Ken Gortowski gets behind

A Citizen's Guide to Preserving the Fox River.

Jeff Walk is back on "Outside" at 4:30 p.m. today to talk about the changing landscape and habitat in Illinois and what it means to the outdoors, with a side on the meaning of prairie chickens.

Click here for Chuck Fisher's half-rack buck from Naperville, and other field notes.

Mulling things on my morning ramble with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Not quite the white Apocalypse I expected this morning, but I digress; you can hang out inside or go out in it in this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

I am quirky enough that I should have been at the Chicago Maritime Festival by now.

I caught up with guide Ken Wilson as he was driving around Tuesday looking at the changes on Lake Shelbyville over the past week; and change defines this Midwest Fishing Report.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Click here for the FOTW, well Fishes of the Week for bass caught on the ice and from open-water.

Ken Gortowski writes about fishing

as it applies to life, which is why I run him here.

On Feb. 9, Karl Scherer caught this buck with one side dropped at a Northwest Side forest preserve, and it reminded me I would like to talk with somebody who is good at finding sheds.

Jeff Walk talks about Illinois Birds: A Century of Change on "Outside" at 4:30 p.m. today.

Regular readers know, in my next life, I would like to be either Pat Bruno, the food critic for the Sun-Times, or Tom Skilling, the weather guy for the Evil Empire.

Just to annoy some of my dear outdoor friends, let's begin this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors with bird watching.

Before I get to the shows around Chicago outdoors this week, I want to back up to the Tinley Park Fishing & Outdoor Show last weekend and America's Outdoor Show.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Todd Schuit and Glen Gajewski made it out to Gary Light today, and at least one limit of coho has already been caught.

Indiana hunters bagged a record deer harvest of 134,004, making it the third straight year with a record harvest.

Conditions are changing quickly, yet, despite all the warm weather, ice fishing is the prime theme of this Midwest Fishing Report.

Click here for the pair of kids whose nice catches while ice fishing earn FOTW honors.

Click here for my take on the reopening of LaSalle Lake to fishing.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Ken Gortowski began seriously seeking

open water on Monday in the western suburbs.

Southern Lake Michigan produced five Fish of the Year in 2010.

For a change, I went with a Wild of the Week on Sunday.

Joel Greenberg and I start our list of favorite spots around the outdoors in the area and, because we come at the outdoors from different perspectives, we have varied lists.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

As usual, this is the most packed weekend of the winter, as this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors indicates. There's several widely varied ice events, a do-good event and a couple good shows.

The question gnaws at me: ``Is the demise of America's Outdoor Show the final gasp of the big outdoor shows for Chicago?

Preparing the Midwest Fishing Report, I can dream of the days when the lakefront looked like this, then snap back and remember that this is the busiest weekend of the year for organized ice fishing events.

Chris Mahoney was having a slow morning on Jan. 27 ice fishing a small lake in Lake County, until, well, here's his Fish of the Week tale.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Two greats of muskie fishing--Tom Gelb and Capt. Dennis Radloff--will be around for Chicago fishermen on back-to-back nights.

Coming off the Blizzard of 2011 seemed like perfect time to consider communal memories in Chicago outdoors, especially from outdoor shows.

From his famous sleeping fox squirrel photo to capturing coyote images, we talk with Kankakee nature photographer Gary Soper this afternoon on "Outside."

Of the many wonderful nominations for BOTW: Unplugged over the years, this one is my favorite so far.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Pondering ironic and coincidence on a Wild Weekend Wandering through Chicago outdoors in the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2011.

The Rockfest scheduled for Saturday at Shabbona Lake has been postponed until Feb. 12 because of the Blizzard of 2011.

The Blizzard of 2011 closed all or parts of many IDNR sites, especially in northern Illinois; however, it looks like most will reopen in time for weekend park users.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

I enjoyed being at America's Outdoor Show last week like I haven't enjoyed being at an outdoor show in a long time, and I was not alone according to attendance figures.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Listen, there's one to two feet of snow drifted into something historic for Chicago fishing, so this is a different Midwest Fishing Report.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Make it Fishes of the Week, in fact a pile of northern pike nominated for FOTW became the basis for my column in the Sun-Times today.