Outdoors: Illinois fishing and hunting

Outdoors

Go & Show: RFC's swap meet and NADCA's decoy & sporting collectibles show

Riverside Fishing Club’s Fishing Tackle & Outdoors Swap Meet on Saturday and the continuing North American Vintage Decoy & Sporting Collectibles Show are Go & Show this week.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

First woman chairs Chicago fishing advisory committee

Stacey Greene-Fenlon became the first woman and first person not connected to Chicago government to chair the Chicago fishing advisory committee on Thursday.

By Dale Bowman

Environment

Cicadas' mass arrival is just a few weeks away in northern Illinois, experts say

People have spotted nymphs of the 17-year cicadas on the ground. That’s a sign the periodical cicadas are preparing to emerge. They should appear once the soil reaches 64 degrees, which is expected by late May.

By Kade Heather

Outdoors

Chicago fishing: Lakefront spurts of salmon and trout while inland fishing heats up

Spurts of lakefront salmon and trout along with inland fishing heating up lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Finding early morel mushrooms is underway

Ryan Leonard continues a tradition of finding early morel mushrooms in Cook County.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Sometimes you have to swim to get a turkey

Matt Kopec made sure to collect his turkey, even swimming out to retrieve it.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

High-schooler catches three muskies while bass fishing at Heidecke Lake

Plainfield South senior Tim Raducka caught three muskies during the conference bass-fishing tournament.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Turkey and shed story along with record youth turkey harvest

Teri family finding a shed antler and bagging a turkey during the second weekend of youth turkey season and a record turkey harvest during Illinois’ youth spring turkey seasons are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

A boatload of people, including two children in life vests, enjoy an outing with Chicago No Limits Fishing on a boat last.

Outdoors

This Chicago fishing group opens the outdoors for people with disabilities

Chicago No Limits Fishing provides boating and fishing experiences around downtown on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Go & Show: Decoys and sporting collectibles show and a film festival are things to see

The North American Decoys & Sporting Collectibles Show opens Tuesday and runs through April 27 while the One Earth Film Festival is going at varied sites through Tuesday, April 23.

By Dale Bowman

Environment

Early spring warming could be having an effect on bird migration: “A lot more, a lot earlier”

Bird experts say temperature fluctuations could impact available food supply and the timing of arrivals.

By Jessica Ma

Leroy Bowman holds one of the more than 1,000 comforters he pieced and sewed for the Mennonite Central Committee.

Outdoors

Picking at memories of a long life: Leroy Bowman, who has died at age 95, did it all

My dad, Leroy Bowman, whom I credit with much of my love of the outdoors, led a full life filled with anomalies: deer hunting, ordained Mennonite deacon, quarryman, trout fishing, raising six kids. He died at 95 over the solar-eclipse weekend and the memories bubble up.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago fishing: Spring spawns its usual variety and options

Truly spring-like weather over the weekend showed the variety of fishing options available around Chicago and leads this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

By Dale Bowman

Kirby McDaniel holds his personal-best walleye, caught and released on the Chain O'Lakes.

Outdoors

Personal-best walleye from Fox Chain O'Lakes earns Fish of the Week

Kirby McDaniel’s walleye, 29-inches-plus long, was caught with a jig and minnow.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Sandhills in snowy Nebraska, Morel of the Week begins and a monarch

Sandhill cranes on a visit to the Platte River area of Nebraska, the first Morel of the Week this year and an early sighting of a monarch butterfly are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

Starved Rock State Park’s southern entrance.

Politics

New name for Starved Rock State Park? State officials 'willing to open discussions'

Leaders at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said this week there are “no immediate plans” to rebrand Starved Rock State Park in La Salle County, but officials are open to discussing a potential name change if Native American groups push for it.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Outdoors

Wandering around southern Illinois: Painted bikes, caves, Tecumseh and rattlers

I traveled around southern Illinois at some new sites as an offshoot of covering the total solar eclipse. It brought a sharp reminder of just how much that region brings to our outdoors world.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Go & Show: First Goose Lake Fishing Show and Tackle Swap arrives Saturday

The show includes fishing seminars and product demos.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

Digging details of nature and the total solar eclipse

Here are some more nuggets related to the nature world from the total solar eclipse on Monday.

By Dale Bowman

Outdoors

The power of powerlining and the small chance of a smallmouth bass

Jose Sanchez caught a big smallmouth bass while powerlining at 63rd Street on the Chicago lakefront (Jackson Park), which is a rare feat when powerlining.

By Dale Bowman