Walleye Clubs

Dave Truett and Andy Kuffer

Walleye clubs across the United States have, for many years, worked together with their local natural resources agencies to restore and conserve the fishing that we all enjoy so much. Every year Walleye clubs contribute hard work and dollars to continue stocking programs, habitat restoration, education and family fishing programs. They are the grassroots of the Walleye fishing industry across the country. They can be found volunteering their time at every major Walleye tournament. Many of them know the water that the pros are fishing and help by providing fishing hotspots and lures, while others are there to learn better techniques for fishing their own bodies of water. The clubs are always there in the background and go unnoticed by the crowds and the TV audiences. What would we do without their help and where would many of our Walleye fisheries be today without them?

Many of the fishing techniques and lure ideas have been developed by local club members who just wanted a better way to catch fish. Tournament pros and manufacturers alike have benefited from this, as well as the club members. The result has been the expansion of the Walleye industry to what it is today. As the Walleye fishing industry continues to grow, the clubs continue to work on their fisheries and at teaching their members how to catch Walleyes from a family-friendly environment. It just seems to me that Walleye clubs were and are the pillars that support the whole industry. Whether we like to look at the fact that fishing is an industry or not, is not a factor. To some fishermen, this is the downside of fishing. Nevertheless, clubs play a major role in the Walleye fishing industry. Show us a great Walleye fishery, and in the background there is usually a Walleye club that had a very large hand in its success. Below is a list of these great associations.