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Friday, December 12th, 2025

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

October 1, 2023

Top baits for icing winter panfish

So is there a single bait option that works best for catching panfish through the ice? That’s a loaded question, which doesn’t have just one definite answer. The problem (OK, it’s not really a problem) is that anglers have several options, and they all seem to catch fish. Crappies, bluegills, and perch are aggressive feeders that have no problem chewing on a wide range of jigs and lures.

Top baits for icing winter panfish Read More »

Know your oaks: Increase your acorn IQ to become a better deer hunter

You don’t have to hunt deer long to realize that oak trees, and the acorns they drop each fall, are hugely important to whitetails. And many hunters know that most oak trees fall into one of two main families: red oaks and white oaks.
Both tree types are critical sources of deer food, so being able to identify tree species and their acorns can result in better deer hunting and more venison on your table. Here’s what you need to know.

Know your oaks: Increase your acorn IQ to become a better deer hunter Read More »

Rocky outcrops attract fish: Here’s how to fish them

When I see the outcrop in my favorite lake, my thoughts go back to a smallmouth. It was a cold day in the fall. Dark with rain, one of those precursors to winter I doubt many enjoy. The conditions may have been why the whale decided to hang near the surface past noon. What a thrill, until it threw my jig as it came to the surface.
I look for outcrops in other lakes, places where steep banks enter the water, especially where the outside bend of an old creek channel meets the bank. I often find exposed bedrock entering deep water, in the main basin and the larger bays with tributaries.

Rocky outcrops attract fish: Here’s how to fish them Read More »

Chair of Lake Superior Commercial Fishing Board: “This is the strongest that I’ve ever seen this fishery”

The Lake Superior fishery received some glowing words at the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board’s (NRB) Sept. 27 meeting.
Craig Hoopman, chair of the Lake Superior Commercial Fishing Board, told NRB members that fishing in Lake Superior has been very good for ciscoes, lake trout, and whitefish.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 8 years old, and I’m proud to report that this is the strongest that I’ve ever seen this fishery,” he said. Hoopman said that early in the spring, when they winch up trap nets, thousands of baby ciscoes come streaming out through the nets and take off.

Chair of Lake Superior Commercial Fishing Board: “This is the strongest that I’ve ever seen this fishery” Read More »

Tribal gill netting bad news for Michigan fisheries

Several years ago, I was fishing for walleyes on an inland lake with a well-seasoned guide (meaning he was probably 20 years older than me) and in casual conversation I learned he’d come from a family with a long history of commercial fishing in Lake Superior.

He told me he’d started accompanying his dad, uncles and cousins on the netting boats in the 1950s. One sentence in our conversation stayed with me through the years.
He said, “Once we switched to nylon gill nets, our catches were incredible. If they (the Michigan DNR, then Conservation Department) hadn’t shut us down, we could have caught the last fish in Lake Superior – they were that effective.”

Tribal gill netting bad news for Michigan fisheries Read More »

Outdoor News columnist Gretchen Steele joins Illinois’ Outdoor Hall of Famers

The hardest part about putting Gretchen Steele into the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame is figuring out how to describe her when rattling off what has become a rather long list of contributions.
Wildlife photographer? Outdoor writer? Supporter of nature? Bowfishing expert? Avid volunteer? Not that it mattered. Steele, a columnist for Illinois Outdoor News – add that to the aforementioned long list – has been selected for induction into the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame.

Outdoor News columnist Gretchen Steele joins Illinois’ Outdoor Hall of Famers Read More »

Trout in autumn means it’s second streamer season

There’s something about a streamer strike. You’re attentively striping line to give the fly action, making it appear like a fleeing fish, when, suddenly, there’s unremitting tension. The fly-line tightens and either lifts with a jumping evasion or pulls back with a deep hauling tow. 
There is nothing delicate about either means of attempted escape. With the water temperature cooling, we’re into what I think of as the second streamer season – the first was mid-spring. Trout now are willing to chase, which they weren’t when their world was warmer. 

Trout in autumn means it’s second streamer season Read More »

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