Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 15, 2024
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
The Stars And A Pocket Bay Align for Jacobs and Lang,
Winning AIM Warrior Boats Open On NoDak’s Audubon
It was a little bay, not even 150 feet wide, and probably smaller. Just a pocket, really. And it gave up all that Lonnie Jacobs and Matt Lang needed to win the AIM Weekend Walleye Series Warrior Boats Open on North Dakota’s Lake Audubon Sunday (May 12) by just over 2-1/2 pounds.
“Jacobs and Lang coaxed 17.36 pounds of walleye into the boat using everything from creek chubs to plastics, earning $3,200 from AIM and another $750 in the AIM Side Pot Challenge,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “You’ll see these two again when AIM heads to Lake Sakakawea just across U.S. 83 from Audubon and the Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout May 31-June 1, but a few clicks west at New Town. Lonnie said the stars aligned to do it, but Fan Nation, you know it’s not only luck, but skill and knowledge that got them there.”
“This is the first time we’ve cashed a check at Audubon and the third time I fished it,” said Jacobs, who’s from Douglas, ND. Usually he’s aboard with his son Trapper, in their Mercury 350 Verado-powered boat, and he’ll be on Sakakawea for the championship, but on Sunday, Lang, from Turtle Lake, filled in.
In the past, Jacobs said, they had to fish Audubon blind, but this time, they spent three days on the water, and watched as the fishing went from good the weekend before, to nearly dormant approaching the event.
“It was tough bite, a grind,” Jacobs described. “Last Saturday was good, then over the course of a week the water warmed, and I know this doesn’t sound right, but the fish almost went dormant. I caught 12 by myself a week before. We caught 25 in three days before the tournament.
“They just kinda shut off. We thought it was a race to 18 pounds to win. Little did we know it was a race to 15. We ended up with 17-plus,” he said.
“For Audubon it’s ok, not high and not low. You jump across the road and in Sakakawea it’s low. We actually had four different spots picked out. None were great, but they all produced handsome fish,” he said, but the key was spot 3.
“It was just right in the corner. I told Matt they’re going to be in there. Every once in a while, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn,” he smiled. “We both like to pull creek chubs, and that was what we did,” he said, but this time, they caught three on jigs and plastics, one on a crank and one with a creek chub to win. Their card included an 18-incher, a 19-1/4, a 20, a 22-1/4 and a 23, all by 12:30 or 1 p.m.
“We felt like we’d be a top five for sure, and maybe had a shot at winning, and the stars aligned,” he said.
“Pre-fishing, we went through the whole boat for lures. On derby day (Sunday), we started rigging and for an hour-and-a-half we had no bites. We went to spot number two and tried crank baits. But we found a pocket and caught one, then sat on it,” he said. That was spot 3.
“It was strange. Spot 1 was zero. Spot 2 produced one. I told Matt that with everything we know about fishing, there’s going to be fish in that corner. The wind blows plankton into it. That brings little bait fish, and the bait brings the fish we want to catch. It was our third spot, but it turned into Number 1. Matt probably caught three of the weigh fish,” he said.
You’ll next see him and 23-year-old son Trapper on Sakakawea next. “We’re really excited about it at New Town. We know this water pretty well. We finished sixth in Bismarck, so I think we’ll be sitting in second” for Yamaha Marine Team Of The Year (TOY) points. Cullen Irey and Lucas Butts, who won at Bismarck and are from there, Jacobs predicted, will probably be in first. Because they finished in fourth on Audubon with 14.54 pounds, winning $800.
“I’d like to say thanks to Janine, my missus, for letting me do this,” Jacobs said. “She literally goes creek-chubbing for me. They’re literally like our pets. She built a tank for them until it’s time for them to catch a five-pounder. Trapper helped us pre-fish out there and thanks to Terry at Six Mile Corner Bait Shop and Marine Repair for taking care of my boat, and thanks to Doyle for our long winter talks on how to think like a walleye, and to Matt for being a great partner,” Jacobs said.
