Let's let's start by tell me like how how did you start you grow up fishing? Yeah?
I I grew up fishing when I was little
I
This night sound weird here, but I grew up as soon as I come out hung out with my mom from two years old
I was fishing like I said we went to a pay lake a normal or
Pay lake that was run by some friends that you paid eight dollars a person to go fishing
You catch four catfish, and you want to pay another $8 you get another four more and I did that all through junior high up to
High school just fishing and that's all I knew was get my ride ready get my big bobber
I got to go get some worms
I got to go to the creek and get some minnows and oh I got to get this kind of meat to do whatever so to go catfishing
You know every Friday night. It was a basketball game or football game, and I I wouldn't know nerd or nothing
I just chose that I rather
Go home after the game
Get some sleep and I knew I was ready to go fishing at five o'clock, and I wasn't driving it
So I'd be up at four thirty five o'clock waiting for it to get closer to six. I can say let's go
I need to just get to the lake get a good spot, and I just loved it, and I just think at that time
Gangs have been getting really bad in the town of Joliet and
I think that's what made us save me and bless people and I wasn't running around with friends and gangs on it
Which I had no problem with them, but that's the choice. I
Wanted to go fishing I want to go hunting I want to do something not that I want to have fun
And that was my fun. That was my thing so from that age from two three years old till to this day right now
I'm slowing down now come a little older, but I still love it. I'm I still give it but
And then the challenge for me for fishing was I can catch catfish and catch a bluegill
That's kind of easy, you know, and I come to the state of Wisconsin
Everyone's talking walleye is the best eating fish. What the heck is it? I've heard of them
I've seen them in books, but I've never caught one myself
So I go to Minnesota with a guy and he said are we going to jiggin mental as I was saying earlier. I
Jig put a mental in there throw it down. I felt something, but I didn't I'll start stroke
I didn't set the hook
I didn't know bring it up no mental and I was getting frustrated like I gotta learn how to do this
So I got jigging down so I'm like, all right
I can jig with the best now after a few years learning this dad and other and then you hear it about trolling trolling
Shatter apps and crankbaits
Well, how do you do that? How do you know how much lying to put out or do this or that or when do you do it?
So I was fortunate enough to go out in the Mississippi River in Elmo, Wisconsin
For years and I knew a local guy down there
Gamely good friends with him and he
offered to take me on his wing to take me to a couple
fllw national walleye tournaments as a
Co-angler and help out with gas and hotels and stuff like that
So I went with those guys and so I was a guy in the boat
Helping with things and it was showing me how okay this and what's lying to so many feet
This is that and how to put planar boys on I've never seen a planar boy for my life
I don't know what these are so I learned how to do that
And that was one thing I wanted on how to do is troll so then I got pretty good at trolling
But still not master the way I want you, but okay, I could I could make it and
Then one tournament down the Mississippi River I was fishing just a local little tournament and the big tournament was going on the same time
and I run into my buddy Joe Carter like a brother to me now and
We passed boats and I kid you now
We were only about four feet apart when we're going this way and I kind of looked at him and like okay
I got talked to him. He's doing something. I want to learn how to do and
And so I didn't get to see him after the tournament
But I ran into him at another tournament a big tournament as a co-angler and I say man
I want to talk to you and he's okay, and then we
We got away from each other and here's months go by again and I ran to each other another tournament and
This story is kind of funny here, but I had took six place of the NWT tournament
I was excited and my partner traveling partner at the time drove off and left me at the boat landing
I'm in Detroit, Michigan with no ride nobody. I'm just gonna check in my pocket and it's raining
And I'm calling and calling calling his phone is dead. So now I'm like man. I don't have no ride
I don't know nobody
Let me see if I can find that guy I seen in the Mississippi River
And so I ran into him and he was in his car and he was sick
He had but he called a gout. So he was in a lot of pain and this raining
So I come up to the door and bang on the door and he said oh man this guy
I don't know who he is. So he rose down when I say man
We need to talk I need to hook up with you
I want to learn how to get going to the next level how you are and we exchanged numbers
And I think within a week or two I say I got a call Joe
I just I just want to talk to Joe
so I called him up and we talked and we kept talking once or twice a month we talked and talk and and
And he had some tournament teammates and
I had fish with some local little small tournaments with some other friends and we got talking more
