"It's that way with crankbaits, too," Sue said. "We both know that in late summer when the walleyes like to spread out and suspend in open water, it's a good time to troll crankbaits. We also know that it pays to cover the entire water column."

"That's why I'll put a lure down on lead-core line and run it deep off a trolling board," Tom said.

"And I'll run a lure on a long-line right straight out the back," Sue said.

"It's not at all uncommon for us to be catching walleyes on both rigs," Tom said, "but generally, one or the other is catching the bulk of the fish, and eventually, we'll both be running deep on lead core or both long-lining."

Sue did add that whichever presentation they chose to troll those lures, each of them will have a different style and color.

"We always keep the bait on that caught the last fish," Tom said, "and sometimes our presentations aren't that far apart. It might just be a color change or a little different wobble if it's a crankbait, but should the sky get cloudy or the wind kick up and the fish decide they want something else, we're ready to give it to them."

One of the factors that go into a good team approach is to forget about being competitive with each other.

"I get this when I'm fishing with someone else at times," Tom said. "Instead of teaming up on the walleyes, the person you're fishing with wants to see if they can catch more fish than you. It probably means you're both more likely to catch fewer fish than if you were working together."

"Tom and I don't care who catches the fish," Sue said. "It's about how many did we catch. And when Tom catches a nice walleye, it's like I did too, and that works both ways."

"People think it's just about reeling in the fish," Tom said, "but it helps when someone keeps the boat in position so that the fish doesn't get dragged under the boat."

"And it's really nice to be able to have confidence in your net man," Sue continued. "We don't lose too many fish at the boat."

According to Tom, if you have planned an outing with someone you haven't been on the water with, you can still team up on those walleyes.

"You need to work out the logistics before you start fishing," he said. "Make sure your new partner understands that it is not a competition, and that let's say you're casting bobbers up to a rockpile and one spot has all the fish on it, you can both work that spot without getting tangled up if you work as a team."

"Or, let's say those walleyes are tight to the base of a dropoff and the Roach Rig on only one side of the boat is getting bites when you make a pass," Sue said. "If you're working as a team, it's not long before you are both spreading out the lines on the same side of the boat."

"One more," Tom said, "and we do this all the time. Let's say the walleyes are on a shallow rockpile and Sue is casting a Slurpies Swim Shiner jig and catching fish. Since she knows where she stashed those lures, I'll hand her my rod, take hers and fish with her rod while she ties on another Swim Shiner. She might not even take her rod back now because she probably tied on a different color pattern on mine and wants to see if it works better. She could just make me look for the lures myself and keep fishing, but we're a team."

While the Browns might have the benefit of fishing together for over 40 years, realizing that their program does result in more fish being hooked is certainly a testament to teamwork.