Attention, class: Petros will help you learn
Lake Geneva (or Geneva Lake for those who want perfection) is one heck of a mélange of piscatorial rewards that awaits Chicago-area anglers.
It is a lake where any catch can surprise most who lazily drift their way through a day's worth of sun and blue sky.
But it's not that way for angling mastermind Spence Petros.
Some may turn their noses up at the feats Petros accomplishes, while others know better, simply because he is one of the rare breed of fishermen who can just about figure out any on-water problem and then make the right moves to solve the issues.
For example:
Petros has been putting in five-day weeks on this clear lake with his guiding service. He targets both largemouth and smallmouth bass.
Because he has been fishing this lake for more than five decades, his brain is imprinted with “underwater locations” that usually hold big fish. And he has taken that experience and knowledge and included most of it in to his upcoming annual Spence Petros Fishing Classes.
Petros is one of those rare individuals who is able to transpose the on-water stuff into easily, understandable, down-to-earth teaching when he addresses those who show up for his classes.
The last time I spent a half-day with Petros was on Lake Geneva. I brought along plenty of water, snacks and a good amount of willingness to learn a few more tidbits on how to find bass on a typical bluebird day.
We (he) located a small school of largemouth hanging on a weed edge. Petros suggested we use drop-shot rigs as well as Whacky-Worm setups.
We immediately got into fish. And this wasn't an isolated incident. I've been on the ice with Petros numerous times and we did exceptionally well on panfish.
On one far northern Canadian trip we initially had difficulty finding big lake trout — until Petros made the decision to add considerable weight to our rigs so as to connect with lakers right on the bottom.
The same was true when we searched for suspended, schooled crappies on a local lake. We found warmer water in a back bay and hammered slabs until we decided we had enough action.
I can't begin to tell you how many local anglers come up to me at fishing shows or how many e-mails I get thanking me for turning them on to the Petros Fishing Classes.
These are folks who leave his instruction with a new self-confidence.
For the record, I am not a public-relations hack for Petros, nor does he pay me or bug me every year. I believe I am doing a favor for hundreds of people who refuse to believe we have a fishing bonanza right here in Illinois.
Petros believes, as I do, that local fishing is really hot. And he teaches students in his two different classes how to solve problems with locating fish, using the right kind of lines, learning how to properly read sonar unit, where to find big fish during the various seasons and learning and how to use the right fishing knots.
Too mundane, you might say? I'm just skimming the upper surfaces.
Visit spencepetros.com to register for his classes, or call Petros at (815) 455-7770 to sign up or get more information.
You'll thank me sooner rather than later.
•Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@att.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.