Steve Sarley
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Sarley: Making the most of a good nicknameNov 12, 2025 4:34 pm - Sometimes you have to wonder how a nickname sticks to a person. When I was hosting “The Great Outdoors” on CLTV, I was interviewing a local legend named Ed Bohn. I introduced him as “The Godfather of Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Northern Illinois.” The nickname stuck. Everyone referred to Eddie as “The Godfather.” He was proud of the moniker.
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Sarley: Fall fishing can produce some of the biggest fish of the yearNov 04, 2025 10:18 pm - The forecast for the next two weeks ranges from the 60s down through the 30s. I can’t try to force you fine folks to push your limits for enduring Mother Nature’s moodiness, but why not spend an hour or two sneaking in a last few casts for the 2025 open water season?
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Sarley: No more talking the talk, I’m almost ready to start walking the walkOct 29, 2025 10:00 am - A lot of physical activities have been curtailed for me ever since I had my stroke last year. I never had the agility of a ballet dancer, and now my movements are worse than they have ever been.
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Sarley: Why goose hunting is fairly easy to do around hereOct 22, 2025 10:00 am - Goose hunting is relatively easy, and you don’t have to go far to do it, writes Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley.
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Sarley: What makes a good bait and tackle shopOct 15, 2025 9:00 am - I used to dream I could quit my job and open a bait and tackle shop instead. Looking back, I am glad I never did it. Owning a tackle shop is darned hard work.
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Sarley: What makes the Illinois fall trout season so specialOct 08, 2025 9:30 am - The Illinois Catchable Trout Program is funded by the sale of inland trout stamps. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources stocks more than 80,000 rainbow trout each year in bodies of water where trout fishing is permitted during the fall season. An additional 80,000 trout are stocked for the spring season that begins each April.
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Sarley: Leave elitism out of fishing and huntingOct 01, 2025 9:00 am - There is a tad bit of elitism that creeps into the worlds of hunting and fishing on occasion. There’s no place for it, outdoors columnist Steve Sarley writes.
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Sarley: How we were rescued from our fishing excursion on Lake MichiganSep 24, 2025 7:34 pm - This is going to be the end of my saga about my experience at the world’s largest professional walleye tournament. To recap, we had just speared a massive wave, completely inundating us. We were totally soaked and sitting in 40-degree temperatures with stiff winds. We were already late for the weigh-in and had released our solitary fish.
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Sarley: The journey home from this fishing trip didn’t go as promisedSep 17, 2025 5:10 pm - Daily Herald outdoors columnist Steve Sarley recounts a story about fishing on Lake Michigan.
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Sarley: Sometimes even pro fishermen make bad decisions on when, how to fishSep 10, 2025 3:45 pm - When we were last together, I was telling you about my first day at the inaugural RCL Walleye Championship in Green Bay a long time ago. I was riding high and quite full of myself, sitting in 25th place in the amateur co-angler division.