What’s it gonna take to win the Green Bay NWT?
|
|
|
The next National Walleye Tour event kicks off tomorrow on Green Bay out of Oconto, WI. If you’re not from the area (like me) you might hear Green Bay and instantly think oh well there’s a zillion big, dumb walleyes out there since we’re used to seeing all those springtime giants bombard social media...but things are way different this time of year....
Sounds like this is another Green Bay event that’s landing on the tail-end of the alewife spawn. Which means there’s essentially a 24/7 all-you-can-eat buffet for walleyes so they have no reason to chew on the pro’s baits. You think bug hatches make things tough? Sounds like this is on a whole ‘nother level and then some with millions of alewives filling the water column.
Here's a nice IG post from Keith Kavajecz showing what alewives look like on his electronics right now.
Rumor has it right now the seagulls are so stuffed that even they won’t eat the alewives anymore 👀 and obviously they’re far less picky than a walleye LOL.
|
|
|
So combine 1) the alewife party with 2) a big bug hatch, 3) loads of drum piled-in which will make LiveScoping more difficult, 4) transitioning fish moving from the shallows to their summer spots, AND 5) a no-cull tournament where once a fish goes in the box it stays there...a lot of folks are just hoping to survive this one without blanking, which would earn them zero AOY points and most likely miss out on qualifying for the Championship.
But even on the most difficult bites, someone always catches ‘em....
The NWT has been to the Green Bay area many times over the years with multiple events out of Oconto, Marinette and Sturgeon Bay – which are all within about 20 miles of each other by boat. Below I’m going to briefly run thru how each of those events was won and the time of year the NWT was there...
2022 (July 12-13) out of Marinette, WI:
Duane “Dewey” Hjelm won it with 73.40 (10 fish) and took home 1st-place payday of $101,322!
|
|
|
Dewey said he drove 30-40 miles north from Marinette – staying on the west shore and heading up towards Big Bay de Noc. There, he sampled offshore structure or what he called resting spots:
> “They’re starting to set up on their summer homes. We were keying in on areas that didn’t have as much baitfish. There was tons and tons of baitfish around, but up there, there wasn’t hardly any. It wasn’t like it was everywhere else...they seemed more friendly.
> “It was basically little shoals or little knobs that had current deflections. Walleyes could get in front of it or behind it, depending if they were resting or feeding. Rocks were a good thing, but if it didn’t have rock, we didn’t rule it out.”
He was fishing ultra-clear water in 18-24′ and said the fish were suspended 2′ to 10′ off the bottom. At times, he would slide up as shallow as 14′.
> “I wasn’t making a cast unless I saw a fish. I had my head down on my Lowrance ActiveTarget the whole time. You knew you were casting on or around fish. I never really understood it until I fished Green Bay, but these walleyes never stop moving. They are constantly on the swim, and you can just watch them come and go on the graph. You’ll get super excited, and then they’ll completely vanish.”
Said he threw a variety of “glide baits” in natural colors to catch his fish:
> “We had our trolling rods ready in case the wind and weather wouldn’t let us execute. But the conditions were almost perfect for glide baits. We would let it hit bottom, then rip it up. You get most of your bites right before it hits bottom or near the top of the stroke. Sometimes when you go to lift up again they already have it. The action at the top of the stroke, it just makes them super mad.”
Said they saw 5 or 6 schools right off the bat at their starting spot, but they weren’t interested at all. Then all of a sudden they’d get a 45-min bite window where they’d catch 3 or 4. Then a lull. Then another bite window. Walleyes being walleyes!
2021 (May 27-28) out of Sturgeon Bay, WI:
Turned into a 1-day slugfest because:
> NWT: “With sustained heavy winds predicted and a small craft advisory in effect today, we have decided to cancel day 2 of the NWT Sturgeon Bay event.”
