AIM Akaska Day One Underway
Category: npaa
Aug 13th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Aug 13th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
The morning broke clear and cool, but the rising sun brought a promise of 98 degrees and winds forecast to be light but enough to put a decent chop on the waters of Lake Oahe. The Pros were looking forward to a long ride of anywhere from 40 miles to as much as 65 miles south to the Cheyenne and a great bite if the fish hold. 50 Pros and Co Anglers left the Swan Creek launch at 7:30 this morning.
 |
 |
Most of the Pros are pulling crankbaits, but a few talked about spinner rigs this morning during AIM interviews. Finding fish that are not ‘buried’ in batfish seemed to be key, as there are huge pods of bait and the walleyes are eating very well. Lund/Mercury Pro Mark Brumbaugh talked about how healthy the fish are this year, just full of fat and shaped like footballs. He felt the key to a win was finding the right pod of fish not associated with too much bait.
The water level is way up on the Lake compared to the last couple years, and the population of walleyes is very healthy. Mark talked about an event here he won in 1996 that took 100 pounds to win, and said he felt the system is quickly heading back to the incredible big fish factory it was then, despite the extremely low water experienced over the last few years.
Lund/Mercury Pro Marianne Huskey said she has only been prefishing a couple days, but found fish quickly and is putting quite a few in the net. She also is making a long run. Most of the rigs won’t be pushing the throttle much, as fuel economy running the engine in the ‘sweet spot’ RPM for maximum range is absolutely critical to avoid running out of gas.
The AIM Live Virtual Weigh In begins at approximately 4:30 this afternoon. Make sure to watch for videos, interviews, images galleries, and much more during the day today.