If it's not the major drought that has kept Illinois and the rest of the Midwest reeling from a lack of rainfall, the current dilemma of wildlife mixing poorly with humans is too often capturing newspaper headlines.
On the recommendation of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, two campgrounds in the Daniel Boone National Forest have been closed until further notice until black bears that have been raiding camps can be trapped and relocated, or until it's been verified they have left the area.
The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife is blaming abnormally dry conditions on the high number of bear/human encounters and the need to euthanize 20 black bears in the area around Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley during June and July. In Aspen, police responded to 140 bear-related calls during those two months.
Can you believe it?
In California, where it seems like a city per week is declaring bankruptcy, researchers from Caltrans, the Department of Fish and Game and UC Davis have embarked on a $300,000 study to determine why an average of one deer per month becomes roadkill while crossing Interstate 280 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal is to determine why older deer tend to survive along the busy freeway, while the younger ones are more likely to become roadkill.
Fishing report:
I say this every year at this time, and here goes again: Hooray for the arrival of August.
That means the handcuffs have been taken off Lake Michigan perch anglers with the re-opening of the big-water fishery by the Illinois DNR. Perching had been closed to adults during July.
Fox Chain: Excellent bluegill action on Pistakee and Petite Lakes, while there appears to be an influx of white bass on Nippersink Lake. Walleye activity a tad slow, but some fish can be taken in 20 feet of water near the transition channel of Bluff Lake leading to Lake Marie.
Fox River: Channel catfish are going after leeches, minnows and night crawlers just blow the Carpentersville dam.
Lake Michigan: Salmon action is alright in 80 feet out of Northpoint. Perch can be located near Lake Forest at 55 feet.
•Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM and live-streamed at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.
