Wood duck to trout to bears: Notes around Chicago outdoors

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Notes from around Chicago outdoors.

FIELD NOTES

WILD OF THE WEEK

Elizabeth Pector tweeted a photo her first wood duck of the year last month at McDowell Grove Forest Preserve in Naperville.

WOTW, the celebration of wild scenes around Chicago outdoors, runs Sundays on the outdoors page as warranted. Send nominations by Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or email (straycasts@sbcglobal.net).

WILD TIMES

HUNTER SAFETY

May 14-15: Gurnee, registration begins Monday, April 11, (847) 856-1229

May 6-7: Palatine, (fyi, I have had trouble connecting to the web site) web2.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/ilpalatinewt.wsc/splash.html

DUCKS UNLIMITED

Friday: Marengo dinner, Starline Factory, Harvard. Contact Ben O’Dea, (815) 739-6486; Ryan Nikolich, (847) 514-0714

FISH GATHERINGS

Tuesday: Capt. Dave Engel, Salmon Unlimited, Elk Grove Village VFW,, 7 p.m., salmonunlimitedinc.com

Tuesday: Bob Benson on Lake Vermilion, Chicagoland Muskie Hunters chapter of Muskies Inc., Giuseppe’s La Cantina, Des Plaines, 7:30 p.m., (847) 256-9322 or chicagolandmuskiehunters@hotmail.com

Wednesday: Capt. Matt Firestein, Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m., frvmuskie.com

Wednesday: Capt. Steve Everetts on “Fishing the Break on Delavan Lake,’’ Lake Geneva Fishing Club, Cabela’s, Hoffman Estates, 6:30 p.m., lakegenevafishingclub.com

ILLINOIS SEASONS

Turkey hunting: First season, north zone, Monday-Friday; second season, north, begins Saturday; second season, south, through Thursday, third season, south, begins Friday

DALE’S MAILBAG

Q: “Spring trout – I noticed you didn’t mention Horsetail in Cook County or White Pines State Park – are they stocked this year?’’ Thomas Barr

A: Horsetail was not; White Pines was. Every Tuesday I put up a raw-file Midwest Fishing Report, which includes such things, at the outdoors page (chicago.suntimes.com/section/outdoors/) at the new, readable Sun-Times site, the one you are on know. Now is a good time to bookmark it again.

BIG NUMBER

31-6.72: Pounds-ounces of the Illinois-record rainbow trout, caught July 10, 1993 from Lake Michigan by Kyle Johnson

LAST WORD

“Bears are hungry. They are looking for food after spending months in their dens. We might not think of bird feeders and trash cans as food sources, but a hungry bear certainly may.’’

Kevin Swanson, Michigan DNR bear specialist, with some sage early advice

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