Dennis Foster

After many years of self education, study, and perseverance, Dennis could now be considered a seasoned veteran of the Outdoor World.  He has fished as a Touring Pro on the PWT and number of other Professional Walleye Tournament Circuits, as well as guiding both open and hard water for Multi-Species fishing action in his home state of South Dakota.  Dennis also manages over 25,000 acres of exclusive private land for Pheasant and Waterfowl Hunting in Northeastern South Dakota.  He still enjoys the competition and comeraderie along with the very steep learning curve associated with fishing against the best anglers in the country and somehow manages to compete in as any many high level Walleye Tournaments as scheduling will allow.  But at this point in his career, the majority of his efforts are now devoted to promoting Outdoor Sports in general and to adding to his ever-growing body of educational based articles.

He has been published in several publications over the last few years with monthly features now found in publications including, but not limited to; MidWest Outdoors and Great Plains Game and Fish and well known websites such as www.walleyecentral.com.  His work is also Nationally recognized as a frequent contributor to In-Fisherman Magazine publications.   This has now branched into Television appearances on shows such as The Fishing Crew TV and In-Fisherman TV.  To see the full body of work and to learn more about Fishing, Hunting, and Promotional opportunities, you can visit his website www.eyetimepromotions.com.  Feel free to call as he always has time to talk fishing and hunting.

But, this level of exposure and knowledge was not always so.  Dennis came into the Fishing world from very humble beginnings.  Being raised in rural South Dakota, outdoor activities were a natural part of his upbringing with all of his spare time spent hunting and trapping.  He was decidedly intrigued and influenced by the sport of trapping.  This now makes sense as many of the same principals and objectives apply to both trapping and fishing as we need to have an extensive knowledge of our quarry’s travel, feeding, and reproductive habits in an attempt to fool them into doing something that is not in their best interest.  Other than fishing for an occasional Bullhead in a muddy farm river (that was all that was available close by) that were to eventually be used for Coon bait, his education in the sport of fishing was all but non-existent until entering College.

This is when he began a slow and steady journey that would turn into a lifelong passion.  This began with some very rudimentary ice fishing trips where the thirst for knowledge began and continues to this day.  Being young, dumb and broke (these things seem to go together) these first forays involved equipment as basic as a 2x4 wrapped with line and a tire iron to open old holes.  Northern’s were the first targets and at times even proved to be surprisingly receptive to the novice efforts.

It didn’t take long to realize that there had to be easier ways in which to achieve better results.  His Father’s chainsaw was soon employed to cut holes (at least until the old man found out about it) and discarded sections of broom handles were retro-fitted with cut off 16 penny nails and a couple of pieces of doweling in an attempt to duplicate the store bought stuff the old guys were using.  These rigs were accessorized with a kinky wire leader, a smelt hook, rubbercore sinker, and a great big orange bobber to round out the deal.  He can still vividly recall the anticipation of putting these first “real” ice fishing tools to work while building them in the very garage of the house he now owns and lives in today.

A lot has changed over the last twenty five years, but as much as knowledge and techniques may have evolved, the desire has remained the constant.  Not just the desire to catch fish, but to continually discover new and improved ways in which to do so.  That is why Dennis is selective as to who he works with and is extremely proud to partner with innovative companies such as HT Enterprises.  This is satisfying in the fact that he can not only provide input and be on the cutting edge of using and promoting new products to the angling public, but just as importantly...teaching them how to get the most from their purchases.

This is reflected in the heavily experimental nature of his personal fishing with the results being shared in the educational emphasis of his writings.  This knowledge is also relayed on a very personal level through the numerous Family Events Dennis has conducted over the years.  This is an attempt to let others learn from not only his positive experiences, but also from the incalculable number of mistakes he has made along the way.  Hopefully instilling some of the same driving passion to Children and Parents alike and once given a good solid base of knowledge in which to work from; this helps to encourage them to strike out on their own lifelong journey into all of what the outdoor world has to offer.