Living Our Purpose: Fishing for Clean Water

By Cyn Whitfield, Senior Marketing Specialist

Dakota Rector’s love of fishing began at an early age. “I started fishing with my grandpa when I was a kid,” explains Dakota. “We would softly wade up to a spot trying not to disturb anything around us as much as we could. The goal was for the fish not to know we were there. That’s when I really learned to appreciate what we were doing.”

“As I got older, my fishing addiction got stronger.” By the time he graduated from high school, Dakota had 12 freshwater aquarium tanks scattered throughout the family home. He says it was a great lesson for life, “It’s like creating a team. I started paying attention to what kinds of fish liked to live where and what they liked to eat. You learn to put the right ones together to do their own thing in a community.”

“When I started working for TREKK, it didn’t take long to see how much of an impact we could make on the rivers and streams around us. It makes me proud of what we do for our communities⁠—providing clean water, safe roads and IMPROVING LIVES.

The best part is now I have my own little one to teach and pass my love of fishing onto like my grandpa did for me.”