The Gurnee Park District had to cancel its first scheduled Fishing Derby for kids in July, but Thursday it went off without a hitch, although there were bites, lost fish and snags to contend with as with any fishing expedition.
The derby is free for kids between 5 and 11 years of age at Hunt Club Park, 900 N. Hunt Club Road, and as an indication of how good the fishing was Daniel Lee took the most fish caught category for 9- to 11-year-olds with an incredible 42 fish.
That’s a lot of worms, which were provided free.
The 5- and 6-year-old winners included Colin Cox with the biggest fish, a 10-inch bass; Jorse Mauzauo had the smallest with a five-incher; and Brendan Cox had the most fish with six.
The 7- and 8-year-old winners included Dylan Moara, with a fish just over 12 inches; Andrew Filipowicz, the smallest with a just over 4-inch fish; and Martin Mena Cyonzalez had the most fish with seven.
In the 9- to 11-year-old category, the other winners were Catherine Chen, with a 12-inch fish; and Addy Filipowicz had the smallest fish with one just over 3 inches.
As you can see from the pictures, the kids had fun and park district personnel appear to have worked well with the young anglers.
Don’t throw that away
Since we’re talking fishing, remember to make sure fouled fishing line is disposed of properly. Recently, two police officers from Round Lake Beach found a goose with its feet wrapped up by fishing line. More and more park districts and forest preserves now install PCV pipe for anglers to use for bad fishing line so it doesn’t harm waterfowl.
Kudos to officers Tim Goodwin and Katie Crawford who responded to the call of a goose with fishing line wrapped around its leg preventing it from walking. The officers were able to secure the goose and carefully remove the line in setting the goose free. It was captured in a photo by a commander not too keen on dealing with birds, according to the Police Department’s Facebook page.
Comments below the rescue picture were pretty funny: One asked, “Any signs of fowl play??” with the administrator of the site responding “Not at this time … wait, we see what you did there! Well played!”
And the hits kept coming: “Don’t try and duck the question.” “Finding the culprit might be a wild goose chase.” “Are they FOWL O WING up on this situation? HEHEHE.” And finally, “These comments are quacking me up,” followed by two laughing emoji’s with tears.
Plant this idea
The Wild Ones Lake to Prairie Chapter will have a tutorial Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Fremont Public Library, 1170 N Midlothian Road, Mundelein, where homeowners can learn how to use prairie plants in conjunction with their traditional landscaping.
“Using the traditional principles of landscape design, ecologist and native plant designer Dave Eubanks will present the basics on getting started with native plants around your home and garden. He will touch on themes you can develop such as rain gardens, butterfly gardens, shade gardens and using the right plants plus installation techniques. Maintenance requirements will be explained as well,” reads the meeting notice.
Nuture kids at Nature Festival
On Sunday Aug. 19, from 1 to 4 p.m., treat yourself to a really great Kids Nature Funfest at the Greenbelt Forest Preserve in North Chicago, which is one of the rare places to see our native cactus plants.
It’s free and open to families with children ages 12 and younger. They will see live animals, dig nets in the prairie and pond, enjoy nature arts and crafts, make a fort or a fairy house and learn about seed bombs and bean planting.
No registration is required, but adult supervision is suggested because you don’t want to miss these moments with your kids. If weather turns bad, it will be held inside where you’ll get to see the forest preserve district’s only living wall.
Confiscated gear auctioned to benefit nature
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources recently auctioned off items that had been confiscated during enforcement actions. What kind of items do they get?
Among the items offered at the auction are: 244 assorted deer hunting tree stands and ladders, 33 compound bows, 11 crossbows, 57 sport fishing rods and reels, 58 leg hold and conibear traps, 25 commercial fishing hoop nets, 37 trail cameras, five live traps, five bicycles, boxes of cut up deer antlers and several assorted coolers.
The IDNR sold the items and reaped $49,209 for the state’s Wildlife and Fish Fund, which is used for administrating and managing the public’s wildlife resources, from hatcheries to wildlife refuges, public shooting and fishing grounds and for the feeding and care of wild birds, wild animals and fish.
There were 808 registered bidders, and two local Boy Scout troops sold food and beverages and raised $3,600. No firearms, ATVs, snowmobiles, watercraft or vehicles were sold.
