AZ Big Media’s staff is full of Arizona know-it-alls, and we love to gush about everything we love about the Grand Canyon State. We finally created a forum for our staffers to share the wealth on our “Local’s Choice” feature. This post about fishing in Greer, Ariz. is by editorial intern Jesse Millard. Enjoy!

To escape Arizona’s heat without going through the drastic task of leaving the state, my family and I always head to Greer, Ariz., as a part of the last hoorah of the summer.

Greer was a foreign place at first. The hills rolled, the trees were green and deer roamed freely without a worry. For someone who grew up in metropolitan Phoenix, these were all signs that I might be in another state. The best part of the Greer was the fishing; the cold waters were always filled to the brim with an array of trout.

My family would go along the Little Colorado River that wound through the valley and find a cool spot in the shade to drop our lines and watch the water flow as we pulled the string of the line, trying to entice a catch. After some time, we’d catch rainbow trout that would bring new meaning to the words freshly caught.

If the river wasn’t a good enough place to go fishing, there were still plenty of opportunities to get a fresh catch of the day. Sometimes we’d head to one of the reservoirs, either Bunch or Tunnel, and sit down along the shores and cast out.

Fishing at the reservoirs was much more relaxing. The line does the work for you, so there was nothing to do but talk and watch nature.

And after a full day of fishing, and the rain clouds came in, we’d spend the rest of the day listening to the rain and enjoying a lunch of freshly caught fish.