Stray Casts

Help: Indiana record perch?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:20:18 -0600

If anybody knows the young man who caught the apparent Indiana record yellow perch in the flotilla today off Gary Light, please have him get it weighed on a certified scale or have it properly wrapped in wet towels before freezing tonight.

Opening day: Fox squirrels and talk of corn

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:15:22 -0600

``I heard a lot of talk of corn.''

Deer dreams & big perch: Chicago WWW

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:32 -0600

Opening of firearm deer season on Friday and the good bite for jumbo perch off Gary Light lead this Wild Weekend Wanderings around Chicago outdoors.

Making a list: Checking it twice

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:33:17 -0600

Not that holiday, but a holiday just the same. Firearm deer season opens tomorrow morning in Illinois.

Fair start to Michigan's deer season: ``Sitting outdoors''

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:43:44 -0600

Not sure all hunters in Michigan for firearm deer season, which opened Sunday, would want to hear this description of the first few days from the Michigan DNR, but here it is: ``Good weather -- a lack of snow and little rain, warm temperatures and generally light winds - created excellent conditions for sitting outdoors.'' Bagging deer in those conditions have been fairly typical.

Tree stand: Video gamer theory

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:41:47 -0600

``Pops, kids today can handle adrenaline, they're all video gamers.''

Midwest Fishing Report: Lakefront perch by boat

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:37:30 -0600

It's a good time of year to think of the future, because, frankly, there isn't a whole lot of fishing going on (other than stateline boat fishing for perch) for the Midwest Fishing Report.

Buck of the Week: Ravine 10 on the 13th

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:36:14 -0600

With patience, Jim Lenc of LaGrange brought home a fine 10-pointer after bowhunting in Woodford County on Friday morning. It earns him Buck of the Week honors.

Fishes of the Week: Lakefront lakers

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:33:57 -0600

Ray Hinton began one of Chicago's historic fishing streaks with a lake trout, weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces on a Rapala hand-held scales, on Oct. 30. That historic streak earns him and friends a special Fishes of the Week.

Illinois Hunting Report: Opening day for deer

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:30:00 -0600

Of course opening of the first firearm deer season leads this week's Illinois Hunting Report. With a side nod to the fact crop harvest remains very slow and is impacting nearly all hunting.

Environmental impact: On the Sanitary and Ship Canal?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:29:14 -0600

Some things in life just make me smile, even when they're pissing me off. One of those times is when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asks for public comment on an Environmental Assessment of proposed emergency measures (read poisoning the fish in the area) associated with the maintenance of the electric fish barrier in the Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Remembering Mark Meritt: Webster tales

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:52:59 -0600

Those who fished muskie on Indiana's fabled Webster Lake may remember Mark Meritt as an early guide. On Sunday, Mr. Meritt, 39, died in Minnesota.

Wolf Lake walleye stocking: 12 years & counting

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:45:21 -0600

The walleye stocking on the Indiana side of Wolf Lake is one of the great private citizen efforts in Chicago outdoors. On Saturday, the 12th annual stocking took place with 4,200 walleye of 5-8 inches placed in Wolf Lake.

Muskie winners: Question closed

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:21:37 -0600

I have the 10 winners of a free entrance to the seminar/fundraiser for the South Side Muskie Hawks the Sunday after Thanksgiving, an offer John Daley has extended the past few years to those who answer a question I decide on.

Illinois bowhunters: Falling off record pace

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:14:57 -0600

Weather and standing corn are assumed to be the reasons that the pace of harvest by Illinois bowhunters continues to drop off the record one it was on in October. Through Sunday, bow harvest of deer in Illinois was 49,546, off the pace of the three-year period of 2005-07.