Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 25, 2023
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
‘Hit And Miss’ Season Turns Into Grand Slam As
Lydic, Aurit Are Crowned First AIM Rivers Champions
During pre-fishing, AIM Weekend Walleye Series angler Allan Lydic reported that his season so far had been a struggle. Well, let’s flip that lens, he apparently said, as he and teammate Daniel Aurit turned that around to whoop the field Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21-22, becoming the first ever AIM Rivers Division champions, also earning a berth in the 2024 AIM Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout.
“These two were either sandbagging or they put it all together when it counted, walking away with the championship by more than 15 pounds over two days,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “They’ll always be remembered as the original AIM Rivers Division champions, a title that no one can take away in an event also featuring the first ever Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Team Of The Year competition. That means, for the first time in our history, we’ll be seeing 40 Shootout teams next June.
“They’ve got a golden ticket to the AIM Shootout, when that Warrior Boat/Yamaha engine Garmin electronics and more combo worth $100,000 to the winner is at stake. We said winning weights will be in the 50s, and these two got extra credit for their total, 63.56 pounds, good for $4,000 plus $800 in first-place side pot cash.”
The answer for Fox on how they did it came from Lydic, from Cassville–his partner Aurit is from Dodgeville, WI. Why did Lydic say his season wasn’t the best, only to turn it all around so quickly?
“I think we gained a little more confidence in the program we should have been running,” Lydic said. And that program was throwing jigs tipped with plastic baits like Hutch’s Ring Worms and any type paddletail,” he said. That, and lots of hours finding four wing dams half-way down the Prairie du Chien pool about 10 miles from the launch, where no other team was.
“We had about four dams we could cycle through, but we ended up settling on one where we caught the most,” he said. “I live in the area, so I knew about the spot, but didn’t know if it’d be ‘going’ or not. I caught a decent fish there, a 24-incher, so I kinda left it alone.” Since he saw more fish there too, it definitely was the right thing to do.
“We actually started on Day One at a different spot. We missed a few bites, then took off, stopping next at the one that did it all.
“That’s where Dan had me catch our biggest fish of the weekend, a 27-incher. We stayed there and fished for around another hour, and we had our limit, another 25 and a 24. Our smallest of the day was a 22-incher,” he said. Day One over, and they were in the lead with 32.15 pounds, and they never looked back. Well, kinda never.
“We had a good feeling especially with a seven-pound lead after Day One. We were also nervous because you don’t want to squander a seven-pound lead. We were hoping the fish cooperated on Day Two to make our decisions easy,” Lydic said. They did, and they were. Day Two found them back to that spot.
“We pulled up and had a bite in five minutes and missed it. Then within the first 15 minutes we had a 25-3/4-incher and that got our spirits up again. We were confident in staying there because the fish were still biting, and we had it all to ourselves,” he added. So good, that by 10 a.m., they had their Day Two fish, including their last, a 16-1/2 incher.
“Fishing was slow after 10. But in the back of your mind, you never know if you had enough to win,” he added. That meant hopping around to their other spots, searching for that final kicker. It never came.
“That put us up to 30 pounds, and we didn’t want to jinx ourselves, but we knew that with our weight the second-place team would have to have 38 pounds, and unless you have the day of your life, that’s hard to do on the Mississippi,” Lydic said. Back at the dock, a little telltale hint picked up from the second-place team made them even more confident that they’d done it. Their Day Two tally: 31.41 pounds.
So, what’s it like to be the first ever, original AIM Rivers Division champions?
“It’s pretty surreal,” Lydic said. Last year my other partner and I won the last Walleye Anglers Trail (WAT, precursor of the AIM Rivers Division), and now we won the first AIM championship. You make all the sacrifices throughout the year to be a competitive fisherman so to actually win the last WAT and the first AIM makes you feel ecstatic. That puts a smile on your face, for sure.”
He also had some special thank-yous. “I’d like to give thanks to my employer, D&D Electric from Lancaster for supporting me in my crazy adventures. I also thank my wife and family for the support they give me,” Lydic added.
Finishing second with also a guaranteed national Championship Shootout slot were Dwayne Smith, Jr., of East Moline, Il, and his partner William Stiner of Moline. They carded 48.33 pounds, good for $2,500 and $480 in second place side pot cash, plus that Shootout appearance.
And they made the AIM cash counter ring again. Because they run Garmin LiveScope in their Mercury 150 Optimax-powered boat, they’re getting $500 in Garmin Rewards for being the highest-finisher using Garmin gear.
They found some good spots during pre-fishing on the Prairie du Chien pool, Smith said.
“We started Monday at the dam but the grass was horrible, so we loaded up and went to the middle of the pool,” he said, again toward those wing dams.
After checking out a couple that was producing smaller fish, they went to their third, and found’em.
“We caught three fish in 15 minutes, a 25-1/2, a 24 and a big 19. We left that spot Tuesday and didn’t fish it until tournament day. We went to the south end, went to one (dam) and caught a 24-1/2 in about 15 minutes and left it alone,” he said.
After fishing hard Wednesday and Thursday, they took Friday off. On Day one Saturday, they were the ninth boat to launch. And after an 8-1/2 mile or so run, they’d arrived.
“We got on it, and probably fished for an hour before our first fish, I think it was in the 25-3/4-inch range. We had four fish by 10 a.m. I hooked up with the fifth and it was really big that just came unbuttoned. My partner broke one off and we hunkered down in that spot. Then it kinda slowed down. We ground it out and couldn’t get our fifth fish. It was just one of those things,” Smith said. They used blade baits, “one eyes,” and live bait including willow cats.
Day Two, they went back and, when things change on the river, they change for the fish, too.
“It looked like the water had dropped and the flow had changed in there. There were fish there, but the big fish had moved out. Our biggest one was a 22 or 22-1/2. We had three others, a 17, 15 and 18, and had a couple came unbuttoned. I looked at my partner and said we’ve got to roll the dice, so we boogied to our second spot and got there around 11. We spot-locked on a wing dam and whack, a 23-3/4-inch. We caught fish consistently. We upgraded four fish down there, but we just couldn’t get into the 27-inch range.”
But, placing second feels good too. And, placing second in Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Team Of The Year points means that their second in the championship bests TOY, so another team moves up in TOY standings and gets to the Championship Shootout. And both Smith and Stiner are ready to try for that $100,000 Warrior-Yamaha-Garmin-package that will be awarded the winner.
“It is a good feeling knowing that we were fishing AIM for the first year. We were kinda struggling on previous events, with a 5th or a 4th . We’ll be fishing against 39 other teams and the odds are pretty good. We’re looking forward to that and next year’s Rivers Division season. I like the schedule,” Smith said.
Here’s how the rest of the top five, all of whom qualified for the 2024 Championship Shootout, finished: In third, earning $2,000 plus $320 in side pot cash were Maury Schmerbach and Mike Glynn, both of Dubuque.
Fourth went to Joe Okada of Cambridge, WI, and Guy Engebretson of Wausau. They finished with 35.65 pounds, winning $1,200. They also hit the Yamaha Power Pay Cash register for another $1,000.
Fifth went to Ryan Beeman of De Soto, WI and Galen Bremmer of Avoca, WI with 31.812 pounds and $750 in winnings.
Fan Nation, we’re wrapping up our 2023 season, but we’ve got one more award to give and it’s a big one: Yamaha Rivers Division Team Of The Year. Stay tuned for that one.
In early 2024, registration opens for the entire 2024 qualifier season in AIM’s four divisions. Learn how to get in on the fun at aimfishing.com.
You know you want to. You know you can.
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