Stray Casts will intelligently report and observe, hopefully with a touch of wit, on daily occurrences, reports and releases related to Chicago-area outdoors from bucks to bass to birds to bugs
It figures Michael Iaconelli would figure this out. City fishing has come back. Back enough to be a television show on urban fishing, City Limits Fishing, and tonight's episode on VERSUS is Iaconelli fishing the Chicago lakefront and Chicago River with local policeman John Milio.
And it reminds me why Iaconelli, who grew up outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey, is the most relevant modern pro fisherman.
``The cities change, the scenarios are the same: The general idea of what we do is the tremendous fishing in an urban environment and people don't know what they have in their backyards.''
I had a chance to view a preview clip yesterday and caught up with Iaconelli last night. And it just reminded me why Iaconelli is my second favorite pro fisherman. (Rick Clunn, the complete PR opposite of Iaconelli, is my favorite.)
It must be the week for big-city fishing. My column for Sunday is on 19-year-old North Sider, George Watford, who is building a multi-media base for spreading the word of Chicago River fishing and said, ``It's an insult to me personally when they say, `There's fish in the Chicago River?' '' It will be available here Sunday.
Iaconelli, the 2006 BASS Angler of the Year and the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion, understands that question on a broader level.
``I hope it opens up people's eyes. Ninety percent of the people think you have to travel to fish.''
The concept, one he has considered for years and was finally approached by SCI Productions with a similar idea, is basic. Fly in for two days. Fish the first day in a limited time--six hours--to catch a limit of fish within the city limits. The second day is exploring the city.
``It was awesome to shoot these shows. I think this is something people will pick up on. Hard-core anglers will like it. Avid anglers will like it and people who don't even fish will like it. I have high hopes for [City Limits Fishing]. I think it will go. It is awesome. The response is great. People relate to the elements. People relate to the reality of it.
``There's lots of fishing shows on TV. Go to a farm pond or a private lake and film over five days and put together a show. We are going out and in a limited amount of time, what happens happens. It is real. People can relate to it. A lot of people have their own city. And their own story.''
The New York and Washington D.C. episodes already aired. Sacramento, Philadelphia and Tampa are the upcoming episodes.
``After periods of pollution in the '60s and '70s, now [the urban waters] have cleaned up and are these great fisheries.''
Milio and Iaconelli didn't have an easy day of it. Because of post-frontal conditions and churned lakefront waters, most of the fishing for the Chicago episode was done in the Chicago River. Though they pulled one beautiful smallmouth from under, and I mean under, Navy Pier, and solid largemouth from the river. And Milio has a good camera presence, which Iaconelli appreciated.
``I met him at the Chicagoland Outdoors Show about two years ago. I was there working for the show and doing seminars. It was one of those things, `If you ever get back here, here is my card.' Half of my shoots is about the same thing. That is an important element to the show. It is somebody who grew up there and spent their childhood there.''
City Limits Fishing airs at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Fridays on VERSUS.
Seeking solid ground among shifting rumors in Springfield
Top to bottom, morale at the Springfield IDNR headquarters may have sunk to an all-time low. Those of field employees aren't much better. Not sure the incoming director, Rep. Kurt Granberg (D-Carlyle), will make much difference in the lame-duck years of the Blagojevich administration.
Even Sam Flood, the acting IDNR director who only expected to be in place for a few months after Joel Brunsvold left and now is in his third year, is more than ready to be out.
One source outside of Springfield indicated Granberg could be officially appointed on Saturday, March 1. Another source said the reports of Granberg's arrival in the Springfield IDNR headquarters earlier this month were greatly exaggerated. Another indicated it would be the first week of March when Granberg's appointment would be official.
He's coming. But it doesn't appear it will make much difference, other than giving Granberg a higher base for calculating his retirement pay.
In a related matter, as in it probably wouldn't be happening with a strong director, personalities as much as money may be behind the move of the surveys from the IDNR to the U of I.
