CIO: Catch of the Week

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 113 - 3/25 & 3/26/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from 16-year old Hudson Jones, of Lomax!  

 

 

Hudson's dad, Jason, reached out to show off his son's nice bass that he caught at a friend's pond!  The thing that makes the catch extra special is that this lunker was caught on a bait that Hudson poured himself!  In fact, Hudson started a bait business at the age of 14 - Straight Off The Lake Baits!  He's kept at it over the past two years, and now ships across the country!

 

Hudson joins us this weekend to share the story of his catch, as well as to talk bait making!  

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 112 - 3/18 & 3/19/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Blaine Schnitker, of Springfield!

 

 

From Blaine: "A buddy of mine went out to a lake west of Springfield the other day, and had a great day on the water!  It was cold, but definitely worth it! My big of the day went just over 7-pounds!  Caught it on a Jackhammer.  Caught a couple other bass over 4-pounds that day as well!"

 

Blaine joins us this weekend to share the story of an epic day on the water, and to talk fishing!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 111 - 3/11 & 3/12/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Brian Buchanan, of Springfield!

 

 

From Brian: "My buddy, Stacy Rogers, and I were out on Sangchris fishing for crappie the other day when we saw three big fish go by on the Livescope.  I tossed a jig at them, and then had this beast on the line!  It was quite the fight on a 14' crappie pole!  We didn't weigh her because I wanted to get her back as quick as possible, but I have no doubt she was all of 15 pounds!  By far my biggest striper!"

 

Brian joins us this weekend to share the story of the catch, and to talk fishing!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 110 - 3/4 & 3/5/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Josh Monahan, of Le Roy!

 

 

From Josh: "Struck some Illinois gold out on Clinton Lake!  The fishing has been tough lately, but changed things up, and found a couple of beauties!  These two went 24" & 20", and were released to do their thing as spawning season approaches.   Blessed to be out on a gorgeous day doing what I truly love!"

 

Josh joins us this weekend to share the story of the catch, as well as share some walleye tips and tricks here in central Illinois!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 109 - 2/25 & 2/26/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Nate Urbonas & Kile Yearwood, of Carlinville!

 

 

From Kile:  "My buddy, Nate, and I went out to Sangchris Lake to chase some cats recently, and got a surprise!   We pulled out a 21 pound Blue Catfish!  Sangchris is known for big flatheads and channels, but a blue is pretty rare out of there.  It's only the second one we've ever caught there!"

 

Kile & Nate will join us to share the story of this cool catch, and talk about their passion for fishing!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 108 - 2/18 & 2/19/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Don & Austin Kilgore, of Pontiac!

 

 

From Austin: "My dad, Don, and I decided to take a trip down to the Lake Shelbyville spillway on one of the recent warm February days.   We've made the trip a couple of times, and had some good experiences, but this trip was extra special!  We started out targeting walleye, but soon my dad hooked into not only his first, but also his second,  Muskie!   I had a few follow, and even caught video of a couple as I was shooting for my YouTube channel!  Unfortunately, neither of us had a tape, but we figured both went over 30 inches!  Great trip!"

 

Austin joins us this weekend to share the story of his dad's first two Musky!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 107 - 2/11 & 2/12/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Adam Wilson, of Moweaqua!

 

 

From Adam: "I harvested this deer on November 26th.  We called him the 'Dagger Buck.'   This was the first year we had him on any cameras.  I went out that morning late, but this guy followed a group of five other deer past my stand.  Eventhough I mis-fired the first arrow, I was able to re-notch and get him!  We tracked him, and he circled back into a thicket no more than 50 yards from my stand!  One of the most unique deer that I've ever seen, much less harvested!"

 

Adam will join us this weekend to share more of the story of "The Dagger" buck!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 106 - 2/4 & 2/5/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Chris Corman, of Clinton!

