outdoors
Dale Bowman biography
Outdoors columnist Dale Bowman began his reporting career as a correspondent covering state government for WTAJ-TV in 1982. While in graduate school in 1984, he …
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FISHING & OUTDOOR GUIDE: (Swim) jig is up on Crab Orchard Lake
CARTERVILLE, Ill. — Matt Strobel handed me a baitcaster with braided line and a scum frog as we set up this month in a cove on Crab Orchard Lake. That made my morning. Few things top a largemouth bass blowing up on a scum frog, …Read More
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Hunter Grounds: No. 1 with a Bullet
MARION, Ill. — Hunter Grounds smiled. It wore well on the bearded 25-year-old, grown up since he was little. With good reason, he’s the most accomplished young outdoorsman in Illinois. ‘‘I have been around it my whole life — being raised, that is the only …Read More
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High school fishing coming of age in Illinois
It was comforting to hear Jim Ciurej say he and fellow Brother Rice senior Matt Caulfield ‘‘found a good pattern around deeper weed edges.’’ That’s timeless fishing talk coming from a high schooler. Those of us who want to see the love of the outdoors …Read More
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10/31: Fish of the Week
Matthew Kirs of Hanover Park caught and released a 42-inch muskie Saturday while fishing a black 10-inch Suick in the Lake Shelbyville spillway. ‘‘I can see why you get hooked fishing for muskie!’’ Kirs emailed. ‘‘I always read the Wednesday fishing report and dreamed of …
Waterfowl populations are huge, but you have to flock to the right places
At best, hunting in suburban/urban areas is an odd business. Be it sailing a goose into a subdivision and making the evening news, trouble explaining legal nuances of hunting to suburban authorities or changes caused by annexations or sale of farmland, there’s always a challenge …
Habitat major issue for upland game
Government inaction might do more than the drought of 2012 to affect upland-game habitat and hunting. Hunting for pheasant, quail, rabbits and partridge opens Saturday in Illinois. Once the favorite of hunters, upland game has been far surpassed by deer. An estimated 12,301 hunters harvested …
10/24: Fish of the Week
Richard Peckler caught a bonus northern pike early Friday while trying for walleye on Wolf Lake. The pike hit a chrome/blue floating Rapala worked slowly over the weeds. ‘‘Luckily I was able to land her by myself on a medium/medium-light combo,’’ emailed Peckler, who is …
10/24: Buck of the Week
Riley Dean Walk arrowed this 10-pointer on opening day in Cumberland County. The 17-year-old from Downstate Neoga sent the earliest nomination ever for BOTW. …
10/24: Midwest Fishing Report
AREA LAKES: Most weekend effort was for fall trout: Axehead, Belleau and Horsetail (Cook County); Pickerel, Grove and Silver (DuPage); Bird Park Quarry (Kankakee); Big Lake at Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area (Kendall); and Sand Lake at Illinois Beach State Park and Banana …
Braidwood Lake apparently survived summer fish kills well
District fisheries biologist Rob Miller reached for a gridiron analogy when discussing a fish survey last week on Braidwood Lake. That’s a hopeful sign. The 2,400-acre cooling lake in the southwest corner of Will County suffered an extended fish kill during the lengthy heat wave …
Weighing big fish a big problem
Eric Lichamer trying to get his 72-pound grass carp weighed last month on a certified scale in the north suburbs sharply illustrated changes in society and fishing. ‘‘It’s hard to find a certified scale anymore,’’ Springfield biologist Dan Stephenson said. ‘‘We used to have people …Read More
10/17: Midwest Fishing Report
FISH OF THE WEEK: Mike Kolec (above) of Edison Park on the Northwest Side caught this 18-pound salmon on salmon roe last week from the Kewaunee River in Wisconsin. FALL TROUT: Illinois’ fall trout season opens Saturday. Those 16 and older need a license and …
10/17: Buck of the Week
The tale of Robert Johnston’s 10-point buck begins 22 years ago, when his late father won a bow from an outdoors radio show. Buck of the Week, the weekly celebration of big bucks in season, opens for 2012-13 with an improbable first buck. ‘‘This is …
Ready, set, bow: A deer report
Outside of Crete, a band of bowhunters began group target practice a couple of weeks ago. Hunters from the Chicago area have been watching trail cams for months from Pope County in southern Illinois to northern Lake County. Bowhunting for deer has grown into the …Read More
This isn’t your granddad’s pontoon
A construction guy working under a bridge (I think it was at Washington Street) over the South Branch of the Chicago River shouted: ‘‘I love it. You’re lucky.’’ It’s good to be reminded. On a perfect summer day, I took my annual ride with staff …Read More
Fishing & Outdoors: Removal of dam has transformed Des Plaines River
Honors went to Dale Penkava. The 78-year-old from North Riverside carried and released the first of 126 broodstock smallmouth bass, tagged with No. 367 by streams biologists Steve Pescitelli, on Tuesday into the Des Plaines River near the site of the former Hofmann Dam. The …
10/10: Fish of the Week
Corey Gaffer made a night of trolling crankbaits from kayaks special Saturday by landing a massive brown trout. Tom Harris, who set up a four-man outing for Milwaukee harbor, and Gaffer started just before dark. They both picked up quick fish, ‘‘a beautiful Arlee-strain steelhead’’ …
Notebaert Museum’s bison just dropped in as a Chicago icon
Even as crane operator Danny Sullivan hoisted a 3,500-pound bison sculpture over the wires and two concrete bases at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the sculpture was already a show-stopper on Cannon Drive. The Art Institute of Chicago has its lions. Now the Nature Museum …
White bass are running wild in Lake Michigan
Chris Barcelona knows goofy fish on Lake Michigan. Working years at Chicago’s water filtration plant will do that. But even he can be surprised. Say, by a white bass run on Lake Michigan off downtown Chicago. “I worked the south filtration plant for 25 years …
