Twenty Questions With Walleye Pro Bruce "Doc" Samson
"Doc" Samson is a quiet man who smiles continuously. He has a dry sense of humor that will crack you up if you listen carefully. He's friendly, approachable, and one heck of a fishing "teacher".
He's agreed to share his thoughts with us this week for this edition of our "Twenty Questions" article series. For more about this extraordinary angler, please join us Wednesday night, March 31st, at 7PM Central Time, where you can ask him your own 20 Q's!
Doc will be our guest host for an hour, and will be more than happy to help those who have questions about the new line of Lowrance products, or have any fishing questions for that matter.
Hope to see you all there!
Juls: Who is Bruce Samson?
Bruce: The doctor that went fishing. I am one of the lucky people who had a great job and retired into another great job.
Juls: How old were you when you went fishing for the first time, and who was it with?
Bruce: I think I was alone, fishing for minnows in the local river. My mother put up with my muddy clothes, being late for supper, and even cooked some creek chubs, once!
Juls: When did you start fishing tournaments?
Bruce: 1986 MWC circuit, it was the start of a great adventure.
 Juls: What is your most memorable experience while fishing? (Either tournament or fun fishing...doesn't matter)
Bruce: When Rick Franklin opened his bag and said “no more" and I was the winner of the 2002 RCL Walleye Championship. It is very difficult for me to wait in lines... and the waiting time to get the final results was agonizing. I never knew I won until that moment. This was also one of the few tournaments that I was able to share the final day with my wife Julie.
Juls: What do you do now that you have retired from your medical profession?
Bruce: I work longer hours and spend lots of time learning the challenging aspects of teaching and business, but mainly I get to finally fish enough. I also spend many hours preparing for tournaments. I would say 80% of the job is great. Competition has always been part of my life. I love the preparation that goes into competition. I usually tackle one or two sports at a time and I have stayed with fishing the longest. I have spent many hours preparing for chess matches, bowling tournaments, pool matches and even medical school had competition. They would post your scores on a list by rank and the mob would form to view the results after they were posted. For me, competition gives me a purposeful and exciting life.
Juls: Who are your sponsors?
Bruce: Mercury, Crestliner, LakeMaster, Lowrance, Northland Tackle, Minn Kota, Smooth Moves, Salmo, and Wave Wackers I have many lifelong friends by working with these companies.
Juls: Many anglers are hunters too. Do you also hunt? And, if so, what do you like to hunt for?
Bruce: I hunted deer for 3 years, I used to hunt grouse in high school, but I rarely hunt as I prefer to go fishing. I like hunting but I prefer fishing.
 Juls: You own your own business, what is that business, how can people contact you, and do you have a website?
Bruce: My business is High Tech Fishing LLC, my website is www.doctorsonar.com and I can be contacted from my website. My business is all fishing related. I compete in national walleye tournaments; teach how to use fishing related products at seminars, sport shows, classes, on DVDs, articles, internet forums and basically anywhere as I get many questions when I am in the public. My website is a library of free education. I enjoy teaching and helping people, so this job fits like my previous medical job.
Juls: What do you do in the "off season"?
Bruce: I re-connect with family, spend more time with my wife and work on new educational DVDs and seminars. I am actually busier in the winter and spring than the summer even though I am gone from home more in the summer. I try to put the business on the back burner when I go to tournaments.
Juls: Are there any sportshows/outdoor shows left this winter where people can still come and meet you?
Bruce: Minneapolis NW Sport Show, I am at the show every day at one of my companies’ booths.
 Juls: What was your first "very own" boat, and how old were you when you got it?
Bruce: I think I was 30 when I bought the first boat, a Lund Mr. Pike 16 foot. I was a skilled bank angler until that day and then I became a failed boat angler. I had no idea where the fish were in the lakes. It took many years to understand why fish live in certain places depending on weather, season, time of day, the size of fish, water temperature, and everything changed when I went to a new lake. Walleye fishing is very humbling because walleyes are very versatile.
Juls: What are your plans for the 2010 season?
Bruce: I will fish all the AIM (Anglers Insight Marketing) events. The CRR (catch release record) format is perfect for me. I prefer to fish for big fish and the slot limits can be painful; I have lost many tournaments on the first day. Now I can win in one hour on the last day. Big fish are weather related and a big SW wind on the last day can make for exciting finishes.
Juls: Does your wife like to fish with you when she can?
Bruce: Nope, it is not her passion. However, she will go along when I take my grandchildren.
Juls: Of all the waters you have fished in your lifetime, what are your top five favs? And, why?
Bruce:
- Mile Lacs- because of the many places to fish, the walleyes are big and the lake is full of them.
- Mississippi River- any pool because the walleyes are big, the conditions are always changing and there are many places to fish.
- Lake of the Woods- because of great fishing and it isn’t crowded.
- Tobin Lake- Canada because of the huge walleyes.
- Devil’s Lake- because of the great fishing, changing conditions and each time I go I find fish in many new spots.
Juls: Who are some of your fishing idols? Who did you look up to when you first got into tournament fishing?
Bruce: Bob Probst Sr. I have met and talked with him many times and I always walk away feeling good. Before I met Bob, I heard many stories about his boat (many 5 gallon buckets and a major mess), I saw his boat at a Mille Lacs tournament and looked it over. I should have taken some pictures as it was amazing, no room to move as the floor was covered with his “stuff”. People think my boat is cluttered and I wish I had a photo of his boat to bring out for comparison when they make comments.
 Juls: Do you do any kids events?
Bruce: Whenever I can. It is difficult for me to communicate with children, because of my hearing impairment. Some children talk fast, with soft voices, so I can’t understand many of them. I just do the best I can. However, my new hearing aids have helped a lot.
Juls: What is your favorite presentation to use? What is the most fun for you?
Bruce: I actually like many presentations and have learned to like trolling. You get to eat more and socialize with your friends. When I am on the trolling motor I focus too much to carry on conversations. I prefer a good anchor bite, as I have the advantage to win anchoring, since many of my competitors hate anchoring. Doc’s tip: if you want to catch fish anchoring you must understand the structure you are fishing intimately.
Juls: How do you break down a body of water you've never fished before? How do you approach your prefishing?
Bruce: If I have friends in the area, I find out where they catch their biggest fish. Big fish are hard to pattern, because there aren’t as many of them and the data you have to work with is weak. Sometimes 2 or 3 big fish are all you need to put together a weak pattern and you never know if the pattern with get weaker or stronger during the tournament. You just go fishing and find out.
The first day on the lake I like to drive around and study the sonar for fish. I look for what depth the most fish are at, what they are relating to, which parts of the lake don’t have as many fish, where are the bait fish, and I will even drive through the “community hole” to see how the fish look on the sonar. I rarely fish community holes as I hate fishing around boats. I have found I have a better chance of winning or losing big by fishing alone.
I spend most of my prefishing time on fish location and less on presentation.
Juls: What are you most proud of in your life?
Bruce: My family of wife Julie, daughters and grandchildren and my deceased parents.
 Juls: If you could only give ONE piece of advice to a new angler who wanted to start fishing tournaments professionally, what would that be?
Bruce: Find a mentor that is willing to help you learn how to find fish. The hardest part of fishing is finding fish that are a secret. If you never learn that, you will always be fishing in the boats for a check. Fishing for a check is not bad, and I do it often, but finding the “secret” fish is the secret.
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