Crappie fishing buddies Tom Henske and Bill Royce both call the annual Let’s Go Fishing Show “a meeting of the minds.”
Not that they agree on why – or much of anything else.
“There is an endless crowd of other fishermen to talk to and learn from, and that’s not even counting the seminars,” explained Henske.
Illinois DNR fisheries biologists broke a new fish collection record this month, earning much-deserved applause.
But is it actually good news or bad news? The 10-day harvest operation in the Starved Rock pool of the Illinois River that began Nov. 27 and ended Dec. 6 yielded 750,000 pounds of silver carp. That’s a lot of carp, which brings up the downside of such a large harvest.
Southern Illinois again dominated the list of top-harvesting counties during this year’s firearms deer season, but a slight drop in the number of deer taken overall puts to rest a notion that allowing single-shot rifles would dramatically increase harvest statewide.
It also brings up a decades-old question asked by hunters each time the harvest slides: how many deer are there in Illinois?
Illinois deer harvest drops during gun season, despite addition of rifle hunting Read More »
One of my most memorable experiences as a journalist involved sitting in a boat on a frigid winter morning next to DNR Fisheries Biologist Rob Maher as we watched two fishermen pull giant spoonbills out of the Mississippi River.
Somewhere in a box, I have a photo of myself holding a 40-pound paddlefish – the proper name for the spoonbill – with the Alton riverfront in the background. I thought of that 25-year-old photo the other day when it was announced there is a major push to transform Alton’s riverfront area into the country’s next National Park.
Would becoming a National Park affect the fishing at Illinois’ Alton riverfront area? Read More »
Never have fishermen been as curious about a DNR lake sampling as the fishermen in Stephenson County who once frequented Lake Le-Aqua-Na.
Rehab, stockings a ‘fresh start’ for Lake Le-Aqua-Na in Illinois’ Stephenson County Read More »
More than 16% of Illinois deer hunters spend 25 days or more in the woods each season. But half the state’s hunters (49%) spend only between two and 10 days hunting.
One assumption for why there are so many “short-timers” could be that many hunters participate only in the 7-day firearms season. But a report by the Illinois Natural History Survey throws shade at that notion.
Late-winter deer season in Illinois seen as chance to boost ‘time spent’ in the woods Read More »
Illinois CPOs have already reported two hunting-related fatalities related to treestands during the 2023 deer season.
One fatality occurred when a hunter fell 15 feet from a ladder stand. The second involved a hunter who was found deceased at the base of his stand. The cause of death has not been reported, but the hunter had been reported missing for several hours.
Treestand falls, fatalities in 2023 on pace to top recent deer seasons in Illinois Read More »
Largemouth bass and sunfish were the start of DNR’s 2022 sampling of Dutchman Lake, as bluegills and channel catfish appear to continue struggling in the fishing spot in deep southern Illinois.
Largemouth bass abundance in Dutchman Lake in spring of 2022 increased compared to the previous year, with a catch rate of 182 fish per hour during the electrofishing effort.
8-pounder proof of largemouth growth in Illinois’ Dutchman Lake Read More »
In an example of Illinois getting in the way of Illinois, one of the state’s most effective and productive fishing organizations may disband in the coming year. This after it spent 40 years helping DNR’s Division of Fisheries with fish stocking needs, equipment purchases and other valuable odds and ends.
The Illini Muskie Alliance could very well be a victim of the times.
Illinois fishing organization in limbo after decades of good work Read More »
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