People Who Fish | Dave Michalik

How do YOU wind down after a hard day at the office?

Perhaps with a cold Budweiser or Bud Light. Or if you follow the trends, your libation of choice may be a Bud Light Lime.

You may enjoy a cold one after a long day on the water, too.

But while loyal Wired2Fish fan Dave Michalik of Illinois shares that taste in beverages, popping open a cold beer doesn’t fully allow him to get away from the office. That’s because his day job is in creative services for Anheuser-Busch, putting together the packaging graphics that grace the containers in which your brews arrive.

“The designers do their thing and then I turn it into reality,†he said. He’s built that background with 40 years in the graphics business, the last 23+ strictly for Anheuser-Busch. But his true love is fishing. He was an ardent tournament competitor until the demands of family and work forced him to cut back, but the sport is still a critical element in Michalik’s life.

“I’m still very passionate about it,†he said. “It’s one of the most important things in my life. It’s the way I escape. I read everything I can and watch everything I can to learn about it and escape the pressures.â€

And while he’s not one to jump on the “lure of the moment†bandwagon, he’s a sponge for information and that’s what led him to this site. “If you’re wired to fish like I am, what I see on your site is what I’m going to buy when I go to the store,†he said, doing our job for us by deftly incorporating the Wired2Fish verbiage.

Age:                                                                              57. “I’ll be 58 in January.â€

Born:                                                                         Massachusetts

Residence:                                                    Illinois

Home Lake:                                               “Bull Shoals, but also Table Rock, Norfork and Beaver Lake. They’re all great fisheries. I also love Kentucky Lake and     Lake of the Ozarks can be great in the fall.â€

Favorite Lake:                                          â€œBull Shoals, just because it’s so pristine. There’s not a lot of building and there’s clear water.â€

Dream Trip:                                                 Falcon, El Salto

Favorite Lure:                                           “I love it all, but I’m primarily a spinnerbait and buzzbait fisherman. But I can go into the timber and flip and pitch     no  problem.â€

Biggest Bass:                                              12.95 lbs. Caught at Caney Lake in Louisiana.

Favorite Pro:                                               “I watch all of those guys and they’re all amazing. I learn a lot from them. Probably Kevin VanDam or maybe even some of the older guys like Paul Elias.â€

Favorite Beer:                                           Do you even need to ask?