Blue Dolphin Walleye Charters Sponsors!

Captain Gary Zart, Captain Nicholas Zart, and crew are grateful for our Blue Dolphin Walleye sponsors and sincerely THANK these incredible people & companies for their support:

Aqua Traction Marine Flooring

Welcome Aqua Traction Marine Flooring in 2022!

Vics Sports Center - Ranger-Triton-SmokercraftWe’ve been working with Tom and Victor at Vic’s Sports Center for over 20 years. This season, along with Smoker Craft, we’re running a Ranger 622FS Pro Fisherman.

To see these boats and Triton Boats, click over to VicsBoats.com and see their latest inventory.

VicsBoats.com | VicsSportsCenter.com

SmokerCraft Aluminum Fishing BoatsToday’s Smokercraft is a company run by the same family that started it all, back in 1903. Four generations of the Schrock family have dedicated themselves to quality and innovation with fun, versatile boats.

There’s a sense of pride at Smokercraft that you won’t find anywhere else. A commitment made from our family to yours. SmokercraftMarine.com

Mercury Marine OutboardsMercury Marine is the world’s leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A division of Brunswick Corporation, Mercury provides engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications.

MercuryMarine.com

Lowrance Fishing ElectronicsLowrance is a world leader in design, manufacture and marketing of high-quality sportfishing SONAR and Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping instruments.

With over 50 years experience, Lowrance designs products that provide the ultimate in high-performance features at highly competitive prices. Lowrance.com

Simms Fishing Gear
SimmsFishing.com

Simms makes products that serve a higher purpose. Fishing is fishing, but more importantly, gear that performs at the highest level allows all anglers to embrace the overall fishing experience before and after the catch. Since 1980, we’ve done just that by re-imagining what’s possible. We craft gear that’s built to fish harder and go farther.

Smooth Moves Seat MountsThe Smooth Moves Seat Mount mechanical suspension system can help to prevent spinal issues. Four spring design with a hydraulic shock, it’s easily adjustable to water conditions and your body weight.

The most comfortable and durable ride on the market. SmoothMovesSeats.com

Cisco Fishing SystemsCisco Fishing Systems’ mission is to be successful by effectively utilizing the philosophies of high quality, advanced techniques and customer service.

We aim to become an internationally recognized brand by providing a high quality product at very competitive prices.

CiscoFishingSystemsLtd.com

Pro-Cure Fishing Bait ScentsAt PRO-CURE our number one goal is to produce products that truly help anglers catch more fish. We manufacture the worlds finest baits scents, all made from real whole fresh bait. Our salmon eggs cures and bait brines are legendary for their fish catching performances.

And our new series of Bad Azz Bait Dyes are truly changing how serious anglers bait fish. Visit Pro-Cure.com

Offshore Tackle CompanyFishing products for the angler resulting in a more productive fishing experience, using the best materials that are as eco-friendly as possible. We have always set our standards high for our consumers to have the best results.

“Often Imitated but Never Duplicated”.

Your Leader in Trolling Technology. OffShoreTackle.com

Fox River Fishing RodsGood old-fashioned quality. Chuck DiVito, former owner of Custom X Lures & Rods created Fox River Lures & Rods and is dedicated to custom, multi species, crank baits, and semi-custom rods. Our mission is to offer quality custom products at a more affordable price.

Fox River Lures & Rods

Janns Netcraft - Fishing Tackle SuppliesFor over 77 years, Jann’s Netcraft is recognized as the worldwide source for quality fishing tackle and components, bringing our customers the most complete selection of innovative fishing  products for the best value, and serving fisherman (angling for ALL species of freshwater fish) since 1941.

Janns Netcraft Fishing Supplies

WorldWide Marine Insurance

Worldwide Marine Underwriters only insures boats. It offers special programs for all types of watercraft, including pleasure boats, performance boats, cruisers, yachts, sailboats, charter boats and fishing boats. Visit Bob at WorldwideMarineIns.com

*A New Boat the Hard Way *

*Walleye First Tournament Series Part 8, Lessons Learned*
*Jim Kalkofen* – Published January 23, 2013

Author’s Note: The status of the walleye tournament world with a vision for the future will be explored throughout this series. Industry leaders, observers, participants (past and present), sponsors, professional and amateur anglers, host communities, marine and tackle manufacturers, and tournament organizers will share their wisdom and insights.

Part Eight explores an incident that happened on tour, and how “Being Prepared” saved the day for a rookie pro walleye angler. It also saved his neck from the potential money-noose. Instead of rolling your eyes at the word “insurance,” learn from this incident and review your policy. Any tournament angler could face the same fate as Robert Cardenas.

