Andy Johnson Story
Andy grew up fishing. Like many us he has fond memories of fishing with dad. He remembers those real early mornings when dad would awaken him and ask, “Want to go fishing?” More often than not, he would jump at the opportunity and help load the 10-12ft Jon Boat into the pick-up truck and head for the private lake they usually fished in his home state of Iowa.
Andy has a vivid memory of his first major conquest, a 4# bass. This experience, at age 6 or 7, cemented his life long love for the sport. He got the fishing gene from his dad, who fished bass tournaments and was fortunate to have access to a private lake. His mom and dad now live on that private lake.
Besides fishing, Andy excelled at basketball. His Bondurant-Farrar class 2A team won state in his junior year and only had a couple losses in his senior year. Our tall drink of water garnered a full ride athletic scholarship at St. Cloud State to play buckets. “One of the appeals of St. Cloud was that it is located in prime fishing territory.” A team mate, Jason, expanded his species knowledge of walleyes, northerns and muskies, as Andy shared his bass expertise and they teamed up to fish some bass and multi-species tourneys and faired rather well. The friendship remains today as Andy and Jason visit each other a couple times a year, each family with two kids.
Jason and Andy, along with dads, uncles and friends have been making a fishing pilgrimage to Lac Seul, Ontario, for over 15 years. “We got the daily shore lunch down to a science. We all had assigned tasks and could get off and back on the water in a flash and still enjoy the shore lunch experience.”
Another fond pilgrimage is the annual family trip south to Panama City Beach, Florida. Wife, Lindsay, along with daughter Sidney, age 8, and son Tyler, age 6, enjoy the extended family gathering. The vacation also provides a unique fishing opportunity. Andy knows the piers and miles of fertile shoreline where he pursues various saltwater species. He has even landed a couple good sized sharks.
The former fishing department head at Cabela’s has owned Top Notch Window Cleaning for ten years, but he’d rather be cleaning fish. During winter he subs as an elementary teacher when the windows don’t need as much attention. The family is headed to Door County this summer for some camping, but he might just find time to wet a line.
