Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2025
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
The village of Genoa, WI may be small, but it’s home to giant walleye. And when the AIM Weekend Walleye Series Rivers Division comes calling this Saturday for the second Rivers Division tournament of 2025, many of those giants are sure to answer the bell – for those anglers who find the right door.
The unseasonably warm, dry weather leading up to and predicted to last through the tournament, has water levels falling and walleye are on the move.
“Looks like summer is arriving early in Genoa, Fan Nation. Come Saturday, we’ll see what the fish think of that but with all these great Rivers Division anglers, you know someone’s gonna figure it out”, said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director.
From lock and dam 9 located just downstream of Lynxville, WI upstream to lock and dam 7 in Lacrosse, WI, teams will have lots of water to choose from (55 river miles in all) but must choose wisely: especially if they opt to lock through to fish pool 8, consuming precious fishing time and introducing the risk of getting caught behind a barge and not making it back in time.
When they get to where they’re going, they’ll also have to decide on the best presentation. Will willow cats be the winning ticket like they were last year when Joe Newcomb and Kyle Brantner won with a weight of 25.26 pounds? Or maybe trolling crankbaits to cover lots of water like last year’s second-place team of Keegan Einerson and Kolebe Ferguson will be the ticket? If there’s one thing you can count on with post-spawn fish on the mighty Mississippi, it’s that you can’t count on any one tactic for very long.
The second-year Rivers Division team of Chance Zimpel and Kyle Lund live in nearby Boscobel, WI and Soldiers Grove, WI respectively and are hoping that familiarity leads to a strong showing. “Pool 9 is what I would call my ‘home water’. It’s where I spend a lot of my time”, said Zimpel.
Zimpel and Lund finished 19th in this same tournament last year as part of a respectable run to a 12th place finish in their inaugural AIM season. Unfortunately, they got off to a bit of a slow start this year, blanking in the first Rivers Division tournament (at Cassville), leaving them little margin for error in the remaining tournaments in the race to qualify for next year’s Shootout. “We definitely put the pressure on ourselves”, said Zimpel.
Zimpel and Lund expect to do a lot of casting with jigs and plastics, but pulling willow cats isn’t out of the question. “The willow cat bite is definitely getting going now. It’s always good to have some willow cats on board”, said Zimpel.
Given their familiarity with pool 9, it’s not surprising that that’s where they expect to spend most of their time. “I’ve got a few little honey holes that in the past two weeks have produced a few nice fish”, said Zimpel, adding “I don’t have a ton of experience on pool 8 but there are a lot of big fish holes there.”
Unlike Zimpel and Lund, the Lake Pepin area team of Jeff Breuer of (Lake City, MN) and Paul Kennebeck of (Reads Landing, MN) have little experience on pools 8 and 9. They are newcomers to the AIM circuit but have fished together for 40 years. “I’ve been away for 15 years and am looking forward to getting back in the game”, says Breuer. They dove right into the deep end in their return to competitive fishing in the very tough Cassville Rivers Division opener where they finished a respectable 12th place – not a bad debut and certainly something to build on.
Breuer and Kennebeck are leaning toward locking through and fishing pool 8 even though they haven’t had a great deal of success in practice yet. But there’s still a few days left, and they plan to hit it hard starting Wednesday and hope to have some things figured out by Saturday’s take-off.
“I’m looking for a blade bait bite and am also hoping to find a productive wing dam or two”, said Breuer: something that might just work out for them if water levels continue to fall as expected. And like Zimpel and Lund, they’re going to have some willow cats on board, “just in case”.
So, what’s it going to take to win? “Given the tough bite we’ve had in practice so far, I’d say it’s going to be tough to match last year’s 25+ pound winning catch”, said Breuer. Perhaps he’s a little gun shy about predicting big bags after last month’s Rivers Division opener where predictions of 25 to 30-pound bags failed to materialize, despite reasonably good weather.
Time will tell so be sure to follow all the action on AIM’s Facebook page. And for those looking to get in on the fun, visit aimfishing.com and sign up for the Rivers Division or one of the other three divisions.
Here’s the lineup for Saturday. Team rules and registration meeting takes place online at 8 p.m. Friday, May 9th, 2025. Boat inspection takes place from 5:30am – 6:45am at Thief Slough Launch. The first flight of boats goes at 7:00am and must return by 3:00pm. The second flight goes at 7:15am and must return by 3:15pm. Awards will take place at the launch. Good luck, all teams, and stay safe!
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™) is a unique tournament organization created and owned by many of the most accomplished and recognizable professional walleye anglers, along with others who share the mission of advancing competitive walleye fishing and making it sustainable into the future.
AIM is committed to marketing excellence on behalf of its tournament competitors, the tournament host communities, and the brands that partner with it. AIM is also committed to maintaining healthy fisheries across the nation by the development of the exclusive AIM Catch-Record-Release™ format which is integral to its dynamic events and unparalleled consumer engagement. For more information about AIM™, AIM Pro Walleye Series™, AIM Weekend Walleye Series, AIM sponsors and AIM anglers, visit www.aimfishing.com.
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AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Garmin, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Rosemore Outdoor Gear, Adventure Recreational Finance, Oconto County WI., Forever Barnwood, The Bighorn Store