Professional angler Jon Thelen with a nice mid-summer walleye. Thelen will hold a fishing seminar during the Okoboji Blue Water Festival.
By Steve Weisman
The Okoboji Blue Water Festival scheduled for August 11-12 at Preservation Plaza in Arnolds Park has something for everybody. According to organizer Greg Drees, fishermen will have a special seminar on Saturday, August 12 at 10:30 in the morning. “I am excited to announce that Jon Thelen, who has spent 15 years as a full time professional angler, fishing guide and educator, will be our fishing clinician. His topic will be ‘Walleyes in the Weeds,’ which is certainly appropriate for fishing walleyes on the Iowa Great Lakes in August!”
The hour-long seminar will take place under the big tent. Thelen says, “I am excited to be able to spend the day talking fishing in a great community on the shores of a world class fishery in Lake Okoboji.”
In addition, Thelen will spend the rest of the day joining in the Okoboji Blue Water Festival. First, he will spend time with members of the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club in their tent and talk fishing with those who stop by during the day. Later in the afternoon, Thelen will also be part of the state panel discussing clean water, which is tremendously important to the future of the fishing industry. “Clean water is the key to so many of our weekend activities in the Midwest. Great fishing, watersports opportunities and thriving wildlife all depend on keeping our water systems naturally clean.”
A little more about Jon Thelen
During his time as a professional angler, Thelen has made a name for himself on the tournament trail. During this time span, Thelen has competed on the Professional Walleye Trail, a circuit in which he reached several championships.
Thelen has 26 top ten finishes to his credit on various walleye circuits on waters ranging from Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota, south to Bull Shoals Reservoir in Arkansas, east to Sault Saint Marie in Michigan and west to the Missouri River in North and South Dakota.
Throughout the years, he has also been a guest host on over 75 TV episodes and is currently the host of the popular Lindy’s Fish Ed Television series, which can be seen 26 weeks per year throughout the Midwest on the Fox Sports networks. Additionally, Fish Ed Internet episodes can be seen on YouTube with 26 new and unique episodes posted each year.
Jon has been the source for over 100 magazine articles while also being featured on dozens of magazine covers. Whether Jon is in the boat on open water or drilling through the ice-covered lakes of the Midwest, he strives to teach the Midwestern angler both tactical and locational lessons aimed at helping those anglers catch more fish day in and day out, all year long.
Drees says, “I think Jon’s seminar will be very informative for anglers wanting to know more about catching walleyes in the weeds this time of the year.”
