Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats LLC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 10, 2018
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
Goin’ To The Devil Again—Final AIM North Dakota Qualifier
Heads To Devils Lake, And Weather May Be The Decider
Will it be windy, or calm? That may just determine who notches the win in the final AIM Weekend Walleye Series Warrior Boats–Woodland Marine North Dakota qualifier of the season this Sunday, Aug. 12.
“When AIM was here in May, jigs cast into the shallow rocky areas did it,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “And at least one of the crews who will be on this strange part of NoDak is betting that it just may get the job done again if the conditions are right.”
That’s what the father end of the father-son team of Jacob and Don Denning of Fargo says. Don Denning reports that the lake level is dropping, and fishing is as good as it was in spring, when a 26-pound bag won.
“Fishing’s good. I just read a report that the state had its best sample netting they’ve ever had. The numbers of 18- to 20-inchers are way more than last year,” Denning says. But where are they?
“Last weekend we did a tournament out of Minnewaukan (on the lake’s west side) and won,” he added. It was a combo tournament, he says. “We had our walleyes right away. You can catch fish anywhere. My son Jacob just did a tournament the weekend before and he was fishing 43 feet deep on the lake. Sunday, we’re fishing 4 feet,” he laughed.
Meaning, if it’s windy, and that’s what’s predicted, with gusts up to 23 mph in the 92-degree air, they’ll be in close. If it’s calm, they’ll be deep.
“Sunday he was pulling lead core with snap weights and crank baits. A lot of people won’t go shallow on the lake. They think it’s too weedy. If you spend some time on the lake and find areas that are cleaner, you can catch them shallow. You’re going to cast a lot and many won’t be very good and all of a sudden you’ll find a stretch of 100 yards or so and you’ll catch a fish or two. If it’s calm you can go out to the deeper rock piles or an underwater point. People are starting to figure that out.”
And if the weather allows, they’ll be trolling cranks. He likes No. 5 Salmo hornets, or tossing a jigging Rap on the rocks and shallows.
“You can catch deep fish in 25 to 45 feet and put them in the livewell and they’ll throw up four perch, so they’re full.
This is their second year with AIM tournaments, and Denning says he’s sold on AIM’s Catch-Record-Release™ resource-preserving format. “When you go to a kill tournament, you see all those fish, it bothers you. With AIM, you get so good at that picture taking, once you do it three or four times, you’ve got it down. You don’t have to worry about checking the fish in the livewell or anything. You just keep fishing.”
Another entrant, Jordan Joshua, also of Fargo, was reached on the lake pre-fishing Thursday, and he’s predicting Sunday will be won deep despite predictions for wind.
“I think the wind will help the shallow bite more but a lot of the big fish are on the east side of the lake so people are working the rocky structure between 30 and 45 feet deep. We’re seeing a lot of variety of cranks. People also are stalking fish and hovering over them with jigs or glide baits,” Joshua says.
“There are a lot of little fish in the lake too, 10 or 12 inchers. I think the bigger ones are out deeper, eating perch,” which echoes what Denning found, too. “We’re running into a few bigger fish but would like to see more quality,” Joshua adds.
He plans to first fish shallower, pitching cranks, then head to those deeper rocks in the afternoon.
Come Sunday, we’ll find out if that plan will work. The current forecast: sunny, high near 92 south winds 13-16 mph, gusting to 23.
Here’s the rundown: team registration and rules meeting starts at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Elks Lodge No. 1216, 425 U.S. 2, in Devils Lake. Boat inspection begins at 5:30 a.m. at the event sponsor, Woodland Resort on the lake. First teams will take off from the resort at 7 a.m., and will start returning at 3 p.m. The awards ceremony takes place at Woodland Resort starting at 5 p.m.
Watch for live reports dockside and on the water after the launch at AIM’s Facebook site For info on all AIM events, go to aimfishing.com.
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, LLC.
AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Garmin, Navionics, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, AirWave Pedestals, Off Shore Tackle, Vibrations Tackle, Pro Chattrr, Gemini Sport Marketing, Treeland Resort, Anglers Avenue, Moonshine Lures Shiver Minnow, JT Outdoors Products, Fox River Lures and Rods, Bismarck Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau