Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 2025

Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122

Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)

It was only their second time on Petenwell, but dead-sticking and casting jigs with crawlers brought Brad Mikeska and Kyle Burkoth to the finish line first with 30.33 pounds of walleyes, hunting fish with Garmin LiveScope along the Wisconsin River’s channels to take the win at the AWWS Garmin Open Wisconsin Division qualifier Sunday (May 18).

“This win is a testament to three things,” said Denny Fox, national tournament director. “AIM’s Catch-Record-Release™ format, the ability that Garmin LiveScope gives anglers to catch and release big fish so they can produce more big fish, and a slot limit on Petenwell that allows those big fish to grow, grow, and grow. What a showcase for what this trio and this lake can produce for anglers. And, just like Joe Stuchlak of the Bighorn Store on the lake predicted, many of their fish came on dead sticks.”

“This event was one of two taking place Sunday, setting the table for the ‘Big Sho’ at Duluth, when the AIM Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout takes center stage on the St. Louis River and Lake Superior May 30-31. It’s for all the marbles, and that fantastic Warrior boat-Yamaha-SHO motor-Garmin-electronics-and-bow-troller-and-Rosemore-Rods package worth a cool $105,000-plus to the winner. Combined, there’s a purse totaling $150,000.”

Mikeska and Birkoth did it hunting for fish with their LiveScope in the logs and brush piled up along the channel edges of Petenwell, a drowned portion of the Wisconsin River near Arkdale, aboard their Mercury 350 Verado-powered boat, with both Garmin and a Garmin Kraken bow troller aboard.

That win earned them $8,000 from AIM, $2,400 in first place AIM Side Pot Challenge cash, and another $500 for using that Kraken. They concentrated on finding just five spots that produced all day for them, and they did their homework before they even got on the water.

“This was just my second time fishing on Petenwell for walleye,” said Mikeska, and their first AIM win. He’s been tournament fishing about 14 years and is from Genoa City. Burkoth is from Pell Lake. They pre-fished starting Thursday. They won about a mile from the launch at Adams County Park in Arkdale. “I didn’t even bring trolling rods. We went with the intention of catching fish jigging. That’s how I like to fish for them, and especially when using LiveScope I can fish right to them,” Mikeska said.

“Our goal was to fish the river channels and find brush and logs and utilizing our electronics, finding spots and the right wood that fish were sitting in,” Mikeska said. “Our pre-fishing was good pretty much every day. We were putting 25 to 30 pounds of fish aboard. We had a pattern dialed in. We were doing chubs and crawlers dead-lining and casting a jig, 1/8-ounce black and pink jigs.

“We had five spots of brush piles that were really holding fish, and we bounced between them. Just old piles that got washed up. They get pushed down on the bends and underwater points and those were all the spots we went.

“From previous tournaments I knew what goes on here, what people tend to look for and do. I like to be on a spot on a spot so I can find and catch them,” he said. “I read up on the lake and figured out what size bag and fish we’d need to be competitive. That and paying attention to our electronics. When you know what you’re looking at and your electronics are dialed in, it makes everything easier.” Sunday, the pair zeroed in on the lake’s central area.

“We went right to our spots and found that they were holding fish. We showed up on our first and caught fish the second we got there. We had about 27 pounds by 8:30. Our first fish was a 22, then a 23, then two 24s. We were upgrading by a quarter inch all day. Our last spot we hit, a 24-1/2-incher gave us our 30.33 pounds.

“The fish were there and biting and we knew we had a chance at it. My first cast, I caught a fish, then a second cast and a third on crawlers, but chubs caught about an equal number. You’d get them on the dead line and cast out and then we’d have one hanging on it. All our fish were caught in 12 to 20 feet of water,” Mikeska said. They got back to the park with five minutes to spare, then waited.

“We just loaded the boat up and hung out with the suspense being terrible, not knowing how we were going to do. This is our first AIM event of the year, so we don’t have intentions of going for the (Yamaha Motor Corp. USA) Team Of The Year. I wanted to do Winneconne but couldn’t because of my work. I wanted to do this one because it’s a fun series and Petenwell was close to home.”

Finishing just 1.3 pounds behind them were Scott Bleck of Weyauwega and Matt Johannes of Ringle in a Mercury 300 Verado-powered boat. The Garmin LiveScope in the electronics helped them boat 28.99 pounds, earning $3,000. Pre-fishing was rough, not only because they didn’t catch much, but also because of the rain and heavy winds before Sunday.

“Pre-fishing, it was two days of two to three-footers and trying to hold position. We could see the fish but had a hard time getting the bait in front of them. We knew they were there. The LiveScope showed where,” Bleck said. They spent their entire time in the upper lake, where they also found fish in the submerged trees. And all their fish came dead-sticking. “I never really used that until a couple years ago, and especially on Petenwell that approach seems to produce year in and year out. We only caught six fish,” he said, but they were the ones they needed.

“We were able to lock on our target area off the edge of the channel and hit the LiveScope. We could see there were fish, and it became a game of wait. We missed as many as we got but were able to connect with them. We just couldn’t get rid of one 16-inch fish. Our biggest was a 27-1/2, and another 26. Our first was a 14, then the 16-inch. After that every fish got bigger as the day went on. We caught our 27-1/2 with 20 minutes left. It was a seven-pound upgrade,” Bleck recalled.

“Anytime you catch a big fish it’s a heart-stopper. The fish came up to the top of the water and it was good net job, and we were reaching for the camera. The most important thing was we were able to get some great pictures and return that fish into the system. We were excited and thought we had a really good weight going in,” he added.

“We didn’t add our card until we got back. That lake can produce so many big bags of fish. It’s a trophy lake with big fish. While we didn’t get any overs (over the lake’s slot limit), we had great slot fish that were in the upper end of it,” he said. It was their highest AIM finish, Bleck said. “If this was a catch and keep, we would never have been able to bring in any of our fish that we competed with. We would have brought in a 16-incher.” You’ll see the pair when AIM Wisconsin gets back on the water in July on Lake Winnebago, and the August division championship on the Bay of Green Bay at Oconto.

The rest of Petenwell’s top five: In third, with 28.33 pounds, winning $2,200 plus second in Side Pot Challenge cash of $1,440, were Avery and Anderew Fields of Omro. Kenneth Filtz of Rosholt and Brad Jakusz of Amherst filled fourth with 27.41 pounds, earning $1,400.

Brandon Newby and Thomas Droste of Wisconsin Rapids bumped their $1,300 fifth-place cash by also taking home $960 for third place in the Side Pot Challenge, and an extra $500 in Garmin Tournament Rewards for running all Garmin electronics. They boated 27.16 pounds.

Okay, Wisconsin, time to relax, with the next 2025 qualifier on Lake Winnebago at Oshkosh in July. But, don’t get two comfy. Time to cheer on your fave team in just two weeks, when the AIM Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout travels to Duluth, Minnesota and the St. Louis River and western Lake Superior, as 40 boats compete for that $105,000 Warrior Boat-Yamaha SHO four-stroke, with Garmin electronics and bow troller aboard, and the locker stuffed with Rosemore rods, and a total pure worth $150,000.

This is THE ONE. AIM teams work so hard in qualifying events all year long so they can be a part of it. Practice begins Memorial Day. AIM will preview the event next week. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday weekend!

You’ve still got plenty of time to sign up for AIM’s upcoming qualifiers. Just head to aimfishing.com.

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.

Mercury Marine, Garmin, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Rosemore Outdoor Gear, Adventure Recreational Finance, Oconto County WI., Forever Barnwood, The Bighorn Store