Chicago outdoors: Fishing vs watching Bears, Skokie Lagoons buck, crane count
Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
BUCK OF THE WEEK: UNPLUGGED
Glenn Ferencz emailed the photo above, noting, "Ran into this gentleman at the Skokie Lagoons." We are just past the peak of the rut, but it is still time to be alert driving.
BOTW Unplugged, the celebration of live big bucks around Chicago outdoors, runs as apt in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Sunday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside), or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).
BIG NUMBER
9,661: Sandhill crane count at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area southeast of Valparaiso, Indiana. That's significantly higher than counts on similar dates the last two years. Peak count generally comes around Thanksgiving.
LAST WORD
"Again, not a lot of fish and they were small. But it was better than squandering three hours watching that steaming pile of crap from Soldier Field."
Pete Lamar, capping fishing report last Sunday from the Fox River
WILD TIMES
FISH GATHERINGS
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Member speaker night, Arlington Anglers, Poplar Creek Banquets, Hoffman Estates, 6:30 p.m., arlingtonanglers.com
Wednesday Nov. 20: Dave Anderson from Mark's Reel Repair, Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies, Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m. more on Facebook
Wednesday, Nov 20: Jim Kopjo, "Seasonal Crappie Techniques," South Side Muskie Hawks, Village Sportsmen's Club, Alsip, 7 p.m., southsidemuskiehawks.org
Thursday, Nov. 21: Mark Simpson, "How to Take Awesome Photos of Your Catches," Fish Tales Fishing Club, Worth Township offices, Alsip, 7 p.m., http://fishtalesfishingclub.com
ILLINOIS SEASONS
Friday-next Sunday, Nov. 22-24: First part of firearm deer season