The short story is easy. His Ranger/Merc tournament boat was stolen during tournament week. When discovered, it was stripped and toasted on the trailer. The thieves burned the hull. He had insurance designed for a pro angler, and was paid the “Agreed Value” per the policy. “This was a really good experience, despite the situation,” Robert said. The details follow.

Robert had fished the amateur or co-angler side of several pro-am tournaments prior to 2012. He entered AIM as a pro last year and scored seventh, 10th and 13th for his top showings. The seventh place finish at Oconto (fishing Green Bay) was the timeframe when he hit his highest point – leading after day one – and his lowest point when his boat was stolen early in tournament week.

The boat, a 2004 Ranger 621 with a Merc Verado 250, was towed to a marine dealership near Green Bay because a “code” appeared, and he wanted the outboard checked out. He dropped it off in the secure, fenced area with dozens of other boats on Sunday evening. It sat next to $90,000 ski boats and many other bigger boats.

The next morning, while preparing for a pre-fishing day in partner John Mickish’ boat, the call from the dealership asked, “Did you pick up your boat?” At first, he thought it must be a prank by another pro. “We can’t find it,” the service manager repeated.

So much for fishing. Robert raced to the dealership. The police were there, and with the manager were counting all the outboards that had also disappeared. The many security cameras were “down,” as they discovered. “I put some info on FaceBook, just in case, and called the insurance company. My agent’s son saw it on FaceBook and called his dad, Bob Luellen, who was in town fishing as a co-angler. Bob called me and calmed me down. He reassured me that I was totally covered and advised me to go fishing. My mind seemed elsewhere,” Robert said.

Pros offered boats, tackle, rods, and support. “Since my partner was there for the pro-pro team event, I didn’t have to borrow much tackle. You realize how important the fishing-family is when something like this happens,” he said. That night, Robert had dinner with agent Bob, who said, “Everything was covered, and the equipment rider took care of the gear.”

In less than three weeks, he had money in hand and purchased Danny Plautz’ 620 Ranger with a 250 Verado (also insured by Bob). Robert used it at Lake of the Woods (10th place in the Championship) and towed it to Danny for the FLW Championship (which Danny won). Danny brought it to Minnesota for Robert. An interesting turn of events occurred when Robert’s partner sold his boat and Robert became part of the Warrior promotional team at the same time. He sold the boat from Danny to his partner. Robert said, “I can’t wait to fish from my new V203 Warrior.”

Bob of Worldwide Marine Insurance said, “This was an unfortunate situation, but fortunately he was insured correctly.” With a quarter century of nothing but marine insurance, mostly big boats, Bob started handling tournament pros in 2008. He had fished and visited with Mark Martin at a 2008 PWT tournament.

Pre-fishing and participating as a co-angler, Bob kept asking questions of many pros. “Most were not covered for what they were doing. At the time, most had boat insurance via their home and auto insurance companies. That’s the worst thing they could have done,” he said.

Explaining further, Bob said, “Most boats insured with a homeowner’s policy do NOT cover them for the work they do with the boat. If they fish tournaments with the intention of making money, they need a commercial policy.” He cited a “for instance:” If a pro has a contract with Lund, and the contract asks the pro to take VIP, guests or potential buyers on the water, commercial coverage is required.

“Special marine insurance does not cost anymore,” Bob emphasized. “It is a huge difference, however, to be covered when you need it.” Pros need a commercial general liability policy, non-owned watercraft liability, coverage for gear in the boat and coverage for gear stored elsewhere. “Usually homeowner’s policies cover only up to a max. When a pro angler starts totaling all the gear it takes to run his business, it really adds up,” Bob said. Robert, just starting his pro career said, “I’ll always insure my boats with Bob.”

Terms to understand: Agreed Value Policy compared to Actual Cash Value. Robert had Agreed Value, and received $31,000 for his boat and outboard, $4,000 for the trailer and $5,000 for gear. With Actual Cash Value, he would have been at the mercy of the adjuster, and based on a 2004 boat stolen in 2012, the current Blue Book value would have paid $22,000.

One more term, Replacement Cost insurance, is tossed around, but creates a false sense of security. “Replacement Cost usually goes away in two to five years, and then some policies revert to Actual Cash Value. I don’t sell it. Agreed Value leaves no question as to what the owner will receive if and when he needs it,” Bob said.

At the National Professional Anglers Association annual conference, Bob said, “I have yet to meet a NPAA member or Weekend Warrior with exactly the boat insurance needed.”

Call Bob at 800-339-1235, or email bob@worldwidemarineins.com. Do what knowledgeable pro anglers like Robert do – Be Prepared!