Had the chips fallen differently decades ago, Sammy Cappelli might very well have become a diehard bass fisherman.

Instead, the forces of the planet flung young Cappelli into headlong pursuit of walleye fishing and a passion for national competition.

Now a multiple major champion, Cappelli took time recently to reflect on the “Why” behind his decisions to direct his fishing efforts on walleye and to jump into competitive fishing.

“Dad started me off fishing when I was very young,” said Cappelli, who now resides in Poland. “We used to go to Berlin to a place we called the ‘Bass Hole,’ a little bay with a creek with a waterfall. At the base was a 5-foot-deep hole where we would catch tons of bass. I liked pitching baits to the trees, and I soon started catching walleyes around the wood.”

Cappelli said Berlin’s willows in those days were really good for walleyes.

“That’s why I still fish them to this day,” he said.

He became enthralled with shallow-water walleye fishing, and when he was a teen, he bought his first boat, a 12-foot Meyers jon boat with an electric motor. It was the perfect platform from which he could poke and probe shallow cover. Soon, he added a 9.5-horse outboard and the walleye bug really bit.

“It went fast from there,” he said. “I started keying on one fish, figuring out how to catch walleye, and only walleye.”

Why walleye?

“I think it is because there are a lot of different ways to catch them,” Cappelli said. “We have different techniques — trolling, hand-lining, casting — just a broad scope of techniques to use.”

While most anglers’ walleyes end up on dinner plates, Cappelli is a catch-and-release guy who has never been much of a fish eater.

“I enjoy some during Lent, but if you look in my freezer, you won’t see even one pack of walleye filets,” he said.

His dedication to walleyes built his knowledge about the fish and its behavior.

“We grew up believing walleye are light sensitive and prefer cold water, but I’ve come to learn that I could catch them in two feet of water pitching jigs in trees,” Cappelli said. “When I’m fishing Mosquito Lake or any of the lakes around Youngstown, I’m always in five feet or less.”

Cappelli’s happy place is on the water.

“I love being on the boat, with the wind and sun and water,” he said. “Plus, tournament fishing intrigued me because there’s always somebody who finds fish, so I learned how to make it happen for me, too. I’ve never really had a bad day on the water. When it’s tough, it just makes me fish harder.”

As he gained experience, Cappelli graduated from his jon boat to an 18-foot Starcraft and learned how to troll for Lake Erie’s offshore walleye schools. He then bought a Penn Yan and earned a captain’s license to afford him even more opportunities to learn Erie’s walleye ways.

He later sold his Erie boat and stepped into a 14-foot Lund to fish walleye tournaments on inland reservoirs.

“I stood on a milk crate on the floor of the Lund and had two spinning rods, a box of jigs and a box of crankbaits and worked my way up,” he said.

Competition accelerated Cappelli’s learning.

“Getting in the big tournaments, fishing against Hall of Famers Keith Kavajecz, Gary Parsons, Ted Takasaki (now a teammate), I didn’t let them intimidate me,” Cappelli said. “I wasn’t fishing against them, but against the fish. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 boats or 200 boats, if I can figure out the fish, I can win.”

As technology gains importance, Cappelli knows the importance of understanding sophisticated electronics.

“Right now it’s all about forward-facing sonar,” he said. “You have to learn your electronics. I was never a gamer, but the kids who grew up playing video games, they’re kicking our butts. I just don’t know how far it’s going to go. But we still have to catch the fish no matter how good electronics are.

“Fishing is a science. The challenge of figuring out that particular fish, the spawn, where they go in droughts, where they go in the wind or rain or cold temps-that is what drives me.”

Jack Wollitz is the author of “The Common Angler,” a book that explores the “Why” behind anglers’ passion for fishing. He welcomes reader emails at jackbbaass@gmail.com.