Steve Sarley

I like to think of myself as open-minded and reasonable. Now if you were to ask my lovely wife to describe me, you’d probably get an answer that includes the words “stubborn,” and “hard-headed.” Approaching our golden anniversary and the woman barely knows me! Go figure! In actuality, I may be a little resistant to change.
Fishing is one area that I seem to have many firm opinions on. But one subject that I’ve done a complete 180-degree turn on is that of using fishing guides.

As I write this article, it is Father’s Day. My wife, Joyce, and I are proud to acknowledge that we have three wonderful adult children, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law. We have one grandchild, the light of our lives, 2-year-old Emmy. The sun rises and sets on that little angel.

I’d like to dive a little deeper into the subject of topwater fishing. That’s quite an anomaly, isn’t it? Deeper? Topwater? Ha!
To be honest, I never was a believer in fishing lures on the surface. I looked at topwater lures and couldn’t figure out what they were supposed to look like. It was about 15 years ago when I received a call from Jim Crowley, the well-known pro fisherman and educator from central Illinois.

I ended my last column asking how fishermen learn how to be better in this day and age. Spence Petros, who got me started in this business, doesn’t hold his classes anymore and I don’t know of anything similar. I asked you to help me out and let me know what you think are the best ways for anglers to become better at what they do.
I began to ponder the question and I was shocked to realize that there has never been anything like the Spence Petros Fishing Classes I was extremely lucky to have been a student in.