He said hey man, why don't you come fish with me and you can help me out and you go be my traveling partner
Oh heck, that's all I needed. No, Joe. I'm ready. When we going I get it
I was gonna quit work if I had to get there to meet your fish and I'm gonna make sure we got I got there
And he took me on his wing and introduced me about four of the guys that I fish wouldn't learn a lot
and
Every day it was a different
I don't know a different technique of this person does it this way and that person does it that way and I'm like
I'm trying to take all this in. It's like I should have been writing things down or taking video or something
But I just sunk it all in and once I sunk it all in
And then getting the trust for these guys
They just took me in like you ain't leaving Brett and what time Brett gonna be here. We're picking up whatever. I mean
I was I was all part of the routine and from that point on I just been going forward and working hard
And I've had some close ones. I took some seconds. I took some thirds
I had some lot of
Failures going backwards, but I still learn I met a lot of great people on the tour
I've only had one issue with one person and I say 27 years on the tour. So I think that's a good good
Percented for me right there thumbs up. I'm just hoping to
Get to that next level and Joe was helping me and these other teammates that we used to piss with that retired now
Here's they're pushing and they know and there's other friends of mine saying hey, you know you can do it
So I'm just hoping one day I get my blessing that hey I get my own boat that I can say all right
I'm gonna go jump in the tournament. You got a crawl before you walk
I might be I might be last but I I'm gonna be out there and I'm gonna keep working and working and working and
God willing he's gonna bless me with a win or I'll get me up there or get what I need
And it's that's that's that's that's all it's about and like my son
He loves the fish and I taught him things that right off the bat that I never knew about how to jig
He loves a jig. He likes to drag bite. He needs trolling
I want to learn our troll. He hates it. I can't get him to go to great lakes with me trolling
I have to tell him we're going cast and to get him out in the boat with me
They go out out on the great lakes, but we have to troll because he thinks it's boring
I think it's effective to you cover more water
But the new game now with the four facing someone I write these guys are
See any thresh and pinpoint them. That's another thing on my bucket list
I got to learn how to do that
And so I've learned a few of those tricks was a couple of these guys doing some tournaments
I just got to do more of it
And I'm hoping it's going to happen soon
So what is it about the challenge?
Is it a challenge or is it the curiosity or what what drives you to master all these elements of walleye?
Yeah, the challenge for me is that
People look at me and think I can't do it. People say why is he out there fishing walleyes?
Why can't I fish walleyes? I'm not breaking any laws
So I like to fish the fish and they taste great
So I want to I want to challenge so walleyes to me is as a biggest challenge
And so I want to go do it until you tell me I can't fish in the world
I can't physically go out there and do it. I'm going to fish
and
That's that's the bottom line. I'm going to go out there and fish my heart out
and
If someone wants to take me on the wing and teach me something
I'm going to take that knowledge and I'm going I'm going to appreciate it
If someone wants to sit there and look at me and throw the eyes and and say I'm crazy
That's your opinion. I'm not going to sit there and argue with anyone
I'm just going my dad's famous word kill my kindness. I'm going to do my thing
And one day it's going to happen. It's going to happen. So it was it's part of the the I mean
Obviously walleye is you know, it's it's one of the species
But it's part of it just that the idea that some people think that you don't belong in that space
there are there are people that say that I don't belong there because
I am
And I don't understand that. I mean, I'm a citizen. I'm a person. I'm a man. I like the fish. So why can't I go fish that fish that fish
Got a target on the back saying for just that person
No, that fish is out this woman looking to eat and I can feed them just as well as you can. So why can't I do it?
There are people out there like that and there are people out there rooting for me to try to get get to that level
And like I said, I'm going on one day. I'm wanting to do it
I am going to get to that level and then if I win that be it, that's a that's a blessing there
For me, but I want to be seen I want to be known that I can do this
And they ain't going to happen overnight. It's going to take a year or two or three, but I'm going to do it and
Spike what they think about me and other people like me
We we can do this we can do this and enjoy just as much as anyone else out there and have fun at it and
Hopefully succeed in it. So for you, what's the difference between
Fishing and catching a fish when you're doing it in your own free time versus in a tournament?
What is it a an adrenaline thing or what's what's the difference between those two?
