For Immediate Release, 6-16-2015
Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp. USA and Warrior Boats:
Will It Be Locals Or The Out-Of-Towners To Figure Out Minnesota’s Lac Qui Parle At Sunday’s AWWS ‘Warrior Boats Open’?
It was barely three weeks ago when AIM’s Weekend Walleye Series last converged on Minnesota’s Lac Qui Parle Lake. Then, it was the time-honored method of pitching jigs that won the Warrior Boats Championship Shootout.
With anglers back for the regular season AIM Minnesota Division Qualifier, the predictions of one local angler, says it won’t be jigs that’ll win it this time. It’ll be trolling, but trolling what, is anybody’s guess. Or, is everyone just holding their good cards close to their vests? We’ll see, come Sunday.
Jeffery Sather, a Montevideo resident who says he’s been on the lake since he was in diapers, is betting on trolling and casting crankbaits to bring in at least 18 to 20 pounds for the win here.
“There are a lot of 18-to-22-inch fish here, and this is a “plug” lake. There are some who do well on spinners but it’s not a consistent bite. Here you have to cover water fast, and in mid-summer that means trolling at as much as 3- to 3.5-mph to catch fish,” he said. The lake’s walleye schools love to move, and that also will be a key.
With 40 years of fishing the lake under his keel, Sather has only fished local tournaments until now. “I’d been looking for a circuit to be a part of and this is a great opportunity to find out how it’s done,” he said.
“You’ve got a reservoir here that fluctuates causing changes in clarity, current, temperature, and then you add the wind, so you’ve got to be pretty good to be consistent. We had a local tournament there this past weekend and I found the fish we’d targeted, had moved over a half-mile from just the Thursday prior to the Saturday tournament,” Sather said.
Jarvis Keney is coming from Wilton in central North Dakota to try his luck and says he’s hoping some of his home territory techniques will do the trick.
“My understanding is that trolling will be right up there and pitching jigs to shore could be an option as well as trolling spinners,” Keney said. He prefers artificial crawlers because, as he says, “you can stay in the zone where the fish are all the time because the small fish nipping at your crawler cannot tear it off.”
“I’ve never fished this lake before so coming from where I do I’ll try some of my home water tactics. Throw a little bit of everything at them, that’s my game plan,” he said. That tactic has paid off in the past, as Keney won the AIM WWS wild card event in July on Minnesota’s Leech Lake in 2014.
And he’s coming to Lac Qui Parle for the AIM tournament because he likes the CRR system. “I can keep fishing all day and upgrade the size of my fish legally, and with this format the best fisherman is going to win.”
Randalls Milan Beach Resort will be the headquarters for this event. The boats will take off Sunday, June 21st at 7:00 am and be back at 3:00 PM. The Awards will take place at 5:00 pm.
Contact: Denny Fox, AIM National Tournament Director, 920-505-0122; info@wordpress-1142496-4082033.cloudwaysapps.com
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, Starcraft Marine, Amsoil, Navionics, Powrtran, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Team Lodge, National Fleet Graphics, Gemini Sport Marketing, The City of Oconto, Eagle Bay Marina and Eagles Landing Casino, Montevideo MN Chamber of Commerce, Randall’s Milan Beach Resort, American Legion Post 59.