A native fish long dismissed by Illinois anglers as a “rough fish” may be playing a much larger role in protecting Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes than previously believed.
New research suggests that the freshwater drum, also known as sheepshead, is consuming enormous numbers of invasive zebra and quagga mussels. It’s all because of the specialized teeth.
Offered in partnership with DNR’s Urban and Community Fishing Program, the free clinics will teach participants basic angling skills, including casting, knot-tying and fish identification, according to a news release from the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
Illinois Mixed Bag: Fishing Clinics Set at Oakhurst Forest Preserve Read More »
Reader-submitted letters to the editor published in the July 24, 2026 edition of Illinois Outdoor News.
As you probably realize, I typically refuse to let numbers tell a story, because that’s why William Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss – and before them cavemen, though more likely cavewomen – invented words.
So it’s with admitted contradiction that I share the story of the most recent Illinois deer season by becoming a numerical nerd. In other words, data provided in DNR’s Deer Report formed the facts and figures into painful and head-splitting charts and scales. I broke them down to build a narrative – and ease my headaches.
Ralph Loos: Illinois has gradually shifted toward an older buck population Read More »
If you wanted to fish Sullivan County’s White Lake in mid-August of 1969, you might have had a difficult time getting to the 280-acre water.
That’s when an estimated 400,000-500,000 people descended upon the Town of Bethel, where White Lake is located, for the four-day Woodstock musical festival that brought legendary artists to Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm and became an historic event. These days, the quiet has returned to the hamlet of White Lake.
A look at upcoming outdoors-related events from across New York published in the July 24, 2026 edition of Outdoor News.
New York’s outdoor calendar Read More »
When my grandsons catch a bluegill 7 inches or longer, it seldom swims another day. Catch and release? Save your breath.
The boys haven’t yet read stories by the immortal humorist Patrick F. McManus, but their thinking aligns with his comment in “Kerplunk,” one of his 2007 stories: “I remember only one fellow who practiced catch-and-release. He was eventually nabbed, I think, and placed in an institution.” Therefore, I paused July 4 when my grandson Connor Switzer, 8, agreed without comment to release a 7-½-inch bluegill with an ugly scar and dime-sized hole in its back.
Patrick Durkin: What happened to this bluegill? A handful of theories exist Read More »
In 1686, Thomas Dongan, “Capt. Generall Governor in Chiefe and Vice Admirall in and over the Province of Newyorke and Territoryes Depending thereon in America,” executed a patent granting the Trustees and freeholders of the newly created Town of Southampton, on what we now call Long Island, the right to certain lands and to the “fishing hawking hunting and fowling” that might take place thereon.
Nearly 350 years have passed. The American Revolution gave birth to a new nation. But Southampton still relies on the Dongan Patent to deny out-of-town hunters and anglers full access to its natural resources.
Commentary: Colonial-era land grants still impact Long Island sportsmen Read More »
Three new aquatic invasive species infestations have been confirmed in
MN Daily Update: Three new aquatic invasive species cases confirmed in the state Read More »
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