I am very excited to announce a new event we are going to be doing this October! I have partnered with Walleye Warrior to giveaway a guided trip here on the Missouri River for 2020! It’s going to take some good fishing to win the trip!
First off, what is Walleye Warrior? Walleye Warrior is a group of great people, that are all about making new friends, sharing tips and having fun fishing! Walleye Warrior is run by Wade Hiller and Chris Nowatzki and I can personally attest they are both great guys!
Through Walleye Warrior, is a year long competition for South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. The contest runs from December-November. There are three categories: big walleye, big perch and total pounds of walleye.
When you enter the contest you will receive a board. All you need to do is catch fish and take a picture of them on your board. Then share the pictures to the Walleye Warrior group. If you’re in the total pounds category, there is a standard length to weight conversion so everyone is on the same playing field. You can weigh 4 fish a day, every day of the competition. Whoever has the most pounds at the end of the season wins total pounds and biggest walleye and biggest perch win their categories! So even if you go fishing one day out of the year and stick the biggest walleye or perch that day, you’re a champion!
I know I was brief, but hopefully I gave a halfway decent summary of the group. For full details and rules check out their website and Facebook group. They do a much better job explaining it than I could!
Here’s what I personally love about the group. This is a group for the weekend anglers. If you’re a guide, pro-staffer/field staffer, sponsored angler or any of the likes you aren’t eligible for the competition. In fact, when you join the group you’re going to be asked those questions. Now don’t feel left out if you don’t meet the eligibility. You may still interact within the group itself, but for the competition you would be ineligible. If you’re all about just going out and having fun and celebrating big fish, this group is for you!
Now let’s talk October. This group has intrigued me from the very beginning. When Wade told me about the total pounds, I was very interested. Now keep in mind, as a guide, tournament angler and pro/field staffer I’m not eligible to compete. But the more I watched the fish come in, I realized there is some dang good anglers in this crew!
I want to do this competition, because I’ll be 100% honest: I’m not sure I can win. There are some outstanding anglers that are going to challenge me and push me. This makes me a better angler, but it also is a great way to meet new people, make new friends and just have a lot of fun! I also can’t wait to go fishing with the winner of this competition! If I’m fortunate enough to win, we’re still giving a trip to the second place angler!
If you’re interested in joining the competition for October and possibly winning the guide trip here is what you’ll have to do. First, join the Walleye Warrior group. Second, make sure you meet the eligibility. If you’re a weekend angler looking to have some fun through the month and possibly out on the river with me you’re the perfect candidate! Third, if you aren’t already in the competition, get yourself a bump board. This is how you will measure your fish for the event, but it works great for a measuring device too! I use my bump board to know my 15 incher plus out in the boat!
You will also need a google account to enter your lengths and weights into the scoring spread sheet. There is a length to width conversation on the board, so all you’ll need to know is how long your fish is.
Wade’s got a great video explaining how scoring and submitting entries goes, so check it out here! He does better than I can!
The written rules are all on the Walleye Warrior website. The cool thing is even if you don’t catch a walleye, you still have a chance to win the “pick a card” drawings.
Now here is my prediction for October. I am betting that the big fish of the year is caught this month. There are going to be a lot of good anglers fishing hard all month and I am betting someone breaks the 29 inch mark.
My next prediction is at least 3 anglers bring in a serious bag and the competition comes down to the final days. You can submit 4 fish a day, so that gives the potential for 124 fish. A 14 inch walleye will go for 1.00 lbs, so if someone fishes every day and ONLY catches 14 inchers, you’re looking at 124 pounds. I know the anglers against me aren’t going to be bringing only 14 inchers!! I know no one will be able to fish everyday, but there are going to be some nice fish caught!
Here’s the other kicker. Because there isn’t actual harvesting of the fish (you can of course as long as you’re within state regulations) there isn’t a one over 20 rule for entries. This means if someone catches a 27, 26, 25 and 24…that’s their four fish they get to submit! If someone has one of those great nights, they are going to do some damage in total pounds!! This means things could change quickly!
Here’s the next factor, I am going to give away the full scouting report on myself. Check out my fall walleye fishing page here on my website and you’ll learn my favorite presentations, baits and locations. Everything you need to know to beat me! I have some of my favorite articles linked here below too. There is still plenty of time to get those tackle orders in too well before the competition starts!
I can’t wait to meet my competitors, make some new friends and catch some fish! Join the Walleye Warrior group, get in on the competition and stay tuned to the group and my Lip Ripper Guide Service page. We’ll also be doing our weekly fishing reports with live updates on weights and also the hot (or not) bites I’ve been fishing.
Good luck and good fishing!!
Nick
