August 05, 2025
By In-Fisherman Staff
Walleye Dan is a renowned Brainerd Lakes Area (BLA) fishing guide and Mike Knapp is the Brainerd area Fisheries Supervisor. Having lived in the area for most of their lives, both guys know each other well and love fishing. Both want to keep the amazing fishing that the BLA is known for, but with different perspecives. This is a fun conversation between two super smart guys, and a lot of issues that anglers are facing on a daily basis. We believe that bringing two separate parties together to find common ground to promote the healthiest fishery possible is a job every fishing license holder must embrace.
Truncated transcript:
00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:30.880: You're listening to Storyline, North America's top voice in multi-species freshwater angling. Here is your host, Thomas Allen. All right, well, welcome to the palatial LL Bean Studios nestled atop the Twin Towers, overlooking beautiful downtown Brainerd. This is In-Fisherman Storyline.
00:00:30.880 --> 00:01:13.600: Got a pretty exciting lineup today. But before we do that, I want to let everybody know that recently, and we're really grateful for, that L.L. Bean is sponsoring this podcast. And we're glad that they're a part of this. If you like nice flannel, look at this flannel. I like flannel. When you're in Minnesota, you've got to have a collection of flannel shirts. L.L. Bean has you covered, along with a bunch of other quality outdoor gear. And their brand is an iconic brand for all things outdoors--flannels, hats, waders. We'll talk about those waders later, but we'll talk about those waders. Talk about those waders later. These live reads are so much fun. But we're grateful L.L. Bean is a part of this. You can check them out at llbean.com.
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00:01:13.600 --> 00:01:55.720: And we're going to dig right in. So we've got a couple of characters here. I actually asked after the fact if they got along. I should have. I mean, everybody gets along with Dan. Everybody gets along with Mike. But sometimes, I just thought I'd throw two controversial figures in chairs and see what happens. But you guys aren't controversial. So Mike Knapp is a fisheries supervisor here in the Brainerd area. I asked you your title. Dan is recognized as walleye Dan. He's a Brainerd Lakes area guide. And I've got to say one thing. I've always loved this about you. Pontoon boats are so not sexy. But there's no disputing how easy they are to fish off of.
00:01:55.720 --> 00:02:54.120: But you found a way to make a pontoon boat super sexy. Well, thank you. I think it's just a fact that I'm on it. Is that not it? Is that what you're saying? I mean, if we're starting out with denial. But really, you have that thing set up to fish anywhere. Absolutely. And yeah, I mean, everybody has looked at pontoons and like, oh, really? You're guiding out of that? And it's like, yeah, I do have it decked out. And it is-- yeah, you can do anything out of a pontoon that you can out of a boat. I mean, obviously, you're lacking a little boat control. And if it were you and I fishing, I would probably choose a boat. But it's nice as a fishing guide when you have a family that calls and says, yeah, there's five, six of us, seven of us. I just say, bring them, right?
00:02:54.120 --> 00:03:18.480: And in this business, we do try to make money. And the more people that fish on a boat, the more money. So it just works out well. You obviously have a system down for launching that thing. I mean, do you haul that home every night? It stays with you? Or do you have a place to keep it on the water? No, I haul it. It's out in the parking lot right now. Excuse me, it just came off the Whitefish Chain. And yeah, I trailer it every day. Sometimes twice a day…
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