OK, that’s a lot of math. It doesn’t come from me, fortunately for you. These are numbers provided by the National Deer Association’s 2025 Deer Report, which was released earlier this month.
Ralph Loos: Harvest by Illinois bowhunters again ranks high in national report Read More »
Illinois isn’t alone in its decision to change up its approach to managing the deer herd in an era of CWD.
Indiana and Missouri recently announced new plans to fight the disease, with a national deer organization weighing in on a proposed new law in the Hoosier State. Here in Illinois, DNR begins 2025 with a 5-year pilot project to evaluate the state’s CWD plan.
New year, new CWD plan for Illinois, neighboring states Read More »
A 50-incher hooked by Richard Wren last May at Kinkaid Lake topped the list of fish on the 2024 Muskie Creel Survey results provided by DNR Fisheries Chief Mike McClelland.
Kinkaid dominated the list of muskies caught and reported last year, with a 48.5-incher and 47.5-incher also being caught at the southern Illinois lake. Lake Shelbyville and Mill Creek Lake were the only two lakes other than Kinkaid appearing in the Top 10 slots.
Kinkaid Lake’s 50-incher tops 2024 muskie creel survey in Illinois Read More »
Name a fish in one of the Illinois river systems and Kevin Irons has studied it and – at least in the past two dozen or so years, shaken his head at it.
Invasive carp were a big part of his role. Irons, who joined DNR in 2010 as coordinator of aquatic invasive species and in recent years served as the agency’s assistant fisheries chief, was set to retire at the end of 2024.
The push to boost catfish and redear sunfish populations in the collection of lakes that make up the Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area continued this year, with Illinois DNR stocking 450 channel cats and nearly 27,000 sunfish in Osprey Lake alone.
Stockings boost Mautino’s anglers in Bureau County, Illinois Read More »
This is certainly the least important thing we learned from a recent update on the Illinois Gray Fox Project, an ongoing effort by a Southern Illinois University research team to learn why the predator species is struggling in the state.
Illinois fishermen begin 2025 the same way they begin most years – confident this will be the year someone finally catches a largemouth bass that tops the most coveted state record.
Alas, 2024 began with similar confidence. And last year ended with typical results: nobody came close to breaking the largemouth bass record. So, come next February – Feb. 15, 2026, to be exact – it will be 50 years since the 13-pound, 1-ounce largemouth was hooked at Stone Quarry in Lake County.
State record saugeye earns ‘fish of the year’ from Illinois Read More »
Largemouth bass, muskies, and crappies continue to be on the edge of “breaking out” as spotlight fish at Canton Lake.
But the stage still belongs to catfish.
Canton Lake keeps its catfish culture in Fulton County, Ill. Read More »
Geese are in the news, but as has been the case the past two decades, it’s mostly not what you might call “positive” news.
I say “mostly” because there is an ounce or two of good news in our story on Canada geese in northern Illinois. Even that news comes with a dose of bad news, especially if you are an old school goose hunter who once spent weeks in the once-thriving goose blinds of deep southern Illinois.
The bigger goose news right now involves the dreaded bird flu.
Ralph Loos: Geese are back in the news, unfortunately for hunters (and geese) Read More »
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