I had assumed that moving the surveys (natural history, water, etc.), most of which predated the IDNR and the old DOC, was a chance for Blagojevich's number-crunchers to move around money, now I hear it might be more like a chance for the surveys to get away from an out-of-control overseer at the Springfield IDNR offices.
More than issues of cuts in staff and funding await Granberg.
And, before you ask, I wasn't wearing my tattered White Sox hat. But guys kept grabbing me Sunday to ask, ``Did you see Thome's brother's buck?''
As befits, the Thome legacy of humility, the Fulton County buck, taken by Chuck Thome, brother of Sox star Jim, was hung in a row just like any of the other 605 racks measured at the Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic in Bloomington last weekend. It scored a middle of the field 150 7/8 inches.
The break in the weather probably helped, but after a downward track for a couple years--496 in 2007, 588 in 2006--in racks to be measured, there was a sharp upturn to 605.
It was a mind-blowing, maybe even mind-numbing, experience to join the throngs ogling the walls of big bucks. These are the kind of bucks that pull me from my sleep in October.
The biggest non-typical was a 21-pointer (238 7/8), taken by Marty Sharp of Gilson in Knox County in 2007.
Biggest typical was a 10-pointer (197 6/8), taken by Charlie Rives of Greenfield in Greene County in 2006.
Here are the best from show chief Glenn Helgeland.
BEST OF SHOW 2008 Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic
TYPICAL ANTLERS -- FIREARMS
197-6/8 Charles Rives, Greenfield Greene 2006 TYPICAL ANTLERS - ARCHERY
190-6/8 Joel Eggers, Percy Randolph 2007 TYPICAL ANTLERS - BLACK POWDER
168-7/8 James Hermann, Decatur Shelby 2007
Add L.L. Bean to the major outdoor stores trying for a toehold in the Chicago market.
On Monday, L.L. Bean announced plans to open a new 30,000 square foot store at the Arboretum in South Barrington by September.
It is the first expansion by the fabled 96-year-old Maine outdoor gear and apparel outfitter outside of the northeast corridor.
Ken Kacere, L.L.Bean’s senior vice president of retail, said,
``L.L.Bean has many catalog and web customers in the Chicago area, which is one of our largest markets. Our new stores will showcase a unique product selection for our active outdoor customers.''
Included will be the ``Outdoor Discovery School, where expert instructors offer `Walk-On Adventures'—introductory hands-on experiences in such sports as kayaking and fly-fishing, providing customers an opportunity to learn about the activities that inspire L.L.Bean products.''
The store is expected to employ approximately 125 people.
L.L. Bean was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe.
The move by L.L.Bean fits a recent pattern in the Chicago market.
Cabela's established its first Chicago-area store in Hoffman Estates in September and added another in Hammond, Ind., in October. In the past two years, Bass Pro Shops added two stores in the area--Bolingbrook and Portage, Ind.--in to go with the Bass Pro established in Gurnee more than a decade ago. And REI now has three area stores: Oakbrook Terrace, Schaumburg and Northbrook.
Good Knight, Good Riddance and other Classic Thoughts from Way Up North
What was that lame bit with Bob Knight doing in the Bassmaster Classic coverage Saturday night?
I get the kids off to bed and flip on ESPN2 to watch the wrap up of cut-down day at the Classic, and I get Knight doing a lame exhortation on winning and doing some lame coaching?
No, no, no.
Yeah, I get it, Knight is a fisherman.
He's also accosted players and non-players alike. He quit in mid-season on coaching a team, which is why the one-time great coach was available for a lame ESPN bit in mid-February. And he's shot people while hunting without being properly licensed.
Knight has no place whatsoever as a public symbol for hunting and fishing.
None.
I nearly put my foot through the TV. I had just sat down to watch and calmly end my day with the Classic, instead I turn on a lame Knight bits. And it wasn't even good Knight, the furious spittle-spewing, chair-throwing Knight. This was Knight doing a lame imitation of ``The General,'' more like ``A Private.''
Knight's become a truly pathetic fringe figure. He's at that point in life where he is lamely imitating himself for a bass-fishing show.
