Here’s the ‘Full Scoop’ on how the top-finishing pros at the last National Walleye Tour event on Green Bay (out of Oconto, WI) caught 'em better than the rest. 🎯 Little details and specifics you won’t find anywhere else. BIG thx to our friend Brett Carlson for helping to track 'em down. Now, here we go!

Minnesota fisherman Randy Topper has been on a tear in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” lately. In late June, he took home the Grand Rapids Walleye Shootout with teammate Brock Anderson on Lake Pokegama, his home water. On July 10, Topper and teammate Nate Leninger won the Lund Mania event on Otter Tail Lake. Soon after, Topper headed east to Oconto, Wis., with one goal in mind: catch enough Green Bay walleyes to qualify for the National Walleye Tour Championship. What transpired a week later was the realization of a childhood dream.

Topper arrived in Oconto Thursday and spent an abbreviated day of practice on Wisconsin’s west shore. 

> “I showed up at 3 pm, and by 3:30 I was catching fish,” recalled the 46-year-old. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for, but I already knew some of the fish had great attitudes.”

On Friday, Topper headed east and never looked back. He started on deep rocks, but then made his way to shallower flats. His bread and butter ended up being between Chambers Island and the Strawberry Islands.

> “I really worked hard on that area. I put in most of my practice there, and it just kept getting better. I broke 40 twice without leaning on them too hard. By Sunday, I felt like I could weigh 40 pounds a day. That would get me to the championship, and going in, that was my goal.”

On the tournament’s first morning, Topper took the 35-mile run nice and easy.

> “I saw one right away, and I realized everything held. The next step was to fish clean because these Green Bay walleyes fight to the death. By 9:30, I had four good ones. Then they started to disappear, and I started getting a little nervous. At 10:30, I brought a 7.14 up. It was my last fish to play with, and it would have been a half-pound upgrade. Then I just decided to throw it back.”

Topper never saw another fish in that area. He eventually ran 5 miles west. After taking some time to relocate the school, he caught a 7.5-pounder, which he also threw back. 

> “Then I saw two fish that were just monsters. I mean they looked so big that they could be 20-pound cats. Just before 1 pm, I caught one of those two. It was 10.4.”

Topper’s weight was 49 pounds, 4 ounces, which gave him a 3-pound lead. That 49-lb stringer stands as the biggest no-cull, live weight ever recorded on Green Bay.

> “It was awesome, but it was a stressful evening. I tried to just block it out and prepare like it was day one. I was worried that the fish in my main area were depleting and leaving. I know that can happen quickly on Green Bay. That’s what my gut was telling me.”

After careful deliberations, Topper decided to return to the same starting spot. By 8:30, he saw fish on his sonar, but definitely not as many.

> “Thankfully it happened quick. I caught a 7.75, an 8.5 and a 9 by 8:30. Then it just emptied out in there...it was pretty bare.”

At 10:30, Topper traveled west to the other side. While he again found them fairly quickly, they didn’t want the crawler at first.

> “I switched to a [Rapala Jigging Rap], but it was terrifying. They were really upset when you put a Jig Rip in their mouth. They would fight like crazy and throw the hook. I lost a giant three fourths of the way to the boat. Then I dumped another giant. Then I broke off another one. At that point, I started to unravel mentally, so I took a minute to reset and calm down.”

Topper also switched back to the jig and crawler, and the execution improved. 

> “I caught my last fish, an 8.13, just before noon. That replaced a 7.75 from the other side. I was never sure I won, but I knew I fished my butt off. Dewey and Tom Huynh were right behind me. They would need about 46 and 47 pounds. If one of those guys comes up with one of those bags, more power to them.”

Topper’s best five from day 2 weighed 42 pounds, 13 ounces, which gave him a staggering total weight of 92 pounds, 1 ounce. His margin of victory was just over 5 pounds.

While Topper used a 1-2 punch with the Jigging Rap and the crawler, all the weigh fish came on the crawler. His jig of choice was the 1/4-oz VMC Redline Series Tungsten Swimbait jig.

> “I would pinch a quarter or more of the [nightcrawler’s] body off – just enough where it doesn’t break so easily. That way, it didn’t get short bit as many times.”

Topper used the same cadence at GRAHA, Lund Mania and now the NWT Green Bay.

> “I was using the 7-foot, 6-inch JTX Mag Light. It’s so spongey. It’s almost like I’m pumping that rod, but it’s so soft, it’s not doing erratic stuff. It’s almost like it’s doing mesmerizing stuff. That rod is not just keeping them pinned, it’s giving me bites.”

