Fishing's fun, but business comes first for Macuilis

Our telephone conversations usually last for an hour or more, and we seem to chat about countless outdoor topics that are relevant to today as well as some stuff we both encountered many years ago.

Bob Maciulis is a very busy person. He and his wife Sue publish the popular outdoor vehicle called the Outdoor Notebook.

The Notebook is the free newspaper you can find in area bait and tackle shops, as well as some grocery stores.

Near the end of our most recent phone communication, I suggested to Maciulis that he join me for a special, one-week excursion to local waters so we could fish, eat a sandwich, and swap lies.

I heard a weak laugh on the other end of the line, but at that very moment I laid out a plan of attack without giving him a chance to say anything or even back out.

"Our first stop will be at a beautiful pond in a housing development in far western Cook County where the bluegills are voracious," I explained. "The next stop will be Bangs Lake in Wauconda for largemouth bass, but we'll attack the lake at night and work topwater frogs.

"Maybe on the third day you'll bring your waders and we'll quietly slip into the upper Fox River and look for smallmouth bass and channel catfish."

I could hear Bob's rate of breathing getting heavier and faster. Slowly but surely I was breaking down his resistance.

Maciulis is a two-person band, in that his wife does the magazine's layout while Bob edits the stories sent to him while also selling ad space and subsequently delivering new issues to the multitude of outlets. And just because he publishes an outdoors magazine, that most certainly doesn't guarantee he'll be fishing all the time.

I continued my off-the-top-of-my head proposal.

I suggested we spend several hours at night hunting muskies on Lake Catherine. I knew I was getting to him. More heavy breathing.

"And if you want a grand day on the big lake, I can call Joe the Butcher and have him take us around the rock piles near Hammond and we'll find some jumbo lake smallies," I added.

I then heard Bob smack his lips.

Macuilis is a tough project. Trying to tear him away from his daily duties is practically impossible, but for well over 10 years we've teased each other about getting out on a local venue and just having fun.

I was running out of enticements, so I dangled the piece de resistance:

"If we play our cards right, you and I can take home 30 jumbo perch and have a feast after a day of perching with Capt. Bob Jenkins, who operates a charter boat in Waukegan."

"I have a dentist appointment on that day," he replied, "and then I have meetings with advertisers most of the week."

Dealing with this reclusive ghost is often frustrating, and yet he sometimes pop into my house carrying the latest issue of the Notebook along with a six-pack of Lithuanian beer. All I have to do is lay out the cheese and crackers so we can both dream of those big ones that got away.

Outdoor notesFrom fishing educator to guide, McHenry's Spence Petros has a wealth of knowledge and stories to share.In a series of phone calls over the last two weeks, Petros documented the fabulous catches he and his customers have recorded recently on Geneva Lake. "Our boat had catches of over 50 bass on several days, and we got most of the bigger fish on drop-shot rigs."Geneva has been red hot for largemouth and smallmouth bass this month. To contact Petros, call 815 455-7770. Here's a glance at the fishing report closer to home:Fox Chain: Muskie action in high gear on Channel Lake, with a very good night bite happening. Walleye activity improved on Petite Lake, while the white bass and crappie activity on Pistakee Lake is very good. Fox River: Sporadic catches of smallies at Batavia and Geneva, while good channel catfish action going on now just below the Kimball St. Bridge in Elgin.Lake Michigan: Montrose Harbor perching decent. Rock and largemouth bass have been showing up in Montrose Street Harbor. At 95th Street, it looks decent for perch and a few smallmouth. Salmon fishing remains strong with trollers working 80-100 feet down out of Waukegan. Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net. His radio program can be heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.