 

 

From Chris: "This wasn't my top target buck of this past season, but it was a great public land split G-2 buck that I couldn't pass up!   I'd seen him a couple times from a few hundred yards from the stand, but then on November 21st I was in the tree early, and caught this guy going to bed late.  I stopped him at 10 yards, and got a double lung hit, but I lost his track in a tall CRP field.  We called in Ron Slifer & his bloodhound, and they found him about 70 yards from where we stopped tracking him.   We're blessed to have a full freezer, and it's rewarding to get a mature buck on public land."

 

Chris will join us this weekend to share more of the story this great public land buck!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 105 - 1/28 & 1/29/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from 9-year old Ryder Agney, of Collinsville!

 

 

From Ryder's dad, Scott:  "This hunt was quite the emotional rollercoaster for us. The morning started out slow and we hadn't seen any deer until 830. A buck jumps out of the creek to our right and a doe comes in from our left and we are quickly surrounded. What's ryder doing while this is happening u ask? Well he's sprawled out on the ground playing with a stick, after I've told him twice before to sit up and be ready. We were hunting on the ground, our butts on the cold hard ground, so there's no time for dilly dally when deer are within 30 yards of us. This buck is closing the gap on us fast while I'm trying to get Ryders attention. He finally sits up and sees the buck that is now standing about 12 yards in front of us. That buck sees Ryder sit up and gets leery and starts to back out of there. The buck doesn't blow or freak out, just leaves. At that point Ryder is heartbroken, he just watched what wouldve been his biggest deer walk away, because he wasn't ready. I did scold him a bit, but also showed him how this is a teachable moment. This is how we learn from our mistakes, and sometimes it hurts.

 

That all went down around 830, let's fast forward to 930 ish. My feet are frozen, Ryders feet are frozen, according to him his toes were actually falling off!  So we decide we have had enough of the cold and I text my buddy Jeremy who was hunting the other side of the property and we are getting ready to call it a day. I stand up, put my back pack on, Ryder is full blown crying because he was still upset about the earlier missed opportunity, I take the crossbow off the tripod and lean it against the tree and I'm trying to tell him to basically suck it up. While all of this is happening I catch something in the corner of my eye. All i can see is a brown body coming through the brush straight our way. I drop to my knees and grab the crossbow and stick it in ryders lap and said "Here comes a deer!" In a loud whisper. This deer was on a mission and when it stepped out behind the brush and I finally got a look at its headgear my jaw must've hit the ground. Because that's when he stopped at approximately 27 yards to our left and just looked at us. Ryder could not shoot yet because the way the buck was standing, he had his face in front of the vitals. Instead of running away, the buck turned and faced straight at us and dropped his head and stretched his neck out towards us trying to figure out what we were. Our hearts are pounding, high on adrenaline, I made the decision and told him "30 yards, shoot him in the chest". I've had luck before with that shot, I know it's less than ideal but I decided it was worth it. Ryder pulls the trigger and sends that 20" bolt right into the deers neck, and plunges a rage extreme broadhead down its throat basically. In 30 seconds we went from actual tears about a missed opportunity on a small 8 point, to shooting a bigger buck than I ever have. When this buck showed up I was in the middle of telling him that in these woods its hours of nothing going on, and seconds can change everything, which is why you have to be ready.  After about 10 hours, and a track with a dog...we found him!  Big shout out to Doug Fink and his dog for finding a buck if a lifetime for a very happy boy and a proud Dad.

 

There's much more to this hunt, and Ryder & Scott will join us this weekend to share more of the story of Ryder's first wall-hanger!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 104 - 1/21 & 1/22/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Austin Wilkins, of Secor!

 

 

From Austin: "A buddy and I had a good night coyote hunting the other day!  We were able to take out six on three sets.  That's the most we've ever had in a night.  At another point in the night, we had seven ciricling us, but couldn't get them to come in.  We target coyotes during the night season to control their populations, and help the population of deer, turkey, pheasant, and other species."

 

Austin will join us this weekend to share more of the story, and talk coyote hunting!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 103 - 1/14 & 1/15/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from the Ferriell family, of Decatur!