To me, it's not it's not too much a adrenaline thing because when I'm out fishing just play fishing
I have more fun with it when I'm out there in a tournament
I'm I'm focused. I'm dialing want to be dialed in and hopefully the fish cooperate the weather cooperates that hey
I got to go out there and play my a game because hey, there's a lot of money and steak
And pride and stuff like that. So when I play fishing
I'm out there a lot of gagging throwing whatever and we're talking giggling talking trash each other back and forth
And I'm out there fishing a big tournament. I'm trying to get locked in dialing that okay
I got to be serious. I might only get five bites
I gotta try to country all five bites that hopefully I can hook up and get those fish in because
There's there's a pride and some money and all that stuff on the line that I want to be the one on top
What's that?
I mean you you talked earlier about when you first started jigging you didn't quite recognize a bite
Like you might feel something
But what's that like when you're actually know what you're feeling like that that sense of like oh there there's one there?
Well when I started fishing I use a rod that was so stiff. I think it feels like a telephone pole so stiff
So then after learning hey you've got to get the rod that's you know not as stiff you gotta get the right line
I mean these rods right now. I mean I got a rod I can bounce it off a rock and I can feel the rock and my yep
It's a rock up. I got a line that someone broke off up. There's a fish. I mean they're so sensitive now
That now to me, it's just it's an art. Just how do they want it? Do you want a fast hop?
Do they want it just a just a slap or just dragging?
So then you put all those things together and figure out which way the fish want it and where they're at
It's it's like night and day. Just it's just having fun catching fish. I mean it's almost like jazz just like that. Oh, yeah
Just like jazz. It's like, you know, yeah
It's like I mean it looks like you're drumming there when you're doing that
Hell
That actually it that that's I never heard it put that way
But if you were in the boat with me jig and you probably would say that then too because that's how I'm doing it
I'm trying to figure it out. Do they want hot? Do they want it low? Do they want it hard?
They want it this I'm just I'm just working it so I figured out so one of the things that's unique about walleyes
They don't fight the most I mean bass are known for fighting the most and they're not the biggest muskies the biggest and the
The easiest to catch or the pan fish
So what is it about walleye that makes them so desirable when they're not?
I mean there's other things out there that you people could be targeting a lot of people target walleye
could they
They say they're the one of the best eating fish out there to eat, you know, you got span fish
You got your salmon you got your your catfish and stuff like that
But they always say the walleye he's one of the best eating fish out there
So to me if you can
Master catching something that is good eating and you can master it. Oh, I'm gonna eat then
I'm not gonna start
I knew I can go catch some fish to eat, you know at times you probably can't get some because they either they're too big or too small
Whatever the slides are in that state that lake or that area
But you know, that's why a lot of people like to target those walleyes more bass fishing
I've never really got into it. I mean
It's so much in the bass world right now if if if honestly if I could do it all over
I would probably go in the bass fishing because that's honestly that's where the money is you see
People want to watch bass fishing on tv because they're casting doing using stiff and stuff
They don't want to sit and watch eight hours or four hours of trolling in the boat
This morning, but yet sometimes that's what that's how you have to catch your fish
So if I could do it all over even though I like eat
I love eating fish
If I was going to do it for just to try to sport to get into there and make some money
I would flip flop the bass now. Can I still do it? Yes?
I'm kind of I'm more I'm focusing walleye. I'm gonna take one step at a time
I want to get to that level first with my walleye to get to that boat get to the tournament
Get maybe a sponsor or two to help me out and then do it and then that you know then okay
I might want to go try a past tournament and fall in my butt because I'm not used to it
But yet I would do it. I'm willing to work that challenge
Mm-hmm
So when when you're talking about moving you get you're getting a new boat
Like you're you're you're testing out new lakes. You're going over to green bay
Is it always that that that edge of like I need to learn this new thing?
