Jeff Zernov
Aside from being an intense angler, Jeff Zernov is a tireless fishing innovator and inventor. He holds dozens of fishing-related patents, patent-pendings, and trademarks. At 18, the Milwaukee native was obsessed with fishing and moved to Brainerd to work with Al and Ron Lindner, the original Lindy Tackle company, and the "Lindy Rig revolution."
In the mid-1970s he helped the Lindners launch In-Fisherman media. Zernov founded Zercom Corporation and developed the first real-time LCD flasher. He currently heads Nature Vision, Inc., maker of Aqua-Vu underwater viewing systems, Bird-Vu, Buzz-Stix ice rods, and other outdoor- and fishing-related products. In crediting the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame for its youth focus, Zernov recalled his own early "positive fishing experiences" that helped shaped his fishing-oriented life. His parents bought a place on Okauchee Lake near Milwaukee when he was 12.
There the young Zernov encountered pioneer angling guru Bill Binkelman. He "devoured" fishing literature and the angling broadcasts of Gadabout Gaddis, Curt Goudy, and Buck Perry. His move to Minnesota and his subsequent 32 years of making Minnesota fishing history are traceable to early Lindner angling seminars for the Okauchee Lake Fishing Club and Walleyes Unlimited.