For many decades, Denny Nelson has stood as a beacon of commitment to the sport of tournament bass fishing in the upper Midwest. We salute Denny’s unparalleled dedication and his unwavering “fisherman first” approach. He changed the game in amateur bass fishing, creating a unique tournament series that allowed anglers to master Lake Minnetonka in all stages of bass fishing.

Denny held his first Super 30 tournament in the fall of 1989 on Clearwater with seven boats. Since then, Denny has held hundreds of tournaments, paying out over $3,000,000 in winnings.

The Dennys Super 30 series was the beginning of multiple professional bass angling careers, including the famous Seth Fieder, who went on to win the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year award. Along with Austin Felix, and others who have competed professionally, the Dennys Super 30 circuit allowed these anglers to develop into master anglers due to the array of challenges fisherman face on Lake Minnetonka. By having a tournament every month of the bass fishing season, Denny provided anglers with the opportunity to learn the pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, early summer, mid summer, late summer, and fall fishing patterns. Lake Minnetonka also provides clear water, murky water, and dirty water fishing opportunities in its wide assortment of bays, which also contributed to these anglers success.

Denny prioritized his “fisherman first approach” by provided anglers a quick and efficient weigh in, combined with saving lots of time so teams could dedicate more time towards fishing. He also communicated through email rather than having pre-tournament meetings, trusting his anglers to follow directions and respect the tournament.

Thanks to Dennys unwavering dedication, Dennys Super 30 continues to be the most competitive tournament series in the upper midwest.

We salute Denny and his dedication to the Minnesota bass fishing community, and plan to continue his Legacy for years to come.