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Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\u00a0\u00a0April 8, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122<\/strong><\/p>\n Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM\u2122) <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Minnesota, Get Ready To Rumble: AIM 2022 Season Opens<\/strong><\/p>\n Sunday On A Cold Mississippi River At Hager City <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s unseasonably cold water, in the 30s, maybe low 40s. It\u2019s also lower than usual but could be higher by game time. And predictions for what will occur Sunday (April 10) on the Mississippi River at Hager City, WI for the \u00a0AIM Weekend Walleye Series<\/a> Warrior Boats\/The Boat Center Open 2022 Minnesota season opener may be dependent on what\u2019s happening now.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the same story that unfolded in Wisconsin last Sunday,\u201d said Denny Fox, AIM national tournament director. \u201cRain at midweek could bring the river higher, good for current-loving walleye on the move to spawn, but that cold rain could muddy up the Big Muddy, and keep the river cold. The forecast is good for game day, but how this will affect the thousands of pre-spawn fish in the river, we\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n Agreeing with Fox is Mike Utley of Zumbrota, Minnesota, who\u2019ll be handling the throttle of a Mercury 250 Pro XS on his boat with partner Adam Dungan of Duluth. He was trying out the river last weekend and plans to be pre-fishing for sure Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now we\u2019re getting some rain and while the river has dropped, it\u2019s supposed to go up another foot or foot-and-a-half. But the bigger concern is the water temperature. It\u2019s been cold and we\u2019ve got some cold rain coming in,\u201d Utley said. \u201cAlthough we\u2019re supposed to get nicer temps this weekend, it\u2019s going to be all about whether the water warms up to fire those fish off. People are catching fish. It\u2019s been a mixed bag of sauger and walleyes (both, plus saugeye, are allowed under AIM\u2019s Catch-Record-Release\u2122 tournament rules). This kinda makes it a challenge to pinpoint them (walleye) because they\u2019re coming out of Lake Pepin and heading into the upper Mississippi to spawn,\u201d Utley added.<\/p>\n Teams will have a choice of fishing either Pools 3 or 4, and Utley\u2019s already thinking 4. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to focus on Pool 4 just based on how the river is setting up. The water\u2019s not high now. I think there\u2019ll be some fish caught in Pool 3. I think were planning to camp out on Pool 4.\u201d<\/p>\n Any guess on what weight will take it?<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been having this discussion ourselves. It\u2019s hard to say. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s going to be a couple of boats who will get a spot on a spot, but realistically I would guess somewhere between 28 and 33 pounds. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to see 40 but I\u2019m sure somebody will get two or three nice ones to go with the 19 and 20-inchers that are pretty common. There\u2019s a pile of fish in the river between 18 and 22 inches. I think you\u2019ll see a good number of those scored. There\u2019ll be some fat pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n He’s also predicting teams will be trying different techniques, like a Dubuque rig.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty popular in spring. You have a three-way setup with a heavier jig on a dropper and a secondary line back to another jig or another bait on it. A \u00be-ounce or one ounce jig and a trailer. We can run two lines, and that\u2019s two-line setup. There\u2019ll be some with a double Rapala rig and handlining. You can pretty much do anything to catch fish. It depends on whether you can use that presentation given the boat traffic and other factors.\u201d<\/p>\n Utley is a late registrant, for the event. \u201cThis one\u2019s right in my backyard so I pretty much had to jump in when it\u2019s this close to home,\u201d he said, adding that he does plan to fish most Minnesota AIM events.<\/p>\n \u201cI just enjoy tournament competition but with the format we\u2019re fishing here, AIM is fun because we\u2019re not fishing a slot. We\u2019re always fishing for the biggest fish. It\u2019s changed the way we fish, just being able to target big fish, not having any restrictions, and being able to fish for the best fish on any body of water is what keeps most of us coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n Nate Gilkey of Mayer and Shawn Flemming of Monticello will be trimming out their 2090 Warrior Tiller with a Merc 250 Pro XS when they get the \u201cgo\u201dcome Sunday. Gilkey\u2019s also been out the last few days. He also reports below average water depths and frigid water.<\/p>\n \u201cThe river\u2019s come up but it\u2019s been dropping back off, and in the last few weeks have been below average temperatures and that\u2019s not helped the system. Levels have been settling and clarity was up, but this rain (at midweek) could put some dirty water back. Rain may push the water up a bit which should help the bite if we get an uptick in height,\u201d Gilkey said.