Outdoor Articles & Tips

Steve Sarley writes a column every two weeks for Illinois Outdoor News. http://www.iloutdoornews.com

Steve Sarley writes an outdoors page every Monday that appears in "The Northwest Herald" and the "Lake County Journals.". Both papers are published by Shaw Newspapers. Steve's column is picked up occasionally by many of Shaw's other papers. These articles can be found online at: http://www.nwherald.com

Here is one of Steve's columns:

Outdoors column for 6/14/2010

I often get asked for names of good guides. The economy is tough, but I think a day with a guide to learn about a body of water is a good investment. Here is a list of a number of guides working Illinois and Wisconsin waters within a reasonable drive that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend for a day on the water. I’ve fished with most of them and have gotten great recommendations for others from people whose opinions mean something to me.

Bob Bott – www.tgifoutfitters.com - 608-781-8808 – This ex-police officer works Lake Onalaska and the Mississippi River in Southwest Wisconsin. A gentle giant, Bott makes even the slowest of days a pleasure with his wit and wisdom.

“Cat” Matt Jones – www.catfishacademy.com - 815-537-5506 – This guy chases big cats on the Rock River twelve months a year. He hunts 10-pound channel cats and 50-pound-plus flatheads with grand success.

Jonn Gramm's Camp Smallmouth River Guide Service - 309-399-7055 Specializing in wading and float trips on the Vermilion River in Central Illinois. Reasonable rates with all gear provided. Especially adept at teaching the finer points of river fishing for smallmouth bass. fly or spin. Over 25 years of experience.

Captain Bob Rossa – www.migratorfishhunt.com - 815-575-4665 – Captain Bob works out of beautiful North Point marina. He is a consummate professional and almost always sends his clients home with plenty of tasty fillets. Captain Bob’s wit and charm is worth the price of a charter alone.

Captain Bob Jenkins – www.challengerfishingcharters.com - 888-427-8262 – Captain Bob runs out of Waukegan and is a double threat. He takes his big boat out for salmon and trout and also runs a nifty center-console craft that is absolutely perfect for perch. Captain Bob is the only charter on the big pond that can get you a limit of tasty golden perch while fishing in a comfy boat that is designed for what you are doing.

Captain Bob Poteshman – www.confusioncharters.com - -888-929-3474 – Captain Bob runs four, yes I said four, boats out of North Point. His customers just keep coming back. His advice to me boated my two biggest Lake Michigan kings I ever caught and they were both within 30 minutes of each other.

Jay Angel – www.jayangeloutdoors.com - 815-739-7030 – A great guy and excellent fisherman, Angel works the noted fish factory, Shabbona Lake. Nothing fancy about Jay, just good fishing at reasonable prices. He specializes in bass, walleyes and crappies.

Captain Mel Christensen – www.fishwithmel.com - 815-678-7051 – If you have a boat and don’t make good use of your electronics, make a date with Mel. He is the best around at showing you how to more effectively use your GPS and sonar. He catches plenty of fish, too.

Dave Duwe – 608-883-2050 – www.genevaonline.com/~dduwe/ - One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He does Geneva, Delavan and all of the lower lakes in Southern Wisconsin. I don’t know any guide who is more patient with kids and beginners.

Eric Haataja – wibigfish.com – 414-546-4627 – This young man fishes all over the state of Wisconsin and catches fish on every lake and river he hits. I watched him give Babe Winkelman a tip or two o Babe’s own show. He has a few secret spots, but it’s said that he makes you wear a blindfold on the ride.

Todd Gessner – www.toddgessneroutdoors - 618-513-0520 – Don’t let his “country boy” appearance fool you. Gessner has a Mensa IQ and is one of the smartest guys I know. He guides Rend, Crab Orchard, Devil’s Kitchen, Lake of Egypt and all of the rest of Southern Illinois’ legendary lakes. If he’s ot available, his protégé, Jason Johns, is almost as good as Todd.

Dennis Radloff – www.sterlingmusky.com - 262-443-9993 – The odds are that the next world record muskie will come from Green Bay or the waters of Lake Michigan that the bay connects to. Odds are also that the fish will be caught by Radloff or one of his clients. Nuff said.

Carl Kaufmann – Carl Kaufmann Guide Service - 815-338-2475 – Kaufmann is equally adept at finding big bass and pike on both Lake Geneva and Lake Delavan. If one is off, the other is usually on, so Carl’s knowledge of both of them gives him a big edge. Carl is great with kids and first-timers.

Captain Walt Koch – www.redrockguidingservice - 815-710-5453 – Captain Walt spends most of his time on Geneva and knows its intricacies quite well. He is also proficient on the Fox Chain and is legally licensed to guide there. He’s a good bass fisherman who uses some very different presentations that he has perfected.

Steve Everetts – Finseeker’s Guide Service - 847-707-1827 - Steve is a licensed captain and my “go-to-guy” for Lake Delavan fishing information. He is the best on that body of water, hands down. For something unique and special, book him for some incredible January and February Lake Michigan action for huge brown trout. Warning! This is not for the weak of spirit!

Captain Ralph Steiger – www.captainsteiger.com - 219 – 688 – 3593 - Lake Michigan is becoming known as a Mecca for smallmouth bass fishing, Ralph is one of the only charters who specifically can target these huge bronzebacks. He launches out of Indiana, so it’s a long haul, but believe me, it is worth the cost of the gas. Five pounders, anyone?

