A couple of days to celebrate the outdoors

Perhaps northern Illinois outdoors people will show appreciation for their fishing and hunting passion this weekend.

Illinois will observe the annual National Hunting and Fishing Days celebration with two popular festivals - at Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area near Yorkville due west and a tad south of us, and at John A. Logan College in Carterville Sept. 26-27.

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday and features free admission. The festival includes all-day free activities for children and families, including a fish pond where rods, reels and bait are provided, a kids' casting area,and Voyageur canoe rides and a chance for participants to paddle their own canoe. Practice ranges for archery, BB gun and trap will be open. Living history demonstrations are scheduled throughout the day. The festival will also feature demonstrations on field dressing deer, deer hunting techniques, turkey hunting, goose hunting, upland bird hunting, trapping, wild game management, dog training, and bowfishing.

Fishing report: Look to the usual suspects for early fall angling jackpots.

Fox Chain: Check the far north end of Channel Lake for good crappie and bluegill activity. Lake Marie has become stingy with its walleye bite, but look for current areas near the Grass Lake Channel. Lake Catherine is fair for largemouth bass and muskies. Pistakee Lake is decent for channel catfish and bluegills.

Fox River: Improved for smallmouth action, especially south of Elgin.

Lake Michigan: It's been good one day and very slow the next for salmon. Some of the better action has come from the Waukegan area just a mile or two east of the harbor.

Lake Geneva: Straight out from the Williams Bay launch appears to be a hot spot now for largemouth on live bait.

• Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler@mikejacksonoutdoors.com, and you can catch his radio program 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.