Illinois Bait Shop - Flyway Outdoors

Illinois Bait Shop - Flyway Outdoors

For awhile now we've been writing about bait shops across Illinois.  This series has been enjoyed by many of our readers because it focuses, not only on the small business of bait shops, but outdoor shops in general.  We came across Flyway Outdoors online and with incentive by a friend we decided to check them out.

Flyway Outdoors is an outdoor resale shop of sorts. We have all been there, you walk into a store to buy new decoys and are astounded by the price.  Maybe you can't afford it, or just refuse to pay that much, well Flyway Outdoors has your answer. 

"We sell gently used decoys" said Colton, owner of Flyway Outdoors.  "We have people from all the surrounding states that come and buy our decoys."  Its easy to see why.  As we looked around the shop there was an abundance of duck, GHG, Bigfoot and countless other species of waterfowl decoys for sale.

Open for less than a year in Hanna City, Illinois,  Flyway Outdoors doesn't just offer hunting decoys, they sell minnows, as well as other fishing & hunting accessories. Need to make those beat up decoys look like new? They have a flocking service that can help you with that.  If you would rather do it yourself they have the materials you'll need to help start your decoy project.

Flyway Outdoors is the perfect place to go if your on a budget, just starting off or have been waterfowl hunting for years.  They're always getting decoys in so, make sure to check them out often to make sure you're not missing anything.

If you can't make it to their shop check out their website: flywayoutdoors.org.  There you can shop and get things shipped directly to you. 

IDNR Announces Schedule of Waterfowl Blind Site Drawings

IDNR Announces Schedule of Waterfowl Blind Site Drawings

Drawings to be held for public hunting area waterfowl blind sites

From the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Press Office

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Waterfowl hunters are encouraged to mark their calendars for upcoming waterfowl hunting blind site random drawings to be held at several public hunting areas in Illinois this summer. 

Duck and goose hunters must register in person for waterfowl blind site drawings and must be present at the drawing – held at each location designated below immediately after the registration period – to claim their blind sites. Mail-in registrations are not accepted. Unless otherwise stated, blind allocations for these sites are good for one year. To participate in a drawing, applicants must present a 2015 or 2016 regular Illinois hunting license (no apprentice or youth license) and a 2015 or 2016 Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp at the time they register, unless exempted by law. Applicants must be at least 16 years old by the date of the drawing.

Jim Edgar Panther Creek WIngshooting Clinic 2016

Jim Edgar Panther Creek Wingshooting Clinic 2016

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) working with a variety of volunteers, partners, sponsors and organizations offer wingshooting clinics at different sites throughout Illinois.  This past weekend there was a Youth/Women's Clinic at Jim Edgar Panther Creek.

2016 Jim Edgar Panther Creek Wingshooting Clinic 

Legislative Wrap Up

Legislative Wrap Up

That’s it ladies and gentleman, the Illinois General Assembly ended the 2016 legislative session without a budget. Which means for the second year in a row the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will be operating without appropriations. Legislative members will be called back throughout the summer to continue discussions.

However, that doesn’t mean that fishing and hunting season will be closed. But, we could see more state parks closing due to lack of operating funding. Like all states, Illinois receives millions of dollars a year from the federal government for certain programs so those programs are safe without a budget.

Below you will see just some of the hunting and fishing related bills that were up this session. Included is a brief description of each proposed bill along with the last action taken as of May 31st.