my spots quickly. I headed to the Lund/Mercury dealer close to home and sat down with the owners telling them of my plans to become a professional walleye angler. Both owners were very supportive and suggested with their help I may be able to work with Lund boats and Mercury motors as a pro staff member. A few weeks later I received the news from both Mercury and Lund that I would become one of the newest pro staff members. Working hard for and with my sponsors means I still run a Lund boat and a Mercury motor, in fact a Lund 2075 Pro V powered by Mercury 300 Verado fitted with two Garmin GPS 7612xsv touch screen units and the two Garmin GPS 7610xsv touch screen units along with the latest Garmin Panoptix all seeing sonar.
As 2009 approached, I joined the National Professional Anglers Association or NPAA and became a very active member. Since then I have helped with all of the Youth Clinics to provide rods, reels and teach the children more about angling in their area. In April 2009, I was finally headed to my first
professional walleye tournament. The PWT had folded at the end of 2008, however, there were still two professional walleye tournaments that used the PRO-AM format. My choice was clear, I chose the AIM Pro Walleye Series, using the
Catch, Record, Release format. I also knew the best anglers in the country were competing and I wanted to try my hand. The first tournament took place in my home
state of Michigan on Saginaw Bay. I spent seven days practicing and preparing for the three day tournament. With all of the hours, over years on the water, nothing had prepared me for this. Not only was the competition good, but also fierce with the other anglers having so many more years of experience and knowledge. I finished in 43rd place. I believe every angler has a moment or two when they are humbled. This was my first humbling moment of many to come. The following week, on a Sunday morning
while at my parents’ summer home with my son, I received a phone call that would change my life. My husband had been in an accident and was in a fatal state. We rushed to the hospital and he passed away the next day. Time seemed to stop and the last thing on my mind was fishing. I received many calls, cards and flowers from people in the fishing industry, I will always appreciate their kind words. My parents came to stay as we picked up the pieces. We moved to the lower part of Michigan and be closer to my family. However, one thing was said to me I will
never forget: “You must continue to fish! This is the only thing that will carry you through. You
will find your strength on the water Marianne. Don’t give up now.” Two months later was my next professional
tournament, and with lots of support I decided to compete. More exhausted than ever, I fished the tournament along with the remaining four tournaments finishing in the mid 40’s for the 2009 Angler of the Year race.
In 2010 I moved to Wisconsin and met my current husband Matthew Pikka. In 2010 I was asked to travel with two of my mentors Mike Gofron ‘Mr. Consistency’ and Mark Brumbaugh. We were joined by Scott Duncan, and we’ve been travelling together to tournaments ever since. At the end of 2010, during the National
Professional Anglers Association conference, I was awarded the ‘Dave Anderson Sportsman of the Year Award’. This was by a vote of over 100 of her peers. The award is given to the angler who has done the most to promote the sport of fishing and has portrayed the best example of professionalism in competitive fishing. I have a passion for, and involvement in charity, youth and educational events through organisations like VFW, Christmas for the Children, The Make a Wish Foundation, Fishing Has No Boundaries, Walleyes for Tomorrow, and the NPAA Youth Clinics.
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