Educator, an angler’s angler, AIM founding member: David A. Andersen of Warrior Boats, dies in car crash.

 

If there’s a fishing heaven, David A. Andersen is there, sitting in a Warrior 2090 Backtroller that he helped re-design, on a lake with a perfect walleye chop, hauling in some “dandies” as he always used to say, and teaching a new fishing partner all he knows, saying to everyone he sees, “it’s going to be a great day to go fishing.” 

Andersen, 61, an original owner of Anglers Insight Marketing, (AIM), one of four owners of Warrior Boats, an AWWS presenting sponsor, winner of numerous tournaments over a decades-long career, and a mentor to his teammates and any angler he met, Passed away Monday, Aug. 8, in a single-car crash near his home town of Amery, WI.

“News of this tragedy has kind of tumbled the world upside down for all of us connected with professional walleye fishing,” said Denny Fox, director of the AIM Weekend Walleye Series. “What a loss. Dave was the consummate gentleman and teacher on the water and off, believing enough in AIM and the concept of Catch-Record-Release™ and preserving the resource that he jumped at the chance to make Warrior a presenting sponsor when we started the AWWS. We’re going to miss his friendship, his constant smile, and his advice terribly.”

 Andersen, who also was a custom home builder for more than 35 years, purchased Warrior in 2011 with three other investors, returning this famous boat building name to prominence, and also involving his son Kent in the business. Together, they brought the company to Melrose, MN, in 2011.

Andersen also continued his fishing career. He fished his way to the PWT championship in 2005, and this year fished three AWWS events and four Cabela’s National Walleye Tour (NWT) events, most recently adding a 4th place finish in Angler of the Year standings in the 2016 Cabela’s National Walleye Tour (NWT). His impressive angling resume included more than $500,000 in winnings. Andersen won both Team of the Year and championship in the Full Throttle Circuit in separate years, and also won tournaments with son Adam.

Brett King, board chairman of AIM, called Andersen “the most underrated all-time tournament angler out there. He was never that name in the neon lights, but if you go back and look at his stats, it was unbelievable,” King said.

“I never saw the man without a smile on his face. It just didn’t matter. He always had that perma-grin going and that just radiated people. It didn’t matter what kind of a day he was having, he was always positive. He’d just look at you and smile and say, ‘well, at least I was fishing.'”

He approached successfully reviving the Warrior Boats brand the same way, King said. “He didn’t have to be part of the startup. He did it for the love of the product and not wanting it to go way. It speaks to his passion to the sport. He and Warrior were always 100 percent behind AIM, and we will forever be grateful. I’ve never met a person who loved to fish more.”

Andersen loved to mentor younger anglers like Justin Schneider, of Chilton, WI., an Andersen teammate on the NWT.

“I guess how I’d put it is that Dave kept things very, very simple in his angling. For instance, he liked to use only three colors of harness blades, and he learned how very well. 

“Every day he’d say to us, ‘well, did you whack a bunch of fish?’ The best thing I remember about him is just how calm he was, with a strong, steady approach. He loved talking fishing with anybody. We’d go to a Warrior Boats ride and drive demo, and he’d end up talking to someone for hours about fishing who had no intention of buying a boat. He was a great friend, one of the best,” Schneider added. “He was a hilarious guy. I traveled the last three years with him and just spent the entire last week with him. I’m 31, half Dave’s age, but when we hung out together, he was so much fun I felt like we were both 20.”

Another Teammate is Robert Cardenas, of Gem Lake, MN. He, Schneider, Andersen’s son Kent, Rick Olson and Andersen teamed on numerous fishing tournaments to help each other do the best in every event.

One of the great things about him is that he’d always wake up, and it wouldn’t matter what the weather or the wind was. He’d always say ‘it looks like it’s gonna be a great day to go fishing,'” Cardenas said.

“He was probably one of the most humble guys you’d ever meet. He’s quiet, and when he got on the water, the guy won. As I grew up, I saw him on TV. Fishing professionally was something I always wanted to do and when I got the opportunity to fish with him, it was pretty crazy.

“He was a big teacher. He loved to teach. And he had so many stories and could recall who he was fishing against and what dates and what he should have done differently in tournaments he fished 10 years go. He taught us to push our limits. And, if it’s raining or snowing, he thought the worse the weather the better because half the field probably didn’t want to be out there, so we’d be up on them that much already.”

Todd Riley, of Amery, WI, winner of both the AIM championship and Angler of the Year in 2005, called Andersen both a competitor and a friend.

“We met on a trip to Mexico and that cemented our relationship that turned into fishing together for almost 30 years. There are way too many stories to put a finger on any one,” Riley said. “He was just a good man, a fierce competitor and a great guy.”

Riley said he had the opportunity to partner with Andersen in Warrior Boats, but couldn’t at the time. “But I had absolutely no doubt he and Warrior were going to succeed.”

“On the Monday he passed, we were headed out of town at the same time. I followed him for 25 miles and I didn’t hear until the next morning. I was just amazed,” he added.

Chuck Barth, Warrior Boats manager and co-owner with Andersen, said they both looked into reviving Warrior when it closed its doors in 2010. “He as an individual thought it was just too good of a boat to go by the wayside. 

“We had a long-term vision of getting it rolling and bringing it back as one of the best walleye boats in the industry. He was a very easy-going, understanding and well-mannered person. He did a lot of listening, and when he said something, he made sense. The boat he liked the most was our 2090 Backtroller tiller. He personally upgraded and re-designed it and that’s the one he ran. 

“Dave will be extremely missed. He worked his butt off throughout the show season from Jan. 1 until April. We don’t know how we’ll ever replace him.”

David was preceded in death by his mother Erla, father Roger, sister Debra. He is survived by his wife Patti Andersen, sons Adam (Danielle) Andersen, Kent (Beth) Andersen of Amery, Wisconsin; daughters Beth Andersen of Richmond Hill, Georgia; Lana (James) Combs of Westminster, Colorado and Etta Andersen of Milwaukee; grandchildren Lane and Hayden Andersen of Amery, Jacob Andersen of Amery, and Jackson and Ireland Combs of Westminster, CO.

Funeral services will be at 11 am Monday, Aug. 15, from First Lutheran Church, 240 Elm Street West, Amery, Wisconsin. There will be a visitation on Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Williamson – White Funeral Home, 222 Harriman Avenue North, Amery, WI as well as the hour prior to services at the church. Interment will take place at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in rural Amery. To sign an online guest book and view a video tribute please visit www.williamsonwhite.com Arrangements were made with the Williamson – White Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Amery, Wisconsin.

Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™) is a unique tournament organization created and owned by many of the most accomplished and recognizable professional walleye anglers, along with others who share the mission of advancing competitive walleye fishing and making it sustainable into the future. AIM is committed to marketing excellence on behalf of its tournament competitors, the tournament host communities, and the brands that partner with it. 

AIM is also committed to maintaining healthy fisheries across the nation by the development of the exclusive AIM Catch-Record-Release™ format, which is integral to its dynamic events and unparalleled consumer engagement. For more information about AIM™, AIM Pro Walleye Series™, AIM Weekend Walleye Series, AIM sponsors and AIM anglers, visit www.aimfishing.com.

AIM Presenting Sponsors: Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. and Warrior Boats.                    

AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Navionics, Powrtran, Power-Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Team Lodge, Vibrations Tackle, Pro Chattrr, National Fleet Graphics, Gemini Sport Marketing, 4 Bears Casino North Dakota.