So Danny Woodke’s hefty 5-fish limit for 39.44 lbs (7.89-lb average) on day 1 took home the ‘dubyah’ worth $93,022 in cash + prizes, and the ultimate bragging rights.
|
|
|
You might remember that Danny also won the Green Bay NWT in 2016 (more on that below) chucking Rapala Rippin’ Raps on big rockpiles in 10-15′. Sounded like he was running a similar casting program again in this one, but the only info I was ever able to find on this win came immediately after the day 1 weigh-in when folks were tight-lipped because there was still a chance they were going out for day 2:
> Danny: “Right now, there are 3 different casting baits that I have confidence in. Each day the go-to bait changes. I started with what I thought the go-to bait was, but didn’t finish with it. Right now, you just can’t rely on one thing – you have to be willing to change.”
He noticed the water had cooled down when he arrived at his first spot, which is never a good sign on the Great Lakes. He eventually found the warmer water and his co-angler, Trevor Parsons, almost immediately caught a 9-lber. He ground out 1 more good one at that spot before making another adjustment.
> “I realized the fish weren’t where we originally located them. Once I relocated them, they came pretty consistent. We had 8 walleye bites, and we capitalized on 6 of them. Once we relocated them, it was better than we expected. I knew that weight was possible if things went right, but with the rollercoaster we’ve had, you just never know. 2 weeks ago I had bigger fish located for a tournament and then all of a sudden, the bigger ones were gone, and the smaller ones moved in.
> “The fish are moving this time of year and that’s tough as it is. Then we went from 80-degree temps to 40 degrees. It’s been frustrating and stressful. Every day is a little bit different. The warm water is moving around and the fish are relating to the warm water. I knew every bite was going to matter today, and I was just hoping to get 5 bites.”
2020 (July 23-24) out of Oconto, WI:
Korey Sprengel’s 2-day bag (10 fish) went 77.48 lbs and beat out 2nd-place by over 17 lbs! Earned him a $92,130 payday and added another big-boy check to his stack. #ChaChing
|
|
|
> ...he limited himself to only 1 day of official practice. Instead, he was going to trust himself and make decisions on the fly.
> “The whole key this week was my first bite on day 1. With the northeast wind, I knew it was going to be a needle in the haystack. But I also knew the recipe...I just needed to know if the recipe was going to work. That first fish bit twice, if not 3 times. It was only like a 20-incher, but I knew if they were going to bite multiple times, there was something to be had. From there, it was all about fine tuning it.”
> ...a small 100-yard stretch up in the islands area, located roughly 30 miles from takeoff at Breakwater Park and Harbor. This rocky stretch had gobies, but more importantly it had current and warm water. The warm water was especially important and rare with the northeast wind.
> “[On day 2] when I put the trolling motor down and saw the color and temperature of the water, I knew I was going to win. That sounds cocky, but the water was perfectly murky, algae stained and warm. I don’t know where it came from, but I knew that’s where I was going to live.”
> With no company around initially, Sprengel made his first full pass and caught an 8.5, a 7.5 and a 6.5. ...proceeded to catch another 6-lber on his 2nd pass.
> “With 27 lbs for 4 fish by 8:30, I’m thinking I want to head back ASAP and get off the water as easy/safe as possible. But I knew I needed 1 more bite. ...with more and more company showing up, that didn’t come until noon. At one point I counted 21 boats...it was like a parking lot. ...finally was able to get through the same area and caught a 24”. About 20 min later I caught another 6-lber [and was done].
> “In the middle of the summer, the fish start suspending, and that’s when crawler harnesses shine. The crawler harnesses allowed me to have multiple doubles and a key triple [day 2]. The other thing was that you don’t lose fish with harnesses. I would use a Fusion19 Octopus Hook on the front and round-bend trebles on the back. Plus, with mono line and planer boards, the fish almost swim in with you. They have no bait to fling around, no weight to throw around when they fight.”
Said he was running 14-lb Trilene XL for his main line with a 15-lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader. His blades were a combination of Colorado and willow. Gold was the best color blade day 1, and purple the top-producer on day 2.
Used 1/2- or 1-oz Off Shore Tackle Guppy Weights and would troll between 1.4-2.0 mph depending on how deep he wanted ’em to run. Would bump up his speed when he saw the biggest boulders on his Lowrance SideScan.
> “I watched a lot of boards act like submarines. These Green Bay fish hit hard and are built for speed. It’s all rock down there, but there are giant boulders that act as current breaks. I was always looking at my side imaging on my Lowrances, so I knew when the rocks were going to come up.
