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Steve Sarley

Steve Sarley: The enemy of all fishermen? Stubbornness

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing /

Stubbornness is a bad habit and it’s a hard one to break. Sometimes I think that being stubborn is going to be my downfall – and it often is when it comes to fishing.
One of the biggest mistakes a fisherman can make is to get locked into something because they base their behavior on something they heard or were told by someone rather than learning it themselves. As fishermen, we tend to use the opinions of people we know, rather than using our own knowledge or our personal instincts.

Steve Sarley: The enemy of all fishermen? Stubbornness Read More »

Steve Sarley: Illinois author set the hook with new fishing book

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing /

Remember when there were a lot of booksellers around? Every mall had one or two of them. It seems that most of them have disappeared.
It doesn’t matter much to me anymore because I mostly love to read about fishing and there aren’t a lot of fishing books available. I guess you can find the “how-to” kind of hardcovers and maybe one or two biographies about a famous fisherman or two, but there is not a lot of fishing reading material outside of magazines, for the most part.

Steve Sarley: Illinois author set the hook with new fishing book Read More »

Steve Sarley: Social media attitudes can ‘stink to high heaven’

Featured, Fishing, Hunting, Illinois, Opinion /

I’m a nice guy, I really am. I don’t go out of my way to provoke trouble or arguments. I don’t hurl insults or try to hurt people’s feelings. I try to adhere to the words of an old Jimmy Buffett lyric, “I’m just trying to get by, being quiet and shy in a world full of push and shove.”
That said, I recently turned to Facebook to attempt to gain advice for a problem I was having.

Steve Sarley: Social media attitudes can ‘stink to high heaven’ Read More »

Steve Sarley: A regular angler’s thoughts on forward-facing sonar

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing, Opinion /

Fishing is truly an ancient art. The Lord’s Disciples were fishermen, weren’t they? Fishing was always a reasonable way to put food on the family dinner table.
It didn’t take much to catch fish. Heck, the legendary Lauri Rapala caught incredible amounts of fish using his namesake lures tied to his fingers. That’s right, he jigged his lures without the use of a rod or reel. Fishing became more and more sophisticated as the generations passed and we are lucky to be reaping the benefits of creative minds who have given us some incredible innovations to use in our sport.

Steve Sarley: A regular angler’s thoughts on forward-facing sonar Read More »

Steve Sarley: Illinois’ best fisherman? ‘Jimmy T’ is a top candidate

Featured, Fishing, Illinois, Opinion /

I was looking to do a story on Illinois’ best fisherman for a Chicago-area newspaper that I write for. I was having a tough time coming up with a worthy name.
All of the best-known names seem to have moved away from the Land of Lincoln for what they considered to be greener pastures. The amazing Lindner brothers, of “In-Fisherman” fame moved their operation to Brainerd, Minn., many years ago. They may be the best fishermen who came from Illinois, but they continued their careers in the great white north.

Steve Sarley: Illinois’ best fisherman? ‘Jimmy T’ is a top candidate Read More »

Steve Sarley: Fishing the summer ‘lull’ requires timing strategies

Featured, Features, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing /

The tail end of the summer months offer some tremendous days as far as weather and outdoor recreation are concerned. The weather often runs negatively when we talk about fishing.
What I mean is that we have great weather for a lot of recreational activities but it’s not necessarily great for fishing. It’s nice to sit in a boat and get a tan, but the fish bite really turns off under bluebird skies and gentle breezes. What I am saying is that if you have to budget your available fishing time, then maybe you should pick better times for fishing success other than midday.

Steve Sarley: Fishing the summer ‘lull’ requires timing strategies Read More »

Steve Sarley: Some of my ‘must have’ lures for the tackle box

Featured, Features, Fishing, Gear & Gadgets, Home Page News, Illinois, National Fishing /

I have been told that the lures I tend to talk about are usually the old tried-and-true fish catchers. I even got a letter that accused me, “What’s the deal Sarley, you dinosaur? Haven’t you bought any lures in the last decade?”
Ask Mrs. Sarley that question and she’ll give you the answer because she sees the credit card bills. I buy plenty of lures. I think this is a good time for me to offer a list of the lures that I think every fisherman should have in their tackle box.

Steve Sarley: Some of my ‘must have’ lures for the tackle box Read More »

Steve Sarley: A surprise fish, and a surprise extended stay in the ICU

Featured, Features, Fishing, Illinois, National Fishing /

Remember me? I hope you do. I took a surprise vacation for a couple of Outdoor News issues, but it wasn’t the kind of vacation I would have chosen if I had my choice.
I would have chosen a trip to chase monster fish in either Canada’s northwoods or in Central America, but that isn’t where I spent the last month. I’ve spent the last month in Central DuPage Hospital’s IC ward and in Wheaton’s Marianoy Rehab center, recovering from a stroke I suffered the beginning of May.

Steve Sarley: A surprise fish, and a surprise extended stay in the ICU Read More »

Steve Sarley: Choosing right lure is only half an angler’s job

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, National Fishing /

I’ve spent some time talking about the use of live bait as well as artificial bait.
Personally, I use artificials more than live bait by a ratio of about 9-to-1. I am not averse to live bait; it’s a personal preference. I’m not going to try to convince you to use artificials like I do, so please use whatever you like, as long as it’s legal. That said, I’d like to talk about lures.

Steve Sarley: Choosing right lure is only half an angler’s job Read More »

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