As Illinois fishermen, this we know: Biologists and their crews aren’t sharing photos and catch reports from spring sampling sessions simply to tease and aggravate us. Pulling giant muskies, bass, and catfish into their boats is simply ”part of the job.”
Results of the surveys are eye-opening and motivating, especially after a long winter.
Fish sampling season luring anglers’ eyes in Illinois Read More »
A deer taken this past season by a hunter in Adams County that later tested positive for CWD has greatly loosened what had been a tightly contained disease “hot zone” in northern Illinois.
If you consider the CWD deer found in the middle of Bureau County last year as the furthest south positive case, then the Adams County deer would be roughly 170 miles even further south. A previous positive case in southern Livingston County would be roughly the same distance.
CWD cases escaping the disease’s ‘hot zone’ in Illinois Read More »
A new hand is in place to help rebuild the Illinois quail population, according to the Quail and Upland Game Alliance. The group has hired Stacey Donner as its new regional director over Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana.
QUGA Regional President Mel Gajewski, a resident of Scheller in southern Illinois, has been working to restore quail habitat and quail populations for several years.
What is typically is a month of furious crappie and bass fishing for southern Illinois’s largest lake got off to a slow start due to early April rains.
Rend Lake officially crested at 413.67, only slightly below the highest recorded lake elevation of 413.83 way back in 1995.
High water in southern Illinois doesn’t stall Rend Lake spring fishing for long Read More »
Measures to significantly change the way deer are hunted in Illinois aren’t getting much traction at the Capitol this session, as pieces of legislation aimed to expand firearms season, open hunting to a wider variety of rifles and direct DNR to distribute more nuisance permits wane.
The most likely change is the addition of more Restricted Archery Zones like the one that was implemented in Champaign, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie, and Piatt counties back in 2018.
Ralph Loos: DNR deer managers still mulling more Restricted Archery Zones in Illinois Read More »
Hunting-related legislation shifted into overdrive this past winter in Illinois, but little has moved so far in the spring.
There is still time for action on some of the bills to move forward before the session ends in late May. Following is synopsis of some of the more interesting measures.
Illinois bill would alter landowner permit structure, sharpshooting program Read More »
An incredible 30% of deer harvested during 2024-25 firearms seasons were taken with rifles, a 10% increase over 2023-24 – the first season rifle hunting was legal in Illinois.
Meanwhile, crossbows again grabbed a majority of the archery harvest by claiming a 54% share, a slight increase over last year’s 53.5% share. And a fun fact from DNR’s “Summary of the Illinois Deer Season”: Just over 11% of bucks taken this season had antlers 11 points or larger.
Illinois DNR’s Deer Report gives insight into 2024-25 season Read More »
Tilly Jack Cuzzort harvested her first turkey – it most certainly will be the first of many for the 7-year-old Springfield girl.
And that’s exactly what DNR and the state’s hunting community are hoping for. Taken March 31 on Menard County property in DNR’s IRAP program, Cuzzort’s accomplishment is a prime example of Illinois hunting tradition combined with generational change.
Youth turkey hunters break Illinois harvest record Read More »
The former cooling lake located between Illinois Route 47 and Interstate 55 on Lorenzo/Pine Bluff Road certainly has more than muskies to attract anglers, as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies, walleyes, and hybrid striped bass continue to thrive.
Heidecke Lake in Grundy County remains most likely to hold record muskie in Illinois Read More »
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