Seminars

Ted Takasaki
A top competitor on the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT), Ted won the prestigious PWT Classic Championship in 1998 and the 1995 PWT Top Gun Angler Award. In addition, he is the President of Lindy Fishing Tackle, one of the nation’s largest freshwater fishing tackle manufacturers.

He was also a part of the Master’s Walleye Circuit (MWC) Team of the Year in 1991. He is a 5-time MWC and an 11-time PWT Classic qualifier where he has consistently finished in the top ten. Ted also won the coveted 1993 Mercury National Tournament held on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. He has been featured in many national outdoor magazines, such as Fishing Facts, Walleye In-Sider, Midwest Outdoors and North American Fisherman (NAFC), where he has been selected to be a member of NAFC’s prestigious Fishing Advisory Council. Ted has conducted numerous walleye seminars across the Midwest and is considered one of America’s leading walleye experts.


		Ken Freeman Dedicated to the great outdoors promoting competitive fun, Kenneth Freeman is President and CEO of Ken Freeman Outdoor Promotions. Freeman has been specializing in organizing and promoting Championship Catfish Tournaments for a great number of years. To his credit, he has organized, promoted, and been the master of ceremonies for the first-ever Cabela's King Kat Klassic; Darryl Worley's first-annual Tennessee River Run Catfish Tournament; and other numerous events. His National Catfish Derby received an award for 2004 as one of the top twenty events held in the Southeastern United States. A vigorous tournament trail fisherman for many years, he has been a double gold pro-staff representative of ProCats.com and was sponsored by Plano Molding, Tru-Turn Hooks, Cat Tracker Baits, TTI-Blakemore, Loki Nets, Tackle Buddy, Pro-Baiter Co., B&B Outdoors of Henderson, TN, Sea-Ark Boats, and Suzuki Marine. Outside of Ken Freeman Outdoor Promotions, Freeman owns and manages Bad to the Bone Lead, Lures, & Plastics; The National Catfish Derby World Championship of Catfishing; River City Tourism; and The National Catfish Derby Foundation. He was the former owner of the historic Botel and Pickwick Pro Bass, located in Pickwick, Tennessee. He resides in Selmer, Tennessee with his family and special-needs son, Walker. Ken has won and placed in numerous catfish events and considered amongst top catfish tournament fisherman in the United States. Though he enjoyed fishing the trails, his prime directive now is promoting and coordinating tournaments and other outdoor-related events. The pinnacle of his passion shines when he has opportunity to promote for his favorite charity: The Shriner's Hospitals for Children and entertaining the USSA KIDS at his events.

Jonn Graham
Jonn Graham, born in 1970, was destined to chase riverine smallmouth bass. He was raised two blocks from the Rock River and spent almost every free moment pursuing the “gamest fish that swims”. Since catching his first “brown fish”, he has been “hooked”. Jonn has fished in excess of thirty different bass streams throughout the Midwest in addition to famous waters such as Dale Hollow and Pickwick Lake.

When Jonn is not fishing he is often writing his monthly column in the Outdoor Notebook magazine. Jonn has been writing a monthly column since 1997. In addition, he does many seminars at fishing shows and club meetings. His latest venture began this past spring, when he started Camp Smallmouth.

Camp Smallmouth is a one day instructional school on everything smallmouth. Jonn’s camps take place on the Mackinaw and Vermilion rivers and were quite successful during this past inaugural season. Clients learned how to “read” a river and, as a result, began to better understand where river smallmouths live and what baits are best for fooling them.

Jonn’s specialty when it comes to catching smallmouths is light line, finesse tactics. Spinning rods and six pound line is the type of equipment you will find him using most of the time. These tactics have proven successful for him all across the country with numerous trophy smallmouths taken with this type of equipment.

When Jonn is not fishing or delivering seminars, you can find him at home with his wife and two children, or teaching at Irving Elementary School in Bloomington.

Jim Crowley
Jim Crowley was born on January 16, 1967. His father started him fishing when he was just 3 years old. Jim has fished in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the Pacific, throughout the Midwest, and Canada. As an outdoor writer and traveler, he has fished extensively in Canada including Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba where his pictures are featured in the 2006 and 2007 Manitoba Travel and Adventure guide and where he holds 6 Manitoba Master Angler awards for Northern Pike and another for channel catfish! Jim is also an avid pheasant hunter. He loves to goose and duck hunt, and he is a sporting clays fanatic! In 2003 and 2006 while on adventure in Saskatchewan, Crowley accomplished the Fresh Water Grand Slam, which consist of catching Northern Pike, Walleye, Lake Trout and Artic Grayling, all in one trip! He started tournament fishing in 1991. His 12 plus years of consistent bass tournament fishing has led him to open his on the water techniques class called FIN-TASTIC. This guide service focuses on lakes in central Illinois, and instructs clients on techniques and tactics to become better anglers.

Jim is sought after throughout the Midwest for seminar appearances. His animated presentations keep audiences informed and entertained. Among his many topics are, Tournament Tips and Tactics for Bass Fishing, Canada and BIG PIKE!! Traveling and Fishing Canada, and a seminar called Tactics to Increase Your Catch. He is known for getting his audiences involved in his shows and this results in fun for all. Numerous sport show promoters have stated, "Without a doubt, Jim Crowley is one of the best. He is a crowd favorite!"

