1. WI: ‘Bago locals crush AIM Championship.

Josh Wiesner and Brad Schrauth’s 47.63 lbs spanked the 2nd-place team by over 20 lbs [!!] to take home the $8K:

You can get the full scoop on how they won here.

2. MT: Graupmann/DeMarsico win Tiber Rez tourney.

Jennifer Macko Graupmann and Julie DeMarsico won the Walleyes Unlimited gals-only tournament on Tiber Reservoir for the 2nd year in a row. Their 16.7-lb bag also included 1st and 2nd big fish of the tourney. Whoa! Great job ladies…. #PlaquesFerDayz

3. MT: New water supply proposed for Fort Peck Hatchery.

Production has dropped at the 10-yo facility thanks to a deteriorating filtration system.
Here’s an aerial view of the hatchery back in ’05. Quite the operation:

4. MN: Muskies to be stocked in Gull Lake Chain.

Some walleye anglers are having a tiffy ’bout it. Some of the best walleye lakes in the country have muskies in ’em….

5. DOC SONAR: Interpreting your side imaging.

Sometimes it’s tough to tell what you’re looking at — the DOC help breaks it down with pics.

6. Tommy Skarlis on the new HD Aqua-Vu (video).

Crazy cool. Lets you view your lure while trolling. More info to come.

7. MN: Zeebz found in 2 new lakes.

Lake Osakis and East Spirit Lake.

8. Minn Kota Ulterra goes bluetooth.

9. T-H Marine acquires Tonka Customs.

Their 4th acquisition in 3 years. #Momentum

10. Rapala gets new CEO.

Not in the U.S….

> “Fish are active. Downrigging with crankbaits, jig-fishing and drifting spinners (gold, silver and white) are all producing fish on the main lake in 28-32′. Garden Island and 9-12 miles off of Pine Island are holding fish. Many great fish in the 18” range and some trophies mixed in as well.

> “Some walleyes are being caught near the mouth of the Rainy River and into Four Mile Bay thanks to the slightly improved water clarity. A jig-minnow remains the best option though some anglers are using a bottom-bouncer paired with a stickbait.

> “Up at the NW Angle, the mud between Little Oak and Oak Island has been producing good numbers of saugers and walleyes in 24-30′. Work the offshore reefs and humps using spinners and bottom-bouncers with crawlers, or crankbaits, as the majority of fish have moved off the larger islands onto the mid-lake structure. Top colors are gold, pink and orange.”

> Brian Brosdahl: “Dawg days of summer but still catching a few nice ones on Lake of the Woods out of Warroad, MN. Northland Puppet Minnows, crawlers and leeches are all producing fish for us. Helps when the winds blows.”

> “This last week saw the best bite in years for most anglers fishing the Devils Lake system — personally it may be the best bite I have seen in the last 5 years of guiding here. Main lake structure has begun to come alive with hungry eyes as our weed beds begin to die out.

> “While weed lines are still producing to a degree, our thick beds of curly leaf pondweed are now turning brown having reached maturity. As these weeds decompose, they give off carbon dioxide (instead of oxygen) causing forage and predator fish leave.

> “Finding good beds of live coontail and native milfoil will continue to yield walleyes as these weeds do take longer to mature.

> “Bottom-bouncers and spinners continue to be the preferred presentation, although trolling crankbaits with leadcore or braid has taken good fish also. Casting is taking some shallow fish especially on windy days.”

> “A spinner and crawler are triggering walleyes in 14-18′ on West Goose Flats and in Portage Bay, and there’s some evening crankbait action in 9-15′. Rapala Jigging Raps are producing walleyes on the humps in Walker Bay as well.”

> “Green Bay walleyes have once again started eating and they’re hungry! We’ve had excellent catches this past week with many trophy-caliber walleyes caught and released.

> “Crawler harnesses with 1-oz in-line weights have been my favorite. Big Eye custom blades with purple/chart/white combos work on cloudy days and plain gold/silver/copper deep-cut blades work on sunny days. Trolling at 1.1-1.5 mph over 20-30′ with just 20-35′ of line behind Off Shore Tackle planer boards has been best.

> “Trolling big crankbaits at 2.0 mph has also been effective — targeting depths of 20-30′ while allowing the baits to reach depths of 12-18′ — looking for suspended walleyes. Once you find the fish, rip-jig #6 and #7 Rapala Rippin’ Raps for some hand-to-hand combat.”

> “I’ll typically tie my 2-hook spinner rigs between 6-7′ in length. If I’m fishing over weeds/rocks or shallower than about 15′, I will shorten the leader length to 3.5-5′.

> “I prefer to use #6 and #8 Daiichi Red Octopus-style hooks. If I want to add a little more color to my spinner rig, I’ll switch to a Gamakatsu colored hook in the same sizes.

> “For my beads, I’ll use the 4- to 5-mm sizes in various colors. This is where I really like to experiment with color combinations, as I feel it makes a difference. I love the various pearls and glow beads that are on the market.

> “More often than not I’ll use a Northland Tackle Baitfish-Image Colorado Blades in sizes #3, #4, and #5. You can get the smaller #3 blades to spin at slower speeds, but the larger #5 blades will put out more flash and vibration.

> “A general rule in selecting your weight is 1 oz for every 10′. I try to fish as vertical as possible when trolling spinner-rigs, so I tend to use 2- to 3-oz Slick-Sticks the majority of the time. The key is to not have the sinker drag on the bottom — you use the weight to contact the bottom and hold above it.
> “Spinner rigs can be fished anywhere from around 0.7-2.5 mph. If you’re around 1.3-1.7 mph, you will have success. Remember when doing any form of trolling…it’s better to be too high, than too low — and It’s better too fast, than too slow.”