Bryan “Beef” Sathre and Nick Cekalla Join Tony Roach’s New Dialed In Angling Show
Ready to hit the freezer and pull up some meat?
This winter, world-renowned hardwater angler Tony Roach debuts his new TV show, Dialed In Angling (@dialedinanglingtv), produced by Ron Schara Productions, on cable stations throughout the Upper Midwest. He’s joined by his co-hosts, Travis Frank, Bill Sherck and a crew of the finest ice anglers in the world, including Bryan “Beef” Sathre.
Surrounded by thousands of the best fishing lakes in the Ice Belt, Beef considers himself blessed to be able to spend as much time on the ice as possible. He fishes and guides on well known “freezers” such as Lake Bemidji, Cass Lake, Leech Lake, and the Mississippi Chain, and of course, Lake of the Woods, out of Cyrus Resort.
The owner and founder of Fathead Guide Service and Promotions, Beef can always be found wetting a line himself or teaching others how to fish. More importantly, his level of excitement when fishing or talking fish is contagious.
Beef (@bryan_beef_sathre) doesn’t just talk the talk on this one either. He’s served as co-chair of the Bemidji State Hardwater Classic, an ice-fishing tournament raises money for Bemidji State University athletic scholarships. He co-chaired the Paul Bunyan Kids Perch Derby, which drew more than 1,300 kids under the age of 13 to the ice. And for the last 10 years, Beef has served as tournament director for the Sportsman Lodge sturgeon tournament.
Beef’s full-time gig the past 25 years has been as a health and physical education teacher. For the last five years, he’s worked in health and physical education at Lake of the Woods High School. He’s brought fishing to his students in ways that will help them shape the future of the sport for years to come.
Rapala’s Dock Talk had a chance to connect with Beef and ask him about this coming ice fishing season.
Q. What area of the Ice belt are you guiding or fishing in? Tell us a little bit about what this area has to offer and what makes it special?
Bryan: I get the privilege to teach, guide, and be a firefighter in Baudette, Minnesota – right on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. Guiding both open and hard water seasons on the 1-million-acre Lake of the Woods. The big pond has more 11,500 islands, and features the Northwest Angle area -- a multi-species fish factory. The Northwest Angle is one of only three points in the U.S. that you have to go through by vehicle through Manitoba to access. I’m also lucky to live on the Rainy River, which flows into Lake of the Woods and provides anglers an additional 42 miles of navigable water. Sturgeon, walleyes, sauger, musky, perch, crappie, lake trout, and giant pike are some of the many species that my guests and I search for.
Q. What keeps you fishing or guiding year after year?
Bryan: Guiding is one of the best careers a person can have. There are not many professions where you can take young kids, teenagers, young adults, adults, and the elderly out fishing and create lifetime memories. I get the chance to take newlyweds, family reunions, father-sons, and corporate trips all seasons long. Every trip produces humor, stories, and reflections from previous fishing adventures. For those very reasons, I have one of the best jobs in the world.
Q. Why do you go ice fishing?
Bryan: The solitude and the thought of sitting in a shelter or bucket in sub-zero temps. I learned to ice fish at a very young age and it’s a passion I have passed on to my boys.
Q. As an angler or guide, what does the phrase “Dialed in” mean to you?
Bryan: “Dialed in” to me is about the chase and adventure to ice fish where most won’t and some will. “Dialed In” brings together many factors from weather, baits, lures, techniques, locations, structure, and most of all friends/family. When you're “Dialed In” you're having fun!!!
Q. As a contributor to Dialed in Angling, what do you hope the viewers will get out of your Dialed In reports?
Bryan: As a contributor, I hope the viewers gain a sense of trust yet at the same time get a laugh and are entertained. Respect and reputation go a long way for me and I hope the viewers can feel that, too. From techniques to locations on the hard water I hope to bring a viewer base that wants to follow the show and fish Border Country!!!
Q. What is your prediction on ice conditions in your area this season?
Bryan: From all the long-range forecasts it looks like it’s going to be a mild-winter. I believe those as much as all the fad diets out there. I’m hoping to start out on Upper Red Lake around Thanksgiving then hit my home waters in mid-December on the Rainy River followed by the Big Pond. On a typical year we get around 50” of ice, but we have had more. Currently the Rainy River is full of the emerald shiner run so we may have a fabulous early ice bite.
In the north, there are legendary ice fishing waters and then, there are the legends of the legends. Lake Mille Lacs is one of those, earning its decades-old reputation for consistently producing not only lots of walleye, but monster walleye, too.
It’s here where Nick Cekalla (@nick_cekalla) calls home. And it’s here where he’ll be contributing to Tony Roach’s new hardwater angling show called Dialed In Angling (@dialedinanglingtv).
This winter, world-renowned hardwater angler Tony Roach debuts his new TV show, Dialed In Angling, produced by Ron Schara Productions, on cable stations throughout the Upper Midwest. He’s joined by his co-host, Travis Frank, Bill Sherck and a crew of the finest ice anglers in the world, including Nick Cekalla.
As a member of the Rapala Ice pro staff, Nick has built a reputation as an up-and-coming fishing guide and tournament angler. Guiding year-round, Nick, the owner of EyeCrazy Guide Service, is on the water over 250 days in the year, fishing his home waters, Mille Lacs Lake, and numerous other lakes in the area.
The Rapala Blog caught up with Nick as he was preparing for ice fishing season. Here’s what he had to say.
Q. What area of the Ice belt are you guiding or fishing in?
Nick: I guide and fish in central/northern Minnesota, from Mille Lacs Lake north to the Minnesota-Canada border. This area in my opinion is some of the best ice fishing you can find. The cool part about it is we can target just about every game fish here and all at a very high caliber of fish in just a short distance. There are tons of lakes to choose from. Another special thing about this area is there are many different lakes where resorts have road systems that give you access to get out fishing with just a vehicle or ice shack regardless of the snow depth.
Q. What keeps you Ice fishing or guiding year after year?
Nick: I just have the fishing bug in me. I love going each day running down the fish and figuring out what they are willing to bite. Looking for fish, finding them, and catching them is what drives me.
Q. As a contributor to Dialed In Angling, what do you hope the viewers will get out of your “Dialed in” reports?
Nick: hope they can use my reports as a pattern or a starting point to implement in their specific approach to ice fishing. I also look forward to showcasing what my area has to offer in terms of fishing opportunities, and create a reason for ice anglers around the Upper Midwest to come and visit central Minnesota.
Q. What is your prediction on ice conditions in your area this upcoming season?
Nick: I can’t really predict the weather but I sure hope Mother Nature is nice to us!!
Dialed In Angling, produced by Ron Schara Productions, debuts in December on Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Wisconsin. RapalaVMC is proud to sponsor this new program and help more anglers learn how to extend their passion for fishing all year long.