On the 7-6 JTX Mag Lite, Hopper used 4000-series Daiwa Fuegos. His Jigging Rap setup was a 7-1 JTX Mag Medium-Light with a 2500 Fuego.

Before the tournament, Topper triggered several bites by taking fish down to the bottom. That changed as the tournament commenced. He also realized the best areas had some bait present, but weren’t covered in it.

> “When I was in the bait, it seemed like they were so focused on that bait. In my best areas, I was catching more neutral fish that weren’t hunting. There was bait, but not a ton. They were just kind of hanging out there. It was a staging or resting area.”

Topper found the most success in 22 to 27 feet.

> “The majority of our fish were in the bottom third of the water column. The 10.4 came 12 feet down, and we caught a couple close to the edge where they were suspended over 40 feet. They mostly ate it up, but every single Green Bay fish has its own personality. It was a dance with each one.”

Topper said the key to his victory was picking apart his area and not getting too spread out. From there, it was about being selective before casting in order to prevent difficult decisions in a no-cull event.

> “I said before the tournament that the person that wins is the person who has the fortitude to not throw at the wrong fish. How fun is it to catch 6- and 7-pounders? My goal was to ultra focus on my graph in order to eliminate those situations where I have to make tough decisions. When that fish hits the net, there should be no decisions...it’s party time. To pull that off when the pressure starts cranking up and the time starts ticking, that’s tough.”

When the wind was calm, Topper was able to get closer, even with 8-foot clarity.

> “The boat slapping was the biggest thing. Later in the day you definitely had to be more sneaky and get that first cast precisely on them. When it got windy, the Power-Brakes were huge. When you can spin around and not have that boat slap, it’s a huge help. The main program was the jig and crawler. But if they wouldn’t eat it, but they would stay there, then I’d hit them with the Jigging Rap.”

Topper used a #7 Jigging Rap and "orange tiger UV" was his best color.  

> “I like to go smaller so there’s not more weight to get thrown. The lighter I can get by with, the more chance I have to get them to the boat. I would make small hops, and they were pinning it to the bottom. It’s so rare that they get all of the bait doing that. I thought it was going to become an all Jig Rap bite on day two. But I went back to the crawler, and it was a full bag of jig crawler in the end.”

For line, Topper ran 10-lb Sufix 832 Advanced Superline (ghost) with an 8-ft, 8-lb Seaguar InvizX leader.

Topper, who owns and operates Scooters Septic Service, reflected on his first tour-level victory and his third win in a month.

> “It’s the most surreal feeling. I’ve thought about this since I was a little kid. I was just floating on stage. It’s one of the most amazing feelings in the world. I always knew I wanted to get to this level. This is what I’ve worked for my entire life. Putting it all together with my family here to experience it with me, I don't think it could get better than this.”

After taking 2nd place at the South Dakota Governor’s Cup, reigning NWT Angler of the Year Duane 'Dewey' Hjelm finished 2nd again. Hjelm has had a love-hate relationship with Green Bay. In 2022, he won out of Marinette, but he’s also zeroed before.

> “I’m starting to love it more, but I’m still apprehensive as I learn about wind switches and how that moves the fish....”

Hjelm started practice by sampling Sturgeon Bay. He had success there, then probed around Chambers Island and the Strawberry Islands. The boat traffic was heavy, but the fish would still commit.

> “If you could find an area that hasn’t been touched for an hour or so, you could get bit. They were ready to eat.”

Hjelm returned to Sturgeon Bay on Tuesday – confirming that the overall pressure was low and that the fish were still there and still willing.

> “It’s one of the most stable areas in terms of wind and weather changes. There is current in there, so they’re getting fresh water. There’s tons of bait...there’s weeds. Up until now, I don’t feel like that many people knew about it.” 

While Hjelm fished several spots throughout the bay, the shipping canal was his bread and butter.

> “They were not in the weeds, but relating to the weeds in 12 to 25 feet of water. They didn’t like you driving over them, but otherwise they weren’t spooky. During the tournament, most of them were within 5 feet of the bottom. I did catch one 9.5-pounder 4 or 5 feet under the surface.”

On day 1, Hjelm didn’t want to keep anything under 8 pounds. His first four fish were all 7-pounders, and they all went back.

> “At 9:30, I got an 8.75, then the 11-pounder. Once I got that 11-pounder I did keep a 7-pounder. The next two were 9.5 pounds. When we were driving across the lake, we were fricking pumped. I thought I would have a 3- or 4-pound lead. Then I heard 49 pounds called out, and I couldn’t believe it. That’s just incredible.”

