Story by Lauren Burkle

Kale Merrill has loved fishing for as long as he can remember. Merrill, a senior, took on fishing at age four with the encouragement from his uncle and father who also loved fishing and brought him along on fishing and camping trips to Decorah when he was younger. Merrill, his uncle Dan, and his cousin JJ took numerous trips to Twin Springs stream in Decorah, hoping to catch some trout.

Merrill describes what he needs to do in order to succeed in his hobby, explaining how you have to take your time and not rush anything. “It’s not always you can go out and just have a great day, you have to put in effort and work, almost try to finesse.” He shares how weather affects the fish greatly, how some clouds can ruin the whole fishing trip. “Sometimes you just can’t catch fish and that’s how it goes,” Merrill said.

For Merrill, fishing with his dad is the most enjoyable. He appreciates all of the fishing and camping trips the two have been on together, including trips to Decorah and Dubuque.  Over the years, the duo has tested their luck with many new trout streams all over Decorah, searching for the best. Merrill said that the three most popular streams for them to visit would be Twin Springs, North Bear, and South Bear. With each of these having fast moving water followed by many great pools, they are great to fish in.

Merrill’s favorite memory from all of these fishing trips was when he was 10 years old. He explained how at this age, he was obsessed with a certain fish, a Muskie because they are huge predatory fish with massive teeth. His father would always ask him before they started, “What are you going to catch today?” Each time, Merrill would answer excitedly, “ a Muskie!” One day at Lake MacBride, after a lot of patience and about 20 minutes of reeling in, he had his Muskie!

Fishing is something that has given Merrill great memories that he will always remember. He says he plans on continuing to fish, as it is a good stress reliever and “helps to get things off of my mind.” Fishing has helped Merrill become more patient, he pointed out that “You aren’t always going to get the results you want right away. But if you keep trying and trying, eventually you’ll be rewarded.”