Stray Casts

FREMONT, Wisc.--I said I was gone fishin'. Make it gone catchin'.

That's a typical double of black crappie Bruce Zolna and I pulled from old wood across from Nipple Beach on the Wolf River near New London, Wisc. Friday afternoon. The doubles weren't typical but crappie like that were, mostly 10 inches or longer, a few topped 12 inches.

Fishing started spotty in the morning when guide Bill Stoeger started us in old wood and brush south of town.

It took most of the day, but we limited out on a gorgeous fall day on one of my favorite bodies of water, the Wolf River and the associated lakes.

Come along.

For a day or so, I will be holed up in a cabin or fall fishing, so no comments will be OK'd until I return to the computer and the civilized world..

I need this. We all need this.

And a perfect couple days it looks to be.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

It's fall big fish time, as this photo of a largemouth caught by Don Letrich shows in this report:

``Last Thursday my friend Joe Shury and me caught an enormous Large mouth Bass in Channel Lake Il. At 9:30 am fishing in a Channel lake " fish crib" the monster hit a Yum Blue Wooly Bug with a yellow jig head...fought like hell. Hope I sent the picture the right way! she was released unharmed didn't weight her but she was over 7 lbs.''

This is the extended online Midwest Fishing Report, which appears in the Sun-Times on Wednesdays. Normally, I will try to have the MFR posted by Wednesday morning.

If you have suggestions, post in the comments section or let me know at outdoordb@sbcglobal.net.

Justin Meyer is making this an early October habit for big channel catfish.

As much for the story as the 33-inch, 19-pound channel caught from a lake in Lisle, Meyer earns Fish of the Week honors, a year after landing a 26-pound channel.

FOTW tops the Midwest Fishing Report each Wednesday in the Sun-Times. An extended version appears here.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

Illinois bowhunters are off to a record start through Sunday, Oct. 5, despite crop harvest being far behind schedule.

Forest wildlife program manager Paul Shelton sent this:

``Harvest this year [through the first five days] was 6229, compared to 2951 (2007), 4281 (2006), and 4690 (2005). Not all of the previous years' results contain an entire weekend, which definitely factors into such early season results. 2007 was Mon-Fri; 2006 was Sun-Thurs; and 2005 was Sat-Wed.

``We had very cooperative weather during this period, although crops were just beginning to come out in this part of the state. Sex ratios this year so far are 71.4% female; 28.6% male.

``Top five counties are Pike (333), Peoria (190), Fulton (161), LaSalle (141), and Vermilion (138).''

Through Sunday, corn harvest statewide was only 10 percent complete, compared to 71 last year.

When big buck photos start coming in (I would guess later this month), Buck of the Week will begin again.

During hunting seasons, the extended online Illinois hunting report is posted here on Tuesdays. Otherwise, the Illinois Hunting Report comes at the end of the Midwest Fishing Report in the Sun-Times on Wednesdays.

With the aerial surveys for waterfowl being flown (they are weather dependent), I will update if needed.

If you have suggestions, email me at outdoordb@sbcglobal.net or post in the comments.

Full report follows.

Turn the canoe over, let it drain: it's over.

I feel like I'm on a fantasy-fishing trip where I am landing 4-pound smallmouth after 4-pound smallmouth while my buddy is skunked. As much as I try to feel bad for him, my gloating turns barbed as the old snelled Eagle Claw bait hooks.