PWT Goes Belly Up

PWT (Professional Walleye Trail) Concludes Its Last Tournament

Mark Schram

October 17, 2008

The Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) will become defunct Sunday.  Today was the last pro-am event in Hudson WI on the Mississippi and St Croix River.  Sunday will feature a $50,000 shoot out, and then the PWT will be gone.

For years this has been the predominant Walleye tour in North America, attracting the world’s top anglers and co-anglers looking for the chance to live the life of a pro fisherman.  The tour lasted 19 years with the first tournament held on Mille Lacs in Minnesota.

InterMedia is the parent company for the PWT and is tied in with the In-Fisherman brand, which was symbolized for many years by Al Linder and family.  Over the years, ownership has changed multiple times.  According to reports, InterMedia wanted to focus on the print aspect (magazine/TV) of the company rather than the tournament aspect.

PWT has struggled with declining sponsorship towards the tour the last several years, which may have ultimately caused it’s demise, in my humble opinion.   

As a former co-angler of this tour, this was one of the best run tournaments in the market for an amateur looking for a taste of the stage and cameras.  Paired with one of the top fisherman in the world, your weight was shared with your pro’s weight and vise versa.  This emphasized teaching and cohesiveness between the partners.

Surprisingly, very few of the Professional anglers are full time Pro Fisherman.  Most have careers or businesses which occupy the majority of their year. Professional Fishing is a very expensive game to participate in.  Sponsorship helps to cover some of the cost, but there are many more expenses which come out of pocket to the angler. Some of these PWT pros will pursue other tours, while other may just retire from the game.

It’s sad to see the PWT fold.