Crowley has made repeated appearances in Chicago, Peoria, Springfield, and the Quad Cities.
Jim has appeared on numerous television shows, and is a frequent host on the Midwest Outdoors television show (nation wide on Satellite including the Men’s Channel and the Sportsman’s Channel) where he host and co-host numerous episodes and “Tip of the Week” segments per year. Jim also teaches a Basics in Bass Fishing course, every year. Numerous radio interviews and monthly columns in Midwest Outdoors, (2005 Readers Choice Award recipient) and Fishing Facts Magazine, keep him visible to the public and the media. In addition to all of this, Jim's web site www.jimmyfish.net is an exciting Travels and Destinations web page that show cases awesome angling destinations, exciting hunts, places to stay and travel information.

Crowley has been featured in numerous articles, including the Bloomington Pantagraph, the Peoria Journal Star, the Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Tribune and even in the Winnipeg Sun (Manitoba, Canada). In 2002, Jim was mentioned in In-Fisherman Magazine for his design work in the creation of the Prowler C-Legs. Jim was also featured on the covers of the 2003 December, 2005 March, 2006 May issues of Midwest Outdoors and the 2007 Jan/Feb cover of Fishing Facts magazine!

Jim Crowley is an outdoorsman! He is a writer, traveler, educator and industry promoter. He is an articulate speaker who loves to share his knowledge and experiences with the public. His adventures continue.

David Ludington
David Ludington is the owner of T.O.T.G.A. Guide Service and T.O.T.G.A. Video Productions. He began his professional fishing career with Musky tournament fishing. He soon proved himself with two professional wins and several top ten finishes.

T.O.T.G.A (The One That Got Away) has two successful videos currently on the market, “Musky Fishing…A Video Guide For The Beginning Musky Angler” and “Millennium Musky Guides”. A follow up video “Musky Fishing Two” is due out in the fall of 2004.

David has become the premier guide for Musky in Central Illinois. When not on the water with clients or a video camera David is busy giving seminars at fishing clubs, civic organizations and area colleges. David writes a popular monthly Musky column for Adventure Sports Outdoors Magazine and has articles appearing in MUSKIE Magazine.

Steve Welch
Steve Welch is an accomplished writer, with articles published in several magazines, such as Heartland Outdoors, Adventure Sports Outdoors, North American Crappie. He has many articles written about his in various publications and newspapers like Illinois Game and Fish, Decatur Herald Review, Peoria Journal Star and the Bloomington Pantagraph.

Steve has done guest spots on several fishing shows and countless radio interviews. He had been a multi-species guide on both Clinton Lake and Lake Shelbyville for the last eleven years. He has won numerous crappie tournaments with over 100 different teams. He is a 2005 semi-pro Crappie U.S.A. Classic Qualifier and has been a member of the Ranger Boats pro-staff since 1991. Visit Steve at www.lakeshelbyvilleguide.com.

		Terry Brown Journalist, tournament angler, radio host, fishing educator, sports broadcasting and television personality Terry Brown will be on hand to share his experiences covering professional fishing on a daily basis as the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of BassFan.com. Terry interviews 100's of professional anglers and industry leaders each year on nationally syndicated BassFan Radio and will share stories from them as well. Terry will discuss the industry today and what it takes to land a sponsor, what manufacturers are looking for and searching out of the box in the new age of professional angling. Dealing directly with hundreds of manufacturers, industry leaders and non-endemic sponsors on a regular basis Terry will share what advertisers and sponsors are looking for and help you parlay them into ways of supporting your fishing. Whether you are fishing at the local, regional or national level this is a seminar you won't want to miss. Terry will also talk about his work on ESPN 2's Great Angler Debate Television program and the upcoming tournament season both on a local and national level as well. Look for Terry on another upcoming television program airing in January called the Bassmaster Classic Memories. As the Tournanment Director and organizer of the Strike King Ever-Bloom Tournament Trail he will also talk about prospects for Lakes Evergreen and Bloomington and how you can get involved in this local 100% payback trail right here in your own back yard. He might even have a few products to give away at each of his seminars.... Terry is again excited to speak at Central Illinois largest and fastest growing show!

Paul Center
Many folks ask Paul how he got involved with building custom fishing rods and guiding. It all started when he wanted better rods but didn't want to spend an arm and a leg to get them. He found kits in magazines that allowed him to buy higher end technology for less money. The only trick was that they were not assembled! He bought a few books and talked to people who crafted rods. Soon, Paul had made fly rods for himself and his wife.

That slowly grew to friends and family. Before he knew what happened, Paul had his first exhibit at a sports show. That really opened his eyes to the market for custom rods. Soon after that first show, Paul was spending many hours in his shop making custom rods of all sorts. As a result his personal fishing time began to suffer. What started as a way to get better fishing rods turned into a business that kept him from fishing.

That's when he decided to include guiding in his business. So Angling Adventures and Custom Rods www.rods4fishing.com expanded to include not
only a custom rod building operation but also a fishing guide service. This got him out on the water as a part of the process instead of just at the workbench. It's what you would call a peanut butter and jelly arrangement!

Many years and several hundred rods later, fishing and rod building are equally important. This ideal arrangement allows for proper field-testing and inspiration for new ideas and rod configurations.