Ron Seelhoff Battling for the Win of his Lifetime!
Mar 14th, 2012 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 14th, 2012 at 12:00 AM
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Writing the tournament series for the fishing fans of walleyefirst.com has allowed me to share the mastery, lessons and advice of the pro walleye anglers. Last month, my story on Ron Seelhoff hit a nerve. Following thyroid cancer surgery, he’s now in the beginning stages of radiation treatment.
The reason it resonated was simple. This happened to Ron, and it could have been any of us. Without a larynx or vocal cords he is truly speechless. The surgeons also removed lymph nodes, his thyroid and parathyroid. After a brief healing, he has been back to the University of Nebraska cancer center where he faces seven weeks of intense full-beam radiation. His daughter Ivy said, “This is pretty tough stuff, where severe throat burns are likely, creating more problems.”
This is where the story becomes touchy. Ron and Ivy (she is his caregiver, driver, interpreter, translator and much more) are staying in Omaha for the duration. That costs money, and this is an appeal to Ron’s friends – those he knew and those who only knew him from afar – for a few dollars.
In talking to Ron via Ivy, he did not do the asking. I am doing that with this article. Ivy said the costs continue to mount, and assistance in the form of financial contributions and prayers will be deeply appreciated.
A fund has been set-up at Cancer Fund, Lisco State Bank, PO Box 105, Lisco, Nebraska 69148. Checks should be made out to the Ron Seelhoff Cancer Fund. I would encourage readers to forward this story (or the link) to others via your social media, and ask them to repay Ron for his pioneering in the walleye trolling world.
Hundreds of cards have cheered Ron through the pain and buoyed his spirits. He is hearing from folks he hasn’t seen or shared a boat with for 20 years. People remember Ron. He influenced most of us, and pro angler Keith Kavajecz said, “To some, Ron’s methods of trolling (especially lead core trolling) may seem a bit hap-hazard. What most people don’t understand is that Ron has a great sense of where his baits are running – not only behind him, but in the water column.
“By altering his speed, he alters how deep the lead core runs – and therefore how deep his baits run. While most anglers have to try to maintain a certain depth for their lures to be in the strike zone, Ron works several depths at once, but changes his speed to keep his baits in the feeding zone. Ron actually made me change how I fish tournaments. After years of letting him troll his way to high finishes and big checks, I finally had to re-evaluate the percentage of time that I cranked as compared to other techniques. I now put cranking highest on my list of preferred methods to fish tournaments and have enjoyed much higher finishes as a result. Thanks Ron!”
One of Ron’s amateur partners from when the PWT fished Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, Pastor David Johansen, emailed from the Middle East. He said, “I pre-fished a day with Ron and what a great day it was. I learned a bunch and then some, including his trademark lead core techniques. He was kind, patient and down to earth. At various other PWT events, I’d see him and talk with him. He treated everyone, great or small, with kindness and gave them the time of day.”
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Seelhoff And Me! Pastor David Johansen
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Pro Tommy Skarlis had this to say, “Ron will always be one of the top five greatest walleye anglers in history! He’s the Dale Earnhardt of walleyes – the Intimidator. It always amazed me how he would take off at the start of a tournament with his rods standing in the air, loaded with baits for everyone to see, and not caring if anyone could read his mail. It’s as if he was saying, ‘I’m trolling these baits; see if you can keep up boys!’
“Ron has always been a fierce competitor, yet a man with a heart of gold. He would say something brash, yet if you had enough patience, he would crack and smile. He appreciated people who stood up to his ‘attitude’ and I know that’s one of the reasons he and I enjoy each other’s bantering. Although he lost his voice, I am sure he will get his 2-cents in. I also know he still has the ability to come back and dominate.”
Ron got his fingers working the other day and sent me these comments via an email. He said, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you and many others are doing to try and help me. It’s amazing how things like this seem to bring us all closer together. I didn’t have a clue how many people cared. I really thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. I am where I am and will make the best of it, and am very hopeful to fish Lake Erie and get back into the ag plane again this year.”
The doctors may be able to mark progress, but when I asked Ivy how Ron was doing the other day, she said, “Grumpy.” I laughed and said, “He must be getting back to normal.” Then, Ivy laughed with me. We both know he has a long, bumpy road ahead.
Ron’s accomplishments on the Professional Walleye Trail include pocketing $670,000, qualifying for 16 championships and winning two of them, along with three second-place finishes at these elite events. He won on Mille Lacs in 2006 by trolling cranks. He won on Fort Peck in 2000 rigging. The next event that year was the Championship, and he won that trolling cranks on rip-rap. In 1999, he won the Championship (only back-to-back PWT Championship winner). In 1993 and 1995 he won Lake Oahe tournaments and claimed the prestigious 1995 Angler of the Year title. He won many other titles and events along the way.
Ron Seelhoff can be reached via email at [email protected]. Donations should be made to Ron Seelhoff Cancer Fund, and sent to Cancer Fund, Lisco State Bank, PO Box 105, Lisco, NE 69148. While Ron thanks us, it’s really us – the collective walleye world – that owe him a debt of thanks!
Editor’s Note:
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