The ninth, and final week of the regular season, for the Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League season in Pierre is complete and the season ended on a high note for the boys. Looking to bring home one more victory for the season, and carry the momentum into the 50th Annual South Dakota Governor’s Cup, the boys ended the year with a strong 2nd place finish.
The conditions were calm and hot, which the boys felt were going to make for a tough bite. The recent strong bite on the main body of Lake Sharpe brought many boats out of Hipple Lake in Farm Island Recreation Area and back on to the main body, which gave the boys a bit more area to fish inside Hipple Lake.
“Hipple Lake is probably my favorite area on the entire Missouri River system,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “This is our favorite area to fish on Lake Sharpe in the summer months and we have a lot of confidence in the area.”
This confidence was quickly rewarded as the boys were able to put five walleyes in the boat after about an hour of fishing.
“The bite was fast out of the gate and we were able to get some decent fish quickly,” continued Harrington. “We were happy to have a five-fish tournament limit, but we knew the bag wasn’t quite what we needed it to be.”
The Tuesday Night League format, similar to other tournaments in South Dakota, allows teams to weigh their best five fish and have three additional fish (which would complete a two-man daily limit) in the boat they do not weigh.
“You can’t cull walleyes in South Dakota,” explained Harrington. “This means once it goes in the box, it’s your fish, which can set up to make some tough decisions especially on the Missouri River system.”
The boys were presented with these tough decisions. Once the five fish were in the box, they measured and weighed each fish to determine which ones were the smallest and how they could be upgraded over the next three fish they could catch.
“At this point, our smallest two fish were coming in about 1.17 and 1.23 pounds,” elaborated Harrington. “Fortunately, the next two fish we caught were about 1.30 and 1.33 pounds, respectively, which were easy decisions to put in the box.”
Having upgraded their two smallest fish and sitting with seven in the box, the boys knew the next fish had to be quality as they could only keep one more. They had approximately an hour left to fish, which gave them the opportunity to be a bit aggressive with the last one they kept.
“We felt good that we had added about another .2 pounds to our total bag, but knew we were going to need a big one if we were going to bring home the win,” continued Harrington. “Ounces are so key, especially this time of year, and it can really be the difference of a couple places.”
It was at this point the difficult decisions began. The boys caught three more keepable walleyes weighing in at 1.40, 1.33, and 1.25 pounds respectively. The first, and most difficult decision, was to throw out the 1.40 pounder.
“I struggled with that decision,” admitted Harrington. “If we would have kept that it would have upgraded our bag, but it would have prevented us from being able to continue to target a big one and was only going to be a marginal upgrade.”
Short on time, the board dropped back, and with two minutes left of their allocated fishing time the boys put another good one in the boat.
“I saw that last fish out there and knew it was going to be a helper,” explained Harrington. “It was 1.50 pounds, so overall we were able to upgrade our bag by about .4 pounds overall.”
Once the eighth and final fish was in the box, it was time for the boys to see if their decisions were rewarded. After the final weights were tallied, they sat 2nd on the leaderboard, nudging multiple teams by just ounces.
“The no-culling rule is what makes these tournaments so fun,” said Harrington. “We had some really difficult decisions to make out on the water about what to keep and what to put back, but ultimately it proved to be the difference between a 2nd and 4th or 5th place finish.”
Maintaining integrity out on the water is integral to continue to promote the sport of tournament walleye fishing and Harrington is proud to fish against anglers who feel the same way.
“It makes me proud to know that Mason and I do things on the water the right way, we want people to think of us as both fair and ethical anglers and sportsmen,” concluded Harrington. “Our league is fun because we get to fish against anglers who love the sport just like we do.”
The top five was tight, but as the boys anticipated it was a big one that ultimately took home the win.
Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League Week Nine Top 5:
- 1st Place: Clark/Buechler 9.60 pounds
- 2nd Place: Harrington/Propst 7.60 pounds
- 3rd Place: Hostler/Stoeser 7.40 pounds
- 4th Place: Kogelman/Merrill 7.20 pounds
- 5th Place: Keller/Macomsey 7.00 pounds
Casting for Recovery Donation
Each week throughout the Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League season, plus Sharpe Showdown, for each pound the boys bring to the scale $1 will be donated to Casting for Recovery South Dakota.
Current weights/donations:
- Tuesday Night League Week One: $3.85
- Sharpe Showdown: $12.94
- Tuesday Night League Week Two: $6.79
- Tuesday Night League Week Four: $4.80
- Tuesday Night League Week Five: $12.20 x WIN DOUBLE=$24.40
- Tuesday Night League Week Six: $3.80
- Tuesday Night League Week Seven: $4.80
- Tuesday Night League Week Eight: $6.80
- Tuesday Night League Week Nine: $7.60
Total Current Donation: $75.78
