I fished with Arnold Schwarzenegger

by Mike
(Idaho)

About 12 years ago, just after I learned how to fly fish I went to the Sun Valley, Idaho to go camping and fishing. I was still brand new to the sport and I did not know exactly where to go fishing. Someone told me about a pond that was just north of town and since I was with my kids I thought it would be fun for them.

Prior to going fishing the kids just kept talking about all the local celebrities that were known to live in the area. That list included at the time, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver that we knew about. They really wanted to see some one famous.

So we headed for the pond. Right after we turned off the main highway and headed for the pond you pass by some very nice homes, and we had heard which one Arnold lived in. We all looked at the house and we did not see the Hummer in the driveway. We kept going towards the pond. You have to go up and over a small hill to see the pond and as soon as we got to the peak and saw the pond we also saw a Hummer.

The kids got really excited. At that time there were not very many Hummer’s on the road so the kids assumed it had to be Arnold. Everyone piled out of the Suburban and headed towards the pond while I was collecting all the fishing gear. Soon after that one of the kids ran up to me as fast as he could and said, “Arnolds here, Arnolds here.” I was not sure at the time if I believed it or not.

So I finally headed towards the pond and sure enough, it was Arnold. He was there with his kids and their nanny and they were fishing. Here is this larger than life person trying to help his kid’s fish and his kids were pretty young. Just like your kids or my kids Arnold’s kids also got tangled up a lot, or didn’t pay attention to what they were doing. He would calmly tell them to “do this” or “don’t do that” like fathers do. To Arnold’s kids he was dad; to us he was large than life, a famous actor. He was not the Govenator yet.

Arnold was very personable. We all met him, shook hands with him and talked to him a little. Except for my father Chuck, and he talked to Arnold a lot. That is how Chuck is. Nobody is a stranger to him.

It wasn’t the greatest day fishing ever; we caught some we lost some. But it was pretty cool to stand right next to and meet Arnold Schwarzenegger. He may be larger than life, but when it comes to fishing with his kids, he is just like you and me. Way to go Arnold!