Horrocks was about 5 or 6 years old when he got his first job at Jones Outfitters. His mom, who operated the “Potluck” deli on Main Street, probably wanted him out of her hair, he realizes. He ended up buying the shop when he was 18.

However, what Horrocks really loves is working as a guide out on the water. He got his license, also at age 18, and traveled the world learning more about fishing and sustainable practices.

“The more I traveled, the more I came back, especially in my later 30s, and just realized how special the resources in the Adirondack Park and particularly Lake Placid are,” he said.

And the more he realized how special they were, the more he felt compelled to preserve it. At the same time, he also noticed a need for better access to Lake Placid among kids. He would talk with his friends’ kids and realized many of them had never actually been out on the lake.

“Some of them even thought Mirror Lake was Lake Placid,” he said. “I’d say, ‘Where’s Lake Placid?’ and they point to Mirror Lake.”

For Horrocks, the dual mission of access for kids and preservation go hand in hand. He recalls being like a “fly on the wall” at Jones Outfitters. Hearing all the fishermen coming in and talking was like getting a free apprenticeship.

“On the water, everyone’s kind of their own tribe, right? Every boat is an island,” he said. “But all those boats had to come in and get a sandwich from my mom’s deli.”

In that convergence of “old timers” with all sorts of different ideas and ways of doing things, Horrocks collected bits and pieces of information. He said fishermen have all sorts of different ideas, but they’re united by one value.

“Everybody came around the table and said, ‘The reason we will have a sustainable population is if we protect the breeding population of these fish,'” Horrocks said.

Horrocks said the Adirondacks have the luxury of relatively sustainable, resilient population of fish. But that doesn’t mean the balance isn’t incredibly fragile. The fish that are of breeding age can be 40 to 70 years old.

“You look at that lake and think there must be thousands of fish,” he said. “But really, there’s like 40 to 60 of those big fish that control the genetics of the whole lake, and have been passed down for 10,000 years.”

Because of this, Horrocks said it’s important to fish in a way that helps sustain this population for generations to come. This might mean hanging onto a few smaller fish to clean and cook up as an experience with your kids, but letting go the bigger fish.

The regulations set by the state Department of Environmental Conservation around fishing vary across the Adirondacks based on each body of water. However, Horrocks’ personal preferences around sustainable fishing practices sometimes go beyond what is stated in the law. And so, his advocacy runs more along the lines of explaining to people his reasoning for various fishing practices.

“There’s no way you can tell people that, make it do what you want, because it’s not law,” he said. “But you can come up with kindness and show them what your reasoning is, and they generally come around to the same conclusion.”

For anyone who might be skeptical about how fun fishing can be, he has a misconception to correct. He thinks some people think of it as a stagnant activity: putting a worm on a hook and sitting around. Instead, Horrocks said it’s a new challenge very day.

“I look at it as a really fluid, dynamic puzzle,” he said. “Every single day, the whole thing changes, the wind, the pressure, the temperature, the season, the hatches. There’s 15, 20, 30 factors that go into my mental picture.”

Horrocks’ first goal is simply to get kids out on the water. He’ll be happy if he can get them to come back a few times and have fun. If they have the knowledge and tools, he’ll be happy knowing they can always come back to fishing as a “mental refuge” when life gets hard.

He also hopes kids will develop an interest in a career in the outdoors, whether as guides or as a stepping stone to other careers, like working for the DEC. In the long term, he hopes more people enjoying the outdoors will translate to more people working to protect them.

“All my goals are for another seven generations,” he said. “There’s always been a tradition of ‘take what you need, but save for the future.’ And you know, winter’s coming.”

To learn more about Ripple Effect, to donate or get in contact with Horrocks, visit adkrippleeffect.com.