Don't miss the chance to study angling with Professor Petros
I have fished all over North America with some great anglers who have allowed their egos to outshine their prowess.
Don't get me wrong, some of them were pretty good at finding fish.
There were a couple of trips with some southern boys who used to fish the professional bass tournaments. Without naming names, I will tell you both of them came north to fish with me in Minnesota and Wisconsin for smallmouth bass.
Conditions weren't the greatest, but both assumed they could use the same tactics that worked on the southern reservoirs.
Wrong move. Well, maybe sometimes it works, but not this time.
I suggested using a specific type of jig, but one hotshot stuck with what worked for him on a big Texas water hole. The other stayed with a white spinner bait claiming it always worked for him on every lake he fished.
Both of these "experts" kept pounding the shorelines for smallmouth. Both mavens went without a single strike.
I am proud to report that I caught limits of chunky smallies each day we fished. I talked myself blue in the face suggesting they switch to lures that were able to trigger hits for me.
There are pretty good southern anglers who are able and willing to adapt to all kinds of different conditions and locales in the South, but these two were more concerned that other folks on the lake should see them decked out in their sponsor's colors and shirts.
Now we get to the real meat.
When it comes to big-time adaptation on both fresh and salt water, I yield to that old codger, Spence Petros, someone I've known for over 30 years.
I can't say enough about his on-water skills, which subsequently translate into putting fish in the live well.
In all those years, I have learned tactics that could fill a library. I've learned a tremendous amount of information about tying and using the right fishing knots, just to mention one specific area of angling that happens to be important in its own right.
There have been times, when the bites shut off, I looked back and watched Petros go into one of his thinking trances. His eyes become glazed. When snaps out of it, he suggests modifying our presentations - making an alteration on a crankbait, slicing a piece of tail from a plastic grub, or any number of other tricks of his trade that have become hot, proven alternatives.
I've said countless times that Petros is the most intuitive angler I've ever known. He will figure out solutions to issues the normal angler would sidestep but then complain that the bite went dead.
The only dead thing Petros deals with is a big white tail deer he often takes with his trusty cross bow.
As corny as it sounds, this is why I pay homage to this guy every year. This is also why I promote his annual fishing classes. And this is why his sharing of information and knowledge will be the best investment of a few bucks and hours you'll probably ever make.
Those classes start again shortly, and when I drop in there to learn about techniques I can use, I see faces that have been coming year after year. These people constantly tell me they learn something new every session and they would never miss a chance to absorb more from a master.
Petros runs two classes:
• The bass and panfish session starts Tuesday, March 3.
• The pike, walleye and muskie class starts Wednesday, March 4.
Both run for five weeks. The cost for each supper-learning event is $75. Both classes are conducted at Palatine American Legion Hall, 122 W. Palatine Rd.
Call Petros at (815) 455-7770 to register.
If you want to accelerate your angling learning curve, these special events are for you.