when you are fishing. There have been guys that only put four of their fish in the bag or others that bring six to the scales. You can get caught up in the excitement of the fishing and it can cost you. it happened to me. i caught my last fish about a 100-yards from the buoy line a few minutes before i went in and in the excitement, i unhooked it, went in past the line and then culled. i wasn’t thinking about the rule change and got dQ’d. it was definitely a lesson learned. i haven’t made a mistake like that again and hopefully, i never will.
WB: What kept you here primarily fishing on the West Coast? Folkestad: i did go back east in ‘89 and fished B.a.S.S. for three years. i traveled back and forth, driving and flying and fishing. i won a B.a.S.S. championship on the Harris Chain. i qualified for the Classic; but i got burnt out from all of the back and forth. i had my own business and a family. i had to make a decision to stay or to go and i chose to stay here in California and fish in the West.
WB: Was there ever a guy that you would see backing down to launch in the morning and wish that they weren’t going to be in the field of competition for that day - someone that was intimidating as a rival angler? Folkestad: i never had that kind of attitude. if i saw the big names coming in to fish, i felt like it would be an honor to beat them. it was like that when i would see ricky Clunn, Gary Klein, denny Brauer and those guys coming in at the U.S. open. The same
when i would see guys like dave Gliebe, dee Thomas and larry Hopper out here. i wasn’t worried about them. i was glad they were here to fish against.
WB: You told us about your most memorable win, what is your proudest accomplishment? Folkestad: i’m happy that i’ve always been real consistent. i’ve felt like i was always a threat in a tournament. except for the last two years, i’ve always been in the top-10 or 20. When i look at the stats of my career, the aoY’s, the daiwa Cups, i figure that i must have been a pretty good fisherman. it is an honor to be in the Hall of Fame; though it came as a surprise. i knew that i had been nominated, but i didn’t think i would get the votes.
a humble angler, Folkestad wasn’t impressed with his “consistent finishes “for the last two years”; however in the FlW everStart Series - Western division he held an overall rank for 35th even with missing the first event of the season to attend the HoF induction ceremony. He was ranked 14 th in 2012.
Watching Folkestad hold up a near double-digit bass at a weigh-in a few years back, he stated that he had caught so many big ones they just didn’t “make him shake” anymore - (it just wasn’t as exciting as it used to be when he was younger). Honored to interview him on the day it was revealed that he had been inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, i asked him if the induction was something that was “make-you-shake” exciting. teary-eyed, Folkestad said, “This is incredible. i’m still choked up over such an honor. it is the icing on the cake of my career.”
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