Anthony Zimmer

Posted January 24, 2019

Anthony Zimmer – WWA Board Member 2019

Lake Villa, IL

# YEARS FISHING WWA:
1st season was 2018

1. HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED FISHING? ON WHAT LAKE DID YOU GET STARTED FISHING?
I started fishing when I was four or five, the first lake I fished on a boat was East and West Loon Lake in Antioch.

2. WHO WAS YOUR FIRST HERO OR MENTOR IN THE FISHING WORLD?
I had a neighbor and close family friend Alan Gohlke, He was not only a riot to be around, but passed his love of fishing on to me.

3. HOW DID YOU GET STARTED TOURNAMENT FISHING? AND WHAT MADE YOU JUMP IN?
I have fished miscellaneous open tournaments throughout the years, but have not dedicated myself to a specific organization. I have said it for years that I wanted to fish competitively, finally after many years I decided to jump off the fence and tournament fish. I started my tournament career with a great partner, Bill Vojak who I cannot thanked and give enough credit to for being patient and helping me understand the ropes.

4. WHAT IS YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER, GO-TO TACTIC ON THE WATER?
Rigging and Trolling

5. OUTSIDE OF COMPETITIVE FISHING, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR YOUR 9-5 JOB?
I work for a large Insurance company and manage the day to day operations of Body shops along with managing the repairs to people’s vehicles that were involved in loss.

6. WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN THE TOURNAMENT WORLD?
I am extremely happy with my team finish this year amongst the great group of teams and fisherman that we fish against throughout the season. My proudest moment was of course winning a qualifier this year.

7. OTHER THAN THE FOX CHAIN, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BODY OF WATER TO FISH AND WHY?
Lake Erie of course, Every year we make a trip up to Erie for a long 4-5 day weekend. The chance to get multiple trophy fish over a weekend keeps me coming back year after year.

8. OUTSIDE OF FISHING, WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?
I enjoy spending time with my family, Traveling and Hunting.

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TOURNAMENT MOMENT?
We fished the 3rd qualifier all day and had our limit early so we left to hunt for an over, we moved spots and landed on a spot with a lot of active fish. About 1 hour after getting to our spot and only 15 minutes until we had to leave for weigh in’s I hooked into a big one which ultimately won the tournament for us.

10. HOW BIG WAS YOUR BEST WALLEYE AND WHAT LAKE DID YOU GET IT ON?
My biggest Walleye is 29” on Lake Erie.

11. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK THAT SUPPORT YOUR FISHING?
I want to thank my wife, Melissa, who puts up with my obsession with fishing! Thank you, Bill Vojak for showing me the ropes, and thank you to Alan Gohlke for teaching me what fishing was all about! And lastly thank you to my Mom for always taking me to the lake as a kid along with buying me anything I needed to go fishing! I love each and every one of you!!!