> “I wanted my baits close to the bottom [in 10-20′] without touching. The fish were relating to the current and warm water. The current was basically putting them there because that’s where the warm water was. This morning the water was over 70 degrees. If I got out of that little stretch, it would change by 3 degrees. If I ran 2 miles, the water would be around 57 degrees. That’s how much it varied.”
Here’s Sprengel’s take on the win:
> “It was all about trusting myself. I knew it was going to take time. After that first bite, I knew the bigger fish would show mid-morning or mid-afternoon, and they did.
> “This reiterates that confidence in yourself is how you win tournaments. Very few tournaments are won because a guy had a spot and it held up all week. You may not have had the best practice, but you can win if you trust yourself and your electronics. Where I was putting my planer boards, I don’t know that I’ve ever trolled that stretch in my life.”
2019 (May 30-31) out of Marinette, WI:
|
|
|
Fish-head John Hoyer won it with 80.33 lbs (10 fish) throwing:
> A 3.3” Berkley PowerBait Power Swimmer on a 1/2-oz jig. It’s a goby-pattern bait – said he would reel it slow enough where it’s just making contact with the bottom.
> Also caught ’em throwing a DH Custom Baits painted lipless crankbait in “purple gold tigre” with Berkley Fusion19 hooks. Said he would rip the lipless hard when the bite was strong and slowly pull the rod upwards when the bite was stingy. Used a standard “redfire crawdad” color in dirtier water, and switched back to the custom-painted “purple gold tigre” when it was clear.
2017 (Aug 16-18) out of Marinette, WI:
|
|
|
Dean Arnoldussen won with 75.13 lbs (10 fish), earning him an $85K payday. Said he spent 75% of his practice casting/jigging, but did end up catching ’em trolling during the tourney:
> On day 1 of the 2017 NWT Championship, casters dominated as huge stringers were caught from the far north end of Green Bay. After two cancellation days due to dangerously windy weather, the bite changed and trolling took center stage.
> Dean “I would troll with my Off Shore planer boards at 1.4-1.5 mph and the crankbaits would dig into the bottom. There was 80′ or 90′ of water and it came right up to 22′ with a mix of sand, gravel and zebra mussels. If you got in 18′, you would foul up and get clumps of zebra mussels.”
Said he was using purple (custom painted) #9 Berkley Flicker Minnows and 2-oz snap weights to get to bottom.
2016 (June 23-24) out of Sturgeon Bay:
Danny “big bags” Woodke took home the $87K purse with 10 rock melons for 74.84 lbs. He was chucking a Rapala Rippin’ Rap (gold chrome, yellow perch and firetiger) on 20-lb Sufix 832 braid with a 14-lb Sufix fluorocarbon leader:
|
|
|
> “They weren’t hungry – there were plenty of alewives around – so it was strictly a reaction bite. I don’t know why else they would bite. I think the key was literally putting that bait in front of their face and making them bite it.”
> Each day he ran north and hit 3 or 4 spots – all big rockpiles located in 10-15′. ...would cast his Rippin’ Rap out as far as he could, then jig it back with a conventional lift-and-fall approach.
And Tom Keenan landed in 2nd – only caught 10 walleyes over 2 days, but they were the right bites = 69.23 lbs.
Caught ’em tossing – you guessed it – #7 Rapala Rippin’ Raps with his best colors being gold chrome, chrome moss back shiner and Helsinki shad. Fished ’em on 20-lb Sufix 832 braid with a fluoro leader.
> Keenan ran north each day and fished around the Chamber’s Island and Sister Shoals area. He would essentially spot-hop from rockpile to rockpile.”
He hit 15 different spots on day 1 alone! #RunAndGun
Jason Przekurat nabbed a 3rd-place finish with 63.57 lbs. He also caught 'em casting Rapala Rippin' Raps on rockpiles:
> “You have to find the key rock structure and you have to make repetitive casts. When the wind blows, you can really catch them. When it’s windy, I rip it 3 or 4 times. When it’s really calm, you have to let it sit on the bottom. Then you finally rip it up and the fish just whack it.
