Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2024
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
Four ‘Eyes, 43-Plus Pounds Brings Maki, Bricko
The Win At AWWS AIM Leech Lake Qualifier
It was only four fish, but what a four-of-a-kind, including a thrasher 32-incher that netted Dylan Maki and Joe Bricko the win at the AIM Weekend Walleye Series Warrior Boats Open Minnesota qualifier on Leech Lake Sunday (July 14), using what the preview predicted, a jig and leech.
“How’s that for a bestie, only four walleyes, averaging nearly 11 pounds each, including that monster that came in at a huge-o-licious 13.9 pounds and Fan Nation, Maki and Bricko did it, as predicted, on a jig and a leech,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “They went home with $8,000 plus $1,600 in first-place Side Pot Challenge cash. Leech also was as predicted, mostly flat calm for our event. It was a fantastic tournament. The second and fifth place finishers were only separated by 1.97 pounds.”
“Leeches, crawlers, we tried it all during pre-fish and we had a little bit of luck with a bobber and a leech and a little with jigs and minnows, all in Walker Bay,” Maki, from Cohasset, said. Bricko is from Woodbury, and he’s the one who caught that possible lifetime best fish that won the tournament for them, on a leech.
Pre-fishing, the pair settled on three spots in Walker, in a Mercury 400 Verado powered boat, with Garmin LiveScope in their electronics.
“That in our opinion is where the biggest fish are and the smallest concentration. The lake is so massive that if they move a little overnight sometimes it can take hours to find them,” Maki said. “If they move in Walker, it can be easier to relocate them. In fact, we caught a 30 the first day of pre-fish and after that we quit throwing at them and just did a lot of looking. We actually didn’t even fish the spot we caught the 30 out of.”
They also wanted to home in on spots that were getting less attention.
“We knew it was going to be hard to fill our card but if we did, we’d likely win or have a really good showing. We tried to write off spots that would have a lot of fish. These fish already were in a terrible mood. We had to find spots where nobody was messing with them.”
That tactic worked. Well. At their first spot they caught three of their total.
“Our first were a 27, and a 29-1/2. Then came that 32, on Bricko’s rod. On a leech and a bobber, at 9:56 a.m.
“It was unbelievable. It was probably an eight-minute fight. We got our first glimpse of it when it was turning to make another run. We were kinda second-guessing whether it was a walleye. It went on another run, and we were so taken aback because it looked so huge,” Maki said. “It was a beautiful net job and the hook was buried. It made 20 runs by the time we could see it. It was a crazy fight. It was Joe’s biggest fish ever.
“As soon as we got that thing we were just giggling like schoolgirls, 13.9 pounds,” he said. “We were relieved to have such a huge fish, but we still only had three, so we had ground to make up. We spent the next couple minutes processing what actually happened,” he added. Then they went to their next spot and didn’t catch their fourth fish, a 29, until around noon. That fourth and last came from Spot Number 2, only after about 10 minutes, and again on Bricko’s end.
“It was definitely a grind. We threw at 20 to 30 fish, and they didn’t bite anything. Leech has been super tough this year, all year long. I don’t know the reason but boy, is it ever,” he said.
“Joe said, ‘I think this one is going to take it,’ and after a four or five-minutes of back-and-forth, that 29 was in the net and we put it on our card. We went back to our starting spot and the fish were gone. So, we went to spot Number 3 and I had the fifth fish on for about 10 seconds and it popped off. Once that happened, we were kinda down, thinking, there went our chance at a really big bag,” he continued.
With about an hour left they figured to try at an eater-size fish spot to hopefully catch one more, but they weren’t having it.
“We went in with our heads down and honestly, we thought we put ourselves out of a place for not getting our next fish,” he said, but their thoughts turned a bit to wondering if they’d actually done it with only four on their card when they were asked to submit to a polygraph. The winners and 2 other luck of the draw teams got the chance to do that.
“Denny always starts with how many fish teams put on the card. He made it all the way to second and they carded seven, and I said, ‘oh my gosh we did it.’ Honestly, I figured if we’d make it to the top five, we’d be happy.
“The most important thing for us was for points. We weren’t trying to win it. We won on the Mississippi. We had a fifth on Mille Lacs and we had to skip Big Stone, so we were kind of under pressure to get good points for this last one,” he said.
The race for the Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Team Of The Year is tight, and Maki and Bricko know it. “We will have 587 points of a possible 600 so that will leave us sitting really well. There are definitely a few teams that will be dangerous going into the championship on Lake of the Woods. It’s been on fire this year and has been great for us the last few times, so hopefully the wind won’t blow like crazy and we can have some fun out there,” he said.
Finishing in second was one of those teams that also will be in the hunt, are Evan and father Steven Rosemore, of North Branch and Cloquet. They finished 2.27 pounds behind the winners, boating 41.13 pounds, winning $3,100 plus second-place cash of $960 in the Side Pot Challenge, and those TOY points.
Evan Rosemore felt that this finish should move them into fifth, barely. They also got their fish on Walker with their Garmin aboard their Mercury 300 Pro XS-powered boat, but using Number 5 Northland Puppet Minnows almost exclusively, fished bare.
“We spent a couple days pre-fishing in Walker Bay and had a spotty bite but the ones we were finding were big. We went to the main lake and found some good fish but not as good as the ones in Walker,” Rosemore said. “They were easier to come by but weren’t quite as big, but we knew we could get five.” Rosemore is an AIM sponsor. Their plan: get five there above 23 inches and hope to get a kicker or two in Walker.
“We had five above 25 in the main lake, and we did that in about three hours. After another 45 minutes we were hoping to get an upgrade there, but made the call and moved to Walker,” he said.
“On our very first cast at our first good mark we caught a 28-3/4-incher. That got us thinking maybe we should have been there all along. Walker can do that. Sometimes it turns on, but it didn’t happen. We lost one other, but I don’t think it would have been enough to win. It might have gotten us closer. I think we caught a 25-1/2 at the very end but it wasn’t big enough to make our card.”
“We did the mental math and knew we were above 40 pounds, and historically if you get above 40, you’re in first or second. The last few tournaments, first was at 45-plus pounds and second was 39 pounds. We knew we had a chance but didn’t think we had it. I was saying we’d be in the top three, my dad was saying top five.
“All were on a Rosemore Chambers Island 7-foot medium extra fast rod. They’re sold out right now but should be back in stock in late August or September. But, I’m happy. We’re in the hunt for Team Of The Year and that was our goal. You can’t be disappointed with this finish against a field that’s this good.”
Finishing in third place were first-time AIM anglers Ryan Klein and Michael Juelson, both of Hines. They netted $2,100 for 40.05 pounds. Another first-time AIM crew finished fourth, Matt Newell and Will Annette, both from Bemidji. They scored 39.34 pounds of fish for $1,400 plus third in the Side Pot Challenge for another $640. Fifth and $1,300 went to Zachary Christenson of Cambridge, and Kaden Hudak of Princeton, MN.
Next weekend, AIM heads to the Bay of Green Bay off Oconto, WI, and the Garmin Open there on Sunday, July 21. You can still get in on it all. Go to aimfishing.com to join in the 11th season of the continent’s most affordable, lucrative walleye tournament series. Follow all the fun at AIM’s Facebook page.
You know you want to. You know you can.
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.
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AIM Presenting Sponsors: Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. and Warrior Boats inc.
AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Garmin, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Gemini Sport Marketing, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Rosemore Outdoor Gear, Outdoor Authority fish house rentals, Adventure Recreational Finance, Oconto County WI., Forever Barnwood