Notes come from all around Chicago outdoors.
WILD OF THE WEEK
From his rambles, John Vukmirovich emailed the photo at the top and this note, “One is a perfect ox-eyed daisy that I found spurting up in a waste area next to a mall.”
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. Submit nominations by message on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) and Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com).
WILD TIMES
ILLINOIS’ FREE FISHING DAYS
Through Monday, June 22: No licenses or permits are needed, but other regulations apply. Click here for more.
KAYAKING
Now: Registration open, Shedd Aquarium’s “Kayaking for Conservation,” (multiple options), sheddaquarium.org/programs-and-events/kayak-for-conservation
SHOWTIME
Today: Final day, swap meet, Blackhawk Field Archers, (no breakfast or lunch, facemasks in the clubhouse), 10086 Forest Preserve Drive, Rockton. Contact Dave Lee (708) 476-0305.
ILLINOIS PERMITS
Through June 30: Second lottery, Illinois firearm/muzzleloader deer permit applications
HALL OF FAME
July 8: Deadline to submit nominations for the 2020 class of the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame, call (217) 785-2003 or go to ilconservation.org.
DALE’S MAILBAG
“I am reaching out to you to make you aware of the many cicadas that are in Olympia Fields. I have small holes in my yard and the cicadas were in the trees surrounding my home. They were very loud all day and evening, reminding me of the sound of a rattlesnake’s tail. There was so many and that’s sound they made. Their outer shells were left everywhere and some lay dead in the yard. I was very surprised to see them this year. With the pandemic and the sight of cicadas, the event seemed out of place.” Jori Jackson
A: Anyone who can turn a phrase like “reminding me of the sound of a rattlesnake’s tail” should write more often.
BIG NUMBER
97-4: Pounds-ounces of the all-tackle world-record Chinook salmon, caught by Les Anderson on May 17, 1985, from the Kenai River in Alaska, according to the International Game Fish Association. Click here for a story from the Anchorage Daily News, By comparison, I just heard this week of the first 30-pound-plus king of the season in Illinois.
LAST WORD
“When the lakefront reopens on June 22nd, I’ll be walking and snap jigging. I’ve been thrown out of bigger and better places. With all respect, I must live my life.”
“Jumbo Jimmy” Baczek, noted perch angler, waxing defiant on the staggered lakefront opening