 

 

From Nate:  "My family had an awesome first firearm season this year!  My dad, John, got a nice buck on opening day.  Then I got the second best buck I've ever harvested on the second day.  It was a bit of a track, but we found it.  The third day, my stepmom, Nicole, got a good buck from the same stand I was in the day before.  It's the first time we've all got bucks in the same firearm weekend!  Hands down the most memorable hunt!"

 

Nate Ferriell will join us this weekend to share more of the story!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 102 - 1/7 & 1/8/23

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Dalton Johnson, of Taylorville!

 

From Dalton: "A great way to start out the year!  Went out to Manners Park in Taylorville to do some fishing because it was so nice.  I was throwing a chatterbait for bass when I hooked into this massive 38-pound flathead!!  There was ice around the pier, but an off-duty park ranger stopped to help me land it.  Didn't think my 15-pound flourocardon was going to hold up!  Started the year with a bucket list species, and a new PB!"

 

Dalton will join us this weekend to share more of the story!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 100 - 12/24 & 12/25/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from JR Kingsley, of Red Bud!

 

 

From JR:  "I was able to harvest these two bucks on November 11th within a few minutes of each other.  The older of the two we named Dozer, and I've been hunting him for several years.  We have several years worth of his sheds.  The younger of the two, we named Tank.  I was able to take Tank with a 20 yard shot as he was following a doe...just after I hit Tank, and lost sight of him, Dozer came walking in!  I was able to adjust and hit him with a 15 yard shot!  Both were pretty easy to recover."

 

JR will join us this weekend to share more of the story of Dozer & Tank!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 99 - 12/17 & 12/18/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Josh Auxier, of Morton!  This public land 10-pointer saved his season!

 

 

From Josh:  "It has been a long and largely unsuccessful deer season, both archery and firearm, but Friday of second season just before the end of shooting hours my luck changed. I connected on this beautiful public land 10 point! Ended up with a 50 yd shot to close out my season after hunting all day. He was quartering to me and turned his neck to sniff a crossing trail and I dropped him in his tracks. 300 blk pistol with Sierra Gameking 125 gr."

 

Josh will join us this weekend to share the story of the this public land stud that saved his season!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 98 - 12/10 & 12/11/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from the Farris family, of Peoria!  Renee, Gary, and Casey had a very successful firearm season!

 

From Renee: "3 nice bucks taken this year for the Farris' family. Gary and I got ours 1st season, and Casey wrapped up second season with this nice 13 point. To be able to put meat on our table and fill our freezer is beyond a great feeling. So proud of you Casey....you now tie with mom with the biggest buck taken off the property!  It's also the first year that we've all been able to harvest bucks!"

 

Renee will join us this weekend to share the story of their awesome bucks, talk about their family tradition of hunting, and more!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 97 - 12/3 & 12/4/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Chris Clark, of Leroy, and his brother, Matt Clark, of Shelbyville!

 

 

From Chris:  "Still can’t believe it , my brother Matt and I both get our target bucks, less than a mile apart from each other in Edgar County, just a few days apart , 415 total inches between the 2 . Can you imagine the battle over a doe?"

 

Chris and Matt will both join us this weekend to share the story of their awesome bucks!  Both are the biggest they've ever harvested!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 96 - 11/26 & 11/27/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Matt Lamb, of Decatur, and it comes with a lesson...

 

From Matt: "Had to burn my only gun tag on this poor little guy today. Had an arrow in his spine and could not stand up. He was alive when I found him. Shelby county public land.  Where the deer was laying was in a thicket where no shot would be possible.  I’m certain the deer ran off and then was paralyzed."  When asked why he used his only tag, Matt said, "It was the right thing to do."

 

Matt will join us this weekend to tell the story of how he came upon the deer, and share an important message of respecting our natural resources. 

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 95 - 11/19 & 11/20/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from 7-year old Avery Houk, of Bethany!

 

 

From Avery's dad, T.W.: "Proud dad moment!  My 7-year old daughter, Avery, was able to get her first deer!  It was a public land 11-pointer on November 4th from a ground blind with a crossbow!"

