Ted Takasaki, long-time walleye pro, television personality and former owner of Lindy Little Joe tackle company was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wis.
“This is the pinnacle of my career,” Takasaki said. “It’s an honor which is bestowed upon an extremely small percentage of anglers on this planet, which makes it a truly incredible honor.”
The National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, located in Hayward, Wis., (freshwater-fishing.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, recognition and promotion of freshwater sportfishing. Individuals are enshrined in the Hall, and Takasaki will be inducted as a “Legendary Angler” at the Northwest Sport Show in Minneapolis in March.
Upon graduation from college in 1982, he began his fishing career. This at the same time he was working for Hewlett-Packard as a sales-engineer. While earning top honors for HP, he was also soaking up fishing skills and tournament savvy on the MWC, PWT, NAWA, RCL and FLW Walleye tours.
He produced a 1998 PWT Championship victory on the Missouri River in Bismarck, N.D., while jigging his sponsor’s Fuzz-e-Grubs. “This proved to be a shot in the arm for a tried and true item that had been around for a long time,” he said.
In the record-setting PWT Lake Erie tournament (346 walleyes weighing more than 10 pounds weighed in the three-day contest), Takasaki set a record with a daily weight for five fish of 53.20 pounds. Last year, he won the FLW Walleye Tour event on the Mississippi River at Red Wing.
He has been full-time in the fishing business for more than a dozen years, serving 10 as president of Lindy Little Joe. Upon purchase of the company by PRADCO, he went back to work as a pro staffer, where he’s splitting time on the water filming and competing.
Takasaki joins numerous NPAA members inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame. Last season, fishing guide, promoter, writer and speaker Tom Neustrom from Deer River, Minnesota, was inducted. Past and present NPAA members who are also among an elite group of Legendary Anglers include Mike McClelland, Bob Propst, Sr., Keith Kavajecz, Gary Parsons, Gary Roach, Ron Lindner and Al Lindner. NPAA Honorary Lifetime member Jim Kalkofen was inducted for outstanding achievement in developing the sport fishing industry.
The NPAA is a non-profit organization focused on growing the sport of fishing and increasing the professionalism of its members. More NPAA member and association news can be viewed at npaa.net.
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