Somewhere in Lake Superior this giant lake trout is waiting to be caught again. Schroeder’s Darren Peck hooked this giant when he was fishing with Dick Nelson. Dick often takes people fishing with him when he plies the waters of Lake Superior in his boat, “which has no amenities.” Nelson has dubbed his fine fishing craft, “Free Loader’s Charter.” As for Darren, few fishermen know the north shore waters of Lake Superior like he does. Nelson said Darren suffers from “clinical fishing illness,” among other strange fishing related maladies. Photo courtesy of Dick Nelson
Captain Darren Peck is the owner and operator of Tofte Charters. Unless it is a stormy day, he is usually booked solid, mornings and afternoons, taking people fishing seven days of the week. So what does he do when he does get a free day?
“You wouldn’t believe it but if Darren has any time off at all and it’s nice out, he calls me up and wants me to take him fishing,” said Dick Nelson. “I don’t know what you would call it, but it’s like he’s got a fishing derangement syndrome, something like that anyway,” said Dick, who couldn’t stop laughing as he retold their latest fishing adventure together.
When the two of them get out on the water, said Dick, “I make him drive the boat. He thinks I drive too slowly anyway. He knows where he wants to go, so he drives.”
On Friday, September 20, a honey of a day, Dick’s phone rang and it was Darren on the line, coaxing just a little, angling for a way to get Dick to take him fishing. “When we got to the location Darren wanted to fish, we fished. It didn’t take too long before Darren had a big lake trout on. When we got it into the boat Darren said it was a female full of eggs. He held it up for a quick picture and then he returned it to the lake. It was a beautiful fish, and the largest Darren has seen all summer, despite his non-stop charter fishing.”
To be fair, when Darren takes people fishing he doesn’t fish, his clients fish. As for Dick, he said he enjoys his time with Darren. “He’s a great guy and he certainly knows how to catch fish. He’s a good sportsman and he’s really built up his business. But let’s admit it. When most people get done working they don’t pursue their work for pleasure. It’s fishing derangement syndrome, I tell you, and Darren’s got it bad.”
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