Outdoors: Illinois fishing and hunting

A man walks by some of the vessels on display from dealer The Boat House at the Chicago Boat Show at McCormick Place. Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024.

Entertainment and Culture

Chicago Boat Show, a McCormick Place staple, will move to Rosemont

Organizers said the relocation decision came after multiple conversations with exhibitors and market research.

By Amy Yee

In historic year for cicadas, Illinois is ‘the epicenter of everything great’

By Mary Norkol

Two bears at the Illinois Taxidermist Association Convention in 2017.

Outdoors

Taxidermist convention and fly-fishing films lead Go & Show

Illinois Taxidermist Association Convention in Springfield and the Fly Fishing Film Tour in Downers Grove highlight the weekend.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

LaSalle reopens Friday with hopes for blues, bass and bluegills

LaSalle Lake, the cooling lake south of Seneca, reopens to fishing on Friday with promising outlooks for blue catfish, bass and bluegills.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago fishing: Some lakefront coho, some spring signs and the LaSalle Lake opener

Some lakefront coho, some spring signs and the reopening of LaSalle Lake are among the highlights in this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Members of the Plumbers Union Local 130 dye the Chicago River green, Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Outdoors

Kayakers plan a paddle to view the greening of the river

Oscar Santos, the inimitable Chicago lakefront kayak angler, pulled together a plan for kayakers to view the dyeing of the Chicago River green on Saturday.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Fishing line nest and the forever question on smelt

A photograph of a bird nest made with fishing line and a question on the prospects for smelt fishing are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

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Outdoors

Alligator gar, Illinois' biggest native fish, spread farthest north in latest restoration

Alligator gar, officially extirpated in Illinois since 1994 but now in a restoration program since 2010, were introduced farther north last year than its historical range in a nod to the changing climate.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago Park District looks to hire more fishing counselors

The Park District has again posted openings for fishing camp counselor.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Illinois Deer Classic and Fish & Hook Sports Show lead packed weekend for Go & Show

It’s a week with multiple options for Go & Show, across multiple states.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Dreaming big on the South Shore Bass Open

Southern Lake Michigan has never seen a bass tournament as big as the 150-team field that the South Shore Bass aspires to on Aug. 3-4 out of Hammond, Indiana.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago fishing: Turn to spring fishing, Braidwood opener and a mudpuppy lure

The plethora of reports and photos this week are good indications of spring fishing being here and lead this truly sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

An unmatched pair of big shed antlers found in McHenry County

Bob Jeffries found two unmatched shed antlers while out scouting.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Fish of the Week goes beyond big bass at Braidwood opener

Joe Kwiecinski’s big largemouth bass, caught on opening day at Braidwood Lake, earns Fish of the Week and also gives a chance to get the feel of the opener at the cooling lake.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Dog toys, sandhill regulars, bowhunting turkeys

Dog toys in a drey, regular sandhill visitors in Orland Park and bowhunting harvest for turkeys in Illinois are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Decades of urban coyotes go into making 'Coyotes Among Us'

Stan Gehrt and Kerry Luft bring urban coyotes to the general public with “Coyotes Among Us,” a book written from the perspective of 20 years of studying coyotes at the Cook County-based Urban Coyote Research Project.

By Dale Bowman

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Outdoors

Viewing 'Fluddles' as a word and a film on conservation

Bob Dolgan’s latest film, “Fluddles” is a chance to dive into a good word and to spread the good word on fluddles relationship to conservation.

By Dale Bowman

For some, the first post-pandemic show attended was the Indoor Fishing Flea Market in March 2022, at Rolling Meadows High School.

Outdoors

Go & Show: Will Robbie Gould show at the Indoor Fishing Flea Market?

Some have wondered if new football coach Robbie Gould will show Saturday for the Indoor Fishing Flea Market at Rolling Meadows High School.

By Dale Bowman

Art

An Impressionist mystery floats at the Chicago Maritime Museum

Five Impressionist oil paintings, by an unknown artist, are on display through April 19.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Seesawing weather makes for unusual fishing

Fishing through seesawing weather (how many times can you go from unseasonable heat to snow in one week?) leads this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Anticipating bass and blues as Braidwood Lake reopens

Survey indicates blue catfish are doing well (so are largemouth bass) at Braidwood Lake, which reopens to fishing on Friday.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Father and daughter find good shed antlers

Jason Garon and his 14-year-old daughter had a good weekend shed hunting.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Muskie caught and released while crappie fishing

Juan Macias caught and released a muskie caught while crappie fishing at Busse Woods.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Graveyard 'Stag and Philosopher' and things in nests and dreys

Paul Vriend’s photo of a buck at Rosehill Cemetery and things in dreys and nests are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Digging old-time baseball and carving decoys over the generations

Enjoying the history trail from the old-time baseball player and renowned decoy carver George Barto to his great-grandson Pat Gregory, a modern well-respected decoy carver.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Salmon Unlimited Swap Meet leads many multi-state options in Go & Show

There are possibilities as far afield as Indianapolis and Madison.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

The return of bald eagles keeps catching our eyes, Chicago to the hinterlands

There’s something magical about the return of bald eagles from the brink.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago fishing: Hints and hopes of coho, open water vs. ice

Thinking that hints of coho should explode very soon on southern Lake Michigan, while inland ice will or has transitioned to open water, lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Crafting fishing and creativity across generations

Robin Volke crosses five generations in his fishing, fly tying, lure making, custom rod building, glass ornament making and rod repair.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Lakefront gar, 'Mr. Half Rack,' reasons for shed hunting

A report of watching a lakefront gar, a photo of a half-rack buck in the south suburbs and reasons for hunting shed antlers are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman