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He loves catching 10-lb walleyes - and thrives on showing others how to do it.
A good angler never quits learning - ever. Even experts who have been at it a long time, and make a living on the water, still absorb tips, tricks and techniques like water soaking into the marabou of a feathered jig. Not all have it in their nature to share their experiences with others, however.
ICE FORCE pro staffer and television host, James Holst, on the other hand, does so generously and to an ever swelling audience. “The motivation for my involvement in the ice-fishing industry, from my early days as a guide to my TV and Internet fishing businesses of today has been and always will be to share what I’ve learned with anyone that is interested.”
And interested they are... Holst’s dynamic multimedia-machine In-Depth Outdoors (IDO) attracts thousands of viewers and users. And its IDO’s rich content that keeps them coming, and coming... and coming back for more. Literally, Holst has caught more 10-pound plus walleyes live on camera than most will rack up in a lifetime. That makes for must-see TV, and it’s only one example of many.
To that, it’s unlikely anyone matches IDO’s creative integration of underwater footage. Shot through the lens of a MarCum camera, the clips depict below-the-ice activities while Holst and his crew narrate from the surface. Combined, the “above-below” approach tells a comprehensive fishing story, and one with true takeaways - usable intel for anglers.
Holst started teaching others hands-on as a fulltime fishing guide, spending over 250 days a year on the water coaching clients how to fish the Upper Mississippi River as well as track and hook walleyes in Minnesota’s Lake Mille Lacs.
Then, in 2000, his In-Depth Outdoors website was born and allowed Holst to share his experiences to a broader audience. As internet traffic grew, so too did his website, taking on a cyber life of its own.
Subsequently, in 2006, Holst did what many dream of but never dare to do, and started hosting and producing In-Depth Outdoors TV - the show currently in its 7th season and hitting the century mark, with its 100th episode to be aired the spring of 2013.
Once deciding to forgo his guiding career for this greater calling, Holst got back into ice fishing, and with a certain seriousness. Since then, the sport’s become more than just a passion. “It’s an obsession. I love the challenge of overcoming ultra-cold temperatures, high winds and miserable conditions. It makes every walleye caught count double in comparison to open water.
“If I had to describe my approach to ice fishing I would sum it up with ‘shallow, aggressive, big baits = big fish... and never, EVER sit still.”
And you can bet your last jig that Holst will continue sharing that philosophy in the form of living examples on IDO.
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