showgirls came out and sat around me and presented the prize money. That win really jumpstarted my career with sponsorship. i wasn’t just getting product after that. i got endorsement contracts and a lot of recognition that went with that win, because of all the big names that came out to fish the U.S. open.
WB: What has been your longest sponsorship relationship? Folkestad: i’ve been with ranger for 38 years, Mercury for 20 and daiwa for 15.
WB: all fishermen have the “one that got away” story. What is the heartbreaker that sticks in your mind after all of these years? Folkestad: That would be the 1989 U.S. open. i would have won that, but i was disqualified. They had just changed the culling rule and i was excited and fishing and not paying attention. one of those stupid things that you can do in the excitement of the moment
the time, it was bigger than the B.a.S.S. events and all the guys from back east would come out and fish it. The awards were at the tropicana and it was a big deal. it was held in the tropicana showroom. it was a lot different than it is now. it was big event and you had to wear a suit. The
winter 2014
29