To put things in perspective. Chi-Town has both hunters and fisherman and lots of them. The problem is there are lots of them in a relatively close area. The further you get from the big cities the better the hunting and fishing. Deer hunting in Illinois is tough the closer you get to Chicago. If you don't own land to hunt on, you will have to rent/lease it, like 1200-1500 for the season. Shotgun season is two weekends, first weekend is 3 days (Fri-Sun), second weekend is 4 days (Thurs-Sun). Always falls on the weekends before and after Thanksgiving, not the weekend right after Thanksgiving, but the weekend after that. You can hunt some public lands, however get in line. Literally, the day of the hunt you need a permit, and you wait for a drawing.
Archery season is a better option Starts Oct 1st and ends mid January, only closed during Gun seasons for deer.
Used to be a Muzzle-Loader only season, and a pistol only season for deer as well. Plus youth hunts.
Now if your talking bird hunting, that can be great.
If you want to fish during hunting seasons, check with your fishing location. Each is different, some are closed during water fowl season, and deer season, some are open half days, some are open to bank fishing only.
As for the deer, hard to beat corn feed dear. They get big, and taste great. Not like those skinny little runts you got down south. :biggrin
Fish size depends on where you go. Generally the warmer the weather through out the year the bigger the fish. Generally the less populated areas have less fishing pressure and also have big fish. Farm ponds or old strip mines are the best.
There are plenty of Sportsmen Clubs in the state. Once you figure out where your going, search for the local clubs and see what they offer. Some aren't cheap.
That ought to get you started. :juggle
