This week's "Catch of the Week" comes to us from Ed Cross, of Pana!

 

Ed tells us his story of perseverance in harvesting his first ever deer at the ripe old age of 37!

 

 

From Ed: "This deer was harvested on our farm on October 3rd, 2020. This was my first successful harvest. While I grew up in Central IL with ample opportunity to hunt on the family farm, my interests were elsewhere for many years. Since moving back to Illinois in 2009, I've had the itch to get into all manners of hunting, I.E. deer, turkey, upland, waterfowl, etc. I really started getting into archery hunting three years ago, and last year I did shoot and hit a buck, but was unable to locate the deer after a lengthy search. I'll admit, I was greatly disappointed as I thought I'd had a clean and ethical kill shot that day, and to come up empty handed on my first harvest on a rather large buck. Fast forward to a year later, I was able to put down a respectable first deer on the 3rd day of the season. Being able to say I finally did it, at the ripe age of 37, was a great feeling. To see my daughter's reaction to it, and to spark their interest in hunting, further added to the memory. The jerky, sausages, and timber to table cuisine since then has been a blessing as well."

 

Ed will join us this week on Central Illinois Outdoors to tell us the story!

 

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