When the phone rings on Wednesday evenings between 6 and 7 at Roger and Reca Eberly’s house, the call is likely to go unanswered.
Stop by their house for a visit during that time and you will find the couple in their truck, parked in the driveway, the radio buzzing in the background and Roger busily taking notes.
The Eberlys, residents of Big Rock, about 15 miles southeast of DeKalb, are regular listeners of the “Fishing and Outdoor Show,” a radio program that was started four years ago and airs Wednesdays from Morris on WJDK-FM (95.7) and on WCSJ-AM (1550).
The couple, who listen to the show in their truck because the reception is better than on the radio in their house, are avid fishermen. Like many others who love the sport, they turn to local radio, television and newspapers for updates on the best fishing spots in the Chicago area.
Several of these publications and shows emanate from the southwest suburbs, an area that experts agree has become a prime place to snag a fish, from a crafty crappie to a wily walleye or a bigmouth bass.
“The rivers are cleaner than they were 20 years ago,” said Robert Maciulis, an experienced fisherman who publishes Outdoor Notebook, a fishing and outdoors magazine, in Lemont.
“The pollution used to be terrible. Now the Des Plaines River and Lake Michigan are clean, there are the (Commonwealth Edison) cooling lakes, and the (Illinois) Department of Natural Resources is stocking (these waters with fish),” he noted.
Maciulis isn’t keeping any of this to himself. Besides the monthly magazine he started in 1980, he has a radio show, “Outdoor Notebook,” on fishing and the outdoors that airs at 6 a.m. Saturdays on WYLL-FM (106.7) and WJOL-AM (1340).
If you don’t hear his morning radio show, you can catch him on TV on Saturday afternoons. His “Outdoor Notebook” television show airs at 4 p.m. on WCFC-Ch. 38.
Maciulis may have mastered many outlets, but he is not the only fishing media meister out there. The “Fishing and Outdoor Show,” the radio show the Eberlys catch in their truck, is co-hosted by Scott Dunn of Morris and Rick McCarty of Bourbonnais.
Another radio show, “The Fishing Line and Outdoor Show,” has aired for 17 years on WCCQ-FM (98.3) in Crest Hill. It can be heard at 6 a.m. Saturdays and is hosted by Lockport residents Jim DaRosa and Ray Ludkevicz.
The Outdoor Times, a bimonthly newspaper that covers fishing and the outdoors, is published in Wilmington. It was started 16 years ago, according to managing editor Eric Fisher, who explained: “We saw a need for a publication for the fishermen and sportsmen in this area. This area is the playground for the Chicago area.”
Roger Eberly said he avidly reads publications such as the Outdoor Notebook (available free at bait shops, state parks, recreational clubs and hardware stores) and dials up several radio and TV shows because he wants a local slant on the fishing news.
“We get information about what’s going on in this area. It’s not about going out deep-sea fishing,” he said.
“We tell what locations (nearby) are good, what fishing baits are working and where the fish are biting,” explained Fisher of The Outdoor Times.
Maciulis said many of the people who read his magazine or watch his shows want the local angle because “they don’t have two weeks to take off and go fishing.”
Fortunately, anglers without lots of time or money can find plenty of places to fish in the southwest suburbs, including Tampier Lake near Orland Park, the Kankakee River, the Illinois River and Wolf Lake in Burnham.
Then there are the manmade lakes, such as Lake Heidecke near the Braidwood Nuclear Plant and those near Wilmington, created when abandoned coal pits filled with rainwater.
The abundance of local fishing spots helped spawn the publications and TV and radio shows. Like Maciulis, Dunn said his radio show “stays away from Canada and Florida. Those aren’t places you can just jump up and go to.”
Besides making mention of good spots to fish, these shows and publications offer tips and strategies for outsmarting and catching the fish that populate local waters.
Often, they also provide interviews with expert or tournament-level fishermen, fishing guides or bait shop owners. The shows describe first-hand experiences and problems, offer their audiences trivia contests and sometimes sponsor giveaways of fishing equipment or a day of fishing with an expert.
“It adds to the show when you have someone call in with a question and you try to help them,” Dunn said.
Ludkevicz said he asks listeners of “The Fishing Line” to call in with their best fishing story.
“Sometimes it’s about how a wife (accidentally) knocked her husband out of the boat,” said Ludkevicz with a laugh. “Or it’s about how a guy fished with his father or how a child caught their first fish.”
“Some of those shows are pretty entertaining,” said Tim Schweizer, public information officer for the state’s Department of Natural Resources. “(On TV) you get to see an expert standing in a bass boat. It’s fun to see them orchestrate and cast their line.”
The shows provide information that can be used by seasoned fishermen as well as novices.
