Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2024
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
‘Just Havin’ Fun’ Brings Petenwell’s Walleyes To The Net,
And AWWS Wisconsin Qualifier Win For Beckwith, Lakich
They didn’t have time to pre-fish, Tristan Beckwith said, so he and Isaac Lakich just went to some spots they knew to “just have fun” and they shoulda bought a lottery ticket or two as well Sunday (May 19), because the 35.60 pounds they hefted won the AIM Weekend Walleye Series Garmin Open Wisconsin qualifier on Lake Petenwell, and $9,000, and those Yamaha Outboards Team Of The Year Points.
“Fan Nation, we’ve said this over, and over, and over and oh yah, over again too, that so many times, a team that’s relaxed on the water gets’er done, and that’s what happened on Petenwell Sunday,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “Beckwith and Lakich took home $9,000 from AIM. They also could have gotten their hands on a whopping $7,500 for finishing first running a Warrior 2090 Tiller, IF they had been registered with Warrior. And in their case, you’ve got to be in it, to win it.
“Warrior will give you, Warrior boat owners, up to $7,500 for winning an AIM event, but you’ve got to register at their site. If you use Garmin exclusively, you can be eligible for another pile from Garmin thanks to its Tournament Rewards program. If you don’t, you’re leaving money on the table. Fun is the best thing to have along when you’re fishing, and these two proved it again,” Fox said.
“One more thing. The second-place team were AIM first-timers, proving once again that if you think you’ve got the ability to compete, you probably do. Now let’s hear how both teams did it, and be sure you also see the results from Part 2 of Sunday’s double-header, which took place in Minnesota.”
“We actually didn’t pre-fish it at all,” confirmed Beckwith. They had another appointment with walleye out of Sturgeon Bay in the Door Peninsula. “We fished Petenwell a couple of times with AIM, so we approached this like we’re just havin’ fun.
“We got into an area we knew to hold big fish and milled round, near the timber right off the main channel in 15 feet of water using jigs and minnows, and slowly picked away at them with LiveScope, casting. They were relating to the trees on the break line.”
“We were targeting the bigger fish, so we weren’t even casting at the smaller ones. We only really casted at probably 60 fish all day and caught half of them,” Beckwith said. “As soon as you got the bait near the fish, they’d eat it right away. If they didn’t, we would move on to the next.” But, it literally wasn’t sealed until the last minute.
“Isaac actually caught a 28-incher in the last two minutes before we had to leave, and that was the big kicker that put us over the top. It was pretty awesome, seeing that fish come up right at the end. We were both yelling and high-fiveing,” he said.
“From tournaments in the past I knew we had a shot, but there are some good sticks in this circuit, and we’ve been surprised out here before when someone comes in who just totally cracked’em,” Beckwith added. “I was expecting someone to come in with a bigger bag. We got lucky.” How are their chances in Team Of The Year?
“We didn’t do well at Winneconne, but if we do well in the next, we might have a shot at it,” Beckwith added.
In second place were Jacob Reis of Oakfield and Christopher Mashin of Neillsville, in their first-ever AIM event. They finished with 31.24 pounds, winning $3,500, plus $2,400 in AIM Side Pot Challenge cash, aboard a Mercury 300 Verado-powered platform, with LiveScope among the electronics.
“I fish this lake four or five times a year with two buddies who fish it often, and we were pretty familiar with it. They talked us into joining. Chris and I talked about it to see if we can compete with these guys and we said this is the year, let’s give it a try,” Reis said.
“We had some pretty good ideas where to go Thursday and Friday, checking normal spots. Saturday, we focused on the windward side along the channels and at the last spot was where I’d never fished before. We found a nice transition line with some wood along it and checked with our LiveScope,” Reis said. They liked what they saw.
“We found a good pod. We did a drift through and pulled up a 24-incher and a 22, and said, ‘okay, that’ll be spot number 1 for tomorrow. We picked up and left,” he continued.
Come Sunday, they were the 35th team to leave, went straight to their spot, and nobody was there. They locked on it, dropped jigs and minnows and slowly drifted, also using dead sticks. By 9:30, they had their five.
“Our first fish and biggest was a 26-1/4. By 10:30 we knew we needed one more to get over 30 pounds, and we got our last kicker, a 24-1/4 which replaced a 21-1/4. That took us from finishing fourth to second,” Reis said. “Quite honestly this being our first time, we were more than happy to at least get a 30-pound bag. Sunday was the biggest bag we’ve ever had.”
“AIM was a great experience. It was really well run, and I like the format with Catch-Record-ReleaseÔ,” he added, and you can expect to see the team again next season.
Trent Papesh of Little Chute and Scott Papesh of Appleton finished third with 30.87 pounds, good for $2,800, plus $1,440 in Side Pot Challenge cash. Right behind them in fourth with 30.22 pounds were Dylan Peotter of Kaukauna and Anthony Englebert of Little Chute. They won $1,400 from AIM and $960 in third-place Side Pot Challenge cash. Fifth place and $1,300 went to Schane Rockteacher of Palmyra and Nick Kainz of Waukesha with 28.23 pounds.
See the results of Minnesota’s Sunday qualifier in the next release. Then you’ve got a week to sit back, cross your fingers for your favorite team, get ready, and tune in to AIM’s Facebook page. On Memorial Day, May 27, North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea opens for practice at 6 a.m. for the AIM Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout May 31-June 1.
Forty teams boats from across the Midwest will go for it all to win that $100,000 package of a Warrior V193, powered by a 200hp Yamaha V Max SHO four-stroke, with a Garmin Kraken bow mount, and two Garmin 93 SV graphs, and a great selection of Rosemore Outdoor Gear rods in the locker. In all, $125,000 in prizes are at stake at New Town. Go to aimfishing.com to join in the most affordable, lucrative walleye tournament there is. What are you waiting for?
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.
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, 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