Metering is ON

outdoors

Dale Bowman biography

Outdoors columnist Dale Bowman began his reporting career as a correspondent covering state government for WTAJ-TV in 1982. While in graduate school in 1984, he …

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05/16: Fish of the Week

It’s time for big  largemouth bass, and Jim Mrugacz sent a photo of this one. ‘‘Caught this 21-incher on [Thursday] in Itasca casting a night crawler on my ultralight,’’ he emailed. ‘‘Thought it might qualify for FOTW.’’ Works for me. …

05/16: Turkey of the Week

Bob Spagnoli of Buffalo Grove knows how to fit hunting into a busy schedule. The New Trier teacher and girls track coach made the most of the day he had to hunt turkey this spring on April 22. After a track meet at Lake Park, …

Film about Indiana wetlands is one big, unhappy ending

While tales of passenger pigeons darkening the sky and ducks so thick one shot could down many show the rich natural history of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, the stories of the horse thieves and counterfeiters hanging out on Bogus Island in Beaver Lake define the …

Carlyle becoming great lake

CARLYLE, Ill. — The extended Jarvis clan asked if I wanted to go crappie fishing as I stashed a computer and camera bags Saturday night. The Northwest Side family knows fishing Carlyle Lake by now. They’ve made three trips Downstate in the last four years. …

Capt. Tim Wojnicz might have caught Illinois’ first record for burbot

When I reached Capt. Tim Wojnicz as he was fishing  for perch Thursday, he cheerily said: ‘‘You are talking to Capt. Burbot here.’’ He appears to be the right guy to have caught what should be Illinois’ first record for burbot. It could be the …

  • Is this duck call worth $100,000?

    As Peter Marsh, Roger Ludwig and Donna Tonelli looked at the Beckhart duck call — a rattlesnake carved around the mouthpiece with an alligator, hound, duck, pheasant and other intricacies on the body — they all knew it was special. So Donna called her husband. …Read More

    • 5/9: Midwest Fishing Report

    WOLF RIVER, WIS.: FREMONT: Mother’s Day is the traditional peak for white bass. Guide Bill Stoeger reported they are picking up in the shallows, but the water needs to warm before the peak comes. Most are being caught with a jig and minnow; a few …

    5/9: Turkey of the Week

    Tony Farinella and his son Andrew heard toms on the roost Saturday in Jo Daviess County, but some hens quieted them. After four hours, they repositioned 100 yards past two tons on a ridge. Farinella, a West Chicago accountant, did some soft calling. “We never …

    5/9: Fish of the Week

    Two “awesome’’ FOTW, caught during prefishing for the IHSA state championship for bass fishing last week, highlight the variety of Carlyle Lake. Working a classic black and blue jig, Zach Eldredge of Streamwood High School (with holding help from volunteer coach Mike Rubino) boated a …

  • 05/02: Midwest Fishing Report

    WISCONSIN OPENER: Inland fishing opener is Saturday. Walleye, sauger and pike open statewide. Largemouth and smallmouth bass open in the southern zone, while the northern bass zone opens for catch and release and runs through June 15. Muskie opens in the southern zone; the northern …Read More

  • 05/02: Fish of the Week

    The good year for big brown trout around Chicago fishing keeps going. Chris Ranney caught this 36-incher with a girth of 22 inches at Navy Pier in mid-April. Weighed at Henry’s Sports & Bait, it topped 23 pounds. I think it is the biggest brown …Read More

    • 05/02: Turkey of the Week

    Jake Pals, 11, had the complete turkey experience April 22 in Fulton County. Not only did he shoot his first tom while hunting from a blind with his dad, but they came across a hen on a nest (took a quick photo and kept going). …

    Octogenerian’s yellow bass looks like a catch for the ages

    ‘I thought it was just a fish,’’ Casey Bloom said. More like the soon-to-be Wisconsin record for yellow bass. Bloom, 84, was fishing, as he often does, with his son Gary, near their getaway in Winneconne, Wis., within touching distance of the bridge in the …

    National Antique Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show this weekend in St. Charles

    From New Jersey in an American Pickers-style van; from  Switzerland and the  Netherlands; from states as distant as Hawaii and from Canadian provinces, they come. It began Friday. More than 1,100 room nights will be associated with the 47th annual National Antique Decoy & Sporting …

    Batavia freshman Morgan Kunert puts face to youth turkey hunting

    At 4:40 a.m. April 7, Mike Kunert  wondered about waking his 14-year-old daughter, Morgan . ‘‘But she popped right out of bed,’’ he said. Morgan, a freshman at Batavia, would shoot her first turkey, one of the record 1,300 harvested during the youth seasons in …

  • 04/18: Midwest Fishing Report

    NOTE: Chicago-area IHSA bass sectionals are Friday at Braidwood (first), Busse, Chain O’Lakes (two), Heidecke, Shabbona, Skokie Lagoons and Wolf. SHABBONA LAKE BUSYNESS: Lakeside hosts ‘‘Going for the Illinois State Record Walleye’’ from Friday through Sunday. Go to shabbonalake.com or call (815) 824-2581. It’s free. …Read More

    • 04/25: Midwest Fishing Report

    AREA LAKES: Henry’s reported good crappie at Maple. Overall, crappie are most consistent because of the weather changes. A few warm nights would pull bass up. CHAIN O’LAKES AREA: Arden Katz  reported bluegills in the channels, but fronts made a tougher bite. If weather breaks, …

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