Royal Karels has been a fishing guide in Brainerd Minnesota for over fifty years and the Gull Lake Chain still remains one of his favorite lakes to fish in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Royal started his Brainerd fishing guide career at one of the most famous fishing guide services in Nisswa Minnesota, the Nisswa Guide League. Royal fished side-by-side with some of the most legendary names in Minnesota fishing guide history. These Brainerd fishing guides were pioneers in the fishing industry and included fishing greats like; Al and Ron Linder, Gary Roach, Marv Koep, and Babe Winkelman. Many of today's modern fishing techniques originated in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Although Koep's bait shop, and many of the shop's original fishing guides, have long since disappeared, the legend of the shops and the names of its Brainerd fishing guides live on in the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame. Royal was inducted into the MN Hall of Fame as a legendary Brainerd Fishing Guide in 2016. Royal Karels is the oldest still-active fishing guide in Brainerd, MN. He has guided thousands of families and groups on Gull Lake over the years. Few Brainerd fishing guides have accumulated as many hours on the water as Royal. He truly is a treasure chest full of knowledge. Royal has probably forgotten more fishing spots than most anglers will ever know.
Give Royal a call. You will be glad that you did. Royal is one of the great Brainerd fishing guides. He is patient, funny, and great with groups of all ages. He will provide all needed fishing equipment for a great day on the water. Royal likes to fish Gull Lake because walleye, bass, crappie, and northern pike are all present in the lake but he prefers to fish bass in his later years simply because of their vast numbers and how easily they can handle catch and release fishing practices. Royal also fishes multiple other lakes in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Some of these hidden gems only have names like; Stump Lake, Loss Gravel, and Lake X.