One-sided buck, suburban wild turkeys, sharks & bluegills, world-record whitefish

Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

BUCK OF THE WEEK: UNPLUGGED

On Jan. 20, Jeff Getz of Park Ridge emailed, “I spent the afternoon photographing my favorite local forest preserve whitetails and thought you would enjoy some of the shots. As I was expecting, the bucks have started shedding their antlers, almost to the day as last year. I followed the guy with the one antler for a while hoping it might drop, but he wandered off, probably to the secret elephant graveyard of sheds.”

BOTW Unplugged, the celebration of live big bucks around Chicago outdoors, runs as apt in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

Same applies to Shed of the Week, a note on shed antlers found around Chicago outdoors.

DALE’S MAILBAG

“In my Tinley Park neighborhood, this is getting to be old news (or perhaps old news to you), but we’ve had a resident hen wild turkey for about a month. I’ve always said that my neighborhood has every wild animal except for turkeys, but apparently that statement is no longer valid. While I’ve heard reports of wild turkeys on the outskirts of Frankfort, New Lenox, Lemont and Burr Ridge for years, this is a first for my neighborhood. We’ll see if this turns into a resident flock in the coming years, but hopefully not common enough to be a nuisance!” Jay Damm

A: I remain awed by where wild turkeys turn up in Chicago and the suburbs.

Jay Damm

BIG NUMBER

14-6: Pounds-ounces (6.52 kg) of world-record lake whitefish, caught by Dennis Laycock on May 21, 1984 from Georgian Bay in Ontario, according to the International Game Fish Association

LAST WORD

“Not like going down the pond chasin’ bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you whole.”

Quint, hyping great white sharks at the expense of bluegills in “Jaws,” via IMDB.com

WILD TIMES

DUCKS UNLIMITED

Feb. 2: McHenry Fox Flyway Dinner, Holiday Inn, Crystal Lake

PHEASANTS FOREVER

Feb. 4: Lake County banquet, Maravela’s, Fox Lake

CONFERENCE

Now: Registration open, Wild Things Conference, Feb. 25, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont

SHOWTIME

Click here for the complete list of show, outdoors classes and swap meets.

Through Sunday, Jan. 29:Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo, Schaumburg Convention Center

Thursday, Feb. 2, to Feb. 5:All-Canada Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles

Saturday, Feb. 4:Island Lake Lions Club Ice Fishing Derby, Island Lake, headquartered at Eastway Park

SEASONS/PERMITS

Tuesday, Jan. 31: Final day, second Canada goose season, central zone; Canada goose season, south-central and south zones; and duck season, south zone.