You’ll find more than just fishing celebrities in this list. One can make a significant impact
on the lives of many without ever being well known. It is important to honor all of
those who had a great influence on the great sport of fishing, whether famous or not.
Corporate advances tend to be much more visible to us. For it’s their products that
shape the evolution of the sport of fishing.

Jon Thelen has made a career of fishing as a Tournament Fisherman, Television Personality, Guide, Educator, Seminar Speaker and Brand Representative for some of the most well-known companies in the fishing industry.

Jon was born in 1969 and raised in Anoka, MN. He developed his love for fishing at his grandfathers’ cabins in the Alexandria area and on Leech Lake. Jon and his father also frequented Mille Lacs Lake and the Sioux Lookout area in Northwestern Ontario as he was growing up. Some of his fondest memories are those of riding his bike to the Rum River Dam in Anoka to catch whatever would bite. If they were not biting there, he could be found at the Mill Pond in Champlin or casting from the banks of the Mississippi River.

Jon competed from 1997 through 2015 on various walleye tournament circuits including the In- Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (2003-2008) where he tallied numerous top 40 money finishes, a Coleman Cool Under Pressure Award, qualified for 2 championships, finished 9^th in the Western Division Standings in 2007 and finished 5^th in the Angler of the Year standings in 2008. Jon has also had great success with over 20 top 10 finishes on other circuits including the MTT, MWC, WWA, NAWA and other stand-alone events.

Jon is best known as a television personality. He has been a Guest Host or Guest on over 80 television shows including Midwest Outdoors, Keith Warrens Fishing Adventures, O’Neill Outside, Fishing Minnesota and Outdoorsman’s Adventures. In 2012, Jon launched Lindy’s Fish Ed Television in partnership with PRADCO-Fishing. Lindy’s Fish Ed quickly became one of the highest rated shows in the Midwest. Lindy’s Fish Ed Television aired Saturdays and Sundays on Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Midwest and Bally Sports Detroit (formerly Fox Sports Networks). Fish Ed reached over 13 million households in the Midwest every weekend for 17 weeks per year. Lindy’s Fish Ed employed a unique approach in that Jon focused on teaching the average angler techniques which would help him catch more fish, while filming on the same public waters any angler could fish on their next outing. Lindy’s Fish Ed TV ran through the 2022 season.

In 2020, Jon launched Jon Thelen’s Destination-Fish Television which airs on Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Midwest (Formerly Fox Sports Networks) reaching over 10 million households. Destination-Fish is designed to show the viewer the fun of fishing and help the consumer get into the sport with basic teachings of tactics and locations for various species of fish. Destination-Fish can also be seen on streaming venues, social media channels and YouTube in webisode versions. Jon Thelen’s Destination-Fish airs 17 weeks per year.

Jon began producing and posting educational “how to” videos to the web on YouTube in 2008. Today Jon has amassed over 13 million YouTube views of videos ranging from Lindy’s Fish Ed Webisodes to various tactical videos that can be found on YouTube and on social media channels as well as on .com websites.

Over his career, Jon has been a source for over 150 magazine articles in publications such as In Fisherman, In Fisherman Walleye Guide, In Fisherman Ice Guide and In Fisherman Panfish Guide, Game and Fish Publications, Outdoor News, Midwest Outdoors, Fishing Facts, Great Lakes Angler and North American Fisherman. Many of these same articles have been published on various electronic sites throughout the worldwide web.

Jon has appeared on 25 magazine covers over the years including the In-Fisherman Walleye Guide,       In- Fisherman Walleye Insider, Great Lakes Angler, Fishing Facts, several Game and Fish state publications, Outdoors Minnesota and Midwest Outdoors.

Jon also served as a Fishing Guide on Lake Mille Lacs guiding for both his personal business, Professional Angling Promotions as well as for McQuoid’s Guide Service from 2003-2010.

Jon is a popular seminar speaker who speaks at Sport Shows, Fishing Clubs and Dealer events every year. Jon can be seen annually at consumer shows from the St. Paul Ice Show, Northwest Sportshow to the ICAST Show in Orlando to name a few.

In 2008, Jon assumed a larger role with PRADCO-Fishing upon their purchase of Lindy Fishing Tackle. Jon took over various aspects of Lindy’s Marketing Department. This led to the National Sales Manager role in 2010. In 2012 Jon assumed Marketing and Brand Management duties for the Lindy, Thill and Little Joe brands. Amongst many other responsibilities, this included product development where Jon brought multiple staple products to market for the Lindy, Thill and Little Joe brands while also promoting products for the entire PRADCO-Fishing portfolio.

Today Jon works to educate anglers through all the venues listed above while partnering with fine brands such as Lindy Fishing Tackle, Thill Premium Floats, Little Joe and various other PRADCO Brands, Alumacraft Boats, MinnKota, Humminbird, Flambeau, Striker, the CMP Group as well as various retail outlets,  resorts and boat dealerships throughout the Midwest.