And the Classic didn't need that. There were plenty of good story lines.
Is the somewhat wacky and self-effacing Charlie Hartley, the first-day leader now in second, going to hang in there? Does Alton Jones have enough of a lead with 1 pound, 3 ounces to hold first? And back in fourth is the best, Kevin VanDam, only 3 pounds, 15 ounces off the lead.
With the help of ESPN, tournament bass fishing has risen above its redneck image. Putting Knight on in a lame bit only hauled tournament bass fishing back into the hackneyed image of southern rednecks.
And tournament bass fishing is far beyond that. Half of the top six--Hartley (Ohio), VanDam (Michigan) and Michael Iaconelli (New Jersey)--going into the final day were northern fishermen. And most of the southern fishermen are true pros with universal appeal.
All I know is I will be fighting my wife for the remote during commercial breaks in the Oscars to catch the tape-delayed final weigh-in on ESPN2, beginning at 9 tonight. And hoping there is no more Knight in sight.
Bassmaster.com gives wall-to-wall coverage of 2008 Classic events on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.
I should trust science on this and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists think the wolf population has more than recovered in the included area: all of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, and a bit of north-central Utah.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett said,
``The wolf population in the Northern Rockies has far exceeded its recovery goal and continues to expand its size and range. States, tribes, conservation groups, federal agencies and citizens of both regions can be proud of their roles in this remarkable conservation success story.''
Scarlett noted there is more ``than 1,500 wolves and at least 100 breeding pairs in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.''
My mushhead side is that wolves are such a symbol of things wild and free that I want to romanticize them. And I have a profound loss of respect, make that mistrust, for science coming from the EPA and USFWS under the current administration.
It should be a good sign, a perfect indication of recovery, when hunting of wolves again is possible in the Northern Rockies.
My favorite quote in the story came from Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for USFWS.
``The service, when we began the reintroduction in 1994, strongly recommended that the public hunting of wolves be included as a management tool. The state went through a long process of thinking about that, and I'm pleased to see they're doing it.
``It's time. It's past time, and the sooner we just start treating wolves like any other animal - mountain lions, black bears, deer or elk - the better it will be for everyone, including the wolves.''
He's probably right on that.
But all the same, I won't be too sad to see the delisting tied up in court for few more years to make sure. And that's going to happen.
The Sierra Club and other groups will challenge the decision in court.
Sierra Club representative Melanie Stein. said,
``The decision to remove protections for wolves is premature. We still have a long way to go before wolf populations are sustainable over the long term. This is like declaring victory at mile eighteen in a marathon.''
Complete press releases from USFWS and the Sierra Club are below.
From USFWS
The gray wolf population in the Northern Rocky Mountains is thriving and no
longer requires the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Deputy
Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced today. As a result, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will remove the species from the federal
list of threatened and endangered species.
“The wolf population in the Northern Rockies has far exceeded its recovery
goal and continues to expand its size and range. States, tribes,
conservation groups, federal agencies and citizens of both regions can be
proud of their roles in this remarkable conservation success story,” said
Scarlett, noting that there are currently more than 1,500 wolves and at
least 100 breeding pairs in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Service-approved state management plans will provide a secure future for
the wolf population once Endangered Species Act protections are removed and
the states assume full management of wolf populations within their borders.
The northern Rocky Mountain DPS includes all of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming,
as well as the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, and a small part
of north-central Utah.
“With hundreds of trained professional managers, educators, wardens and
biologists, state wildlife agencies have strong working relationships with
local landowners and the ability to manage wolves for the long-term,” said
Lyle Laverty, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. “We’re
confident the wolf has a secure future in the northern Rocky Mountains and
look forward to continuing to work closely with the states as we monitor
the wolf population for the next five years.”
The minimum recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains was
set at a minimum of 30 breeding pairs (a breeding pair represents a
successfully reproducing wolf pack) and a minimum of 300 individual wolves
for at least three consecutive years. This goal was achieved in 2002, and
the wolf population has expanded in size and range every year since.
