Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Jay Damm took in one of the esoteric pursuits in Chicago outdoors and went fossil hunting at Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area, where fossil hunting opens March 1. “The earlier in the season one goes the better: Little to no ticks, reduced vegetation and the early bird gets the worm as far as concretions go,” he emailed. “. . . I managed to find some good yet heavily vegetated mounds of shale surrounding one of the larger lakes at the park. Before too long I was finding the famed Mazon Creek ironstone nodules.”
He found a couple open specimens. One he thought was “a possible Essexella, which has long been classified as a jellyfish or possibly a type of anemone.” The other was “the classic fern, Pecopteris.” In a followup, Damm note a biologist/avid collector at the University of Wisconsin, believes the jellyfish may “be the much rarer Reticulomedusa.
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 Sunday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside). or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).
WILD TIMES
FISH GATHERINGS
Tuesday, March 18: Guide Steve Welch on Shelbyville crappie, Arlington Anglers, Poplar Creek Banquets, Hoffman Estates, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19: Slammer Tackle’s Bill Schwartz on early-season muskies, Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies, Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19th: Chauncey Niziol, South Side Muskie Hawks, Village Sportsmen’s Club, Alsip, 7 p.m., southsidemuskiehawks.org
Thursday, March 20: Ken “Husker” O’Malley, “Des Plaines River, Cooling Lakes, Pits and Ponds,” Fish Tales Fishing Club, Worth Township offices, Alsip, 7 p.m., fishtalesfishingclub.com
ILLINOIS SEASONS
Next Saturday, March 22: Early catch-and-release trout season opens at nine sites statewide, three nearby: Rock Creek, Kankakee River State Park; Apple River, Apple River Canyon SP; Pine Creek, White Pines Forest SP.
DUCKS UNLIMITED
Thursday, March 20: Windy City dinner, The Elmcrest, Elmwood Park, ducksunlimited.myeventscenter.com
SHOWTIME
Friday-next Sunday, March 21-23: Illinois Deer Classic, Peoria Civic Center
Friday-next Sunday, March 21-23: Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Saturday, March 22: Riverside Fishing Club swap meet, Berwyn Moose Lodge
The master list of outdoors shows, classes, swap meets and major ice fishing events are https://chicago.suntimes.com/outdoors/2024/11/28/outdoors-shows-master-list-for-2025-around-chicago-and-beyond
HUNTER SAFETY
April 5-6: Beecher, bschunted@gmail.com
April 25 & 27: Peotone, 708-258-3343 or peotoneparkdistrict.com
The full state listing is at dnr2.illinois.gov/SafetyEd/SafetyEdClassByCounty
SCI Banquet
April 12: SCI Illinois & Chicago chapter’s banquet, Medinah Banquets, Addison
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Next Sunday, March 23: Boat America, Jerry Miarecki, boatsafe@coastguardchicago.com
Next Sunday, March 23: Boat America, Jennifer Angone, uscgaux3511@gmail.com