Hi, I’m Ron Stoll
Every summer my family would go camping in the Northwoods. My father is a die hard “perch jerker”, and we mostly tried to catch a limit of panfish for the frying pan. This is where my love for fishing began. I grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and as a kid I would ride my bike to the Rock River to fish for catfish and carp. As I got older my focus turned to the pursuit of gamefish, like bass, walleye, and northern pike. I began to explore more local waters, such as the Pecatonica, Kishwaukee, and Sugar Rivers.
During our annual treks up north I would often see the mounts of muskies on display. One morning, when we were in a Hayward, Wisconsin bait shop, picking up nightcrawlers and minnows for our daily pursuit of bluegills and crappies, my dad saw me staring at the mount of a giant musky. I pointed to the musky in awe and said, “That’s what I want to catch.” To make a long story short, he bought me a complete musky set up and I started right away. Luckily for me, we were camping on one of the best musky lakes in Wisconsin. My first time out I managed to catch a 32” musky. Not a big one by any means, but from that moment on I was hooked. I’ve been a musky fanatic ever since.
After a four year stint in the United States Marine Corps, I moved to Normal to attend Illinois State University. I liked this area so much that I decided to make it my home. I recently retired from the Normal Police Department after serving for 26 years.
After starting my career at the police department, I purchased my first boat and began to explore the local waters. I became very familiar with several of the local lakes that contain muskies. I have also always had a love for small rivers, and quickly discovered the excellent smallmouth bass fisheries of the Mackinaw and Vermilion Rivers.
One of my greatest pleasures is sharing my knowledge with inexperienced anglers, and watching their excitement as they reel in a trophy bass or their first musky. Now, after more than 25 years of learning all the ins and outs of our local waters, my retirement has given me the opportunity to share that knowledge and experience with you!