Nick Cammerata – www.muskysucker.com - Are you looking for a trophy or are you looking at catching a half-dozen muskies. Tell Mick and he’ll work to get you what you desire. No one around catches as many ski’s as Nick does.

I don’t profess to know every guide who is out there plying his trade in our area. If you know of someone who you think deserves to be added to this list, please let me know.

Jim Tostrud – www.wildlifevisions.net - Part guide/part fish artist, the incredibly talented Tostrud has a good handle on what’s hot on Geneva. In my opinion, he’s the best at going after Geneva’s huge bluegills and mammoth crappies. Jim is the perfect guy to hit the water with for a dad and a kid or two.

A Plea for Muskie Sanity
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The article I wrote regarding Louis Spray’s record musky caused me to receive more correspondence than anything I have ever written. This letter appeared in The Herald early this month regarding my Jan. 30 column:

“A fish tale gone wrong" contained the same brand of fuzzy logic, baseless assumptions and snide innuendoes that were present in the World Record Muskie Alliance report that attempted to discredit Louie Spray's world-record fish. Sarley made little effort to present both sides of the debate. It also is apparent that he is unaware of the fact that it was the accusations of another Chicago-area writer that prompted John Detloff to begin his investigations into the legitimacy of Spray's fish and other records. Sarley's call for new world-record categories is just what the powers at the World Record Muskie Alliance want: an easy opportunity to get their names in the record book. I would encourage anyone interested in this issue to visit the Web sites of the World Record Muskie Alliance at www.worldrecordmuskiealliance.com and the hall of fame www.freshwater-fishing.org. Read the documentation behind both positions, and then form an opinion. Bob "Butch" Kipka”

Wow! I thought I was being fairly open-minded in presenting both sides of the story! I personally like John Detloff and get along well with him, as I do with the WRMA. As a matter of fact, the World Record Muskie Alliance isn’t very happy with me either. They feel that Spray’s muskie should be totally discounted. They aren’t happy with my asking for dual historical and modern day records. I even have an outdoor writer from a New York newspaper sending me new information and his opinion on the matter.

There is more dissension rearing its ugly head as “The three mathematicians whose investigations were at least partially reported by the Hall of Fame in the recent record ruling – Joseph Gallian, Dorian Goldfield and Doug Arnold are concerned that our work was not fully understood by the Hall, and also by the way in which the Hall chose to communicate with us. We wrote Emmett Brown (Hall Executive Director) about this, but have not yet received a reply.”

None other than renowned musky historian Larry Ramsell is also weighing in on the issue. Ramsell’s sincerity and believability are beyond question. “Subsequent to the decision by the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame to uphold their Louie Spray muskellunge World Record on January 16, 2006, after a protest by the World Record Muskie Alliance against it, I decided to look further into the matter, especially since many of the reasons the Hall gave for upholding the Spray record were identical to what they chose to ignore in 1992, when they accepted an investigation into the Lawton World Record, authored by current Hall Executive Board President John Dettloff, then independent of the Hall, and disqualified Lawton’s record. What I learned was incredibly enlightening. On February 19, 2006, I attempted to make a copy of this 41-page review available to Hall Executive Director Emmett Brown. He declined to accept it. On February 21, 2006, I made this review available to Hall Executive Board President John Dettloff, through another Hall Board member. He indicated that he was too busy with the upcoming Birkie ski race to look at it now. It was at that point I decided to make my review available to the general public.

Ramsell’s 41-page report is incredibly interesting and if anyone would like a copy, please ask for one by e-mailing me at sarfishing@yahoo.com.

Ramsell finishes, “Late on February 21, 2006, I learned, unsolicited, from a confidential source during a conversation regarding another matter, that in 1992, John Dettloff had told him that he (Mr. Dettloff) had tricked the Lawton relatives in 1991, in order to obtain the Lawton photo and correspondence archives from them. While I have considerable information in my file regarding this aspect, I did not include it in my review because I did not have positive proof that Mr. Dettloff did indeed have an agenda at that time, despite the claims of same by Lawton’s relatives. I now believe it to relevant.”

I wrote to the hall of Fame expressing my opinion as to how this matter might be best resolved:

Here is my letter to the Hall of Fame: "I am giving you a link to a story I wrote for The Northwest Herald. At the end, I ask the Hall to establish historical and modern records. I would like a response. I feel that we are in the midst of an excruciatingly serious situation. As a Midwesterner, I am biased in favor of the Hall. I do not want to see the Hall's credibility questioned and I do not want the IGFA recognized as the keeper of the sacred records for fish caught in our area. I also do not want to see individual organizations like Muskies Inc. recognizing their own records. John, I feel that I have been fair and open minded regarding this situation in how I have reported it. I have no agenda either way. I believe your only solution to saving the Hall's credibility, without having to dismiss the Spray fish is to institute historical and modern day records. Please consider this. I look forward to you gracious response." Steve Sarley

I will report further and offer the Hall’s response when I receive it. To me, dual records are the easiest way out of this situation. We get a new record measured and recorded with today’s technology and Louis Spray and the Hall do not have to worry about any future challenges to the long-standing record.

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