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Ralph Loos

Channel cat boxes an effort to boost Lake Mattoon in central Illinois

Illinois, Lake Profile, Lake Profile /

A handful of years after a major channel cat stocking, Lake Mattoon is showing signs that it could become a target destination for Illinois catfishermen.
DNR’s most recent survey of the 1,050-acre central Illinois lake resulted in a report that calls channel catfish, “Currently abundant in the lake through a combination of natural recruitment – and a stocking event in 2020.”

Channel cat boxes an effort to boost Lake Mattoon in central Illinois Read More »

Ralph Loos: Rare catch of 50-inch muskie in Illinois reminds us that they’re out there

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, National Fishing, Opinion /

For a few years now, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to borrow a calculation involving muskies shared by retired Illinois DNR fisheries biologist Frank Jakubicek.
Duane Landmeier, an avid angler from Hinckley, just gave me one. But first, the calculation: “If a muskie is stocked when your child is entering kindergarten, they will graduate high school before that fish reaches 50 inches in length and becomes an angler’s trophy-of-a-lifetime,” Jakubicek wrote in 2022.

Ralph Loos: Rare catch of 50-inch muskie in Illinois reminds us that they’re out there Read More »

Ralph Loos: Michigan bills allowing commercial harvest of walleye caused some clanking, but crappies are creating a roar

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing, Opinion /

It began as quiet “clanking” and quickly became a murmur – the sounds of opposition to additional sportfish being made available for commercial anglers on Michigan waters is now at a steady roar.
We reported on House Bills 5801 and 5802 in the June 5 issue and followed up on the measures in this issue. The initial story focused on walleyes – our headline screamed, “Walleyes a target in effort to alter regulations.” But for fishermen in the state, the murmur became a roar when they started to read through the connected pieces of legislation.

Ralph Loos: Michigan bills allowing commercial harvest of walleye caused some clanking, but crappies are creating a roar Read More »

Ralph Loos: Illinois spring legislative session produced some successes, failures – and shrugs

Featured, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting, Opinion /

The General Assembly packed up and scattered from Springfield after a spring session that gave Illinois sportsmen plenty to dissect, digest, and debate.
Put it this way: Shrugging is close to becoming the equivalent of a secret handshake among hunters, trappers, and anglers. That being said, there were a handful of successes – and at least one failure hunters generally applauded.

Ralph Loos: Illinois spring legislative session produced some successes, failures – and shrugs Read More »

Illinois hunters set new turkey harvest record for third straight year

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting, National News, News /

Balance in the Illinois wild turkey population is now evident by the top two harvesting counties in what turned out to be a record-setting 2026 spring season.
Jefferson County and Jo Daviess County – counties located on opposite ends of the state – each had a harvest of 646 turkeys, meaning they tied for the top spot. DNR’s report on the season put the total harvest at 20,821, besting the previous record of 18,189 set last spring.

Illinois hunters set new turkey harvest record for third straight year Read More »

Project to boost mallard numbers in Great Lakes states hits Phase Two

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Michigan, National Hunting, News, News, News, News, Ohio, Wisconsin /

Mallard hens outfitted with solar-powered GPS transmitters in Illinois and four other Great Lakes states were monitored over a three-year period to study “ecological and anthropogenic factors affecting movement and population dynamics.”
Simply put, biologists wanted to learn how often mallards move, where they move, why they move, and when they move. That study, conducted by Michigan State University between 2021-2023, is just one example of ongoing efforts by wildlife agencies and Ducks Unlimited to identify factors contributing to mallard declines across the Great Lakes.

Project to boost mallard numbers in Great Lakes states hits Phase Two Read More »

Ralph Loos: Friends and enemies of permit fee hikes both often miss the point

Featured, Fishing, Hunting, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion /

Amid loud and constant chatter about pending price escalations of hunting and fishing licenses and making broad changes to the state’s deer seasons, the decision to increase costs of snowmobile trail permits hit Michigan outdoorsmen like a house fly ramming into a window.
Too silent to even be called a “thud.”

Ralph Loos: Friends and enemies of permit fee hikes both often miss the point Read More »

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