Hjelm’s day-1 weight registered 45 pounds, 14 ounces.

With live streaming coverage on day 1, Hjelm assumed there would be more pressure in his area on day 2, and he was right....

> “There were three or four more tournament boats. Plus, I kept seeing the same fish, and they were losing interest.”

After catching and boxing an 8.5-pounder, he then caught a 6.75. He kept it, knowing he had one to play with. He then slid over to a nearby area loaded with drum. While the drum were difficult to sort through, the area held some of the biggest walleyes he sampled in practice. Almost immediately, Hjelm caught an 8.5 and an 8.

> “I then made one more pass on my starting spot. There were fish all over the screen – mostly drum. I saw one 5 feet down over 15 feet, and it ended up being a 9-pounder. We spent 2.5 hours looking for one more big bite. We thought we had it. We thought we had a 12-pounder, but it was a catfish.”

Hjelm weighed 41 pounds, 1 ounce on day 2, which pushed his 2-day total to 86-15.

Dewey did his damage with VMC Ned Rig Jigs and crawlers (both the tungsten and lead versions). When the fish were super high or not moving fast, he would opt for the 3/16 oz. When they were positioned deeper or darting around, he would use the 1/4-oz.

> “The bottom there was really soft. You couldn’t take fish down or you would get gummed up really quick. If I even went below them at all they would lose interest big time. It was a steady, soft jigging motion in order to get the tail to move. It was reel, shake and then take away.”

His 11-pounder dropped the bait three different times. 

> “I could tell she didn’t have it. I eventually put a fresh crawler on and got aggressive with the takeaway move.”

Hjelm’s main line was 10-lb Sufix Revolve (lime), and he ran a 12-foot leader of 10-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon. He spooled these lines on 13 Fishing 2500-size SHYFT spinning reels, which were recently released at ICAST. His rods were the 7-4 13 Fishing Myth in medium light and another 13 Fishing prototype spinning rod.

> “Overall it’s been a good year. I’m slowly learning how to make better decisions on these Great Lakes. That bad decision on day 1 at the season opener on Erie is going to cost me. I’m definitely not going to catch Beau.”

Nineteen-year-old Beau Schilling had the daunting task of trying to stay close to Angler of the Year leader and local stick Eric McQuoid, despite this being his first time on Green Bay. Electrical issues shortened his practice, and by the time he finally got on the water, he never dialed a definitive program.

> “We found some fish over the last few days, but we weren’t on a winning bite, maybe a top 10 or top 5 bite at best,” said Schilling. “The goal was to just stay right there with Eric. I figured if I could get 40 pounds a day, I would still have a chance at Sakakawea.”

When the tournament started, Schilling ran east to the community areas of Green and up towards Chambers Island. Nearly every fish there was catchable, and he finished day 1 with 40 pounds, 8 ounces.

> “I thought that was pretty good. I thought I would be around the top 5. Then I realized I was losing ground. I didn’t want Eric to have a 10- or 15-point lead. I was thinking I had to jump 10 spots and find some bigger fish. So I fished completely new water and set my goal at 45 pounds.”

On day 2, Schilling made a 45-mile run up towards the boundary near Death’s Door Bluff. This area was loaded with alewives, but also loaded with 8-, 9- and 10-pounders.

> “I was literally casting at hundreds of giants. So many of them would turn me away, but we had four over 9 pounds in the boat by 10:30. Then the bite slowed considerably. At 12:20 I boxed an 8-pounder, and I’m glad I did, because that was our last fish of the day.”

While he didn’t quite hit 45 pounds, his 43-15 launched him to 3rd with a cumulative total of 84 pounds, 7 ounces.

> “I caught most of them with the VMC Tungsten Moon Eye Jig (white) and a crawler. I typically used the 3/16- and 1/4-oz jigs. All my fish came vertically. I never had success bringing them to the bottom. I would shake it in front of their face and take them vertical.”

Schilling’s secondary program was throwing the 4-inch Rapala CrushCity The Mayor swimbaits (white) on 1/4-oz and 3/8-oz VMC Redline Series Tungsten Swimbait Jigs.

> “If they were really dormant, if I was getting denied a lot, it was a great backup option. It was about the only artificial option I could get them to go on up near the boundary.” 

On day 1, Schilling was fishing halfway down the water column in 30 feet. On day 2, he was in 25 feet – fishing a foot off the giant boulders. When he was near Chambers, he could position the boat just 20 or 30 feet away. Up near the boundary, he would place himself 45 feet from the fish.

