I am Patrick Mertens, owner of Hookin'Eyez Fishing Promotions, and one of the anglers of the Hookin’ Eyez tournament team. I am happily married to my wonderful wife, Connie. We have four great kids, all grown and on their own now. We live in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
I was born in West Bend, Wisconsin, and moved to Elkhart Lake many years ago to enjoy the good life. I worked in retail management for 28 years: shoes stores and sporting goods. I am presently employed with the state of Wisconsin as a corrections officer at a state prison. Just like in fishing, there is something new that happens every day, and I’m thankful to return home safe every night.
My fishing experience dates back about 56 years. Wow! (Now you can guess how old I am.) I started fishing as a young boy and grew up to love the sport. I found that my passion was to fish for walleyes, and I started taking it seriously in my late twenties. Although I thought about fishing tournaments for many years, I didn’t get into them until about seven years ago. I fished my first tournament on the Wisconsin River with a buddy of mine, and I was, pardon the pun, hooked! I found it to be exciting and challenging at the same time. I have met and learned many things from some great anglers over the years.
I teamed up with my fishing partner, Chris Osgood, about nine years ago and have not looked back since. Chris brings a youthful energy to the team and a positive attitude to give me a boost whenever needed. We work well together, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner. Chris and I have fished many different walleye tournaments and plan to expand our fishing experiences to many different walleye circuits in many other states!
In closing, I want to give thanks to my biggest sponsor, my wife, who understands my passion and helps me make it all come true!
I look forward to meeting all of you somewhere out on the waters...