Rebecca Abbud Abbie Adkison Lindsey Ahrens Herson Alfaro Celeste Allen Isaac Alvarado Eric Apgar Lily Armstrong Caroline Arnold Jillian Baber Amy Bailey Mason Bailey JP Baker Marissa Baker Kristopher Barnes Katie Barnett Erica Beaman Matthew Bigham BAITING FOR BUSINESS M ost people dreamed of doing something they were passionate about every day, but James Dillard, a junior social science major, achieved this goal in high school when he worked as a fishing guide and began leading fishing trips. As well as being a fulltime student, Dillard took an average of about three fishing trips with clients each month. "What a lot of people don't realize is they think, 'Oh, you're a fishing guide, oh that is easy. You go fishing for four hours and make whatever amount of money,"' Dillard said. "But I would say for four hours of fishing, I have at least four hours of prep time, whether it is getting the boat ready or cleaning up afterward. There is a lot that goes into it." Dillard became an avid fisher at a young age and took trips with his dad and brother and, eventually, by himself. When Dillard turned 17, he started working for Leeland's Lures, a fishing company in Searcy that also owned Trout Magnet. Dillard said the owner, Jeff Smith, planted the idea of being a guide in his head. "There was not really a structured guide service at the time, but I told him I would like to do this as a career," Dillard said. "He said there is money to be made here. Let's structure this thing, and we can form a guide service."' After working for Leeland's Lures, Dillard began leading fly fishing 136 1 People Junior James Dillard makes one of his favorite hobbies a career trips and guided tours. "If you have never fished before, doesn't matter," Dillard said. "I will teach you how to fish. As a guide, I work for customer service with the customers but I am also a teacher." People came from as far away as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oregon and Canada to go on fly fishing tours with Dillard. "It was not at all what I expected," sophomore Dakota Coplin said. "Instead, it exceeded all my expectations. We fished ... for about two hours and we caught around 60 trout. I would say James is definitely a 'trout magnet."' Senior Nick Doores also went on a trip with Dillard. "James had taken care of everything," Doores said. "I froze the entire time, but we caught about 70 trout that morning. It was above my expectations for sure, since we saw other fishermen on the banks around us reeling in absolutely nothing. I would say that. .. his passion for fishing and his love for people makes James one of the best at what he does." December 2012, Dillard created his own trout fishing company called Tailwater Fishing Company. According to Dillard, within weeks of creating the company, he had more business than he could handle, testifying to the quality of his knowledge and customer service. Jordan Honeycutt
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