> “This big boulder thing is something we wish we could have discovered 10 years earlier and kept quiet. But it’s here now and everyone knows about it. Years ago we used to try and troll over them. Now we know we have to jig over them.”
So what’s it gonna take to win? 🤔
Obviously the above events were at all different times of the year...but the winning bag remained pretty darn consistent across the board with it taking roughly a 7.67-lb average to win.
I believe these previous events were no-cull tourneys, but I also believe they typically had an extra fish to play with as they were allowed to have 6 fish in their livewell and bring in their heaviest 5 each day.
The event that kicks off tomorrow is a true no-cull tournament and they switched it up to only allow a 3-fish limit per day. Once a fish goes in the box, it stays there. And once that third fish goes in – so do you – you’re done.
If the law of averages stays true, the winner should have roughly a 2-day total (6 fish) of 46.02 lbs. But whoever is able to pull that off would have to have some serious stones 😅 and be making some really tough decisions on the water knowing they’ll either hero or zero. And it also sounds like ‘The Bay’ is fishing as tough as it EVER has...but like I said before, someone always catches ‘em.
Can’t wait to see how it all goes down!
|
|
Giant layover 🛩️ zander caught from the bank!
|
|
|
When Ryan Buddie isn’t cashing checks in professional walleye tournaments, or running charters on Lake Erie, he’s a pilot 👨✈️ at Delta Air Lines. On a recent layover in Amsterdam (Netherlands), he hoofed it down to the boardwalk with an Ugly Stik GX2 Travel Rod in hand and stuck a massive 36-INCH zander slow-rolling a swimbait along bottom!
|
|
|
> “Not a fishing boat in sight and very few other shore fishermen. I had to reach down off that dock and gill her to land it! Look at that tail?!? Very powerful fish.
> “So weird to me that more people aren’t fishing there. If this was Detroit, there would be 4,000 boats floating down the river.”
And it wasn’t the only one he layover’d into:
|
|
|
> “There is something about how slow you have to fish for zander combined with how hard the thump is when they decide to commit. If you haven’t tried it, put it on the list, definitely not walleye fishing...even though they sure do look alike!
It’s definitely been on my “list” but seeing Ryan get it done from the bank now has it underlined twice. Super dang cool – thanks for sharing with us and big congrats man!
|
|
Some absolutely wild sonar shots! 🤯
|
|
|
Check out this MEGA Down Imaging screenshot of the “Christ of the Abyss” statue off of the coast of Italy! Incredible. Couple quick screen grabs from this cool reel on Humminbird’s Instagram:
|
|
|
Still blows my mind how it wasn’t that long ago when fish symbols/alarms were THE big thing. This bring back any memories?
|
|
|
2. WI: Mercury Marine cutting 300 jobs at Fond du Lac HQ.
> “These actions were taken due to softening of consumer demand in some of our markets,” Lee Gordon, vice president of corporate communications, wrote in a statement.
> Mercury Marine blamed the softening demand on high interest rates and reduced production by boatbuilders that Mercury works with. Gordon listed Alumacraft and its owner, BRP, and Tracker Marine, to name a few. Since March, BRP permanently eliminated 298 jobs in Sturtevant, Wis., giving the workers pay in lieu of notice. Alumacraft made two rounds of layoffs at a Minnesota plant in the past year, the latest one last month, cutting its workforce at that plant in half.
3. New prez of Brunswick Aluminum Group.
> Andy Thompson will oversee all commercial and operational aspects of the Aluminum Boat Group division, which includes brands Harris, Crestliner, Lund, Lowe, Thunder Jet and Princecraft. Thompson succeeds Dirk Hyde who will be retiring later this summer after more than 30 years with the company.
> Prior to joining Brunswick, Thompson was the Chief Operating Officer for REV Fire Group and has decades of executive experience in transformation and growth from various industries including defense, aerospace, medical, industrial automation and automotive. Thompson also brings deep operational efficiency expertise holding a Six Sigma Black Belt and LEAN Manufacturing Green Belt designations.
