That's not too brutal.
Ha ha ha
Alright, I guess, let's
start with, give me how this all
came to be, like the
short thumbnail version of how you
came to own a Resupport Top Door.
Sure, absolutely.
Yeah, my colleagues at the time
thought that I was nuts.
So I used to work for UW Credit
Union down in the Madison area, was
a banker for almost
10 years.
And my parents and I,
growing up, our family vacation was
always going to fishing resorts in
northern Minnesota.
And we just kept talking about the
idea. We'd just come up, we'd talk
about it for a while.
We should think about buying a
resort. And we're like, no, we're
crazy. But it just came up enough
times that finally we decided to
start looking and we looked across
northern Wisconsin and northern
Minnesota for a place.
It had a long list of criteria to
make sure it would work and we were
super lucky that Deerfoot was
available when we bought.
And have you regretted that since
then? No.
It's been an amazing adventure.
It certainly had some ups and downs,
but yeah.
But for running my own business, I
never would have left my last
company. It was a great company,
but, yeah, being an entrepreneur and
being up here on the Chippewa
Flowage has been a dream come true.
So you said you grew up going to
fishing camps, specifically.
It wasn't just a resort on the
water. What is it about fishing
camps that makes that special or
different from, oh, it's a fun
vacation?
Yeah, I mean it was definitely a
combination of the two, but
growing up, my dad
taught my sister and I to fish from
the time we were old enough to hold
a fishing pole. We were out fishing
with him.
My mom made sure that that happened
and super fortunate for my parents
in that experience and
teaching us both.
But I think just the memories that
you make at a fishing resort,
at a lake vacation,
it's just so special.
We saw those same people just one
week out of the year.
I still spend time with some
of those people today.
I mean, you just make great memories
and have great experiences,
and fishing is so much fun.
I mean anybody who loves to fish,
just that, you know, set of
the line and the tug on the end of
the the line, pretty awesome, so.
So how important is
walleye specifically to
this flowage and to the lifeblood
of resorts in the Northwood?
Absolutely, it's definitely a fish
that guests will ask about.
They want to know what the walleye
are biting on, what's the latest
walleye fishing report.
So it's something that guests
who book they are targeting and want
to come fish.
And what's I mean do they believe
you or do they know by now that you
know what you're talking about I'm
not just the lady
Yeah, I think so.
So my fish that I
will target primarily is musky,
so sometimes I will defer to, you
know, the local guides or the local
bait shops have great walleye
reports that they put out, but yes,
they know that I have a boat, I
fish, I trailer, I launch, you
know, back the boat, all that good
stuff, so.
But that makes a difference, right?
I think so. For them to come to a
resort like this, you're one of
them. You understand what they're
looking for.
Yes, and we try to be
very well set up for anglers.
So there's electrical at the docks,
we've got a boat launch right on
site, we sell gas right at
the lakeside.
So we knew what we wanted in
a fishing vacation and we made sure
that we offer that here at your
foot.
And we've seen some resorts that
have had to shift more to the family
fun party atmosphere especially
in the middle of the summer is
are there still like the fishing
key or is it just fishing like
seasons or moments?
Yeah, I mean we certainly get
groups and families that want that
party atmosphere.
I mean, we do parties, events,
we'd do live music, we've always got
something going on, but our focus
here at Deerfoot seems to always
be fishing related or fishing
adjacent for sure.
So tell me a little bit about how
you got to know John and Brent.
Absolutely, so a
couple different ways but it's been
fun.
They were guests of Deerfoot, so I
met them here at Deerfoots Bar and
Grill. Brenda's also a
member of Wisconsin Women Fish and
I'm an active member of that fishing
club as well.
And then up at Boulder Lodge,
where they live close to Boulder
Lounge, another resort in the area.
They would be there for drop-in
music nights.
My dad plays live music, so we
would connect in that way as well
How many times have you been out
with them, but you said with your
dad?
Yeah, yeah.
We've taken two other river
fishing trips with John and Brenda,
my dad and I, and it's just always
phenomenal.