“These wolves have shown an impressive ability to breed and expand – they
just needed an opportunity to establish themselves in the Rockies. The
Service and its partners provided that opportunity, and now it’s time to
integrate wolves into the states’ overall wildlife management efforts,”
said Service Director H. Dale Hall.
Gray wolves were previously listed as endangered in the lower 48 states,
except in Minnesota, where they were listed as threatened. The wolf
population in the western Great Lakes was delisted in early 2007. When the
delisting of the Rocky Mountain population takes effect 30 days from its
publication in the Federal Register on February 27th, the Service will
oversee the only remaining gray wolf recovery program, for the southwestern
U.S. wolf population. The delisting announced today affects only the
northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves. Gray wolves found
outside of the Rocky Mountain and Midwest recovery areas, including the
southwest wolf population, remain protected under the Endangered Species
Act and are not affected by actions taken today.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to
conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for
the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and
trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific
excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated
professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our
work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
From the Sierra Club:
Rocky Mountain Wolves Lose Critical Protection
Removal from Endangered Species List Is Premature
Today, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will remove Northern Rocky gray wolves from the Endangered Species list. Though wolves once roamed from central Mexico to the Arctic, by the 1930s, they had virtually disappeared from the area. Wolves were reintroduced into the region in 1995. Thanks to protection under the Endangered Species Act, they've begun to rebound, but they have not yet made a sound enough recovery to warrant delisting.
"The decision to remove protections for wolves is premature. We still have a long way to go before wolf populations are sustainable over the long term. This is like declaring victory at mile eighteen in a marathon," said Sierra Club representative Melanie Stein.
Recent studies have shown that the long-term viability of the Northern Rockies wolf population is still in jeopardy. There is almost no genetic mixing between the three subpopulations of wolves in the region. Without genetic interchange between the populations, wolves will be forced to inbreed, compromising the health and viability of the population.
"The wolves in and around Yellowstone are almost completely isolated from other wolves," Stein said. "In order for wolves to survive over the long haul, there must be interchange between wolves in Central Idaho, Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Area."
In addition, the wolf management plans for the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana call for aggressive removal of wolves, including by shooting them from the air. These aggressive wolf killing practices, coupled with genetic isolation and premature removal of protections, could push wolf numbers dangerously low and reverse decades of recovery work.
"We've worked hard to bring wolves back from the brink of extinction," Stein said. "Tourists from around the world come to the Yellowstone area to see our wolves. Wolves are an important part of the natural balance in the Rockies. They're a symbol of America's wild legacy, and we can't afford to lose them again."
The Sierra Club, along with other conservation groups, plans to challenge the wolf delisting decision in court.
Access to Kankakee River State Park will not be denied during waterfowl season, despite what is printed on page 21 of the 2008 Illinois Fishing Information booklet and online.
Kankakee River State Park (Kankakee/Will Counties)
Recreational Use Restrictions . . Waterfowl Refuge or Hunting Area
(19)(33)
Mike Clifford, the conservation leader for the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, was the first to drop me a note about this. I assumed he meant the long-standing reg (19), explained on page 9.
19) No fishing within 250 yards of an occupied waterfowl blind (within
the hunting area) on all Department-owned or Department-managed
areas.
But on closer look, I realized (33) was added, and it had the potential to virtually shut down access to the 20 or so miles of shoreline in the KRSP for up to 97 days every year.
On page 10, the explanation is given:
33) It shall be unlawful to trespass upon a designated waterfowl hunting
area during the 7 days prior to the regular duck season, or to fish
on such areas during the regular duck and Canada goose season
except in areas posted as open to fishing. It shall be unlawful to
trespass upon areas designated as waterfowl rest areas or refuges
from 2 weeks prior to the start of the regular duck season through
the end of duck and Canada goose season.
So I started making calls and was given assurances there is no way general access to the park would be halted during the fall.
But I wanted something more formal. Finally, Chris McCloud, spokesman for the IDNR, e-mailed,
``It was an attempt to standardize the boating/fishing restriction verbiage between the fishing rule (810) and the waterfowl rule (590). No operational changes (public access) from past practice were intended by these rule changes. It will be fixed.''
