Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2024
Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)
Winning At Winneconne: It’s Post-Spawn And The Fish
Are Hungry As AWWS Moves To Wolf River Chain
Sunday’s AIM Weekend Walleye Series Garmin Open at Winneconne, Wisconsin, may be won on the upper lake system. It may be won on The Fox River. It may be won on the rocks of Lake Winnebago, and it could even be won on the upper Wolf River. That’s how many choices are on the dance card here, as fish move downstream after spawning to entice and tease teams during the division’s second qualifier of the season Sunday (April 21).
“It looks like many of the system’s fish are post-spawn, but there could be others holding back, and we hear the quality of the fish is the best in years,” said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “We’ve got a nearly full field, and many teams already know where they want to be, but the ones we spoke to are still figuring things out.”
Among those are Steve Wagner of Winneconne, and partner Hunter Seelow of Larson, WI. They’ll be sitting in a Warrior V21-21 under Mercury 300 Verado power and with Garmin LiveScope among the electronics aboard.
Problem is, we reached’em on Lake Erie, pre-fishing for another tournament. They’ll be driving through the night to splash and pre-fish Saturday.
“Good thing we’re from the area,” Wagner said. And from what he’s heard, it will be a post-spawn bite. And that means either the fish will be resting, or hungry.
“We’re getting waves of fish coming back out of the Wolf, and the fish on ‘bago are just starting to spawn, so the lake will be a factor,” he said.
Because of that, some teams will be trolling plugs in the lakes near Winneconne—Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts—and there will still be some heading up the river, he added.
“There will probably be a rock bite on Winnebago on the west shore, in the Black Wolf Boat Landing area particularly,” he said. He’s also confident that you’ll be seeing some of the biggest fish in a “long time” in the system.
“The dominant class is 20- to 23-inch fish, and pretty good 24- to 26-inch fish have been caught, too,” Wagner said. Never mind that the amount of forage in the system is lower. That’s a good thing.
“That’s why it’s a really good bite. If we have high forage—that’s bait, that is—it leans to tougher fishing,” Wagner explained. In other words, the less natural competition, the more the system’s walleye will be in the hunt for trolled, cast and jigged food dangled and pulled by AIM teams.
“I’d say 75 percent of the field will probably be trolling with lures like Flicker Shads and Flicker Minnows to target fish coming out of the Wolf. Some will be pulling flies and jigs, and maybe there’ll be a bobber bite, and others will be trolling the rocks,” he said. And don’t count out the U.S. 41 bridge area, always a big fish spot, and where this has been won before.
His prediction? “You’ll be looking at 22 to 25 pounds to win, would be my guess.”
The two other teams also were not on the water until Thursday, and we talked to them both prior, and on the water that day.
Mark Maas of Appleton and Gregory Stein of Neenah are sporting all Garmin electronics on their Mercury 250 Pro XS-powered boat. When we spoke at midweek, he said he heard anglers were still getting fish in the Wolf.
“And in the upper lakes and a few on Winnebago, so I guess it opens up the whole system,” Maas said. “We’re going to start on Winnebago and work our way up. We’ll try everything from pulling flies and live bait to crank baits.”
Reached on the water Thursday afternoon, Maas reported from “one of the lakes” near Winneconne, that they found fish that would “go on the card, but nothing that would do a whole lot” to boost them towards the podium Sunday.
“The search continues,” he said. “Historically, the river and I have not gotten along that well. Of all the AIM tournaments, this one has not been the kindest, but I’m hoping obviously that changes this time around,” he said.
Team captain Ken Groeschel of Malone also was out of town, so he passed the preview baton to his partner, son Grant. Grant’s first time on the water this season also was Thursday, and he’s not making the long trip up the Wolf as far as Fremont. At least so far.
“I think the warm spring and warm week prior, those bigger fish are going to push downstream. Winnebago is almost at summer pool level already,” Grant said. And on Thursday afternoon, did his educated guesses pan out?
That afternoon, he reported “so far so good, but nothing big.” He worked his way up the river from Oshkosh and is hopeful he’ll find fish towards Winneconne. “We’ve got 2-1/2 more days.”
Let’s review. Saturday, teams will register and attend the regular online meeting starting at 7 p.m. Boat inspection at the Winneconne city docks starts ats 5:45 a.m. Sunday. It’s a two-flight event, with the first released at 7 a.m., and the second 15 minutes later. Team boats must return to check in at the city docks starting at 3 p.m.
The awards will take place at Woodeye’s Bar & Grill in Winneconne near the docks. Good luck to all teams!
Then stay tuned, because on Sunday, April 28, as the AIM Warrior Boats Open gets wet on the Missouri River at Bismarck. We’ll have a wrap-up of Winneconne and a preview of Bismarck next week. There’s an entire rest of the season just waiting for you to sign up, in four divisons. Go to aimfishing.com to learn how.
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.
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