Chicago outdoors: Jumbo perch, mulberry time and five salmon/trout species

“Jumbo Jimmy” Baczek living up to his name, Capt. Jason Baldwin winning the Zilian Tournament with five species of salmon and trout and mulberries ripening are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

James Baczek holds a huge jumbo perch caught Monday on reopening day for perch fishing on Lake Michigan in Illinois

Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

FISH OF THE WEEK

James Baczek lived up to the nickname, “Jumbo Jimmy,” bestowed by Steve Palmisano at the late Henry’s Sports and Bait. On Monday, June 16, the reopening of perch season on Lake Michigan in Illinois, Baczek caught five jumbo perch night fishing with soft shells deep at Burnham Harbor. The jumboest perch of all was 16 inches and weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces. So Joe Grega’s yellow perch (2-8.75, caught Jan. 5, 1974 at the old Arrowhead Club Lake in Will County) remains one of the longest standing fish records in Illinois.

FOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, now runs most weeks in the two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Sunday. To make submissions, email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside). or Bluesky (@Bowmanoutside).

BIG NUMBER

The five species of salmon and trout that won the Gary Ziliam Memorial Tournament on Monday.

5: Species of salmon and trout--Chinook, coho, Skamania (steelhead), brown trout and lake trout--Capt. Jason Baldwin’s Top Dog Charters out of Belmont Harbor (charterfishchicago.org) caught Monday to win the Gary Zilian Memorial Tournament. Catching all five is a rare feat, as Baldwin noted, “I did it this year now and once last year and three or four times as a mate and in my 20’s.”

LAST WORD

“The tinge awakes over the willow-tree and the mulberry-tree,”

Walt Whitman, line from section 2 of “The Compost” in “Leaves of Grass.” Mulberry season is here for the picking.

mulberries I&M Canal State Trail — File photo of mulberries on the I&M Canal State Trail.

WILD TIMES

FISH GATHERING

Wednesday, June 25: Capt. Anthony Zimmer of Unlimited Guide Service, “Walleyes on the Fox Chain O’Lakes,” Walleyes Unlimited, Gurnee American Legion, 6 p.m.

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

July 7: Water N’ Kids, Wilmington, Mckenna Capwell, mcapwellipd@gmail.com

BIRD EXHIBIT

Through Sept. 27: “Winging It: A Brief History of Humanity’s Relationship with Birds,”Newberry Library, free, runs through Sept. 27

HUNTER SAFETY

July 17 & 19:Newark, davidpaulinski@gmail.com

Aug 14 & 16: Bonfield, (847) 635-3198

The full state listing is at dnr2.illinois.gov/SafetyEd/SafetyEdClassByCounty