Jay Damm News Today

Summer fishing and school's-out fishing, in all their manifestations and wide variety (hybrid striped bass, coho, yellow perch, cicada fishing, big carp), lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

Jose Sanchez caught a big smallmouth bass while powerlining at 63rd Street on the Chicago lakefront (Jackson Park), which is a rare feat when powerlining.

Paul Strand earned Mushroom of the Week with a find of honey mushrooms, which leads to some pointers on identifying honeys.

Jay Damm and Bill Peak give a visual peek at a mixed year for summer/fall mushrooms.

A photo of a wood duck drake taking flight in Chicago, fun facts while going down a rabbit hole on boat-tailed grackles and an overview of the season for morel mushrooms this spring around Chicago are among the notes from around Chicago outoors and beyond.

Signs are that we are in a compact season for picking morel mushrooms in this weird spring around Chicago outdoors.

A review and overview of wild turkeys in Illinois — Ben Franklin to “increasing reproduction metrics” — going into the opening of the spring turkey hunting seasons.

A deer photo apt for Valentine’s Day, more on Chicago’s urban and suburban turkeys, the shortening of ice fishing in Wisconsin and a note on protecting the Boundary Waters are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

A one-sided buck in a forest preserve, another expansion of wild turkeys in the suburbs, the world-record lake whitefish and Quint on bluegills and sharks are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

Ice fishing becoming a sketchier act and the ongoing action for perch and lake trout on the Chicago lakefront/southern Lake Michigan lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.