Second place went to Matt Liebel, of Williston, who guides on Sakakawea when he’s not teaching 7th grade life science, and Tory Hill of Minot. They carded 14.85 pounds, winning $2,000, plus $450 in the Side Pot Challenge. They run a Mercury 400 Verado-powered boat, and they also found pre-fishing an almost no-go.
“We went out Saturday and only did one day of pre-fishing but that probably helped us. We only caught one fish and we knew it was going to be tough. We had pretty low expectations, but it’s funny. I was heading back and called my wife and told her. Last year it was about the same water temperature and conditions, but the weeds were different this time. Last year, we caught two fish pre-fishing and ended up winning the first (it was a two-day make-up double-header) and it kicked our butts the second day.
“She said, you got two and this year one so maybe you’ll get second, and I said we’ll take it, so I thank her for allowing us to go on Mother’s Day to fish,” Liebel said. Come Sunday, he said, they were flummoxed. They didn’t know where to go, and that actually helped.
“We didn’t have anything. We went to some areas know to have some big fish but didn’t catch anything. The weeds were really thick. We then said, there’s a culvert between one side and the north part. We had rain and pretty good wind and that would create some current coming out of the culvert, and there’s some good things that could happen,” he said. They checked it out. One angler was on shore.
“I couldn’t get in to where we wanted to first, but we were the only boat. We worked around the edges. There was a fair amount of fish and we knew they weren’t all walleye. The guy on shore caught a carp, then he left around 7:30 a.m. so I anchored. The current wasn’t super strong, but it was enough to hold bait fish. Just after 8 a.m. we hadn’t caught any walleye and we were getting ready to go, and the creek chub rod got a bite, and it was a 21-1/4-inch walleye, and that was a good start,” Liebel said.
Ten minutes later, the same rod landed a 21-1/2. Twenty minutes more, a 19-3/4. They had three by 8:45.
“We were catching other fish too, two muskies, six northerns, a carp, smallmouth. It was 9:20 or so and Hill, using a jig and a paddletail, caught a 22-3/4-incher,” he said. They only caught four.
“One other boat came in and caught five or six, but they were little, nothing that would have put us over the top. We couldn’t catch a single one later. We anchored on it for probably seven hours and thought for sure we’d get one more. We needed another 19-incher and we would have been right there, but I’m definitely not going to complain. Audubon treated us well the last two years,” he said. Unlike Jacobs and his son, they aren’t heading to the Shootout at the end of the month.
“After winning here last year, we bombed the rest. Our worst finishes were on Sakakawea, and I guide there all summer. We blew it on all Sakakawea events, but I’ll certainly be watching and most likely guiding on those days.”
You’ll also see them on Devils Lake, site of this year’s division championship in early September. “Last year we had trolling motor troubles on Devils. Devils has been good or bad to us, so hopefully it treats us well,” Liebel added.
Finishing in third place at Audubon were Ethan Pankow of Minot and Bryce Hall of Burlington. They netted $1,000 for 14.55 pounds, one hundredth of a pound more than 4th Place. Cullen Irey and Lucas Butts finished in fourth on Audubon with 14.54 pounds, winning $800.
The fifth-place team of the always competitive Ross Grothe and son Roger boated 13.53 pounds, good for $500, plus third place in the Side Pot Challenge for $300, and as the top-placing team to use all Garmin electronics, another $300, plus those all-important TOY points.
We’re leading up to the National Championship Shootout with a big one, or actually, big two, a double-header on this Sunday, May 19. The Wisconsin Division’s Garmin Open is at Petenwell Flowage and Minnesota’s Warrior Boats Open is at Big Stone Lake. We’ll have previews of both later this week.
Then comes The Really Big One. It’ll be all on the line on that walleye-bountiful Lake Sakakawea, just a few clicks from Audubon, where that loaded Warrior V193 will be awarded May 31-June 1 at the National Championship Shootout. It’s chock full-o-goodies, including a Yamaha 200 SHO at the stern, a Garmin Kraken bow mount, two Garmin 93SV graphs, and a nice selection of Rosemore rods, making this total package worth $100,000. Follow all the fun at AIM’s Facebook page. Go to aimfishing.com to join in.
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