Currently, it is listed as under review by JCAR, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. This is something I could use help staying on top of. We need to make sure this is changed before it becomes part of the permanent record.
BASS has announced the 2009 Bassmaster Classic will be held in Louisiana at Shreveport- Bossier City, the 2010 Classic in Birmingham and the 2011 Classic in New Orleans.
Wild weather and all, the 2008 Classic events on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina continues through Sunday. Bassmaster.com gives wall-to-wall coverage. The final weigh-in will be televised at 9 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
I miss the live or nearly live TV coverage that ESPN gave the Classic in the first years after it purchased BASS.
And I miss having the Classic in the summer so a northern destination can be added every few years. I know there's big bass to be taken down south in February, but good fishermen should enjoy the challenge of northern waters.
Early Wednesday morning, I rewatched the 2005 Classic in Pittsburgh. It was the toughest Classic ever and the best fishermen--Kevin VanDam won--rose to the top. A Classic should be tough, northern tough, at least every couple years.
There was no mention of fees for state parks in Gov. Blagojevich's budget address today. The rest of the budget proposal as related to the IDNR will take some sorting out, because there's juggling going on with personnel.
The governor's people are giving it their spin. This came from Chris McCloud, spokesman for the INDR.
``The agency's over all budget is increasing by 4.9 percent.''
This gives me pause, since Blagojevich plainly proposed
``across-the-board cuts in state government, with the exception of healthcare, education and public safety activities.''
McCloud added,
``We are transferring the Surveys out of DNR and they will now operate under the University of Illinois, so that cost and 200 employees salaries have been taken out of DNR's budget. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea if you see our headcount is decreasing by 200. They are not being laid off.''
I need to hear from people within the department to hear what other juggling is planned, beside moving the Surveys to the U of I.
As luck and timing would have it, I am to discuss DNR issues at a rare speaking engagement at the Fish Tales fishing club meeting at the Bremen Township Building, 15350 South Oak Park Ave., Oak Forest at 7 p.m. Thursday. It's $5 for non-members.
The WaveSpin DH 3000 ($80), a revolutionary spinning reel, is picking up a lot of raves. It earned another as one of 14 ``Fishing Best of the Best'' in the March issue of Field & Stream out today.
Here are 14 picks by the experts for Field & Stream.
FIELD & STREAM’S 2008 FISHING BEST OF THE BEST WINNERS:
While that might seem like a good revenue stream, one state-site super gave me a more nitty-gritty look.
He pointed out you would need two expenditures. First capital funding to build the fee collection booths. Then funding for staffing the booths.
Over the years, legislators have been adamantly against state park fees, thinking it would turn our parks into ``merry ole England where only the rich could enjoy the parks.''
Maybe it is now a good idea to at least discuss it.
In our family, I know most years we buy the annual non-resident permit for Indiana for a couple summer visits to Turkey Run SP and Indiana Dunes SP.
We would buy an annual pass for $25 or so for Illinois in a heartbeat, if it meant more stable funding for the state parks.
At the same time, I dread thinking what Blagojevich's crew would do with a new revenue stream.
White bass and white perch look similar. Monday I was getting worried that the pros at the Shedd Aquarium had a major brain cramp.
I had the kids, all four of them by myself at the Shedd. We finished with the invasives display. The bighead carp are impressively large and ugly. Then I saw what I first thought was white perch, an invasive making inroads in recent years, but looked closer and realized they were white bass, a native fish.
What were white bass doing in the invasives exhibit?
Senior aquarist Kurt Hettiger was happy to answer. (BTW, I have a great job, but Hettiger seems to enjoy his as much as I do mine.)
``There is a simple answer to that, we didn't have room to put them any place else. They require a ton of room and these are pretty big guys. Also, if you look at the ID signs, it should say the range and if they are invasive or not. Invasives can create situations where only 1 or 2 native species survive the area, others have been extirpated.''
