You’ll find more than just fishing celebrities in this list. One can make a significant impact
on the lives of many without ever being well known. It is important to honor all of
those who had a great influence on the great sport of fishing, whether famous or not.
Corporate advances tend to be much more visible to us. For it’s their products that
shape the evolution of the sport of fishing.
Those We Honor
Sort & Search
Royal Karels
Class of 2016
Through 70 plus year of heavy-duty angling, and with nearly 50 years of formal guiding experience, Royal Karels is a renowned and much-respected fishing legend in Minnesota’s Brainerd-Nisswa Lakes region and beyond. His rare ultra-deep immersion in angling began as a 5-year-old in 1942, with daily fishing at his grandparents resort on Shirt Lake near Deerwood. In 1959, Royal’s fishing and guiding reached many lakes and the Mississippi River. As an early member of Marv Koep’s Nisswa Guides League, and through his present long connection with Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake, Royal’s decades of multi-species fishing- with an enduring focus on bass- have helped promote the angling sport and fishing-related tourism. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, eager to connect youngsters with angling, Royal and fellow teacher-angler Gene Hansen conducted summer outdoor-ed classes for Brainerd grade-schoolers. Along with his open water fishing and guiding, Royal’s ice fishing zealotry has included Brainerd-Nisswa area lakes, Mille Lacs, and Lake of Woods.
