Rock River truly a sight to behold

Over the years, I have been fortunate to fish with many a fine individual. I have fished with trophy hunters from Texas, honeymooners from Pennsylvania and hulking Division-I athletes who, no matter how hard I tried to land the big one, always made the fish look small.

I have fished with moms and their daughters, dads and their sons, husbands and wives, brothers, cousins, couples ... I suppose you get the point by now. What am I getting at here? Well, something really really cool has happened over the last couple years.

See, I pay close attention to conversations I have with potential guide clients when they contact me. I am always looking for tidbits of their life story that will become conversation pieces when we finally get out on that big day of fishing.

You know, little things like what is their biggest fish to date or what’s the most fish they have ever caught on a trip. Also, more obvious things like where they are from and what body of water do they typically fish.

The super cool thing I have been watching over the past couple years is the big upswing of local clients that have been hopping in my boat. It has amazed me over and over again the number of locals who have joined me for a day on the Rock River.

What has amazed me even more is just how many lifelong residents of the area we have here that have never been on this river. People who have lived in the Rock River valley for fifty, sixty – and some even more – years and have not once taken the time to tread Rock River water. I guess that is one of the neatest things I get to do as a guide: I get to be there for that first time.

I wonder often after these trips how anyone could live here all their life and never spend any time on this wonderful river of ours. Oh, I suppose some are just not the outdoor type, and some just never have the time. Some are just happy to watch her flow on by, and some are just plain scared to death to even think about getting anywhere near her. Seems the number one reason is that they have all heard the horror stories of the propeller-stripping rocks we’ve got here in the river.