4. Alan McGuckin no longer with Dynamic Sponsorships.
5. Tom Huynh hopped on The Midwest Angler Podcast.
> Tom Huynh joins episode 269 and chats about pioneering forward facing sonar in the walleye world. Tom talks about his journey into the fishing industry and why walleye fishing, and more specifically walleye tournaments, are not growing like they should.
Really great listen. Tom joins at about the 6:50 mark. You can listen to it here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
6. Check out Okuma’s new X-Series spinning reel.
|
|
|
> ...a lightweight and rigid aluminum body...the C-40X carbon-injected rotor and side plate further enhance the reel's durability while keeping it lightweight....
> Equipped with multi-disk Carbonite drag washers boasting a 22-lbs max drag on the 2500 and 3000 and a full 24-lbs of drag on the 4000, these reels provide smooth and consistent performance....
The 3000 size weighs 7.2 oz and has a 6.2:1 gear ratio (33.6" of line per crank). More details here.
7. WI: Recreational boating has an $8.4 bil impact statewide.
Not fishing, just boating.
8. Feds and NY to co-manage Lake Ontario "marine sanctuary."
9. WV had 2 state records broken in June.
> Craig Webb...caught a 2.85-lb, 17.32” black crappie with a baby shad jig at Woodrum Lake in Jackson County on June 9. The catch, which was verified by WVDNR assistant fisheries biologist Cory Hartman, is the first record catch for the black crappie category since the WVDNR added the species to the state record list in Jan 2024.
|
|
|
> John Plott...caught a 1.75-lb, 12” redear sunfish with a nightcrawler at Plum Orchard Lake in Fayette County on June 6. The catch, which was verified by WVDNR fisheries biologist Joel Slabe, is the first record catch for the redear sunfish category, which was also added to the state record list in Jan 2024.
|
|
|
10. CA: Family trip to Pismo Beach turned into $88K citation...
...for collecting clams! The kids did it by accident while collecting what they believed to be seashells – turned out to be a violation of clamming regulations.
> Russ’s enthusiastic children had unintentionally gathered 72 clams. It was only when Russ received a ticket on the spot that she realized the severity of the situation. Later she received a notice demanding payment of over $88,000....
CA Department of Fish and Wildlife gave them that CRAZY fine, but luckily for the family a judge later overturned it.
> Lieutenant Matthew Gil from the Department of Fish and Wildlife shed light on the regulations, explaining that they were implemented to protect the species of shellfish. The rules stipulate that clams must be allowed to grow to a size of 4.5 inches before they spawn and reproduce.
11. Reminder: We’ve got a Bill Lewis giveaway going on!
Here's your shot to win a $350 spread of walleye crankbaits from Bill Lewis! Including the Mark Romanack-designed Precise Walleye Crank which get down into the strike zone quicker with a steeper diving angle.
Takes just 10 seconds to enter by clicking the pic below and you can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck!
|
|
|
Thread the ‘crawler all the way up the hook so the head actually slides up over the knot and the tail kicks out at a 45-degree angle.
Here’s the duo putting the technique to work on MN’s Leech Lake, where they’re keying in on rock-to-sand transitions...aka walleye highways:
|
|
|
I don’t care who ya are...this is funny. 😂
|
|
|
But it’s also where I would draw the line LOL.
|
|
|
Sending 'er off with this pic of Forrest Leitch doing his thing 🙌 with a pair of bookend bruisers!
|
|
|
Sign up another fish-head!
If you're forwarding Target Walleye to a friend who loves to walleye fish or want your fishing buddies to get these emails, just send us their email addresses and we'll take care of it! (We won't sell the addresses, use them for spam, etc.)
|
|
|
FRIENDS OF TARGET WALLEYE
|
|
|
Target Walleye – walleye during open water and all species during hardwater – is brought to you by Al Lindner, Jay Kumar, Chris Philen, Brett McComas and other diehard fish-heads like you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye He was discovered in Brainerd, MN after years of wondering how in the heck people break into the fishing biz. He's in it now, but still can't answer that question.... Brett is one of those guys who majored in marketing, only because there was no such thing as a "fishing degree" at the time.... Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com
|
|
|
|
|
