THOMSON, Illinois-- They make that morning commute before mother nature wakes up everyday. The drive in never gets old.
"No, it's hard to pass up, especially on a calm day," says Nick Dickau.
It's calm for now.
"Hopefully we find that big one that's out here," says Dickau.
The bigger the fish, the more money goes into these guy's gut-covered pockets at the end of the day.
They've been fishing for years, pulling up carp, buffalo and sheephead like it's their job because it is.
"Just find some fish somewhere, make some money," says Dickau.
They put nets down, hope something big comes up, then toss it in.
So much for calm.
A carp weighing in at about 25 pounds gets them about 10 dollars. But when you've been doing this for so long, sometimes you get lucky.
They caught a 50 pound fish just weeks ago. That's about $12.50.
In one day, these guys catch about 3,000 pounds of fish, and they take them to the market to sell.
Most fish are shipped worldwide to China, Israel, and Eastern Europe for food. The rest are used locally as fertilizer.
It's just another day at work before doing it all over again tomorrow.