Headline Speakers

Born and raised in Western New York along the Niagara Escarpment, Joe Fonzi has spent most of his life in the outdoors: fishing, hunting, and trapping. Joe began his outdoor adventures as soon as he was old enough to keep up with his dad and grandfathers, who did it all from fly fishing to trapping. He still owes much of his success to the lessons and ethics that were set forth by these early mentors.

Joe is a graduate of both, New York State school of Environmental Science and Forestry (BSF); and SUNY Brockport, where all of his emphasis was placed on environmental studies. His graduate work was in fisheries management with importance placed on freshwater ecosystems; he participated in a 2 year fisheries inventory study of the New York canal system from Lake Erie to the Hudson River. For the past 22 years Joe has held a US Coast Guard license he's used turned his passion for fishing into a successful fishing charter business. Captain Joe, charters fishing trips on lakes Erie and Ontario, spending almost two hundred days a year in his Ranger boat, targeting smallmouth bass, perch, and walleyes.

When Joe isn't guiding, he tries to fit in as many fishing tournaments as possible. With finishes in the top 5 of both the National Bass and Walleye circuits Joe has accomplished something that most anglers don't even attempt. Other tournament accomplishments include: 6 top ten finishes in the FLW and qualifying for the FLW Costa championship both years he completed the circuit. Joe has also had success north of the border with several wins and top 10 finishes in both the Canadian Sport Fishing League (CSFL) and the Renegade Bass Circuits.

Joe holds pro-staff positions with several outdoor equipment companies including Mack's Lures, Steelshad Lures, Warrior Lures, and most notably Ranger Boats (for the past 14 years) and member of the Mercury Marine pro-team. Joe is entering his fifth year as a Cabela's pro staffer, he often participates in the Cabela's day's events at the Cheektowaga location. Joe also does several seminars each year for local sportsmen's clubs and outdoors shows in both the US and Canada, talking on a wide range of subjects from fishing ethics to tournament-winning strategies.

Roger Hinchcliff began fishing the banks of the Huron River in Southeast Michigan at age 8, and he continues fishing its banks today-over 45 years later! His passion for chasing steelhead all around the Great Lakes region, he says, started at first bite. Roger now spends many days each year-chasing and catching
steelhead in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Alaska, the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and Michigan-which remains his preference.

As a way of sharing his knowledge, Roger is a featured speaker, a popular blogger, rod designer & Vice President for Lamiglas Rod's and is a successful author of many published magazine articles around the country. Roger also has several instructional videos on his YouTube Channel, Steelhead Manifesto. Roger's Social Media pages, of the same name, are very popular. His entertainment & content pages draw around 500K-1 Million visitors each month and has over 190,000 followers on his social media platforms.

Considered an authority on salmon & steelhead fishing, Roger loves to share his expertise with other anglers. He speaks more than 30 times per year, to crowds of 60-400 people, at fishing clubs, consumer shows and retail events. He is also a pro staffer and industry consultant for many fishing companies.
Roger likes to give back to sport by volunteering his time to various river cleanups and conservation projects. He is a Michigan Salmon Ambassador for the Michigan Sea Grant Initiative, developed in coordination with the DNRs of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Roger also serves on the Michigan Coldwater Resources Steering Committee, which provides input, advice, and recommendations to the Fisheries Division on issues related to the state's Coldwater resources-as well as strategies and goals for managing those resources.

Roger is also a member of Metro-West Steelheaders, Trout Unlimited, Grand Rapids Steelheaders, Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders, Michigan Fly Fishing Club, Huron River Fishing Association, and the Steelhead Society of British Columbia.

Craig Sleeman and Team Midnight Express compete at the highest level of walleye tournament fishing in the country! Craig's passion for walleye and perch fishing stems from his Finger Lakes experience in Upstate New York, where he resides and continues to compete. An art teacher by trade, he presents educational workshops at many local and regional expositions on new technology and tournament-proven techniques and will continue to compete on the National Walleye Tour this season.
Craig continues to pursue the Eastern Basin here on Lake Erie with top honors in the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout, Chautauqua Conservation Club and Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge. Craig and his brother, Ethan, also won the Largest Perch Tournament in New York State this past year on Cayuga Lake. A 2025 participant in the National Walleye Tour, Craig has a vast knowledge of techniques, forward-facing sonar expertise, and numerous trolling tactics to make you all better fishermen. Support from local sponsors such as Doc's Tackle, Douglas Rods, Buffalo Roofing and Axis Spine helps in sending Craig and his team on the tour of tremendous success.
This past season Craig was competitive once again at the National level and recorded a third straight finish in the qualifying top 40 in the country along with making the National Championship top 10 two of the 3 years running!
You won't want to miss Craig's classroom sessions as he breaks down the eastern basin using the most up-to-date techniques and video presentations, giving up some of Lake Erie and Finger Lakes secrets!