WWW Chicago outdoors: Sheds, cabins, shows, coho?

Shed hunting and cabin ogling lead this Wild Weekend Wandering around Chicago outdoors.

Cabins and lake homes are spotlighted today through Sunday at the Lake Home & Cabin Show at Schaumburg Convention Center.

Think porn for those who have a getaway place or are dreaming of one. I miss the mountain cabin (no running water) we used to share with a brother and my dad.

SHED HUNTING: We are in the peak of the time to find sheds. I tried a bit on my own last Sunday. Today I plan to do it with somebody more experienced.

COHO: It looks like we have a stretch of fairly stable late winter weather next week. Can coho fishing, one of the surest signs of spring in Chicago fishing, be far behind from Chicago shorelines? Just maybe. We deserve it. . . . I have a feeling there will be some guys trying from boats today on the Indiana side.

OPEN-WATER FISHING: Braidwood, the cooling lake south of Joliet, reopened to fishing. It looks like the bass fishing is coming back, otherwise, it is the usual catfish and bluegill. . . . Rend Lake is on fire for crappie, according to Jason Johns, a guide for Todd Gessner Outdoors. . . . Guide Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service said crappie are starting on Lake Shelbyville and remain good at Sangchris. . . . Rivers are open, high and dirty, might be more so by tonight or tomorrow. If you’re a late winter river fisherman, you already know to fish shoreline areas out of the current.

ICE FISHING: Yesterday, Triangle reported caps of 9-12 inches on the Chain O’Lakes and lots of people ice fishing. There is a late-winter ice fishing going with the usual spike in good crappie action.

PERCH FISHING: There’s been some in the river by 92nd and 95th. A good bite at Navy Pier, comes and goes. More stable weather should set up some better fishing.

SHOWTIME: Beside the Lake Home & Cabin Show, it is a packed weekend. The Rockford Boat Show and companion Fishing & Outdoor Expo is at the Indoor Sports Center in Rockford today through Sunday. . . . The Great Outdoors Expo is this weekend at Woodstock North High School in Woodstock. . . . Another high school-based show is the Elmwood All Outdoors Show at Elmwood High School and Grade School in central Illinois.

BRONZEBACK BLOWOUT: Joe Cornwall is the featured speaker at the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance’s BRONZEBACK BLOWOUT on Saturday at the Elmhurst American Legion. Better jump to this, the tickets are in advance.

ILLINOIS HUNTING: On Wednesday, random daily drawings begin for spring turkey permits.

MAPLE SYRUP: We are in the middle of the stretch where many nature centers or park districts hold events around maple syrup gathering. As a dad, I highly recommend it for families. We may hit one Sunday.

PERSONAL PICKS: Today I am hunting sheds. Hopefully, the rain will be light enough or hold off. . . . Saturday is tax time. To relax afterward, my wife and I plan to hit the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. Does that count as an outdoors event? (I don’t know, don’t particularly care. Because I do know that it buys me some time later on in the spring.) . . . I don’t know where the family hike will be this weekend, or if we will substitute a maple syrup event, one of our favorites is at Plum Grove Nature Center on Sunday. . . . 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).