“(Readers or listeners) find out what lures the tournament fishermen use and different techniques for catching a fish,” said LeRoy Grell of Wilmington, director of Bass for Cash of Illinois, an annual bass fishing tournament held throughout the southwest suburbs where anglers vie for a pot of about $2,000. “They see that catching a fish is not just luck, it’s strategy,”
“The more you learn, the more you increase your chances of catching a fish,” added Jim Prindle, owner of the Dam Bait Shop in Wilmington.
McCarty, co-host of the “Fishing and Outdoor Show,” said that each week he and Dunn offer a fishing tip that is not commonly known and that can be applied locally.
“It’s not just your everyday tip,” he said. “Last night, we had a professional on from Oklahoma. He explained how to tie two lures together, and what colors to use, to make it look like a shad being eaten by a game fish.”
“A 30-pound striper sitting at the bottom of Heidecke Lake would get right up there and eat both of them,” McCarty said.
The publications also provide a place for enthusiasts to pat themselves on the back and spread word of their successes. Their pages are filled with what are dubbed “brag pictures,” showing fishermen smiling proudly as they hold the whoppers they nabbed.
Fisher said his newspaper collects these photos from various bait shops.
“It amazes me how people love to have their picture in the paper,” Fisher said. “But when you catch a fish, how do you brag about it? You’ve heard of fish tales — you have to convince people that you caught the fish.”
These photos may seem corny, but they are the basis for memories that may last a lifetime, Maciulis added.
“That’s what a girl will talk about with her dad when he’s 72 and she’s grown and they’re at Thanksgiving dinner,” he said. “She’ll say, `Remember when I caught that bass?’ And he’ll pull that picture out from his wallet.”
Fishing is an activity that brings the Eberly family together. Roger passes the tips he gleans on to their son, Rodney, a Hinckley resident and bass fisherman.
Having followed these shows for years, the Eberlys have become acquainted with some of the hosts, particularly of shows that allow people to call in and ask questions or make comments.
Listening to the shows is “a shared experience for my husband and me,” said Reca. “And sometimes we go to sports expos and we see the hosts. That’s exciting.”
Last year, Roger answered a fishing-related trivia question and won a fishing trip on the Illinois River with Dunn from the “Fishing and Outdoor Show.”
Dunn said the fishing trip was fun and added, “Roger used to joke that our reception was so bad that he had to put the radio on a chair and have his wife hold the antenna up to get it.”
Although spotty reception (according to Dunn, it can be heard well within a 60-mile radius of Morris) is the reason the Eberlys now listen to the show in their truck, it’s not uncomfortable for them, the couple agreed.
“Sometimes, we’ll have a glass of wine or a pop out there (in the truck),” Reca said. “And if there’s a trivia question, Roger will scurry inside (the house) to call and answer it.”
Although they are not sure how many listeners they have, both Dunn and McCarty said they are thrilled to know that at least two people — the Eberlys — and likely many more, have the same enthusiasm and love of local fishing that they do.
Although Dunn and McCarty each has a full-time job, they do the radio show in their free time, simply for the love of fishing and the outdoors. Dunn works as a foreman for an electrical contractor. McCarty is a maintenance technician.
When fall comes, they will turn from fishing to other outdoor-related topics such as hunting or mushroom gathering.
“We’re just two working slugs who love the outdoors and who enjoy doing this radio show once a week,” Dunn said.
Fanatical fishermen have their favorite fishing holes, and so do the hosts of shows and publishers of newspapers and magazines devoted to the sport.
Robert Maciulis, publisher of Outdoor Notebook, has never felt the need to travel to exotic locales for fish because he finds loads of them are waiting to take the bait in waters not far from his back door.
“I’ve never fished in Canada. I’m sure it’s beautiful,” said Maciulis, who lives in Lemont. “But there are so many places in Chicago.”
His top pick for casting a line in a convenient spot is Tampier Lake on 131st Street and Wolf Road in Orland Park.
“It’s close to home,” he said. “It’s great in the evening, after work, when you have just 20 or 30 minutes to fish.”
At a slightly longer distance, the Kankakee River at the Wilmington Dam is a choice spot, he said.
“It’s so clean. You wade out in the water, it’s cool. You can relax. There’s a bit of wilderness,” Maciulis said.
Rick McCarty, co-host of the “Fishing and Outdoor Show,” agrees. He likes the Kankakee but also is fond of the Commonwealth Edison cooling lakes — Braidwood, Heidecke and LaSalle.
“When Heidecke opens in April, (the water) is already warm. You can get in good fishing right away,” McCarty said. “I think a lot of fishing has to do with water temperature.”
The cooling lakes, as well as the Illinois River and Lake Michigan, were mentioned by Ray Ludkevicz, co-host of “The Fishing Line and Outdoor Show.”
“You can find all different species (in those places),” he said.
