Waterfowl reports & bowhunting down: Illinois hunting

SHARE Waterfowl reports & bowhunting down: Illinois hunting
wolflake12_10_11dawnicy_999x749.jpg

Some indiciation of a small push of waterfowl with the weather over the Halloween weekend. But that weather likely also impacted deer harvest by bowhunters in Illinois, which saw its first drop of the year from last year.

Probably of most important is the dramatic shift in the percentage of bucks being taken, a sign of rutting activity is underway.

First waterfowl reports from public sites in northeast Illinois.

At Heidecke Lake, nine boats reported 17 ducks on Saturday, then 11 boats had five geese and 19 ducks on Sunday.

Braidwood Lake had a fair weekend with 51 hunters taking 54 ducks and one goose; while the Mazonia lakes drew 63 hunters who only bagged 18 ducks.

William W. Powers State Recreation Area (Wolf Lake, above) on Chicago’s Southeast Side had a slow weekend with 42 hunters taking two geese, three mallards and six other ducks.

Here is the word on bowhunting for deer from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:

ARCHERY DEER Through Monday, November 2, 2015, Illinois archery deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 22,632 deer, compared to 23,035 for the same period in 2014. Harvest to date has consisted of 61% does and 39% males (13804; 8828), while 31% percent of the harvest has been antlered bucks (6,959). However during the past week, harvest sex ratios were 44% females:56% males, while antlered bucks comprised 48% of the harvest. Top five counties are currently Pike (771), Fulton (662), Jefferson (552), JoDaviess (486), and Adams (430). A table of county results is attached. Up-to-date archery harvest figures (for either deer or turkey) by county/state sites can be tracked on the web at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/IDNRHarvestQuery.aspx Paul Shelton, Manager Forest Wildlife Program

Here is the county-by-county:

County20142015Adams478430Alexander6051Bond153157Boone7360Brown254303Bureau285277Calhoun214254Carroll265252Cass198214Champaign151136Christian205203Clark279246Clay211188Clinton164133Coles234246Cook3846Crawford273293Cumberland118149DeKalb7676DeWitt226245Douglas6770Dupage911Edgar148158Edwards6984Effingham161167Fayette251264Ford2121Franklin394369Fulton677662Gallatin9391Greene222248Grundy160161Hamilton207219Hancock229274Hardin130124Henderson96103Henry217213Iroquois161157Jackson382396Jasper193179Jefferson552552Jersey185220JoDaviess533486Johnson266270Kane117114Kankakee148105Kendall8283Knox436409Lake150124LaSalle343325Lawrence158159Lee240208Livingston130118Logan100130Macon216204Macoupin346377Madison405350Marion400399Marshall152145Mason133137Massac9476McDonough200182McHenry246245McLean251220Menard138148Mercer196225Monroe162132Montgomery263280Morgan198206Moultrie139143Ogle342340Peoria435358Perry281304Piatt8661Pike819771Pope260233Pulaski7974Putnam121128Randolph400407Richland114120Rock Island339319Saline180179Sangamon277269Schuyler302317Scott8376Shelby268288St. Clair236267Stark5350Stephenson250225Tazewell252238Union333303Vermilion363375Wabash9878Warren112122Washington177188Wayne315316White192165Whiteside249208Will299292Williamson448428Winnebago218212Woodford233219Total2303522632 


The Latest
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee chair, said she’s disappointed that Johnson and his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union backed away from the fully-elected, 21-member board he once supported. “This is not going to be as easy a transition as people think,” she said. “We’re used to a top-down system.”
Alex Caruso has been looking for a defensive showing like the one he and his teammates put on display in the win over the Pacers, but Caruso also knows it needs staying power. Could Javonte Green help that process moving forward?
Christian I. Soto, 22, was charged with murder, attempted murder and home invasion, officials announced Thursday. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said earlier investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks.
Can a message generated by an algorithm ever match hearing from a human?
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.