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Ralph Loos

Rice Lake in Illinois’ Fulton County offers anglers a ‘unique’ wildlife experience

Illinois, Lake Profile, Lake Profile /

Some would say the collection of fishing lakes that make up the complex known as Rice Lake is “for the birds” – and they would be correct.

Officially designated as an Important Birding Area, the wetlands is composed of 5,660 acres with shallow floodplain lakes and bottomland forest habitats. Spring and fall shore birds, waterfowl, herons and osprey are spotted in and around Rice Lake.

Rice Lake in Illinois’ Fulton County offers anglers a ‘unique’ wildlife experience Read More »

Legislation that could lead to Illinois DNR selling shooting and recreation complex moves to Senate

Featured, Illinois, National News, News /

Legislation that could lead to DNR selling the World Shooting and Recreation Complex passed the Illinois House by a vote of 101 to 1 before being sent to the Senate, where it landed in the Judiciary Committee on April 12.
The chief Senate sponsor of HB 3456 is Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro. Bryant, in an interview with Lee Newspapers’ Springfield bureau, said she “has heard from local government officials and business owners in the region who have expressed concerns about the future of the complex under state ownership.”

Legislation that could lead to Illinois DNR selling shooting and recreation complex moves to Senate Read More »

Shotgun hunters may find scrutiny in Illinois with new gun law now in effect

Featured, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting, News /

The Protect Illinois Communities Act – the result of House Bill 5471, which became Public Act 102-1116 back on Jan. 10, went into effect April 10. In general it means gun owners can no longer be in public places with certain firearms. Along with high-capacity rifles and sizes of magazines, it also outlaws, for example, the use of some shotguns that are commonly used for snow goose hunting on public lands in the state. How hunters will be affected and how law enforcement officers will handle the Act have been unclear. 

Shotgun hunters may find scrutiny in Illinois with new gun law now in effect Read More »

Big changes coming to Illinois’ high school bass fishing series?

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing, Opinion /

A pair of young anglers from deep southern Illinois accomplished quite a feat in late winter that somehow flew under most everybody’s radar.
Trevor Wilburn and Kagen Hill, both students at Century High School in Ullin, won the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Alabama’s Lay Lake. In a field of more than 2,002 squads, their total of 19 pounds, 5 ounces was roughly 4 pounds more than the second-place team.

Big changes coming to Illinois’ high school bass fishing series? Read More »

Salmon, trout remain top targets for Illinois charter boats on Lake Michigan

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing, News /

Anglers using Illinois charter boats last year caught 26,138 salmon and trout on Lake Michigan.
While the total number of salmonids caught decreased by 23% compared to 2021, the catch rate actually rose from 47 fish per 100 angler-hours to 49 fish per 100 angler-hours. The long-term average over the past four decades is 44 fish per 100 hours.

Salmon, trout remain top targets for Illinois charter boats on Lake Michigan Read More »

‘Learn to Hunt’ program hitting its mark in Illinois

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

Lifelong hunters in Illinois may not recognize or understand it, but attracting new hunters in the state is a formidable task. Try this analogy: it’s sort of like hunting for quail in a cloud of field sparrows.

According to a recently-released report on the LTH effort, 4,685 potential new hunters attended in-person events between 2017 and 2022. Counting workshops, webinars, online seminars, individual mentored hunts, group events, podcasts and a host of social media interaction, the program revealed that it had more than 1.3 million contacts during the 5-year period. 

‘Learn to Hunt’ program hitting its mark in Illinois Read More »

Early turkey season began wet, snowy for Illinois youth hunters

Featured, Hunting, Illinois, National Hunting, News /

Snow, sleet and frigid conditions greeted hunters at the top of the state on both days of the first weekend. Heavy rains and threats of flooding affected hunting in southern parts of the state. The second weekend was a bit better, but missed opportunities in the first weekend is expected to lead to a lower statewide harvest.
Youth hunters typically set the stage for the regular season. Last year’s four-day harvest of 1,264 was a disappointment after the 2021 harvest of 1,321 and the record-setting 2020 harvest of 1,733.

Early turkey season began wet, snowy for Illinois youth hunters Read More »

Testing for CWD without thinning the deer herd? A ‘better way’ indeed

Featured, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

They’re hunting for new tools to detect CWD in deer without relying on deer culling.
Lindsay Thomas, Jr. of the National Deer Association recently addressed three separate research projects. One, at the University of Pennsylvania, involves training dogs to detect CWD prions through sniffing. Another effort at the University of Minnesota is looking at detection of prions on the surfaces of materials at deer feeders.
More promising and pragmatic is work at Mississippi State University’s Deer Lab focused on detecting CWD prions in whitetail scrapes.

Testing for CWD without thinning the deer herd? A ‘better way’ indeed Read More »

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