WWW Chicago outdoors: Springing forward

Just in time to spring forward, more options open for this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

I don’t know who texted this shot of the island on the south side of Braidwood, the cooling lake south of Joliet, but it is a neat photo I have tried to capture many times.

John Farmer reported some decent bass fishing on the cold side (north) on Tuesday with his son. Bluegill and catfish are decent, too. On Sunday, hours expand to 6 a.m.-7 p.m. The lake is open daily.

SHED HUNTING: We are in the peak of the time to find sheds. I will probably poke around one other spot sometime this weekend. And yes, that is rather vague. I don’t know where those kids in the YouTube video below were looking, but they know what they are doing.

FISHING FLEA MARKET: The big Indoor Fishing Flea Market is at Rolling Meadows High School from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. It is sponsored by the Chicagoland Muskie Hunters and the RMHS Choral Boosters.

LaSALLE LAKE OPENER: The cooling lake south of Seneca reopens to fishing on Wednesday, to greatly reduced hours: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Not sure if it will be as crazy as other years or not.

COHO: Coho are off and on, better for powerliners at places like Montrose. A few boaters have been getting out in Indiana. Weather would seem right for more to try. This is one of the surest signs of spring in Chicago fishing.

DOWNSTATE FISHING: The hot spot appears to be Lake of Egypt, which has warmer water and didn’t seem to be as impacted from the big rains this week, for bass and crappie. . . . Rend Lake continues to be good for crappie and channel catfish, according to Jason Johns, a guide for Todd Gessner Outdoors. . . . Guide Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service and others have indicated crappie remain good at Sangchris.

ICE FISHING: Yesterday, Triangle reported people are still catching bluegill on places like Channel. From the forecast, I would suspect this is the last weekend for ice fishing in Illinois.

SHOWTIME: Showtime has shifted toward Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show runs through Sunday at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis. . . . The big gathering for shed collectors, the Wisconsin Big Buck Classic, is at Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells through Sunday. . . . Canoecopia runs through Sunday at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., which might be an interesting place to be for other reasons.

ILLINOIS HUNTING: Random daily drawings are underway for spring turkey permits. . . . In the south zone, Tuesday is the last day to call wild turkey while in the field until the day before turkey season.

PERSONAL PICKS: At some point this weekend, I will am hunting sheds at one more spot. . . . I don’t know where the family hike will be this weekend, but there will be one. . . . I haven’t made up my mind whether I will make opening day at LaSalle or not on Wednesday. I have a traditional of sleeping overnight beforehand. Seems out of place now with the half-day hours. . . . As always, a fair amount of my spare time is spent working on “Outside,” the radio show Joel Greenberg and I are doing at 4:30 p.m. Mondays on WKCC-FM (91.1).