Once the schedule was released at the 2022 National Walleye Tour (NWT) Championship, my anticipation began. At this event, it was announced that for the first time ever, the 2023 NWT Angler of the Year would win a fully loaded Ranger Boat — an award that in addition to the prestige of the honor only added to the excitement of the season ahead. It became clear that no matter how unlikely, the schedule now made it feasible for a single angler to win two boats at the Championship event. How? If the most consistent angler of the 2022 National Walleye Tour (Angler of the Year) also won the final event at Devil’s lake, that angler would indeed win a boat for each honor.  

Tournament 1: Spring Valley, Illinois

The first tournament at Spring Valley, Illinois was a sweet surprise. My first fish of the season was a unicorn 5.5 pounder, a fish that played a huge role in me managing to capture a 4th place finish to start the season.

Tournament 2: Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin

The second stop was what I considered to be a nemesis tourney stop. Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin is what I consider to be a perfect tournament venue. It’s one of the most diverse tour stops we have. It has a bunch of different types of lakes and multiple rivers we are able to fish. I’ve always had great practices leading into the tournament, but I have always struggled to put it all together for both days. True to form, I struggled. I didn’t really have much anything going and that said, I knew every bite was critical and needed. In the end, I managed to settle amongst the pack in 37^th place — and I was ok with that.

Tournament 3: Lake Francis Case, South Dakota

In contrast to Lake Winnebago, I was extremely excited about the third stop at Lake Francis Case in South Dakota. I’ve always appreciated the beauty of Missouri River Valley and of course the fishing potential. In the end, I wasn’t at all disappointed. Thanks to three key bites from larger walleye, I secured a 5^th place finish. On top of that, my travel partner Duane Hjelm clinched his 3^rd National Walleye Tour event.

Tournament 4: Sault St. Marie, Michigan

As far as the walleye belt goes, Sault St. Marie, Michigan could very well be my favorite and that’s where the tour took us for the fourth stop. Sault St. Marie is an absolute maze and has opportunity around virtually every single corner and/or bend. To me, this fishery is reminiscent to muskie fishing in the sense that bites are very few and far between. It’s kind of a feast or famine type fishery. It might sound odd but to me, there’s something about the misery of not catching many fish in practice that gives me a clear head come tournament time. That was the situation at this stop. Despite struggling during practice, for the tournament I managed to lock another 5^th place finish, a finish that put me in the lead for A.O.Y. going into the championship.

Tournament 5: Devil's Lake, North Dakota

Finally, the last stop, the National Walleye Tour Championship held on Devil’s Lake in North Dakota. I’ve been fishing this sprawling body of water for over 20 years. It’s the very place I fell in love with ice fishing for perch, it’s the place I went to my first professional walleye weigh-in, it’s the place I won my first National Walleye Championship [2019], it’s the place I won the Co-Angler A.O.Y. title [2016]. Needless to say, I have a lot of memories on Devil’s Lake and was thrilled to wrap up the season there.

So the stage was set for the ultimate showdown with 2 boats up for grabs. Day one started strong. I kicked off the day with a 7 pounder and ended with a day one bag of about 30 pounds or so. Going into Day 2, I was in the top 10. In my professional career Day 2 of this event ranks as the most insane tournament day I’ve ever had. My co-Angler and I managed to weigh what I was told was the biggest five fish bag ever recorded on Devil’s Lake — 39-pounds and 12-ounces, anchored by an absolute monstrous 11+ pounder.

Moving in to Day 3, I was already on cloud nine. In my head, I knew I had mathematically clinched A.O.Y and I had a 3-pound lead on second place. However, as is often the case in tournament fishing, Day 3 didn’t go as planned. I was doing everything I could to secure a 30-pound bag because that’s what I assumed I’d need to win the event. When the scale settled at weigh-ins, I only managed 23-pounds and I thought I had let it slip away. As I settled in next to Isaac Lakich, the 2nds place pro going out on the final day, we started talking and realized that we essentially had the exact same size bag of fish. For the next 30 minutes while the other anglers weighed their fish, I reflected on an amazing season and was left wondering, “how in the heck did this happen”?

The Final Outcome

When I was finally called to the stage, I was in an absolute state of shock — it just didn’t seem like reality. I was announced the 2023 National Walleye Tour Champion and Angler of the Year. They handed me two trophies and a cardboard check that read $209,000. Simply unbelievable. With all the ups and downs of 2023, I’m extremely happy with how it all played out in the end. It was a year to remember to say the least. In addition to my tournament outcome, I also started a new YouTube series called Tour Level Gold. It was a ton of work but I couldn’t be happier with the finished product that Moore Media put out. The series follows four of us on the tour and highlights all the nuances that come with it from pre-fishing, to the pressure of tournament fishing, to making event winning or losing decisions. It’s really an accurate depiction of what this lifestyle is truly like. It’s not easy, but it’s always exciting. I’m so incredibly grateful that this is the how my life has unfolded and I couldn’t be where I am today without all the support I’ve been given from my family, friends, and sponsors. I truly am living my childhood dream and I can’t wait to kick the 2024 season into high gear.