<\/p>\n And, he echoed what Utley predicted. \u201cThe big thing will be water temperature. It has been hovering in the high 30s or low 40s, but if we see that get into the low to mid-40s it should get the bite moving the way it should be this time of year,\u201d he said. But so far, he feels fishing on the river due to those factors has been \u201climited.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe bite is sporadic. There are bite windows that occur and when it does, the bite is good. If we get cloud cover the bite seems to get a lot tougher. We\u2019re looking at Saturday and Sunday, sunny and partly cloudy, so if we get some better weather it\u2019s going to help the bite out,\u201d he added. And, he\u2019s a bit more optimistic about what weight it will take to win. As in, hunks. Big, fat pig hunks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you\u2019re going to need 36 to 38 pounds, and even 40 is not out of the question. All the fish are going to be pre-spawn, and they\u2019re moving a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cAreas that have got fish could potentially \u2018reload.\u2019\u201d In river parlance, he\u2019s talking about pods moving through, holding a bit and moving on.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the pre-spawn bite there are a lot of areas known to hold fish. They could get some pressure and flush out because they\u2019re disturbed. If we find a spot that\u2019s got the ability to reload, that\u2019s going to be the key to success in my mind. I think we\u2019re going to see a lot of techniques. Teams pitching, dragging jigs or Dubuque rigs, pulling wire or handlining. All those could come into play,\u201d Gilkey said.<\/p>\n Kody Seibert, of Ramsey on the other hand, who partners with father Scott of Oak Grove, is going in cold. He\u2019s only fished the river here once, and it\u2019ll be Friday at the soonest when they put their Mercury 400 Verado-powered hull in the water. He\u2019s the third to say the weather is a big factor in their plans. He\u2019s also sponsored by Blackfish weather gear and he\u2019s pretty certain he\u2019ll be wearing some Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been raining, snowing, wind, a little of everything. We\u2019ve gotten a lot of rain. The last time I\u2019ve fished the areas was about five years ago,\u201d Kody said. Granted, AIM was last near here in 2020 for the Quest For The Best. And he\u2019s surmising too that weather will be aboard all boats.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get too much more weather I\u2019m guessing it (the river) will get muddier and come up, which is good, and will create some slack water. I hope that the water goes up to narrow down a few of the spots to fish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What\u2019ll he try?<\/p>\n \u201cRedtail shiners if you can get them, and rainbows and bigger fatheads will be the key. I think a lot will do a lot of casting with Jigging Raps, if you want to get them stuck and lose a few, yes. Our plan of attack as of now is jigs, minnows and plastics.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping that the wind gets it out of its system for Sunday. And I wish I had time off to go fishing but when you decide to do this at the last minute\u2026I wish I could tell you I was on the water now,\u201d Seibert lamented.<\/p>\n So, will it be a rising tide, so to speak? Low water? Will teams lock through and get stuck by river traffic? Will the water warm up or stay chilly And, will the winner be closer to 28, or 38? Come Sunday afternoon, we\u2019ll know all the answers. Stay tuned, Fan Nation!<\/p>\n Meanwhile, you can still get in on the fun. Just see AIM\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>, then register at AIM\u2019s website<\/a> to get in on the next tournaments. You know you want to. You know you can.<\/p>\n Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM\u2122)\u00a0<\/strong>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.<\/p>\n AIM is committed to marketing excellence on behalf of its tournament competitors, the tournament host communities, and the brands that partner with it.<\/p>\n AIM is also committed to maintaining healthy fisheries across the nation by the development of the exclusive AIM Catch-Record-Release\u2122 format which is integral to its dynamic events and unparalleled consumer engagement. For more information about AIM\u2122, AIM Pro Walleye Series\u2122, AIM Weekend Walleye Series, AIM sponsors and AIM anglers, visit\u00a0www.aimfishing.com.<\/a><\/p>\n AIM Presenting Sponsors:\u00a0<\/strong>Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. and Warrior Boats inc.<\/p>\n AIM Supporting Sponsors:<\/strong> Mercury Marine, Garmin, Navionics, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Off Shore Tackle, Gemini Sport Marketing, Moonshine Lures Shiver Minnow, JT Outdoors Products, McQuoids Inn, Marinette, WI, Explore Alexandria, Rosemore Outdoor Gear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Presented by Yamaha Motor Corp USA and Warrior Boats Inc. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\u00a0\u00a0April 8, 2022 Contact: Denny Fox, 920-505-0122 Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM\u2122) \u00a0 Minnesota, Get Ready To Rumble: AIM 2022 Season Opens Sunday On A Cold Mississippi River At Hager City It\u2019s unseasonably cold water, in the 30s, maybe low 40s….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimfishing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}