Illinois Hunting & Fishing weekend set to open

It’s time again for the Illinois Hunting and Fishing weekend.

Saturday and Sunday the throngs will gather for the event at Silver Springs State Park, 13608 Fox Road in Yorkville.

This annual exposition is great for kids and families because of the many interactive events scheduled, including: canoeing; watercolor art; fly tying and casting; kids casting area and a stocked fishing pond; casting demos; climbing wall; outdoor women’s seminars; RVs, ATVs, boats and campers displays; archery, BB-gun and trap shooting; bowfishing ranges plus more than 80 vendors, giveaways, food court, and raffles. For more information, visiit nihfd.org.

Grizzly update: Gary Detwiler, the 67-year-old bowhunter from Michigan who was bitten by a grizzly bear while he and his partner were blood-trailing a wounded elk near Island Park, Idaho, recently said there was nothing he could have done to prevent the incident. #147;It wouldn#146;t have mattered if I had pepper spray, a pistol or a shotgun,#148; he told a reporter for the Post Register. #147;I only had about one second between when I saw it and it jumped on me.#148;Fishing report:Lake Michigan: A good number of Chinook salmon seem to be #147;lounging#148; around Chicago and suburban harbor mouths. Fox Chain: Large schools of white bass have been spotted on Bluff Lake in the 15-foot to 22-foot depth not far from the channel leading to Lake Marie. The late afternoon muskie bite has come alive on Channel Lake as well as western sections of Pistakee Lake.Bangs Lake: Largemouth bass are holding in deep weed cover toward the east end.Mike Jackson can be reached by email at angler88@comcast.net and his radio program is heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC, AM-1240.