Is there ever a time when you're not learning and you're just enjoying um
I'm always learning. It's always something that you know, you might be in a new boat
You might be on the lake, you know
You know like the back of your hand, but then you've got a new graph on your boat
So you're trying to work this tweak this this out or that out to see maybe by turning off this way that
It's going to clear up something this way or that so with modern technology
I can say with the foreign facing sonar out that right there is a beast in his own
That you know guys are trying to figure it out the older guys are struggling with the newer guys
They got it down. I mean just like video games and new guys the new generation got these things down now
The old guys are trying to catch up to it. It's kind of hard. Some of them got it or getting it
But you know and like I said, I got started from step one all the way up to step two to get to where I want to and so
You know for me
It's
It's fun, but either way, but when I go out fishing fishing with the strands
We're just I'm just out there fishing the catch fish
To give fish away or take fish home on just going to have fun
But I'm still serious at the point that I'm trying to figure out how these fish
Want to react. They might want to say they want wanted hot. They want it slowly. I'm fast
I'm still trying to figure it out. So I'm always working trying to figure out something or different color different style
But you know, you know, whatever cadence they want I'm trying to put that together and
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't sometimes you just want the old old style a hook in the middle and drop it on the mountain
You catch fish. I mean
All we got these new baits and all this stuff coming out nowadays the fish doesn't have a chance the sonar's and everything
They really don't have a lot of chance to me. They don't have to bite but yet you can see him
So that's part of the battle right there. Mm-hmm. So what's the the enjoyment for you?
Talked about you're fishing with your partner and how close you've become and fishing with your son
How how key are those relationships to to that time in the boat and that those are key with me like my partner joe
I love him to death like saying with brothers if he called me right now during this interview and say man
I need you to be here right now
And he lives in Iowa. I'm going if he needs help i'm there advice person with him fishing with my son
It was one of the things that was something we bond, you know
We that's something we'll always have together that he caught his big biggest walleye when he was three years old, you know
And heck it took me
21 years to get a wall at that side he gives him that three and he still rubs that in my face a bottom like well
Yeah, you got me and so
um
But just it's just more it's just relaxing you going out there at your son or your best friend and just
Is no stress. There's no nothing just going out there and trying to put a program together
Put our lemon and fishing the boat to go home and just relax
So I enjoy it to the utmost that I have the opportunity to fish with my buddy joe my buddy danny
My buddy scottie that my buddy john that we all get out there
And we just fish and we have little competitions in the boat, you know
Nothing major, you know who get the biggest one or whatever and who's got the smallest one or who didn't get the limit stuff like that
So it's just it's just awesome to get out there and have fun and play fishing
That's what we call it. We go pre-fishing for a tournament. We call it play fishing
We we're trying to dial stuff in but we're playing because we're catching fish having fun. We're playing
so
Does fishing will fishing ever get old for you? I mean it's literally been in your life
You're talking about since you were
Ty and he sounds like with your son too
I don't think fishing ever get old for me until I can't do it
That's when I think that's when I can't
Physically put a worm on my hook or walk and get into a boat or something and then then I will put fishing
off and
Talk to people about fishing or hopefully my son is still fishing that I can tell him where to go or come get this bait or come
Get this ride and go fishing that want some fish or something like that
but fishing until you
Put me six feet on I think fishing is always going to be in my life because I just love it
And I think a lot more people should do it
I mean it's it's it's not
Going to solve your problems
But it sure makes you feel better just being out there in peace and mother nature just relaxing and when I come home
Dang, I wish I had that money for that bill, but I was fishing
I just I'm okay, you know, I have that stress a little stress reliever right there. I'm going fishing
I don't have a stress ball. I do all that stuff
I go fishing and I just get my mind at okay, what am I going to use to catch a fish?
What's the water current look like? Where do I need to cast? Where do I need to be sitting at?
So I just get peace. I just the problems aren't solved. I'm just having peace
So one of the things that you show up at any tournament you can see it's pretty much
Overwhelmingly a white male space
What would you say to people to bring more people in to say that this is accessible for them?
