So long, Delmer
Delmer Shoults, who guided on the Lower Illinois River for more than two decades, died Saturday.
Delmer Shoults loved catching big stripers on the Lower Illinois River. And he loved helping others catch big fish there, too.
Shoults, a legendary fishing guide on the Lower Illinois River below Lake Tenkiller, died Saturday at his home in Sallisaw. He was 69.
Shoults started guiding customers to big stripers on the Lower Illinois River in 1986.
“He stayed busy all the time,” said Shoults’ widow, Mary Ann. “We never took a vacation.”
Spending a day on the Lower Illinois River was a vacation for Shoults. He would fish from dawn to dusk whether the fish were biting or not.
“Delmer Shoults was the happiest person in the world when he would be on the river with a fishing pole in his hand,” Mary Ann Shoults said.
Many anglers have caught the biggest striped bass of their life while fishing with Shoults, who liked to bait his rods with rainbow trout to entice those monster stripers that would flee the Arkansas River in the hot summers for the cooler waters of the Lower Illinois.
Funeral services for Shoults will be Thursday at 11 a.m. in his hometown of Broken Bow at the Assembly of God church.
The Bunch-Singleton Funeral Home in Broken Bow is handling the funeral arrangements.
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Comments
HE WAS SURELY A LEGEND AND A GREAT MAN TO BE FRIENDS WITH.I AM PROUD TO SAY I KNEW AND FISHED WITH THE BEST THERE EVER WAS.
Delmer Ray was always so kind to me, a younger cousin, whenever we were together. My parents, Dale and Wilma Bunch, thought the world of him. I can’t be there for the funeral but he is certainly in my thoughts. He was so much support for us when my mom died. I’ll always remember his smile and that little sparkle in his eyes.
I remember fishing with Digger when he was a teenager,he and my brother Bob were babysitting me. We had many good times back then but one I remember was slipping into hamiltons pond to catch big bass,the owner chased us and delmer picked me up carried me and out ran him just barely getting away,(mama never knew) next week they they took me back again. over the years I could write a book of stories but for now their my precious memories
I would like to express my thanks to everyone for your kindness and prayers; I too miss my Daddy greatly.
We just heard the sad news of Delmers passing. We will miss him tremedously. We especially looked forward to him joining us every year at the Friends of the National Rifle Association banquet in which he always donated a fishing trip on the lower Illinios River to a party of two. He was a loyal supporter of the second amendment. I also recall in fond memory of a trip when he joined us at our place in Clayton to go turkey hunting, we enjoyed that trip so much. We fished some ponds and caught some much smaller fish than he was use to catching, we caught lots of perch and fried them up for supper and he seemed to enjoy them more than he might have a large steak. Also, when we would join him on those ever so fun trips fishing for those large stripers on the Illinois River we will always remember him and the good times he showed us as well as that sparkle in his eye as one of the cousins mentioned in an earlier comment. To his family we want to express our deepest sympathy and know that our prayers will be with you and please remember we are here for you if you ever need us. Love from the Payne’s
We lost a great man. He will be deeply missed.