Waterfowl reports & bowhunting down: Illinois hunting

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:

Here is the county-by-county: