Chicago outdoors: Record yellow perch, cemetery green herons and morels & Morel home run
Blas Lara holds his Indiana record yellow perch, caught April 21 in Hammond.
Provided by the Indiana DNR
Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
BIG NUMBER
3-2: Pounds-ounces of Indiana record yellow perch, caught by Blas Lara on April 21 in Hammond and announced by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday. It was a long-standing record. Roy W. Burkel Jr. caught previous Indiana record (2 pounds, 8 ounces) from a gravel pit in Vigo County byin 1981.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Paul Vriend welcomed the spring green herons back to Chicago, specifically from Rosehill Cemetery. "This one kindly posed for me," he emailed.
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), Instagram (@BowmanOutside). or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).
DALE'S MAILBAG
"I had to send this picture to you today. Thought it was pretty good with all of the morels and then having Christopher Morel being in the sports page. I think now we are at the point of the season where the morels are transitioning from the early grey color to the yellow or blonds as some call them. My twin daughters came home from school to help me count them. I think we have at least a week left, maybe two to find them." Ryan Leonard
A: He got that right on multiple accounts.
WILD TIMES
FISH GATHERINGS
Wednesday, May 8: Tim Newman, Brew City Trolling Motor Service, ""Using Forward Facing Live Sonar & Best Practices Rigging," Lake Geneva Fishing Club, Poplar Creek Bowl, Hoffman Estates, 6 p.m., lakegenevafishingclub.com
Thursday, May 9: Capt. Joe Baron, "Fishing the Fox Chain," Riverside Fishing Club, Berwyn Moose Lodge 424, 6:45 p.m., RiversideFishingClub.com
ILLINOIS SEASONS
Through Wednesday, May 8: Fourth season, spring turkey hunting, north zone
Through Thursday, May 9: Fifth season, south zone
Thursday, May 9, to May 16: Fifth season, north zone
HUNTER SAFETY
Full state listing at dnr2.illinois.gov/SafetyEd/SafetyEdClassByCounty
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Tuesday, May 7: Suddenly in Command, Elmhurst, Don Goff, dgoff6547@gmail.com