It was a different year for opening day of dove hunting in Illinois, especially at public sites. As usual, opening day was Sept. 1, Tuesday this year.
One other thing remains the same, with the help of biologists, site superintendents and site staff, I pulled together some numbers from opening day at some Illinois public sites. Rain impacted many areas, but, even in those spots, some doves were harvested.
I do not have complete numbers yet for Snake Den Hollow SFWA, which I hear from several people might be a top spot this year. And, because of some of the procedures and protocols related to the pandemic, numbers may be skewed slightly.
At any rate, I may update a couple times if numbers change and some more sites come in.
Site: Hunters, doves harvested, doves per hunter
Jim Edgar Panther Creek SFWA: 88 hunters, 829 doves harvested, 9.4 doves per hunter
Kankakee River SP: 11, 66, 6.6
Iroquois County SWA: 31, 115, 3.7
Silver Springs SFWA: 67, 188, 2.8
Des Plaines SFWA: 35, 67, 1.9
Johnson-Sauk Trail SRA: 92, about 150, 1.6 (some cards missing, results likely higher)
Green River SWA: 85, 135, 1.6
Shabbona SP: 43, 44, 1.0
Chain O’Lakes SP: 24, 8, .3
