Indiana residents kept a secret for many years. Hoosiers knew their Lake Michigan beaches ranked among the top beaches in the world, but other than local residents going to beaches along their city’s lakefront or visitors mostly from another part of Indiana traveling to the Indiana Dunes State Park, few outsiders knew of them…
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Some people don’t know there are salmon in Lake Michigan. Some people think there has always been salmon in Lake Michigan. The fact is, there are millions of salmon in Indiana’s Great Lake and they were put there by the states which share Lake Michigan’s waters. The story of how salmon native to the…
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As a lifelong fisherman, I’ve seen lakes cycle from boom to bust or bust to boom many times. Fish populations naturally go through cycles in almost all lakes for many reasons. Among these reasons is the reproductive or spawning success of native fish. A few years after a couple of good spawns, the lakes may team with catchable fish. A few years after a poor spawn, often due to weather issues, the number of fish can decline. It’s nature’s way.... It’s natural. I’ve been fishing for Lake Michigan salmon for most of my adult life and operating a charter fishing business on Lake Michigan for half my adult life. Why is it the fishing on Lake Michigan, season after season, remains consistently good? Is it unnatural…
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Photo:More than 15 thousand cranes stop in NW Indiana on their migrations north and south each year. Wild birds are an important part of almost every outdoor person’s enjoyment of the natural world. Whether a person is hiking, picnicking, fishing or just sitting on a Lake Michigan beach, birds will be encountered. For some, the bird will just be a flitting glimpse, a bit of color. For others, perhaps spotting wedge of geese or a storm of swarming gulls is a momentary diversion. Birds are just a part of the overall mix which makes an outdoor activity enjoyable…
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Photo: Shooters at Oakwood Gun Club break clay targets for fun and to hone hunting skills. It’s surprising how many hunters put down their guns at the end of the season and don’t load them again until they are uncased and ready to be carried on opening day the following year. Perhaps in the good ol’ days when rabbits, quail and pheasants were far more abundant a hunter only needed to walk far enough and shoot often enough to eventually bring home some game. Those good ol’ days must have occurred before I started hunting…
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Though many good sized fish inhabit small lakes and streams, when that’s the case, the big dudes are…
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When I was a youngster, few things brought thoughts of wild lands and far off places into my head than hearing and seeing a Vee-shaped skein of Canada geese winging their way south in the fall or heading back to their summering area in the springtime. If I was lucky, I’d witness this majesty two or three times each year. Nowadays, seeing a Canada goose is almost as common as seeing robins in a yard or gulls along the lakefront…
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In rural parts of the South Shore area, it’s still possible to find a farmer or other owner of rural…
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Every year in late winter and early spring the words "the fish are in" spreads among the fishermen who love catching coho salmon in Lake Michigan. What "in" means is the fish are in the shallows, often a stone's throw from the beaches and breakwaters. The "in" also stands for IN or Indiana because it's along Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline the fish show up first and hang around the longest. Here's why…
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Great Lakes salmon and trout fishing started in Lake Michigan more than 50 years ago and Lake Michigan still offers the best fishing and widest variety of these fish of all the Great Lakes. No where on Lake Michigan offers a longer season for individuals wanting to catch their share of these gamesters than Northwest Indiana's small portion of water, at Lake Michigan's southern tip…
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