Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
BUCK OF THE WEEK: UNPLUGGED
Tim Hellmann saw this big buck on the Orland Grassland Trail. “Over the years I’ve seen many deer in the Grasslands, but usually they run off and disappear quickly,” he said. “This one stood his ground, and I ended up going through the brush around him. Had no desire to get too close to that antler rack.”
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 Saturday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside), or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).
FISH GATHERINGS
Monday, Jan. 15 (note date change): Jim “The Crappie Professor” Kopjo, Arlington Anglers, Poplar Creek Banquets, Hoffman Estates, 6:30 p.m., arlingtonanglers.com
Wednesday, Jan. 17: Mike Hulbert, last 100-percent casting guide on St. Clair, Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies, Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m., Facebook
Wednesday, Jan. 17: Chauncey Niziol, South Side Muskie Hawks, The Sock Bar and Grill, Hickory Hills, Chicago, 7 p.m., southsidemuskiehawks.org
Thursday, Jan. 18: Ken “Husker” O’Malley, Fish Tales Fishing Club, (temporary location) The Village Sportsman’s Club, Alsip, 7 p.m., fishtalesfishingclub.com
Thursday, Jan 18 (note date change): Luke Ronnestrand, Chicagoland Muskie Hunters chapter of Muskies, Inc., North Branch Pizza & Burger Co., Glenview, 7:30 p.m., chicagolandmuskiehunters.org/meetingschedule.asp
SHOWTIME
Sunday, Jan. 14: Final day, Chicago Boat Show, McCormick Place South
Sunday, Jan. 14: Final day, Chicago Travel & Adventure Show, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont
Friday, Jan. 19, to Jan. 21:Muskie Expo Chicago, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles
Next Saturday, Jan. 20:Musky Swap Meet, Quad County Hawg Hunters chapter of Muskies, Inc., St. Charles Moose Lodge, Duane Landmeier, dlandmeier@frontier.com
Next weekend, Jan. 20-21:Capt. Dan Keating Schools, Lake Michigan Angler, Winthrop Harbor, Salmon Foundations, Jan. 20; Advanced Tactics & Seasonal Strategies, Jan. 21
Click here for the complete list of show, outdoors classes, swap meets and major ice-fishing events.
DERBY
Next Saturday, Jan. 20: Hermann’s Rest-A-While’s Ice Fishing Derby, Port Barrington on Nielsen’s Channel, hermannsrestawhile.com
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Sunday, Jan. 14: Late-winter antlerless/CDW end . . . Archery deer and turkey ends
Monday, Jan. 15: Pheasant, quail and partridge, south zone, ends
Thursday, Jan. 18: Canada/white-fronted/light goose and brant, north zone, ends
HUNTER SAFETY
Feb. 24-25: Essex, (815) 922-4027