AIM WEEKEND Walleye Series To Open On Otter Tail Lake
Category: npaa
May 15th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 15th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Brandon Prasnicki and Bryon Schloemer are jacked up to fish Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™) Weekend Walleye Series “Alumacraft Open” on Otter Tail Lake in Minnesota. “I grew up near Big Stone Lake and it was always a big deal when the tournament boats came to town. I wanted to fish tournaments when I got older,” recalled Prasnicki.
“The new AIM Weekend Walleye Series (AWWS) gives us the opportunity to go from fishing various stand-alone events to move up to a circuit,” he continued. “We work and have families. This fits our budget and we can prefish for two days but only have to take one off of work.”
Sixty-five teams will take on the 14,000 square foot lake for the first Weekend Walleye Series event to take place west of the Mississippi River. Among them will be Yamaha pro Jimmy Bell and his twenty-four year old daughter Chelsea. “When your daughter asks if you want to fish tournaments together, you say yes,” according to Jimmy.
He has also been busy doing homework to learn about the lake, as it will be his first time fishing it. “State regulations allow fishermen to keep one fish over 20 inches in a live weigh-in tournament, which plays a huge role in decision making. With AIM and the Catch-Record-Release (C-R-R) process, the mindset is different; you are looking for your five best bites.”
He feels that even though the lake is new to him, not being programmed to find numerous fish will be an advantage over some who frequently fish the body of water. He also feels the reliability of his Yamaha motor takes one less worry off his mind, knowing he can just focus on finding fish instead of worrying about equipment.
Prasnicki is also excited about fishing a C-R-R tournament and not having to worry about keeping the “right” big fish. “There will be a lot more high fives and a lot less stress.”
With good weather predicted, AIM’s Minnesota tournament director Jim Miller is looking forward to a great event and meeting all the anglers. “I think it will be a typical, early post-spawn bite. Warming water temps should mean fishing will improve each day. The trick will be tempting those larger females, and the winning team is going to need several on their scorecard.”
All waters of Otter Tail Lake ONLY are open for the tournament. Boats will begin taking off at 7:00am from Guzzlers Bar & Grill on Sunday, May 18th. They will return at 3:00pm. The awards ceremony will begin at 5:00pm.
The next AIM Weekend Walleye Series event in Minnesota will take place June 8th at Mille Lacs Lake, followed by a “Wild-Card” event June 29th on the Mississippi River that will feature teams from both AWWS State Divisions (Wisconsin and Minnesota). Leech Lake on July 13th will be the site of the final Open Qualifier event in Minnesota.
Anglers Insight Marketing LLC (AIM™) is a unique tournament organization created and owned bymany of the most accomplished and recognizable professional walleye anglers, along with others whoshare the mission of advancing competitive walleye fishing and making it sustainable into the future. AIMis committed to marketing excellence on behalf of its tournament competitors, the tournament hostcommunities, and the brands that partner with it. AIM is also committed to maintaining healthy fisheriesacross the nation by the development of the exclusive AIM Catch-Record-Release™ format which isintegral to its dynamic events and unparalleled consumer engagement. For more information aboutAIM™, AIM Pro Walleye Series™, AIM Weekend Walleye Series, AIM sponsors and AIM anglers, visitwww.aimfishing.com.AIM Marketing Partners: Yamaha Marine, Warrior Boats, Alumacraft Boats, Nitro Boats, MercuryMarine, Navionics, Amsoil, Power Pole, Worldwide Marine Insurance, Team Lodge, Gemini SportMarketing, National Fleet Graphics, and The City of Oconto.