It's so much fun, the scenery
is so beautiful,
and tons of action always.
What's the difference between going
down a river that style versus
just taking a boat and zooming out
and finding the spot and using your
sonar?
I think river fishing
is very new to me, but
the main difference that I observe
having grown up lake fishing is
that the river fishing, those fish
know if prey floats by,
it's gone.
So the aggression, like just
the aggressive nature of the bite in
the river is fun.
The spots where they will strike is
often very predictable.
It's just a very different
experience than just floating down
the river too, even Even if the fish
aren't biting, it's quite an
experience.
And picking up a couple while it was
a new thing.
Yeah, I don't
think we caught walleye on either
trip before.
We were targeting muskie and
smallmouth on those prior trips,
but that was fun today.
What is it about, I know it's not
your number one target, but what is
it about catching a wall, how is it
different from some of the other
species where you're like, oh,
that's different. That's a wall.
Yeah, I mean, you can definitely
feel that head tug is different.
The fight is different, sometimes
the bite is more finicky, I
would say.
I think that Walleye
definitely at times requires
anglers to up their game.
Does that make it, is that why it's
unique? I mean is that, I mean
there's a cultural connection to
walleye being up higher up on the
pyramid, above panfish,
and maybe next to musky adjacent.
I think, too, because people enjoy
eating walleye so much.
It's like the trophy, let's bring
it home and cook it up for
everybody.
But there are a lot of delicious
fish.
I don't know exactly the answer to
that question, but it's very common.
That belief is strongly held.
So talk to me a little bit about
what someone like Brenda can offer,
especially your connection to women
fish.
Because making a space for women to
learn and feel comfortable,
it's a very male-dominated
environment. Oh yeah.
Yeah, and that's very important to
me as well, to have a place where
women feel comfortable.
They can come by themselves, they
can come with just their kids, they
don't have to have a man
that comes with them necessarily,
and they can be comfortable here
fishing at Deerfoot.
I think going with Brenda on
the river, one of the things that I
have heard her talk about that
really seems relatable
is that you don't really have to use
huge tackle.
It can be very small, it can
be easy to cast, easy to
throw. You should be able to
fish all day and be comfortable, and
that's one thing that she really, I
think, has changed a lot of minds
of women who thought, oh, maybe I
can't do this.
They absolutely can, and catch big
fish.
One of the aspects that we're
looking at in this is all of the
research that is going at
universities and the DNR and
GLIFWIC and the tribes.
Sure. There's a lot of money.
There's lot of time and effort that
goes into stocking and research.
Is it worth it?
I mean, can it be justified for one
species to put all those
hours and all that money into it?
I think in general, yes,
and there are people who are so
interested in each species that I
think the support is there as well.
But yeah, I think that for
people that come up, there's such an
economic connection to it as well,
I mean we have people who will book
a trip just to chase walleye or
just to just chase muskie, and
if that particular species
is not supported, I mean all
the businesses feel that.
I mean, it's
interwoven into the rest of the
economy.
It sometimes gets lumped with
tourism, but it has its own place.
And directly connected to tourism.
I mean, we're members of many
of the local organizations that help
bring people to the area, and if
the fishing is good, the people
come.
And they hear about it, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, oh yes, yes, and if the
fishing is bad they hear about it
too.
Alright, anything else that you'd
like to add along the lines of what
we were talking about?
Um,
like about walleye or about...
I mean, there's
no right, you don't have to, I'm
just curious, giving you a chance if
you're like, I wanted to say this,
but you never asked about it.
I don't think so.
Totally fine.
Can I get you to say and spell your
name just so I have it correct?
Amanda Wilson, A-M-A-N-D-A,
W-I-L-S-O-N.
And owner.
Yes. Soul owner, right?
Soul owner. You bought out your
parents. Yes, but you still get to
blossom around once you get married.
Yes, and they are still incredibly
tied into all of this, obviously,
yeah, wouldn't be able to do it
without them.
Great, thank you so much, we really
appreciate it. It's nice to meet
you. Yeah, you too.
Yeah, you too. Thanks.