Find your own outdoors tune, and sing it loud

Jeff told me he didn't have any conditions, nor did he mind if I used his last name in a column. So here's to you, Mr. Bruining.

After all, you raised the question and told me in your e-mail you expected an answer. I hope I've accomplished the mission in this column.

"Mike, you've written quite about fishing and a little about hunting," Jeff wrote. "If you're an outdoor scribe and a devotee of casting and gunning, why has your journalistic scale tipped more towards the fishing weights?"

I knew I would be drawn into this issue sooner rather than later.

I used to hunt whitetail deer, first with shotgun and rifle and later with a bow.

I discovered archery to be more of a challenge. I brought down elk, moose, and caribou with both bullet and arrow. I only went after wild game I knew I would eat at home or during a camping trip.

Then I had health issues that precluded me from walking great distances and even traversing up and down hills.

Secondly, because I didn't have the butchering skills of a Petros or Green Acres Mike, I didn't like getting bloody as the result of field dressing the animals.

Fishing has always been my greatest passion. In my earliest recollections, there's this sense of behaving like some young steer, suddenly released and frolicking in a pasture with the others. That's the spirit I've tried to bring as I pass on the memories and stories to readers and listeners. It's all been ingrained in me.

Don't get me wrong - I still like duck, quail, grouse and wild turkey hunting. And I truly relish dining on deep-fried turkey and mallard duck.

But fishing deserves a more detailed and defined explanation.

My rationale for having a rod and reel in hand is that's it's just as much a philosophical boost as it is a sensory joyride.

Give me 3-4 hours with my trusty fly and spinning rods coupled to a pond filled with bluegill and crappie, and when it's all over, I will declare that I am a happy man.

Of course I used to harbor similar feelings of joy and anticipation when a wild turkey breast or a couple mallards were carefully hauled from the deep fryer.

Each one of us has a different take on this stuff we call the out-of-doors. Each belongs to this special club in his or her own way, and we all have a unique relationship with the water and woods.

The column is not meant to be an artsy-schmartsy thesis on life and the roads I travel, just an answer to Mr. Bruining by way of personal anthem.

Feel free to sing along.

More carping:

Some follow-up to the Asian carp item from last week.

Reliable sources within the IDNR admit the Asian carp arrest story has presented some complications. DNR police had arrested a commercial fisherman with about 1,800 pounds of Asian carp. He allegedly kept the fish alive, and if that was accurate, the citations issued were supposedly warranted because live Asian carp can't be kept in containers. The pending court case will hopefully shed some light on this matter.

Fishing report:

• Perching seems to have received a seasonal shot in the arm, with fish being caught at 95th St., the Chicago River and a couple north-end harbors.

• Check with Triangle Marine for latest ice conditions on the Chain. The expected safe ice on the T-channels may show up this week.

• Fox River walleyes are active in Aurora on live bait.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.