It took five years, but John Eggers has finally arrived at "Minnesota Bound."
Eggers, who calls himself the "Spin Doctor," owns ES&S Eggers Spinners and Spinfishing in Rochester. This weekend, at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and 10:35 p.m. Sunday on KTTC -TV, Eggers will appear on the weekly program with Ron Schara. Eggers will show off local ponds and creeks and his homemade spinners as the two men fish for trout.
As a owner of the lure company, Eggers attends a lot of home and sports shows. At a show five years ago, Schara stopped by Eggers' booth to talk about the dangers of spinners with multiple hooks. Schara convinced Eggers to look into a single-hook spinner for young fishermen. While talking about spinners, Schara invited Eggers to be a guest on his outdoors show.
Four straight years Schara invited him to appear on his program, Eggers said, but the two men could not find the right time. In 2013, Eggers and Schara finally agreed on a date, only to have a late spring snowstorm cancel plans.
"After the snowstorm, I figured it was over. It wasn't meant to be," Eggers said. "But then, last year, the show called again and we were able to make it work."
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Eggers said last April the stars all aligned and Schara traveled down to Olmsted County. The two men fished the Root River by Forestville State Park. Eggers has been on other outdoor shows, so he knew he needed to pick a spot that not only had fish in the water, but also room on the shore for cameramen.
"I had to do a lot of pre-fishing to find the right spot," he said. "Whenever I'm on a show, it's really important that we catch fish. It's not as easy as just taking a person fishing. You can't pick your super secret spot a mile down the road. That's too far for a cameraman to walk. It's not always ideal conditions for catching fish, but I try to do the best I can to make sure we catch trout."
Appearing on the show was not just a fun time for Eggers, it also helped his business. The show with Eggers premiered on Twin Cities stations last week and is currently streaming on www.mnbound.com. As a result, Eggers said, he already has gotten phone calls from people interested in his products.
"It was a fun time and I've gotten several calls from people telling how well the spinners performed," Eggers said.
