Six whooping cranes in Kankakee County, a note from the late Dan Gapen, a “crazy person” (me) asking ice on the Chain and a sequence of the lunar eclipse are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors.
Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Bronson Ratcliff messaged on last Saturday, “Hey Dale, I had six whooping cranes this afternoon in Kankakee County!” He could only see the colors on the leg bands. He has seen some in Indiana at Kankakee Sands and a single at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. “Never saw six though,” he messaged.
WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks 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) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).
WILD TIMES
PHEASANTS FOREVER
Saturday, Dec. 4: Introduction to shotgun shooting, Tallgrass chapter, Palos Sportsman Club, Frankfort, (708) 987-6685
SHOWTIME
Friday, Dec. 3, to Dec. 5: St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show, St. Paul RiverCentre, Minn.,
ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS
Today, Nov. 29: Woodcock season ends
Wednesday, Dec. 1: Final day, applications for first lottery, spring turkey
Thursday, Dec. 2, to Sunday, Dec. 5: Second firearm deer season
DALE’S MAILBAG
“I took moon shots with a wide angle lens every 2 minutes for about an hour before totality. Ended up with a string of pearls!” Dr. Elizabeth Pector,
A: I had for glimpses of the lunar eclipse on Nov. 19 driving to hunt deer. But that memory can’t match the photography that Dr. Pector did.
BIG NUMBER
89: Age of Dan Gapen, one the greats in the North American fishing world and a regular of the show circuit around Chicago and elsewhere, who died last Saturday. A memorial is being planned for Mr. Gapen, who told the Monticello Times a year ago, “At 88 years old I’m still hoping to get back out there to our shows. I miss talking tackles with strangers and doing seminars.”
LAST WORD
“You did it. You are the first one, the first crazy person to ask, `How’s the ice.’ You always get one. Someone is gonna crawl out from under a rock. Here’s my answer, `No.’ “
Greg Dickson, proprietor o Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch, answering my question about the possibility of ice fishing.