Welcome to Captain Darrell Baker's
Midwest Fishing & Hunting Guide Service
Specializing in fishing, hunting and ice fishing guide trips in Northern Illinois on Fox Chain of Lakes
Southern Wisconsin on Lake Geneva, Lake Delavan and other Illinois / Wisconsin border lakes
for musky, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, crappie, bluegill and panfish
and also on Lake Michigan for salmon, trout and perch.

Memorial Service for Captain Darrell Baker

From Steve Sarley - Outdoor Experience

For the many who have written to me to inquire, we have a definite date and plans for a memorial service for legendary fishing guide, Darrell Baker, who recently passed away at a far too young age.

The memorial will take place on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at Barnacle Bob’s, located at 42125 North 4th Avenue in Antioch, situated on Lake Marie. The short service will begin at 10:00 a.m. The service will be held outside and we’ll have a big tent erected in case the weather looks chancy. Plenty of parking is available. The location is exceptionally appropriate because Darrell grew up on the Chain and it always was his favorite place to fish.

Darrell would come back to haunt me if I helped turn this memorial into a religious event, so we won’t be doing that. It will be simply a gathering of some of Darrell’s friends, family and clients who would like to do something to remember him. Anyone who attends is certainly welcome to stand up and tell a story or recall a favorite memory of the man.

I have over 25 hours of taped interviews with Darrell taken from my weekly radio show and may bring five or ten minutes worth so that we can hear his friendly voice again.

Thanks go out to Tom and Claudia from Barnacle Bob’s, the place where Darrell usually met clients and launched from when he guided on the Fox Chain. I’d also like to thank Danny and Beth Tischler, Scott Schaeffer, Dave Burba, Darrell’s daughter Corey, and his ex-wife Darlene for their help and support in putting the memorial together.

A guide for over 30 years, Darrell Baker fishes Northern Illinois on the Fox Chain of Lakes and Southern Wisconsin Lakes including Lake Geneva and Lake Delavan (plus many of the other Illinois  / Wisconsin border lakes) for bass, crappie, northern pike, walleye and muskies and Lake Michigan for salmon, trout and perch. Captain Darrell produces remarkable catches where no one else can and is as unassuming and nice as you will every meet.  Just recently, he has begun to receive recognition by other top-notch anglers for his amazing angling skills.

Hall of Fame angler Spence Petros says, "Darrell maybe one of the best fishing guides for Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois lakes and is definitely one of the best-kept secrets for fishing these bodies of water. Best of all he is a great teacher of fishing techniques used on these waters."

Darrell has been fishing the Fox Chain of Lakes in Illinois for many, many years along with many southern Wisconsin lake including Lake Delevan, Lake Geneva and other southern wisconsin waters.

As one of Darrell's fishing clients once said, "Darrell is the kind of guy one can't help but like; he's affable and very easy going.  He's a natural on the water; especially on his beloved Illinois Fox Chain of Lakes and Southern Wisconsin water like Lake Delevan, Lake Geneva and many other smaller area lakes".

About Your Northern Illinois / Southern Wisconsin Fishing and Hunting Guide:  Darrell grew up in the northwestern corner of Lake County, Illinois, affording him ample opportunities to fish and hunt.  Growing up in this environment as a youngster ignited a life long passion for the outdoors.  Darrell was lucky enough to be tutored by the best guides and pros in the Midwest, which has vastly improved his outdoor skills and wisdom.  He is a rue water man and normally spends two hundred or more days per year finding fish or waterfowl.

Darrell has fished and hunted from the Arctic to well below the Amazon River.  He has been nicknamed, “Jerimiah Johnson”, but perhaps the best fitting description given to him was by his close friend, Jerry Nelson.  He simply calls Darrell the “Fishing Machine”.  Besides guiding, Darrell was a high school science instructor and part time junior college science instructor. Darrell has two children, Brian and Corey.

Some of Darrell’s Accomplishments include:  Being featured on ESPN, Outdoor Wisconsin, Midwest Outdoors and several other outdoor T.V shows including Cabela’s Sportsman’s Quest.  Darrell has also appeared in publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Sun Times, Illinois and Wisconsin Outdoors, Midwest Outdoors, The Keynoter, The Bahama Gazette, The Nome (Alaska) Nugget, The Daily Herald, Kenosha News and the Northwest Herald.  Darrell does local and national outdoor TV, radio and publications on a regular basis, with up to date, timely information.

Darrell has been able to fish, guide and participate in tournaments from the Arctic Circle to the Amazon and beyond.  He has won numerous tournaments in the past including the prestigious, Hemmingway, Brown, The “Big One”, Cohorama, Salmarama, The Pepsi-Cola Chain-O-Lakes Derby - first in eight divisions in five years!  His credits include dozens of other local smaller events that have been won by him.

Darrell has been or is on the Pro Staff of several prestigious tackle companies including: Grandt Rods, Stren, Lurh Jensen, Fish Hawk, Cortland, Lindy-Little Joe, Normark, Cubby, Diawa, Yar Craft, Mercury, Hi Jack Flies and Jigs and Minn Kota.

About Your Northern Illinois / Southern Wisconsin Fishing Trip

Close your eyes for a moment and visualize a fishing trip to a body of water in Northern Illinois or Southern Wisconsin where you can catch a thrity five pound musky, boat one to five pound walleyes with ease with an ocasional six to ten pound fish to raise the blood pressure, catch two hundred or more panfish in a mere four hours or less, fight with two to ten pound catfish all day long.

For flavor, throw in one to five pound large and smallmouth bass, kaamikaze white and yelllow bass (we call them piranhas!).  All of this within easy driving distance of Chicago, Milwaukee, and the northwest suburbs.

Indeed you say! No Way-No How-Not Ever!

Well the secret is out sports fans.  Thanks again to no nonsense, aggressive regulations and fisheries management, Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconisn now enjoys one of the very best multi-species fishing destinations in the Midwest.  State creel censuses verify that this bonanza for variety is most likely occurring much closer than you ever imagined.

Major tournaments have and are being scheduled for walleye, musky, bass and crappie.  Fishing pros from all over the USA are becoming more and more visible in this species on these diverse lake systems.

Darrell is also a regular guest on local radio programs, like the Outdoor Experience with Steve Sarley and Chauncey's Great Outdoors on ESPN AM1000.

Don't forget to check out Darrell's Canadian fishing trips for a canadian fishing trip of a lifetime. 

Darrell also offers ice fishing guide trips throughout the winter on the Fox Chain of Lakes in Illinois and Lake Delevan, Lake Geneva and other Southern Wisconsin lakes plus Water Fowl hunting for ducks and geese in the fall.

Don't forget to ask about Captain Darrell's
No Banana On The Boat Policy

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