> “The farther you get towards Death’s Door the cleaner the water gets. Overall, the fish weren’t nearly as spooky as I feared coming in.”

Schilling’s main line was thin-diameter 18- or 22-lb Sunline Almight sinking braid (pink, olive camo). He then ran a 12- to 20-feet leader of Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon. For rods, he used either the 7-3 or 7-6 JTX Mag Lite. With the swimbait, he wanted a faster pick up, so he chose the 3000-series Daiwa Fuego and Shimano Vanford reels. With the jig and crawler, he opted for the same 2500-series reels. 

After a day-2 stumble from McQuoid, Schilling will now head to the NWT Championship with a 25-point lead in the Angler of the Year race. The dream of becoming the first rookie to win AOY is nearly a reality.

> “I’m a little nervous right now, but I’m also excited. I feel blessed to have had a lot of stuff go right. We’ve had an awesome year, but there’s more ahead. Right now, the goal is to make the third-day cut at Sakakawea. I think I’m going to send it for the first few hours and see how it goes from there. If nothing is going on, I could change my mind and catch a safe limit.”

Jig and 'crawler tips you NEED to know!

Obviously folks have been catching walleye on jigs and crawlers for decades now 💯 but a lot of folks are doing things a little differently today....

Throwing a jig and nightcrawler at suspended walleyes on FFS has been all of the rage these past few years – literally winning millions of dollars in tournaments across the Midwest. Here's a bunch of jig and crawler walleye fishing tips that can help you to turn more sniffers into biters:

No matter if I'm fishing shallow or deep, weeds or rocks, suspended or on bottom: My go-to jig for pitching 'crawlers is a 3/16-oz VMC RedLine Series Tungsten Ned Head Jig. I run 1/0 for shorter, pinched-down 'crawlers...and 2/0 with longer or full 'crawlers.

Funny looking head shape for pitching 'crawlers, but it works great for throwing at suspended fish and working 'em up in the column. Can also let it fall all the way down, drag it along, and let the fish eat it off bottom.

The big surface shows up great on sonar despite the lighter sizes.

That combined with the 90-degree line tie forces the head to track straight on the retrieve whether you're fishing fast or slow, up or down.

Can absolutely save some coin and go with the OG lead version of this jighead if you want – still works great.

But the newer tungsten version will gitcha better returns on FFS, that nasty Vanadium steel hook (fine wire but strong), the weights laser etched on the heads, and I like the matte finish on the jighead.

Both have that "Conical Keeper" that somehow does a great job of keeping the crawlers pinned up vs sliding down the shank every cast. But no matter what style of keeper you use, it'll eventually happen and you'll want to freshen that fun noodle.

Jighead sizes:

Like I said, 3/16 oz is by far my favorite all-around size. Just heavy enough to be able to accurately cast 60-70' feet away from the boat, yet light enough you can still sorta 'hang' that crawler above their nose if need be.

I'll lighten up to a 1/8 oz when fishing in shallower water (basically anything less than 10' for sure) or on calmer days if clear-water fish are being ultra fussy and not really moving on the bait. Can dang near float or hang it in place.

Likewise, I bump up to a 1/4 oz if the wind is really ripping. Or if the fish are "hot" enough that I can get away with working the bait more quickly. Just lets ya be that much more efficient at getting the bait in front of them and significantly easier to throw out away from the boat without casting off the crawler.

Few quick rigging tips:

Hook 'em thru the head. Which is the fatter, darker end. The tail end of the worm tends to be more flattened and lighter in color.

Have the darkest side on the top, and lighter side on the bottom. Looks more natural that way, as that's the color scheme of most natural prey. Does it matter? Maybe not. But if walleye are really staring it down, I don't want to give 'em another excuse to say no.

I almost always pinch the tails off of my 'crawlers so that the overall length is around 4" or so. Few reasons why I give 'em the pinch:

As you can see in the pic...it's extra scent coming out of that thing!

Shorter 'crawlers are less likely to get wrapped up or hook themselves on the cast, or while working the bait.

Sometimes the extra weight of a full crawler whipping around on the cast can cause 'em to tear off down by the hook, which leaves you with a little nub. So less fussing around.

I seem to get a lot more short biters nipping at the back half of the crawler when I throw a full one. My hook-up percentage goes WAY up with a slight pinch.

Holy 🎅💩 has LiveScope ever changed the walleye game!

Stay cool out there! 😎 Michael McLaughlin shot:

Thank you for reading! 👊 Back 'atcha in a couple....

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