Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats LLC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2016
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
Try a three-way: It won $7,500 for team Bobber
On Wisconsin’s Green Bay AIM Nitro Boats Open
Using a three-way swivel with a yet-unnamed, slim-body crankbait like many of us use at this time of year could be your ticket to a full livewell. For the father-son team of Bill and Matt Bobber during Sunday’s AIM Weekend Walleye Series Nitro Boats Open on Wisconsin’s Green Bay, it was the ticket to a win and $7,500.
And, to top it off, they won first place at the very same spot that they took the first AIM event on the Fox River and Green Bay on April 10. Both they and at least the second-place team used one of the simplest rigs there is: a three-way swivel and sinker with a crankbait.
“We pulled three-ways, but I want to keep the exact setup close to the vest, as I think we might have stumbled onto something here,“ Bill Bobber said. Whatever lure/sinker combo he used, it was good enough to land 41.40 pounds of walleye.
“If I had to guess, many of the top nine boats were fishing the exact same spot. I do know that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 9th place boats were there, and it pretty much comes out to the luck of which fish hits which lure. In the first tournament, two boats knew that the fish were there. This tournament, there were 22. But everyone was very courteous and gave everybody room, so it was very easy to fish like that,” Bobber said.
The Bobbers, both from Appleton, Wisconsin, keyed in so quickly on the spot due to son Matt’s findings on the Friday before. “Matt made one small troll through there and he caught four fish, every one over 25 inches. So that gave us an indication that the fish were still there. We knew what we were going to do and that was our Plan A, and we had no Plan B. We had our limit by 8 a.m. In April, we never got our second fish until 1 p.m., so it was different than the first,” he said.
And Bobber said, he’s holding his cards close because there will be at least two other tournaments on the bay this year. “What we’re doing is a little unique versus what others are doing, so if we have the same conversation next year, then you’ll know what we’re doing,” he said with a chuckle.
Whatever they were doing, he said, they had 33 pounds of fish on their card in the first 40 minutes, with their last fish coming around 2:30 p.m., that gave them a 3-pound upgrade, and the win.
Bobber admitted that their tourney strategy is ‘go for the win every time,’ and sometimes you get a home run, sometimes you strike out. “We’re swinging for the fence, and our ‘highs’ are very high, and our lows are very low, and you have to be tough-skinned. We gamble a lot, and sometimes it’s incredible how it works out, but other times, it doesn’t.”
Hot on their tail was the second-place boat of Chad Wiskow of Neenah, and Joe Mans of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, with 39.66 pounds, good for a $2,300 check. They also pulled three-way rigs, and Wiskow was a bit more forthcoming, for good reason.
“We haven’t had the warm water this year yet, which has made for a tough bite for a lot of anglers trying to understand it,” Wiskow said. “So instead of trying to take fish on a feed, we follow the migratory pattern. They came up the Fox River, spawned and were heading back out, and it happens in all the Great Lakes. They seem to use the shipping channels as a migration path before they branch out.”
Sticking to the small points on the channel, they pulled three-way rigs with custom-painted No. 13 floating original Rapala from Viper Tackle and using an adjustable Viper Kill Zone lead tool for the weight dropper, both of which Wiskow represents. “It allows you to adjust your dropper according to what you’re running and how deep, which was critical as we slid across those points,” he said.
“The other big key was color. The crank that worked best for us had a small strip of purple, and was yellow-gold on the side, with a strip of orange down the belly. All of our fish came in the morning, with most on our card coming in two passes down the river channel. We caught a lot in the afternoon but everything was 23 or 24 inches, and about 10:30 or 11, we caught a 26-incher that we upgraded to on our card.
Now for many of us, a 23- or 24-inch ‘eye is a great fish, but, Wiskow said, when it’s tournament time on Green Bay, you’re looking for bigger.
Finishing in third with 35.66 pounds and a check for $1,600 were John Schneider, Shawano, Wisconsin, and John Clumpner, Little Suamico, Wisconsin. In fourth was the team of Justin Heider, Geenville, Wisconsin, and Ryan Mereness, Appleton, Wisconsin, with 34.72 pounds, earning them $1,400. Fifth place and $1,300 was won by Chris Bartsch and Larry LeSage, Green Bay, with 34.05 pounds.
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.
AIM Supporting Sponsors: Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Navionics, Powrtran, Power-Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Team Lodge, Vibrations Tackle, Pro Chattrr, National Fleet Graphics, Gemini Sport Marketing, 4 Bears Casino North Dakota.