Click here for the story of bass fishing on Crab Orchard Lake in Williamson County with Matt Strobel.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

With the rut peaking soon, here's an early buck to pique interest.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Click here for Matthew Kirs of Hanover Park on catching and releasing a 42-inch muskie Saturday while fishing a black 10-inch Suick in the Lake Shelbyville spillway.

I think this photo Jeff Nolan took of his dog Molly on the lakefront on Tuesday pretty much captures the impact of Sandy on this Midwest Fishing Report.

The rut nearing for deer hunters leads the Illinois Hunting Report,

but there's also the opening of upland game seasons on Saturday and the first trapping season since 1929 for river otters opening on Monday.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Click here for a report about a cougar confirmed off this trail cam photo, according to The Cougar Network.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Steve Pescitelli talks about the Hofmann Dam removal and the overall Des Plaines River on``Outside'' this afternoon, then we move on to broader aspects of the Drought of 2012.

Click here for today's column about prospects for upland game hunting in Illinois and some political actions or inactions.

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

Bill Peak, one of my favorite photographers of Chicago outdoors, did it again.

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.

There's enough of a nice variety of things traditionally connected to crappie fall weather to make an eclectic Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

Click here for FOTW, a personal best pike caught by Richard Peckler from Wolf Lake.

Click here for the BOTW, Riley Dean Walk's opening day 10-pointer.

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

Click here for Wednesday's column about a surprisingly decent outlook at Braidwood Lake for bass and hybrids after a fish survey last week.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

I have been waiting a long time for this, the debut of "Everglades of the North: The Story of the Grand Kankakee Marsh" is Monday, Nov. 5.

I would expect muskie and crappie to be the prime targets by the weekend with the forecast cold snap, that and the first week of fall trout season in Illinois lead this Midwest Fishing Report.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

A surprising number of pintails were reported over the weekend, that, as well as the update of archery deer season, lead this Illinois Hunting Report.

Raul Garcia Jr. emailed, ``Any idea what this is? Caught downtown?''

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Enjoyed having Ken ``The Lakefront Lip'' Schneider on ``Outside'' so much that we are doing a rebroadcast of the Sept. 10 show this afternoon.

Click here for Sunday's column about a day bass fishing with Hunter Grounds, Illinois' top young outdoorsman, on Lake of Egypt outside of Marion.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Bill McMahon caught this prime example of natural rodent control in Chicago and it earns a very worth WOTW.

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.

It's an opener sort of Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

The opening of several hunting seasons--north zone waterfowl, woodcock and fall shotgun turkey--this weekend and a continued good bow hunt for deer lead this Illinois Hunting Report.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Fall trout season opening in Illinois on Saturday leads this Midwest Fishing Report.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Click here for the tale of Robert Johnston's first buck, a mighty fine way to open BOTW for the 2012-13 season.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Mike Kolec caught a nice salmon last week and had a hook for FOTW honors.

MARION, Ill.--Mulling things on my morning ramble, this time without Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

MARION, Ill.--The softwoods are already turning, the hardwoods should be in the next days or a week. So this weekend should be prime for color in southern Illinois.

Nick Carr of the Kankakee River Trading Post talks the allure of the traditional bait shop and the Kankakee River on ``Outside'' this afternoon.

Click here for Sunday's column taking a look at how the Drought of 2012 may impact the opening on Saturday of the north zone waterfowl seasons in Illinois.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Brother Rice went took first and third at the biggest high school bass fishing tournament, outside of the state tournament, Saturday at Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Joyce Truby ``caught these geese taking off from Meadow Lake in the Morton Arboretum'' in Lisle.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Click here for Wednesday's column about stocking smallmouth bass at the recently removed Hofmann Dam on the Des Plaines River; below is a bit of a journey via photos.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

It has felt like fall much of this week, for better or worse, and as typical for mid-October, there are beginnings, endings for this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

It took some doing but a gun show will run in conjunction with the Chicago Outdoor Sports Show.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Click here for an interesting tale about kayak fishing in Milwaukee Harbor, highlighted by this 20-pound brown trout caught by in Corey Gaffer.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

On the practical side, the main story for this Midwest Fishing Report remains fair shoreline salmon fishing; but I think Marcus Benesch nicely captured the idea of fall fishing in his report, ``With the beauty of the fall foliage,  clean, crisp, and clear water, all in all things are looking great on the Des Plaines this time of year.''

The youth deer hunt

set a record harvest over the weekend and leads the Illinois Hunting Report.

Keith Vandermeir in Carol Stream emailed to look at the size of this mantis and I thought it made a pretty good WOTW.

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.

OK, that was a bit of a trick in the title, I was talking about a bison sculpture in an urban setting, not an urban bison.

Click here for my Sunday column about growing difficulties with weighing big fish on certified scales; and trying to come up with ways to weigh big muskies then release them.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

I don't think these official numbers give the totality of the EHD outbreak, but it certainly gives a good sense of the scope of it.

Lakefront salmon and buck hunting lead this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors, and around the Bank of American Chicago Marathon, which will dominate downtown Chicago on Sunday.

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.

Click here for the wrapup of the Chicago Carp Classic on Saturday at Montrose Harbor.

Click here for yesterday's story on a white bass run on Lake off the Chicago lakefront.

Click here for a tremendous 21-point buck taken opening morning by Kyle Webb.

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

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Though sporadic, shoreline salmon on Lake Michigan remain the lead for this Midwest Fishing Report, but the weather change hints at crappie and muskie coming to the fore and some of the river fishing has really been picking up for walleye on the Kankakee and pike on the Des Plaines.

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.

Tom Gargrave talks trees, woods and timber; and the drought 2012 and its impact on trees and wild things on ``Outside'' this afternoon.