Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 29, 2023
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
Short, But Oh So Sweet, As Muellers Whack Green Bay
Waldos To Win $13,000 At AWWS Wisconsin Championship
It wasn’t forward facing sonar this time. It was good, old-fashioned lake knowledge and good old-fashioned trolling that helped teams to first and second place, respectively, in the weather-shortened AIM Weekend Walleye Series Garmin/Navionics Wisconsin State Championship on the Bay of Green Bay, as the father-son team of Tyler and Todd (he’s the father) Mueller topped the board by 7.6 pounds, winning $13,000.
“Fan Nation, we didn’t want to pull the plug on Day Two of such an important event, but the Bay of Green Bay had other ideas, tossing up three- to five-foot waves and big wind,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “We always, always go with the safety of our teams first, and this one demanded it. The Mueller team got the win, and that trip to the 2024 AIM/Warrior Boat National Championship Shootout. That total means $11,500 from AIM, a $1,000 check from Warrior for doing it in their Warrior 208, and $500 for having Garmin aboard.”
The Muellers, from Appleton, WI, didn’t run left. Instead, they turned a little to the right, and headed to the southern Door County area to find fish that weren’t spooked by this and a previous tournament that they also won the weekend before.
“We came off winning that championship and the fish seemed to kind of disappear with the added pressure of everyone chasing them around,” Tyler Mueller said.
On tournament day, they decided to avoid the fish that they knew would be chased and do something different.
“We decided we’d go run to a ton of different spots. We caught a 26-incher right away in the morning, then had nothing. We ran to some other ‘micro spots’ and happened to stop where we’ve done really good smallmouth fishing in the spring, and usually there were walleyes around, and we found them using the same structure. We were able to catch four more walleyes,” he said.
It could have been the cooler August weather, and it could have been other factors, he said, but bigger fish seemed to be hanging around more in the southern bay. Sliding over that structure and casting glide baits including Shiver Minnows and some of his own custom-painted lures, Todd landed three and Tyler two, including that 26, a 27-1/2, two 28s, and a giant 29 that put them in the lead going away, from about 15 feet of water.
“I didn’t expect the fish to be on this, but it was kind of the reason they were there. They weren’t being molested,” Mueller said. They only landed five, but they were the right ones.
“I planned to at least start there on Saturday and with the wind forecast wasn’t sure how long it would take us to get there. We had a decent lead, and we wanted to fish the second day, but I think Denny make the right decision. It was a special day Friday with my dad. That was the icing on the cake. I’m proud of my dad and it’s definitely a day, a week, and a memory that I’ll never forget,” he said. The Muellers also finished second in Team Of The Year. Since they double-qualified, that allowed another team to move up and be a part of The Show at the 2024 National Championship Shootout. More on that tomorrow.
And you can bet Team Mueller is already looking forward to early June 2024 and the Championship Shootout. They’ve been there three times before, so they’re a team to watch.
Finishing in second is a team that scored its first Shootout invite, and a first Top Five finish, Joshua Kramer of Kaukauna, WI and Adam Deprycker of Combined Locks, WI. They were in a Mercury 350 Verado-powered boat, and used their time on the bay in another tournament to zero in on where they’d head for the AIM state championship. They took home $5,000 plus $1,650 in first-place side pot cash.
“Thursday, the same fish were still there. We were on the same pod for 10 days,” Kramer said. How’d they know?
“Earlier in the week my brother was in the boat and we had two 31-inchers on Thursday and he was almost crying when we let them go. When we were reeling in fish a week ago, I got photos and I’m almost positive we caught one of them last week. Obviously Catch-Record-ReleaseÔ works because we were able to go back and catch the same one a week later.”
They also did the deed off Door County, nearer to Sturgeon Bay, east of the start at Oconto.
They were real steady. We got a lot of junk fish in the morning and broke off a lot of stuff on northerns and catfish. We only had five or six fish and lost as many as we caught,” he said. “If you let it get down, you were in a lot of sheephead and white perch,” he said, so many in fact that before the tournament, he went through 15 dozen in one day.
They were using the tried-and-true method of hauling crawler harnesses on the weed edges in about 12 to 14 feet of water, fishing only 10 feet behind the boat and using one ounce in-line weights to try to keep their crawlers out of the rough fish. They’d pick up one walleye about every hour or so.
“Our first was a 28-3/4-incher and one of our 25s. We were coming off the edge of rocks in 12 feet of water, going to 20- feet. We were slowing down from 1.2 to .9 mph as we came off and that seemed to be working for us really well. We pulled almost all of our fish off that same rock pile,” he said. “This will be our first championship fishing AIM, and it’s our first Top Five finish. I’m looking forward to it.”
Here are the rest of top 5 teams that have qualified for the National Championship Shootout based on their state championship finish.
In third, winning $3,500 and second-place side pot cash of $990 and that Shootout spot, are Eric McQuoid of Manitowoc, WI and Kolton Krawiecki of Pillager, MN. They came in with 38.15 pounds of fish. In fourth place with $2,500 and third-place side pot cash of $660 and a Shootout spot are Mark Kumorkiewicz of Pleasant Prairie, WI, and Lynn Niklasch of Oconomowoc, WI. And in fifth, Steve Meyer of Birnamwood, WI and Danny Woodke of Gillett, WI, boated 37.04 pounds, good for $2,000 and the final Shootout berth.
Fan Nation, stay tuned later this week to hear from The Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Wisconsin Team Of The Year, and to learn who’s going to the 2024 AIM National Championship Shootout from that list. The Team Of The Year received a new T9.9 Yamaha kicker with power trim and electric start Saturday, and a guaranteed Shootout spot.
On Sept. 8-9, watch for the leadup to the Yamaha Motor Corp. USA North Dakota State Championship and TOY award on Lake Sakakawea at Beulah.
Then, the AIM Rivers Division takes the stage, starting with the Mississippi qualifier at Clinton, IA Sept. 10, then Oct. 1 in Dubuque, IA, for the last division qualifier. That division’s championship an Team Of The Year will be decided Oct. 21-22 on the river at Prairie du Chien, WI. We’ll have updates prior to each of those events coming up. Stay tuned.
You can still register for those Rivers Division qualifiers, and early next year, 2024’s event registration will open. Learn how at 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.
AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Garmin, Navionics, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Gemini Sport Marketing, Moonshine Lures Shiver Minnow, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Rosemore Outdoor Gear, Outdoor Authority fish house rentals, Island Bar and Grill, Bait Box on the Rock, Oconto County WI, Odyssey battery.