Fishing is a big business.

Bass, muskie and walleye enthusiasts face off against one
another across the country in hundreds of local tournaments.

The competition in these tournaments is incredible, the area’s
best fishermen using every bit of knowledge they possess, every
trick of rigging, bait size, line, hooks, secret spots, water
temperature, weather conditions and technique to catch that one
special fish that will win the contest.

It is not if you can catch the limit that counts, many teams can
do that. It is catching the one “big” fish that will provide the
extra ounce or even half an ounce of weight allowing you to win.
These tournaments are often incredibly close.

In the Bradford area several walleye competitions take place
every summer on the Kinzua Reservoir. These tournaments allow the
winning teams to accumulate points and those with the highest
totals earn an invitation to the Cabelas National Team Walleye
Championship, being held this year at Pierre, S.D., on Lake
Sharp.

Here, in one tournament, the best 250 teams in the nation face
off and determine who really is the country’s most accomplished
walleye team. With that honor comes money, new boats, possible
endorsements and most important, bragging rights as to which
fishermen are the top guns of the walleye world.

Bradford boasts one of the best in six-year-olds in Mathew
Boser. Mathew has been invited to the Cabelas National Championship
the weekend of June 22-23. He was chosen from among some 65,000
anglers competing for a spot in the national tournament. Mathew is
the son of Glenn and Laurie Boser.

What Mathew and his dad did last year was impressive. They were
the Kinzua Outdoor Charity Walleye Circuit’s “Team of the
Year.”

Mathew was also selected as the fishing circuit’s Youth Angler
of the Year. He and his dad took two first-place finishes, a fourth
place finish and won the championship in September, qualifying them
for nationals.

Cabelas officials believe Mathew is the youngest angler ever
selected for nationals. His name has already appeared in newspapers
out west and he may even be better known in South Dakota than he is
here in town.

Mathew is a focused young angler.

He caught three keepers and the tournament-winning “big fish” as
the last seconds of legal fishing time ticked off the clock,
clinching the late-season victory that got them to nationals. And
he did this in front of several boats full of witnesses.

Mathew seems to have a special touch with his fishing rod. He
seldom misses a hit – hits by shy walleye can be very light indeed.
You have to concentrate very hard for long periods of time and have
a feel for what you are doing to be successful. Mathew does all
this instinctively and is all business when it comes down to
tournament winning time.

Unfortunately, despite his hard won honors, Mathew will be
unable to fish with his father in South Dakota. The long drive, the
weeks pre-fishing, the stress and absence from home is just too
much for a six-year-old to endure. Glenn will be fishing with his
other partner, Tom Means, a tireless worker and promoter of the
walleye circuit.

Mathew, however, will be flying out to Lake Sharp to be there
for the weigh-ins over the weekend and cheering his dad on.