Dale Bowman
Outdoors Columnist
Colin Lund earns Fish of the Week for a big flathead catfish (first one sent in this year) caught from the Kankakee River on Monday.
Louis Morgan bagged a big tom turkey on public land in northern Illinois to earn Turkey of the Week.
An Indiana record yellow perch, green herons at Rosehill cemetery and finding morel mushrooms set against a Christopher Morel home run, noted in the Sun-Times used as a time stamp, are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
Opening day of fishing on Wednesday was a delight and a chance to savor the bounty and wonders of Hennepin & Hopper Lakes at Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.
Clyde Swan catching a big northern pike drives home a reminder that May is big-fish month in Illinois.
Leading this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report are spring signs on Lake Michigan and inland waters plus the perch closure beginning May 1 on Illinois’ Lake Michigan waters and Wisconsin’s general inland opener coming Saturday.
Tony Farinella Jr. had a good morning on opening day of Illinois’ second season for spring turkey in Jo Daviess County.
Dave Strobel caught and released his personal-best walleye Thursday at Heidecke Lake.
Photos of pileated woodpeckers in the Palos area and an eastern milksnake found at Lemont Quarries are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.