Childhood Experiences Shaped My Love for the Woods, Rivers and Lakes
Me on the Colorado River at age 12
Fish Face takes pride in offering original and unique designs on all our products. After spending several years as a freelance illustrator, Troy decided to give fishing art a go in the mid-90s. Why the focus on fishing and the outdoors? His childhood experiences influenced his love for lakes, rivers, the woods, and the outdoors, and that carried over into a career. Read more in part four of the series.
My first memories of the outdoors can directly be attributed to my mom. My first camping trip was a trip of a lifetime. I was in junior high school at the time and why she decided to do this still puzzles me today. Along with her best friend, Mary, my mom and I did a guided five-night rafting/camping trip thru the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. We had already been vacationing every summer at dude ranches in Colorado, so I guess she just wanted to mix things up? I remember having great weather and great food (the guides cooked breakfast and dinner each night.). I remember we had steak the first night. We were shooting rapids that were big enough to scare me at the time (A girl my age who I befriended on the trip was actually thrown from the boat during one of the shoots. She wasn’t hurt, but it scared the shit out of us.). My mom had a snake in her tent one night. (She hates snakes with a passion!). I have such fond memories of this trip still today, and it was definitely my start to appreciating the outdoors.
I really started falling in love with the outdoors during my high school years in Pekin, Illinois. I had a few good friends who were into fishing and had good private spots to go (catching fish each time you go out helps get you hooked for sure when just starting out). I also started dating Joan during high school, and her dad was into pheasant hunting. He always invited me to go when he was offered a trip to a game farm by one of his business clients. I realize now hunting farm-raised pheasant wasn't much of a challenge but again, when you’re first starting out, having a lot of action (shooting) helps plant the bug.
Growing up in the Pekin area made it easy to fall in love with the outdoors. My family owned 40 acres of land just outside of town. It was just a short drive to the heavily wooded property. The Farm, as we liked to call it, connected to McNaughton Park - 700 acres of beautiful woodland and meadows, lakes and Lick Creek. As a teenager, it was a great place to hike and camp. I'll admit, having own own private, park-like property really helped get me into the outdoors.
The love of fishing was forever solidified when. in my late 20's, my friends John and Doug invited me on a fishing trip to northern Wisconsin. Hintz's North Star Lodge will always be in my heart as a place where I became "all in" on the sport of fishing. The lodge is located on a 1,200-acre sandy lake surrounded by the 220,000-acre Northern Highland State Forest and is ideal for anyone who enjoys Northwoods activities. Take my word for it - you won't be disappointed!
We fished for walleye, small mouth bass and northern pike. During the day, we had shore lunches of fresh walleye, baked beans and fried potatoes. In the evenings, we visited some of the local supper clubs and travelled for more fried fish dinners, had a few beers, played pool and tried to get the locals to tell us a few good fishing spots.
With Joan’s dad introducing me to pheasant hunting, I thought the "Farm" in Pekin, would naturally be a good place to try hunting for pheasant. I wasn't very successful because there weren't any pheasants on the property. There were, however, lots of deer. After several unsuccessful trips hunting pheasant but constantly finding deer, I decided to give deer hunting a try. I didn't really have anyone to show or guide me into deer hunting, so I got myself a Time Life book. I remember when I harvested my first deer. Not knowing how to field dress a deer, I got the book out (right there in the woods) and opened it up to the chapter on Field Dress a Deer. My bloody fingerprints are still on the pages today as I taught myself how to dress this animal.
After a few decades of hunting, I just don't hunt anymore. Not because I don't like it or don’t respect those who do, but I just don't eat that much red meat anymore. And those early years of hunting and fishing have given way to backpacking and canoe trips. Mountain biking and kayaking are also high on the list of the many outdoor activities I do each and every week now.