Friday, June 13th, 2025

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Friday, June 13th, 2025

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1968

Tim Bunton

Bill to help Illinois farmers control deer awaits governor’s signature

Legislation aimed at making it easier for residents to obtain a hunting permit — and to help control the deer population — passed both the Illinois Senate and House, and is headed toward the governor’s desk.
On May 30, as the General Assembly’s spring session drew near a close, Senate Bill 710 passed the House by a unanimous 115-0 vote. Under the measure, DNR will implement new rules for the Deer Removal Permit.

Bill to help Illinois farmers control deer awaits governor’s signature Read More »

Lake sturgeon spawning returns at Melvin Price site at Illinois/Missouri border

Lake sturgeon spawning near the Melvin Price Lock and Dam near Alton, Ill., is under way for the fourth straight year, earning a round of applause from fisheries biologists and wildlife officials in both Illinois and Missouri.
The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed that the fish mating process was witnessed at the Maple Island Access near Melvin Price, just across the river from the Illinois side, on April 21.

Lake sturgeon spawning returns at Melvin Price site at Illinois/Missouri border Read More »

CWD found in four additional Illinois counties

Illinois DNR has announced that CWD was detected in Putnam, Marshall, Adams, and Peoria counties, expanding the number of counties the disease has infected deer.
Adams County is the first documented case recorded outside of the leading edge of the CWD endemic region. CWD has now been detected in 25 counties across northern Illinois and now as far south as Adams County in west-central Illinois.

CWD found in four additional Illinois counties Read More »

Indiana’s second CWD deer confirmed across Ohio River near Illinois

The Indiana DNR confirmed Indiana’s second positive case of chronic wasting disease.
The positive deer was a 2.5-year-old male harvested in Posey County, which is located just across the river from the Illinois village of Maunie, about 9 miles east of Carmi. Nationally, CWD has been detected in 36 states, including Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky along the Ohio River.

Indiana’s second CWD deer confirmed across Ohio River near Illinois Read More »

Walleyes favored at Fox Chain’s Pistakee Lake in Illinois

DNR’s reports on the Chain do not typically specify individual lakes, but Pistakee’s varied depths and populations of walleyes, white bass, and channel catfish attracts many. Although the lake’s average depth is only six feet, there is a 30-foot dropoff at Meyers Bay and another drop-off at Pistakee Bay where the depth reaches 34 feet.

Walleyes favored at Fox Chain’s Pistakee Lake in Illinois Read More »

Does testing roadkill deer for CWD make sense? Illinois samples a few

Of the 124 “roadkill” deer tested for CWD in Illinois during Fiscal Year 2024, five turned out to be positive.
LaSalle County had the most roadkill deer tested with 24 – and two of those deer tested positive. Grundy, Kane, and Will counties each had one CWD-positive roadkill. An ongoing look at how roadkill deer may impact the spread of CWD makes Illinois’ effort to test them somewhat unique.

Does testing roadkill deer for CWD make sense? Illinois samples a few Read More »

Teal, pintail counts indicate migration into Illinois moving ‘just a tad slower’ than typical

Habitat conditions and food production along the rivers in west-central Illinois appear to be above average.
All that’s missing are the ducks. A turn by Mother Nature could change things quickly though, Josh Osborn pointed out in his Oct. 15 report on the aerial waterfowl surveys he conducts weekly.

Teal, pintail counts indicate migration into Illinois moving ‘just a tad slower’ than typical Read More »

Deer-weary farmers favor expansion of hunting in Illinois

Is the pursuit of trophy deer in Illinois resulting in increased crop damage by a mismanaged deer herd?
That’s one theory being shared by farmers and others in the agriculture community who are pushing for better control of deer and other wildlife that are destroying corn and soybeans and the bottom line of farmers up and down the state.

Deer-weary farmers favor expansion of hunting in Illinois Read More »

Could Illinois bowhunters flirt with record harvest mark this season?

More than nine months after it ended, the Illinois DNR has yet to release harvest totals from the 2023-24 archery deer season.
But the somewhat mysterious lack of numbers coming out of Springfield isn’t affecting anticipation for the Oct. 1 opener of a new season. More concerning to hunters are reports of dead deer being found in woods, fields, and ponds as late summer winds down, evidence that epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreaks in neighboring Indiana and Michigan have also hit here.

Could Illinois bowhunters flirt with record harvest mark this season? Read More »

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