Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2025

Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122

Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™)

Sunday’s (June Warrior Boats/Highway 3 Marine Open was a repeat of last year in one respect: The wind, but Dylan Maki and Joe Bricko overcame the elements to take first, one week after finishing second at the Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout in Duluth, winning $9,500.

“It was rockin’ and rollin’ with a west wind blowin’, at times up to 25 mph. There was at least one broken windshield and a few reports of seasickness, but Maki and Bricko hung on and gave it right back to boat nine fish and win $7,500, plus first in AIM Side Pot Challenge cash of $2,000 after carding 36.55 pounds, taking this by just .6 of a pound, said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. “The top four were separated by just 1.14 pounds. Their win comes a week after they earned a $15 Large that’s $15,000) certificate from Mercury Marine at the Warrior Boats National Championship Shootout, where they finished second.”

Maki and Bricko chose wisely. They made sure their pre-fish in their Mercury 400 verado-powered boat, with Garmin in the mix, included on the lee side of the lake to keep out of what they knew would be a bumpy Sunday, but they were also concerned that the fish they were catching weren’t the same ball park as ones that another tournament the day before.

“With the numbers we saw, we weren’t on the fish to get us to 44 pounds that the winners got Saturday,” Macki said. But, 36 and change was good enough.

“We had a late start as far as pre-fish goes, maybe one or two days for most of us, being that the national championship was a week before. We looked at our normal haunts and tried to expand on some new stuff. We knew there was a huge wind making its way in and practiced fishing stuff that was going to be fishable, and it turns out that Joe and I fished one spot, just put the trolling motor down.

“It was a very tough bite. There’s a lot of bait in the lake and the fish feed pretty heavy at night. But every day it seemed there was a window at noon or one when things started to fire off,” he said. That, Fan Nation, is tip No. 1. Maki said usually that window hangs on for a few or more days, and they were ready for it, with slip bobbers and leeches, the no-fail (unless it does) Mille Lacs formula this time of year.

“We knew it was going to be really tough in the morning and that we just had to keep making our passes. We got two bites in the morning, and they ended up being card fish, a 25-1/2 and a 25-3/4. So we needed to work for three more bites. Then that two-hour window turned on.

From noon to two was really good. We had to do a lot of searching and be as diligent as possible and not wasting any time with not a big mark,” he said. When it happens, don’t pass up trying for the same fish. They did it three times, and it probably won it for them. That’s tip No. 2.

“The bobber went down, and Joe missed it. I missed it the second time, and Joe caught it on the third,” Maki said. It was a solid 28. With two more fish they got in that window, a 25-3/4 and a 26-3/4, it was done. Then the trip back, with a following sea. It was windy where they were, but they were protected, until the run back. “The ride was good for about four miles, then she got a little hairy. They were all of four-footers and you just had to ride them,” he said. Their run, with a second in the Shootout, and now a first the following week, was “a little crazy.

“It’s been unbelievable, a really good last few years (they took Minnesota Team Of the Year and won the state championship in 2024),” he said. Their run will pause temporarily at least when he skips Ottertail (Sunday, July 20) when Mrs. Maki is expecting, but as he said, “we’ll jump back on the horse at Vermillion (Aug, 10). And, he added, you’d best count them out for a two-peat in the Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Minnesota Team Of The Year. But they’ve got their eye on another prize coming in 2026, the NXT Tour. And, that’s tip No. 3 for ALL of Fan Nation. “As long as we can be in the top 20 for NXT qualification. That’s our only goal,” he said.

Logan Peterson of Deerwood and Forrest Leitch of New Rockford finished 2nd with 35.95 pounds, earning $2,800, and because they were the top finisher in a 2090 Warrior tiller, they’re looking to cash another check from the Warrior Cash incentive program. “It was pretty windy Sunday, but I don’t think it was as bad as last year’s. Probably four-footers,” Peterson said.

“I only had a day to pre-fish so I fished the whole day Saturday bouncing around trying out some areas where we could consistently hook 25-plus-inchers. Where we fished the tournament, Saturday morning I hooked and lost two big ones I never saw. Most areas you can catch 24-inchers but you always need 25s and 27s,” he said.

Sunday, they went back to that spot, deep gravel from 26 to 32 feet on the lake’s south side. “We did long drifts across that area. When it gets that windy, we don’t try to fight it. We just go drifting. It was a mix of Jigging Raps and jigs with leeches and crawlers,” he added. “We got three on our first drift, each probably an hour and a bit. Then it was a bite every other drift. The 25-1/2, Forrest caught one right off the bat in the first 20 minutes. We were pleasantly surprised. The next I caught was a 25-3/4 and that 23-1/2 in the first hour and a half,” he said. Then, the next three were all 26-1/4 inchers,” he said. “We didn’t have five fish until noon, and we only caught one more to upgrade around 1:30, a 26-1/4 to upgrade our smallest, a 23-1/2.

This was the pair’s first and probably only AIM tournament this year but look for them soon in a couple other events, and at an AIM in 2026 if his work schedule works out. And he didn’t mind a bit losing by six-tenths of a pound to his friend. “I like AIM; Denny (Fox) puts on a good program. And Maki usually beats me wherever I go. He’s a good guy to lose to. They’re (Macki/Bricko) a tough to beat, that’s for sure,” he said.

The top five at Mille Lacs finished like this: Chad Bleeker of Cass Lake, Minnesota, and Logan Melstrom of Ellsworth, Wisconsin, took third place with 35.81 pounds, just .14 of a pound behind second. They took home $2,200, second in the Side Pot Challenge for another $1,200, plus another $1,000 for running Garmin electronics exclusively and a Garmin Force bow troller. In fourth were Randy Topper of Cohasset and Chuck Hasse of Walker. They netted $1,400 plus third in Side Pot Challenge cash of $800 for 35.41 pounds. John Hoyer of Keosauqua, Iowa, and Kyle Minke of Lindstrom, Minnesota, came in fifth with 32.47 pounds, winning $1,300.

AIM is taking a week off, but we’ll be on the water for three, three, three events in one weekend. First, Saturday AND Sunday, June 21 and 22, is what we like to call an AIM “dual duel.” The place: that walleye pond called Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, at Beulah. Two events back-to-back on that water. Then also on Saturday, the Rivers Division is back in action on the Mississippi on Pools 3 and 4 from Hager City, Wisconsin.

Fan Nation, AIM paid cash to the top 17 boats at Mille Lacs Sunday. That’s how AIM earned being known as the most lucrative and affordable walleye tournament there is. Time to be a part of it. Learn how at aimfishing.com. Catch up on it all at AIM’s Facebook page. There are still qualifiers in all divisions to sign up for 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, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Rosemore Outdoor Gear, Adventure Recreational Finance, Oconto County WI., Forever Barnwood, The Bighorn Store