 

Avery & T.W. will join us this weekend to tell the story of her first deer, which proved to be a bit of a challenge to track down!  

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 94 - 11/12 & 11/13/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Hunter Wilson, of Macon!!

 

 

From Hunter's Dad, Clint:  "My 17-year old son, Hunter, got his first buck with a bow!  It was a private land 8-pointer, and only his second time ever bow hunting!  The deer ended up dying in about 2-foot of flood water!"

 

Hunter will join us this weekend to tell the story of his first archery buck!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 93 - 11/5 & 11/6/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from 6-year old Gracelyn Roberson, & her dad, Jonathan, of Clinton!

 

 

From Jonathan:  "My little girl, Gracelyn, (six years old) was blessed to kill her first and second deer in one sit. She harvested the Doe at 26 yards early in the afternoon, and then harvested a nice 10 pointer at 32 yards about 30 minutes before dark. She's tagged out!"

 

Jonathan & Gracelyn will join us this weekend to tell the story of an awesome day in the deer woods!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 92 - 10/29 & 10/30/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Kyson Mathon, of Taylorville!

 

 

From Kyson's Dad, DJ:  "Kyson Mathon, from Taylorville, harvested this buck on October 9, 2022 during the Youth Firearm Season.  Kyson's brother, Jaden Mathon, had just passed this buck up in a different stand and told Kyson it was headed towards him."

 

Kyson will join us this weekend to tell the story, and we'll find out if Jaden regrets letting this central Illinois brute walk!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 91 - 10/22 & 10/23/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Reece Waddington, of Assumption! 

 

 

From Reece: "What a day to remember yesterday, October 12th, I was able to connect with this brute of a buck and shortly after punch my doe tag! You're definitely going to wanna keep an eye out on the Team Radical page for upcoming footage and picture! Huge shout out to Madison Thomas for coming out this morning and getting some awesome shots for me! Gonna be a fun rest of the season!!"

 

Reece will join us this weekend to tell the story of a hunt to remember!

 

Submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 90 - 10/15 & 10/16/22

 

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Austin Kilgore, of Pontiac!

 

 

From Austin:  "I was able to get out on opening weekend of archery season, and thankfully able to get this nice 8-pointer!  For the land we hunt, this is a pretty good buck.  I was also able to capture the whole thing on video!"

 

Austin, who's behind the YouTube channel "Adventures with AK,"  will join us this weekend to tell the story of the hunt.  Plus, we'll get caught up on his adventures in the YouTubes as well!  The video of his hunt is at the link:

https://youtu.be/4-DrulZ5JCc

 

Remember to submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 89 - 10/8 & 10/9/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Adam Isaacs & his 6-year old son, Aaron, of Farmer City!!

 

From Adam: "My son and I fished the Clinton Lake Catfish Tournament Series classic the last weekend of September. He landed a 46.88 lb blue to win us big fish on day one. It also the biggest blue that we have weighed in at the Series. That also got us 3rd place.  It is a new boat pb and his new pb!"

 

Adam will join us this weekend to tell the story, and talk catfish tournament fishing!

 

Remember to submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

 

Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" For Episode 88 - 10/1 & 10/2/22

 

This week's Archers Alley "Catch of the Week" comes to us from 12-year old Carson Simpson, of Galesburg!

 

 

From Carson's dad, Tony: "First time at Powerton this past Saturday and with a little bit of coaching and loose drag this is what my youngest managed to reel in off the bank with a 6'6" medium rod 20lbs line in about 20 minutes or so. Saying he was excited is an understatement! Not only is it his pb by a long shot but he's also beaten my pb by a long shot and he won't stop rubbing it in!"

 

It's estimated Carson's new PB channel cat weighed in between 15 & 20 pounds!!! 

 

Tony & Carson will join us this weekend to tell the story of a memorable first trip to Powerton!

 

Remember to submit your own pic & story for our Archers Alley "Catch of the Week!"

 

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