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Walleye First Tournament Series Part 11, Ron Seelhoff Back in the Saddle

Category: Tournament

 Apr 19th, 2013 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Apr 19th, 2013 at 12:00 AM

Author’s Note:  The status of the walleye tournament world with a vision for the future will be explored throughout this series.  Industry leaders, observers, participants (past and present), sponsors, professional and amateur anglers, host communities, marine and tackle manufacturers, and tournament organizers will share their wisdom and insights.

    Part 11 is an update on perhaps one of the best trollers ever to play the walleye game, Ron Seelhoff.  I caught up with Ron recently, and 13 months after major cancer surgery (doctors removed his thyroid, parathyroid, lymph nodes, vocal cords and larynx), he’s back on the road, on the water, and most importantly for him, in the air. 

    As a reminder, Ron has been in the winner’s circle on almost every walleye tour he’s fished.  On the Professional Walleye Trail, against the stiffest competition anywhere, he qualified for 16 championships, winning two of them, and did so back-to-back in 1999 and 2000.  He won two Lake Oahe tournaments, plus Mille Lacs and Fort Peck, and captured an Angler of the Year title along the way.  He often wonders about those three Championships where he finished second – what could have been?

    Before our visit, and Ron’s feelings and opinions, he wanted to personally thank all those who sent cards and best wishes.  He received piles of greetings from old and new friends alike.  Reading and re-reading those cards buoyed his spirits when things were very dark.  He appreciated all those who supported his cause while traveling from his home at the corner of Colorado and Nebraska to Omaha for radiation and now for experimental cancer follow-up treatments.

    From a snowy perch, overlooking a snow and ice-covered lake near Walker, Minnesota, Ron reflected on his life and a career fishing and flying.  “Not many of us realized how good the memories and stories would be until looking back.”  And stories rolled off his lips, even though talking was not easy.  He has a device in his throat that allows a steady, coarse, raspy monotone to roll off his lips.  Those amateurs who drew into Ron’s boat over a 20-year career remember how the “coach” was not just on the sidelines, but over their shoulders and in their faces with specific directions in a very easy-to-hear drill-instructor’s tone.  Not now.  “I can’t raise my voice anymore,” he said.  “But, then I didn’t think I would be able to talk again, ever.  What a difference a year makes.”

    Ron’s experimental cancer research drugs demand complete scans of “everything,” as he put it, and he sees the doctors often.  “They’re watching some tiny spots in my chest, but that’s it.”  Of all the side-effects, Ron said, “I really miss not being able to smell the fresh rain on the prairie or fish frying.”  He is also unable to taste food.  “I lost 40 pounds, and feel good, especially with such positive reports from the doctors.”

    Doing what he loves to do has made all the difference.  He flew (cropdusted) for two solid months last summer.  “Getting back into the airplane and flying helped me move from uncertainty to seeing the end of the road.  Being inactive was the worst thing in my life,” he said.

    After a very successful and profitable season in the air, he chased another dream – coyote hunting.  With more than 100 coyotes on the ground, plus a couple dozen raccoons, badgers and fox, from the flatlands to 9,000 feet, his winter was very active.
“If a person can still get around in the fourth quarter of his life and do things he likes to do, then you’re doing OK,” Ron philosophized about his life.  “No one knows how much time they have left, so do as many things as you can.”

    In Ron’s case, he classified his surgery and recovery as a miracle.  “Cancer is wicked, make no mistake,” he said.  He also offered a “Ron-nugget” which is to the walleye word what Yogi Berra has been to the baseball world.  Ron said, “You always feel good when you’re feeling better.” 

    Thinking back, he said his time staring at the ceiling made him recall a career and how his efforts and those of his friends in the pro walleye ranks taught thousands of people to fish.  “Today the average fisherman is a good fisherman,” he said, and people know how because we all shared so much along the way.  The equipment and the tactics are better.  Anglers know everything we learned the hard way,” he said.

    Ron’s treasure trove of friends runs deep.  He is temporarily without a boat, but several people who now own his boats have given him the green light to use them whenever he wants.  “I haven’t ruled out tournaments, and will show up somewhere,” he said.   “Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything.  This entire journey was worth it,” he said. 
 
    What others have said:

    Scott Glorvigen, “Being an old cropduster, he knew exactly what his plane could do and it was the same when he got in his Lund and started trolling.  He is one of the best walleye fishermen there is.”

    Daryl Christensen, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a competitive angler that was so confident about his craft.”

    Scott Fairbairn, “Ron is one of the best trollers of all time. I think his cropdusting background is actually prologue to his leadcore trolling skills…the speed of the boat lifts or drops a lure into little nooks and crannies of a breakline or piece of structure…the two skills are highly correlated.”

    Gary Parsons, “He has a natural feel for walleyes…always has and his stellar tournament record proves it.”

    Steve Fellegy, “Before Ron’s trolling win on the PWT, it was all live bait.  We finally realized it took skill and mental ability to visualize where his lures were at all times.”

    Tommy Skarlis, “Ron will always be one of the top five greatest walleye anglers in history.  Ron has always been a fierce competitor, yet a man with a heart of gold.”

    Keith Kavajecz, “Ron actually made me change how I fish tournaments.  I now put trolling highest on my list of preferred methods to fish tournaments and have enjoyed higher finishes as a result.  Thanks Ron!”

    Jim Kalkofen, “It was uncanny how his brain could feel when his lures were in the sweet spot.  Or, more exactly how he could march those cranks again and again across the precise, tiny insignificant little ‘something’ that was holding walleyes when long stretches either side of those hungry fish was devoid of life.”

    Ron’s visit to northern Minnesota was an invitation from Brian and Dee Lium, friends made while fishing the PWT Can-Am in Dryden.  Ron has fished with Brian many years since.  He also cropdusted 6,500 acres for him in Iowa last year.  On this winter/spring trip, Ron fished in Pierre with Dan Stier and Rick Olson, stopped to see Tom Backer in Fargo, and spent time with the father of a Montana friend who recently died.  On the road, in the air and soon on the water, Ron is back.  He can be reached at [email protected], or PO Box 318, Oshkosh, Nebraska 69154.