Fishing
FUN IN FOND DU LAC, WI
I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. As host for the 2013 Conference for the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers, Fond du Lac, located on the south end of Lake Winnebago, didn’t disappoint. Before the conference, I got out on [...]Read more
HILLBILLY HANDFISHING IN SOUTHERN IL
Who says you need a fishing pole to catch catfish? Not the boys from Southern Illinois. When Jason and Craig Miles from Crappie Masters Guide Service invited me down to Rend Lake in Southern Illinois for some handfishing, I jumped at the chance. Handfishing for catfish, or [...]Read more
FISH NOT BITING? TRY FROG GIGGING
As the sun settled down behind the horizon, not far from the DesPlaines River, we heard our first “Barooomp, baroomp” echoing across the lilypad laden backwaters. Before jumping out of the truck I ran through my checklist— bug spray, cooler, knife, flashlight, and [...]Read more
THE LOON CAPITAL MERCER WISCONSIN IS THE ULTIMATE NORTHWOODS EXPERIENCE
There’s something special about Northwoods. The heavy scent of pine in the air. Bald eagles everywhere. The wailing call of the loons. It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to fish up North. But a recent trip to Mercer, Wisconsin brought back a flood of [...]Read more
WESTERN NEW YORK IS A SPORTSMAN’S PARADISE
“Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today. I want to be a part of it New York, New York!” Okay, I realize that Frank Sinatra definitely didn’t have wild turkey, steelhead, and smallmouth bass in mind when he sang that. But nonetheless, that song was going through my mind as I [...]Read more
2012 ILLINOIS TROUT SEASON OPENS APRIL 12
The 2012 Trout season officially opens this Saturday, April 7th, at 5 am. This year, the IDNR has stocked over 60,000 rainbow trout in 43 bodies of water that are open to the public for trout fishing. The state limit is 5 rainbow trout, but it pays to check the site specific [...]Read more
REELFOOT LAKE, A CRAPPIE MECCA
When my buddy Don Dziedzina called me and said “I need a camera man.” I replied, “Where are we going?” When he said Reelfoot Lake, I started packing. Don and I headed south to hopefully film some excellent crappie fishing for his TV show, Illinois [...]Read more
BRINGING HOME THE BACON- FLORIDA BOAR HUNT
I had such a blast with my son on our last boar hunt that I had to go back for more. My good friend and long-time deer hunting partner Kurt Kowalczyk was up for the challenge, so in February, we had enough of the snow and took off to Florida in pursuit of pork. We flew […]Read more
KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE IN FRANKLIN COUNTY
In Spring of 2009, I wanted to try some different turkey hunting terrain, so I targeted Southern Illinois. Since I was going to be fishing with the gang from Illinois Outdoors on their annual Spring Fishing Trip to Rend Lake, I figured I would try and kill 2 birds with one stone [...]Read more