They can be welcoming
Don't be afraid
Just go out there do what you have to do. I mean I met
Joe Carter, which was my buddy
I met another another guy from Iowa named Rodney. I met another guy from Florida named Charlie
And then myself and another guy named Ali Shakur
That's five people
that I met
that
I African-American that fish and loved a fish
I haven't seen Rodney in a while. I haven't seen Charlie in a while
I see Ali two or three times a year fishing tournaments and as you know me and Joe we fish
Every day if you know if he wasn't leaving to take the boat down this week
I'd be down to this weekend. We'll be on the Mississippi recasting
So I would tell people just don't be afraid. I mean
I went out there
And I didn't know Joe and Joe didn't know me and I didn't realize I'm running to Joe
I just went out there to have fun and made friends and I fished
my first tournament I did have a
problem with a person and
I
Just did what I had to do. I fished
I got out of the boat and I went home
And I fished the next day with someone else and I never let it bother me. I see the guy
I have no time for him and I'm sure you probably think the same about me and I'm okay with that
Um, I'm always in long they'll put their hands on me. They can say whatever they want to that's fine
They put the hands on me then there might be something different going on then
But I would just again don't be afraid just do it
I mean this world is out here. The water is out there. It's fish out there
If you love the fish
Come on out there. Come on. I mean when I see another person out there fishing
First thing I do is nod to them and they nod to me. Oh, they come up to me. I come to hey, man
How you doing? I'm Brett. Who are you? I'm source of where you from but oh man, that's good man
Good luck. Hope to see it and
I got a friend there because I'll see that person again and just like we've known each other 30 years that we just can have that bond
We just keep talking, you know, and I just I wish it would be more
People out fishing but I think some people are afraid some people think this
Game is just for people certain people. It's not this game was open and like I said
I
Personally want to get myself to that next level to be if you want to say it's a person game
I want to be there. I want to be that person because I know I can do it
I just I'm not there yet. I just need a little help. I'm gonna get there and I wish more people come out fish
Heck, it's it's fun. It's fun
So one of the the other things that we're looking at in this story is all of the the money that's poured into research
From universities to the tribes and the DNR
Like doing the samples and rearing fish and you know trying to stock the lakes and figuring out what how they're being impacted
And one of the questions that we've been asking everybody is is that worth it?
Is the amount of money that's being poured into keeping?
While I alive worth it
In the in the big picture is you know that one species being important enough to enough people
So do they stock bass and all that too?
They stock muskies. I know that but um
I think it's well worth it. I mean it's a sport that isn't as
High on a pestle with bass but good bass has been out there for umpting years. So walleye just start taking
um
Up, you know in the last like 20 30 years the FLW's the NWT's uh pwt's back in the
Early 70s and stuff like that. So walleye just start going. I think it will be uh
A bad thing to stop stocking walleye in lakes or rivers wherever you want to stock them at for
That reason, I mean
It's a it's a fish that's
A great fish that catches a challenge
Just as well as bass but I think there there would be a disjustice to stop stocking for walleyes and these lakes and tributaries
whatever because it is a
A flammable fish that catches a challenge
It's worth it for it's been well worth it well worth it. I
Like I said, I started fishing catfish. I never knew what a walleye was
I never knew what a hair jig was it was guys catch the fish off a hair jig. What's a hair jig?
What do you how do you fish a hair jig? No idea
They got the nice little small skinny rods and I got a fat rod with eyelids on like that big fishing catfish and throwing out trying to catch a walleye
Had no idea what I was doing and I never did catch one while I was growing up when I was doing I never caught a walleye until I went
School here
You never caught one. So did you was it UW Eau Claire or would you know I went to school in a little town up and um
It's called Lady Smith, Wisconsin. Oh, yeah, yep
So I was up there and met some guys and that's that's that's they took me on their wing
Some guys showed me how to fish and I just kept on doing it doing it doing it. So it was all right. All right
We're gonna walleye fishing you ain't leaving me. Let's go. I'm there. Yeah, you get dropped in the least
But you're in the middle of nothing on there. Oh man. It's good for hunting your fishing
Oh, yeah, so my first walleye ride was a ugly stick
It was a you get a ugly stick something simple and not expensive until I got ugly stick
So now I'm using St. Croix. It's something that's really I can tell the difference when I'm fishing that can that's rock
That's a line that's fish, you know, so
Yeah, I think it'd be a just justice if they
Stop doing it with the walleye. I think walleye fishing should
Be around for a while. Yeah
All right, can I get you to say and spell your name just so I have it correct
My name is Brett Rogers
B-R-E-T
R-O-G-E-R-S
I'm from Eau Claire, Wisconsin
All right, that was great. Thank you so much for coming in. Thanks. Really appreciate it.
All right
We're good here
So we'll unhook you and let you run and then we're gonna find time next spring. Yes
Yeah, you said if you look at the NWT
Schedule for Monroe. I mean that'd be a good one. We'll be there for a whole week