifting beads.

Marquette: Lake trout were still being caught consistently, with the most successful boats making their way out towards the clay banks west of Granite Rock. Reports also show that there were excellent numbers of lake trout still being caught jigging or trolling around the northeast side of White Rocks and out towards Granite Island. A few anglers reported catching a couple salmon near Granite Rock. Steelhead were reported to be around, in approximately 40 to 60 feet of water. Watermelon and fire tiger, along with green and orange Spin-n-Glos or green/silver flasher fly presentations performed well for lake trout. Chartreuse and silver jigs worked well around the northeast side trolling between White Rocks towards Granite Rock or the clay banks in around 130 to 160 feet of water was a popular depth range.

Au Train: Most anglers trolling reported lake trout being caught while in waters around 130 to 180 feet north to northwest of the Au Train Island in the flats or out towards the Laughing White Fish Clay Banks.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Reports show that lake trout were caught in good numbers, along with some occasional coho salmon.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Lake trout and rainbow trout were reported to have been mostly caught near the upper half of the water column.