Former farmer gets ready to harvest the fruits of his labor
Story
by Pete Robbins
Posted
- January 31st, 8:57pm CST
Roanoke, La.
– When the Elite Series season casts off at the California Delta in March, 95 anglers will start the 2010 campaign tied at zero. But while the starting position is the same, their paths to get to that point were not uniform. For some, like Louisiana rookie Dennis Tietje, it took a few breaks along the way. But for the help of some friends and fellow competitors, instead of gearing up for to fish at the highest levels, he would likely be pondering his next career move
Tietje, who snuck into the Elites by finishing 12th in the Central Opens, is particularly thankful for the help of Elite Series veteran Takahiro Omori.
Photos
provided by Dennis Tietje
On
the second day at the final Open on the Atchafalaya Basin, Omori’s assistance bailed Tietje out of a terrible jam.
“Coming in on the second day I ran out of gas about 10 miles from the launch,” Tietje recalled. “Takahiro came by and brought me and my partner and our fish in. Had he not done that, I definitely would not be fishing the Elites, His sportsmanship definitely changed my career. I like to think I would’ve done the same thing.”
Although he certainly doesn’t wish any mechanical problems on Omori, Tietje hopes to repay the favor. He’ll have no fewer than eight opportunities to do so this year.
Not New to Competition
Making it to the upper echelons of competitive fishing has been Tietje’s dream for over 20 years, but as a farmer he could rarely get the time away to qualify, let alone fish a full tour. He fished some Opens in 2001, 2002 and 2004, but as the result of shoulder surgery and other obligations he missed the next four years.
While the Opens were often a logistical challenge, he was able to feed his competitive fire by fishing state and national Federation events. “That used to be what I really concentrated on,” he said. “I was a full-time farmer so I had very little time to go anywhere. The Opens were tough for me to do.” Twice he qualified for the national Federation championship and while he didn’t progress to the Classic, those experiences just whetted his appetite for further fishing challenges.
After Hurricane Katrina, farming became a dicier proposition in south Louisiana and last year Tietje made the decision to get out of the business, at least for the time being. He and his wife have an interest in a Mr. Gatti’s pizza restaurant, but while considering where to take his life next, for the first time in years he had the ability to really focus on the Opens, and it paid off. Despite a 93rd place finish at Sam Rayburn, he finished 7th in the season opener at Toledo Bend and 25th on the final event at the Atchafalaya Basin, enough to squeak in to the Elites when other qualifiers declined to enter.
“I was 100 percent committed (to entering the Elites) but it was a family decision,” he said. “I have sons who are 19 and 11. I sat the youngest boy down every day for seven days straight and asked him the same questions. I wanted to make sure he knew I was going to be away a lot.”
Not a Typical Rookie, But Admits to Some Nerves
While there’s no rookie hazing per se on the Elite Series, it’s not an easy path to plow for any first year competitor. In addition to the new lakes and increased level of competition, there’s the matter of being away from home for extended periods of time with few friends. But unlike most rookies, Tietje already knows a substantial number of his peers, including many of the top names in the sport. Whenever the tours stopped at Toledo Bend, it was de rigueur for a sizeable number of pros to make a visit to his lakeside trailer. They weren’t looking to gain any information about the lake – instead, they were coming to feast on some of the 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of crawfish that he harvested annually. Accordingly, many of the veterans already know him well.
“Those guys remember that,” he said. “I’ve called a lot of guys (since he qualified for the Elites) and they’ve all been 100 percent supportive of me. I haven’t talked to one person who has given me the cold shoulder.”
Asked about the best piece of advice he’s gotten from his more veteran counterparts, he was quick to answer that it’s key to “keep it simple. Fish the way you like to fish. That’s what got me here.”
He knows that the level of competition will be higher at the next step, but he also remembers Omori’s kind act and the aftermath of it and believes it’s indicative of the field at large: “He didn’t think twice. In fact, he waited an hour and a half after the tournament was over and took me back, put gas in my boat and made sure I got home. That gesture saved my career.”
“I’m not intimidated on the water,” he explained. “I don’t get rattled real easy. I’ve been around enough of them to know that they’re all business on the water.” Still, he admitted that when the National Anthem is played on the first day of Elite Series competition, he’s likely to “have a few jitters.”
“This will be the toughest year I’ll ever face,” he added.
Tietje refused to speculate about how many checks he’d earn in the eight regular season events. “I’m trying not to have preconceived notions about that,” he explained. However, he was willing to state that he’ll be satisfied if he’s able to stay in the top fifty in the end of the season standings. Of course, a February 2011 Classic in New Orleans, almost but not quite close enough that he could sleep in his own bed, is the ultimate carrot at the end of the stick.
“That would be the ultimate,” he said. “To bring it back and to compete in the Classic in my home state, that would be a dream come true.”
