Real Winners – Dempsey and Adler
Jun 28th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 28th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
In two ways, Ryan Dempsey and Adam Adler work hard: in real estate and in being real-good walleye anglers. The Green Bay duo won the MWC tournament out of Oconto. Both invest in real estate and in time on the water becoming good sticks.
“It’s nice to get one under the belt,” said Ryan Dempsey. “I’ve taken more second places than…[sigh]…we’re finally getting a little redemption this year.” This has been a good year. Ryan won the Catch-Record-Release AIM tournament on Green Bay in May of 2014 with a record-breaking 55.93-pound five-fish basket. Adam won the local 100-boat Fox River Classic, and back as a duo, they placed second in the big Cabela’s NTC 250-boat tournament last month. The win on MWC on the Bay of Green Bay out of Oconto meant grabbing a major victory.
Ryan and Adam started fishing tournaments together in 2007 after Adler moved back to native Wisconsin (from eight years in the St. Cloud area of Minnesota) and joined the Coldwell Banker real estate office in Green Bay. They met through a mutual friend in real estate. “We laugh now at how little we knew back then in our first tournaments,” reminisced Dempsey. A professional fishing guide on the Bay of Green Bay and on Lake Winnebago, Dempsey also owns over 20 real estate rentals and regularly flips houses. Adler is a licensed broker and sales agent, who owns a few rentals and puts in many hours brokering deals in his real estate business.
What makes them good anglers? “Time on the water,” answered Ryan Dempsey. “Fish don’t bite every day, so being on the water all the time forces you to figure it out. If you quadruple the hours of your opponents, nothing can replace that.” In the case of this win, part of their advantage was cherry picking a major tournament in their local area. “We don’t fish the full circuits. We fish for a win, not for points.” Dempsey believes fishing for points changes up strategy and can make for cautious decisions.
“Attention to detail,” was Adler’s answer to the question. “Paying attention to what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, where…why…so you can reproduce it and do it again.” Does he keep notes and write it all down to stay organized? “I used to journal a lot,” answered Adam. “I lost five to six years of journaling with a hard-drive crash, though. I learned a great deal keeping records, but after I lost all that information I quit.”
Adam, age 36, attended St. Cloud State in Minnesota and graduated with an Aviation Operations degree. He is married to Elizabeth Adler, and they have three boys Jack (7), Max (4) and Sam (10-months). Adam grew up in northern Oconto County in Townsend. The family now resides in Oconto Falls. He does not have any sponsors, other than the supportive family who help on the home front so he can both work and fish, but he would certainly entertain a few calls. Son Jack is already seriously into fishing – including several tournaments under the young boy’s belt. Adam fished tournaments during his years in Minnesota, too, and co-owned Mille Lacs Guide Service with Scott Steil.
Ryan Dempsey, age 32, attended Tech school after high school and transferred into Lakeland College in Green Bay. He graduated with a Business/Marketing degree. His parents were both teachers who insisted on college, though Ryan worked construction all day long and attended school at night. “I came out of school with my head above water,” he said. His girlfriend is Kim Allard. She likes Muskie and salmon fishing with Ryan, who freely admits on days off from guiding he likes to fish for fun. “I’m looking forward to a few days off over the Fourth of July.” He will be at the cabin with the whole family, including lots of nieces and nephews and will relax with bluegill fishing. Ryan grew up in Green Bay and still lives in the area. “My roots are pretty deep here.” Ryan Dempsey’s sponsors are Ranger Boats, Mercury Motors and Pamp’s Outboards.
What makes them a good team? “We can have an hour long talk in the boat about where we need to go next,” said Ryan. “We’ve learned a lot together over the seven years,” added Adam. “Yet we still fish differently. We mix it up in the boat until we find something that works.”