By Devan Mighton
Late last month, Belle River resident John Kopcok dawned his polarized fishing glasses, fired up his walleye boat, and casting his way across Lake Erie as part of the 2022 National Walleye Tour Championship in Dunkirk, New York.
After previous tournaments this summer on the Detroit River, Missouri River, Mississippi River, and Green Bay, Kopcok ranked in the top 40 of the tour to qualify for the championship, coming in 28th.
Kopcok, 48 years old, was born and raised in Tecumseh. He is a licenced plumber and is married to his wife of 24 years, Sacha, with whom he has two children – Jonathan and Ava.
“Back in the day, when I was younger, it was just something to do,” explains Kopcok. “We kept working, working on the farm or homebuilding – we built a lot of homes – but on the weekends we got to go out to the farm in Harrow and we’d fish Lake Erie.”
Kopcok started fishing in 2008 and quickly took to his new hobby, winning the FLW Walleye four-day event in Ohio as a co-angler and setting a new record with 145 lbs. of fish.
“Eventually, I got myself an aluminum boat, got a 9.9 (horsepower motor) and I’d go trolling on Lake St. Clair – catch some bass here and there – and gradually it was like, ‘Hey man, I sort of like this stuff!’ I moved up to buying a couple walleye boats and here we are!”
Kopcok enjoys fishing the local water bodies – the Detroit River, Lake Erie, and Lake St. Clair, slightly preferring Lake Erie over the Detroit River for Walleye, but always preferring to fish bass on Lake St. Clair.
In 2012, he won the Detroit Masters Walleye Tournament and, later, the 2019 Canadian Tire Bass Open. His personal best walleye was caught on Lake Erie with a length of 32 inches and weighed 11.91 lbs.
“For me, fishing is one way for me to enjoy the great outdoors,” explained Kopcok through a National Walleye Tour press release. “It also is a stress-releaser: forget about the daily grind in life for a few hours. The activity also helps me to figure things out whether it’s work or home related; it has a lot to do with camaraderie too!”
As it turns out, Kopcok’s appearance in the championship tournament will be a historic moment for the National Walleye Tour.
“I’m the first Canadian to make it, so I’m excited,” states Kopcok. “For myself, it’s a lot of work. You’ve gotta fish four tournaments and out of all four of those, only the top 40 make it.
“It’s a good thing – they play the Canadian national anthem just for one guy!”
Kopcok says the greatest challenge nowadays, as a fisherman, is the rising prices of everything due to inflation – this includes food, fuel, and tackle.
However, as the three-day tournament begins, starting on Aug. 24, Kopcok says it is all business. He’s alone out there and it’s up to him whether he will sink or swim.
“There’s no R&R when you’re fishing tournaments,” he explains. “As soon as the sun’s up, I’ll be on the water and as soon as the sun’s down, I’ll be off the water.
“It’s 10-14 hour days – the lake is so huge and all of my partners never made it because they didn’t make the top 40, so I’m fishing as a lone wolf. There’s no blaming anybody out there – you’re on your own and you figure it out!”
For more information on the National Walleye Tournament and results from the national championship running, please visit their website at www.nationalwalleyetour.com.
UPDATE:
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