Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats LLC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 9, 2020
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
AIM Quest For The Best Comes To Minnesota, Wisconsin
With Potential First-Place Lure Of $30,000 At Each
How’s a chance of hooking up with a potential first-place check for $30,000 just for hooking up with some humongo walleyes sound? If you like what you saw in the first AIM Quest For The Best Tournament, you’ll be seeing double in 2021, with two Quest events, this time in Minnesota and Wisconsin, on some of the best walleye water in the nation.
“AIM is proud to announce we will be doubling our Quest For The Best tournaments for 2021, meaning there’s a potential for one team to scoop up $60,000 by popping firsts in both tourneys,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director.
“The first AIM Quest For The Best took place on the Mississippi River last June, sponsored by Quality Flow Systems of New Prague, MN.” QFSI is a major representative for KSB industrial grade submersible pumps, and also is a control panel manufacturer, and they’re onboard again for 2021.
“I have to give a big shout out to Quality Flow Systems for continuing their support for both events this year,” Fox added. “They’re fishermen. They get what we do and want to be connected with the values these tournaments promote, and we truly appreciate it. If you are in a business that needs pumps and control panels, go take a look at what Quality Flow has to offer.”
Now to the meat and potatoes, Where, when and how will these events take place?
#1
The first Quest of 2021 will take place June 10-11 on Minnesota’s legendary Lake Mille Lacs and will be headquartered at the tournament’s sponsor, McQuoid’s Inn in Isle. Details will follow as the dates draw near but this one you will not want to miss. Reserve your vacation time and then call McQuoid’s to make your reservations. The resort offers everything from hotel rooms to five-bedroom log condos that are perfect for teams.
Tim Potoczny, owner of McQuoid’s Inn and a dedicated catch-release walleye angler, says teams will be in store for a great experience on a great fishing lake, especially that time of year.
“Usually, June sees our best fishing of the year for both size and numbers,” Potoczny said, who welcomes the attention that AIM and the Quest For The Best will draw to again showcase one of Minnesota’s best walleye lakes.
Mille Lacs was catch-release all last summer, meaning all those big fish are ready to see what you’ve got to offer this coming season. And since it potentially will be catch-release only for 2021’s soft water season as well, AIM’s increasingly popular C-R-R format pioneered by AIM for all its tournaments including the Quest fits right in, he said. That means the potential is definitely there for those big bags that Mille Lacs is famous for and that catch-and-keep tourneys just can’t match.
“Fish will be post-spawn of course and have had time to recoup” and get hungry, he added. A bobber with large minnows or creek chubs may be the path to get on the podium. “Usually, cranks will come a little bit later in the season. I expect a pretty solid bag will be needed to win,” Potoczny added.
#2
The second event will be about a month later. On July 15-16, teams will play for two days on another one of the hottest walleye waters in the nation, The Bay of Green Bay out of none other than the epicenter of all walleye fishing on the Bay, Marinette, WI.
This Quest For The Best is sponsored by the City of Marinette.
Gavin Scray, executive director of Marinette’s recreation and events and himself a charter boat captain, said the city is eager to showcase the walleye fishery there, and AIM is one of the best ways to do so.
“One of our goals is to establish Marinette, WIsconsin as THE fishing destination on the Bay of Green Bay and by bringing in tournaments like this helps put Marinette on the map as a trophy walleye fishery. I don’t get to spend my time tournament fishing, but I spend much of my free time on the water, and we’re all in for AIM’s Catch-Record-Release™ format.”
The potential for big bags that time of year is huge. At the two-day AIM Wisconsin championship in Marinette in 2019 for example, it took an amazing 112-plus pounds to win.
“Walleye anglers know about the treasure that is the Bay of Green Bay. The city of Marinette is jumping through nets to make this event a total must-fish,” Fox added, “and this gives AIM a chance to again shine a spotlight on this absolutely fantastic fishery, and on our Catch-Record-Release™ format, which puts caught fish right back in the water they came from, still alive, after a quick measure and photograph.”
How do I get involved?
Entry to the Quest For The Best will be based on a two-person team. Each teammate needs to be a member of AIM for $40.00 and entry for the two-day event is $1,000 per team. The best part? Anyone in the country can enter to fish one or both of the Midwest’s best walleye waters. Entry’s will start Feb. 1 2021 on our website.
With a field of 100 boats, the winners share will be a $30,000 Payday. Payout schedule will be posted on our website as at least 90 percent of the entry fees get paid back in cash to 15 percent of the field. Furthermore, the winners also earn a guaranteed spot in the AIM Weekend Walleye Series Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout in 2022, and a chance at that Yamaha-powered Warrior boat with Garmin electronics worth a cool $55,000, plus a shot at pocketing even more cash through sponsor incentives and AIM’s side pot.
More info on both events will follow in the near future. Both events are geared so anglers also have the opportunity to in effect fish two tournaments in the same week at each location if they also sign up for the regular one-day state qualifiers for the AIM Weekend Walleye Series (AWWS) that trail each Quest event on the Sunday after.
Now, what else makes an AIM Weekend Walleye Series team twitchier than a night crawler on a hook? The announcement of where the 2021 National Championship Shootout will be, of course.
Don’t worry, it’s coming, Fox said. Keep looking on AIM’s Facebook page for those updates, as well as details on our sponsors, all AIM tournaments, and when and how you can sign up. It will all be at the AIM website soon.
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.
AIM Presenting Sponsors: Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. and Warrior Boats inc.
AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Garmin, Berkley, Abu-Garcia, Fenwick, Navionics, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, AirWave Pedestals, Off Shore Tackle, Pro Chattrr, Quality Flow Systems, Gemini Sport Marketing, Oshkosh Visitors Bureau, Moonshine Lures Shiver Minnow, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, City of Marinette, WI