What seemed inevitable, confirmation of white-nose syndrome in Illinois bats, has finally come.

Click here for yet another good northern pike this winter around Chicago fishing for FOTW.

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

The Braidwood Lake opener on Friday and ice fishing lead this Midwest Fishing Report.

Click here for today's column, looking at the past season for duck and goose hunters in northeast Illinois.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

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

Randy Smith talks geese, ducks, wetlands and habitat

on ``Outside'' this afternoon.

Click here for today's column, a hopeful look at the reopening of fishing at Braidwood Lake on Friday.

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.

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

Take your pick whether you want to do something outside or wander around inside (or lay around inside) for this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

From Woodstock to Indianapolis, there's options in the eighth week of outdoors shows around Chicago.

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

Gov. Pat Quinn announced some land purchases, including 71 acres for the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and acreage in Pike County, which will offer rare public access there for deer hunting.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

Again a variety of changing and variable ice conditions lead this Midwest Fishing Report.

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

Rich Isaacson caught this buck ready to leap a fence in his Highland Park yard.

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

Dan Stephenson talks the past, present and future of fishing in Illinois on ``Outside'' this afternoon.

Mulling things on my morning ramble,

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Sunday's column is about how this video of freeing locked bucks went down.

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.

A great mix of opportunities abounds for this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors, from the Great Backyard Bird Count to the great benefit, Walk on Water, to a great weekend with a multitude of options on ice at Shabbona Lake to some great steelhead fishing in Indiana.

You have to travel a bit for the key shows, including one of the last 10-day shows, in the seventh week of show season around Chicago outdoors.

Mulling things on my morning ramble,

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

It's a spike in pike.

Ice conditions are firming up while some guys are already chasing coho on southern Lake Michigan and, oh, sturgeon spearing is going on the Lake Winnebago system to lead this Midwest Fishing Report.

Joe Voss caught this mangy mutt on his rounds in Lincolnwood early this month.

Mulling things on my morning ramble,

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

Dan Basore talks collecting, fishing and memories from Momence to Brazil to Chicago to Mexico and back on ``Outside'' this afternoon.

Today's column was on the impact of the record low water levels on Lake Michigan.

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.

Much like the weather, there's an eclectic mix for this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

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

The 20th-year celebration of the Tinley Park Fishing and Outdoor Show highlights the sixth week of show season around Chicago outdoors.

On 2-pound Trilene Micro Ice line, Tom Nix battled a 9-pound channel catfish for 1 ½ hours on Jan. 25 at a strip pit near Essex.

It only seems apt to run the Stray Cast here.

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

Ice fishing settling in leads this Midwest Fishing Report.

I have one ticket left from the stack that Rich Komar gave me for the Tinley Park Fishing and Outdoor Show, after Ted Koski, Glenn Kondziolka, Alexander Broling and Joe Russo won a pair of tickets each.

Vic Santucci discusses recent and coming changes in Lake Michigan on ``Outside'' this afternoon.

Mulling things on my morning ramble,

with Storm, the family's mixed Lab.

SPRINGFIELD--Friday afternoon, I visited the Field & Stream Deer & Turkey Expo.

I have a small stack of tickets from Rich Komar for the Tinley Park Fishing and Outdoor Show to give away.

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

It's one of those Wild Weekend Wanderings around Chicago outdoors with options; I'm talking raptors to the deer expo to high school bass fishing.

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