I have so many great memories of time spent with Darrell Baker. I watched in awe while fishing for perch on Lake Michigan as he reeled in fish after fish, feeling the lightest of bites that my insensitive hands could not detect.

I recall fishing with him one time on the day after Thanksgiving. We had to chip ice and shovel snow from his boat to get on the Chain. The wind was foul, the temperature freezing, a bad sky and a bad moon the night prior. I figured there was no way we could catch fish. Of course, Darrell put us on some nice walleyes.

Some of our trips were memorable for reasons other than success. We once spun a prop off of his motor and had to be towed in while it began to snow. The stories I heard made the trip valuable.

I wish I was a more eloquent writer than I am. There are often some things I would like to tell you about in beautiful, near-poetic language, but find myself unable to do so.

I guess I will just have to state it plainly: my good friend, Darrell Baker, is dead.

Darrell was a friend, a constant source of information, a huge supporter of mine and a valued fishing companion.

I tried calling Darrell on Aug. 8 and found his voicemail inbox to be full. That is not odd for Darrell. I sent him a text message. He always responds quickly to those. Not this time. I called again and again and sent a couple more texts. No answer came. I tried again a number of times on Aug. 9 and still no response.

I knew that we would speak on Aug. 10. Darrell is a weekly guest on my WIND AM-560 radio show. We spend a segment talking about current conditions or talking about techniques. Darrell’s segment was very popular. We tape the segment every Wednesday afternoon at 3:45. If I don’t call Darrell on Wednesday morning before noon, he invariably would call me to ask, “Are we on for today?”

But Darrell didn’t call, his voicemail was still full and he did not answer any of the new texts I sent him. I was perplexed and concerned.

I called a couple of Darrell’s friends that I knew and they hadn’t heard from him either.

I knew Darrell lived on a rural road outside Antioch and got in touch with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which sent a cruiser to Darrell's house.

Ninety minutes later, my phone rang. A deputy identified himself and began asking me questions about my relationship with Darrell and about any health issues he may have had and any medication he was taking. I was confused and asked him to explain why he was asking me all of this. He then told me that Darrell was dead.

They found Darrell in his easy chair, slumped over with the television still on. He apparently died quickly and painlessly. The deputy told me that my friend had been dead for between one and two weeks. I told him that I had talked with him late in the afternoon just a week ago.

The deputy asked me about next of kin. Although I considered Darrell a good friend, I realized I knew little about him personally. I assume his age was approximately 58, but he’d never tell me, just say that, “I am as old as dirt.” I was aware that he had an ex-wife, a son and daughter, and a brother in Montana. I was able to come up with a name and city for Darrell’s ex and gave it to the officer.

I began to think and realized that in addition to knowing little about Darrell’s private life, I really didn’t know who his friends were. I notified Julie Von Bergen from the Outdoor Network who was astonished. Jim Grandt from Grandt Rods was totally shocked. Danny Tischler could scarcely hold back tears. I made a list and was only able to come up with a handful of others. I realized that most of Darrell’s personal relationships were with his guide business clients.

He guided for more than 30 years. He had an exceptionally loyal client base. He spent time on the water with clients as much a teacher as a guide. He loved fishing with children and teaching them the ways of the sport. Danny Tischler, a longtime friend and client, once told me, “My kids love that man so much that they call him ‘Uncle Darrell.’”

Darrell Baker was not an angel. He was merely a terrific fisherman and one of the best guides I have ever had the experience of sharing a boat ride with. After a day on the water with Darrell and me, former Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker told me about the man he called “his brother": “This guy isn’t just a fishing guide, he is one of the smartest people I have ever met.”

He was extremely modest. I never heard him use the word “I” – it was always “we.” He downplayed his fishing skills by saying he was “just a good boat driver.” I heard him say many times that “I didn’t write the book about fishing, but I am honored to say I may have contributed a paragraph or two.”

Whether he was on big water or small water, Darrell had an uncanny knack for finding and catching fish.

Darrell Baker was once the top charter boat captain on Lake Michigan in the “glory days.” He racked up wins in most of the big pond’s most prestigious tournaments.

He owned a company that invented and patented a number of fishing tackle products that were quite innovative, including an aerosol scent to spray on fishing lures.

Darrell ran an Alaskan fishing camp. He was struck three times by lightning. He fished as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Amazon River in Brazil. He loved fishing in all of Canada’s provinces, but he held a special spot in his heart for Northern Illinois’ Fox Chain, the body of water he grew up on. Darrell led a more than full fishing life.

I wish I would have gotten around to writing a book about Darrell’s life, but this column will have to do.

Darrell was a true friend. I always enjoyed talking to him and seeing him. He was a big supporter and promoter of this column and my radio program. He tried to help me in any way he could.

I am proud to say that Darrell Baker was my friend and I will miss him terribly.

• Steve Sarley is the host of "The Outdoors Experience" radio show Sunday mornings at 5 a.m. on WIND AM-560. The show can also be heard anytime at his Web site, www.oexperience.com. Contact Sarley at lcjedit@lakecountyjournal.com.