The 2025 Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League season has concluded, and this season proved to be the best year yet. Team Propst/Harrington ultimately ended up 4th for Team of the Year. While this result is something to be proud of, the excitement for the coming season is the feeling that comes in strongest.
“This was one of the most fun years I’ve had throughout the league season,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “As proud as I am to have finished 4th in Team of the Year, I certainly feel like the opportunity to be on top was there.”
The season started very strongly, with a consistent string of Top 5s carrying the boys to top of the points leaderboard.
“Week One I didn’t know what to expect, I had just got back from Cedar Shore Resort tournament in Chamberlain and I just took an educated guess on where the fish might be,” continued Harrington. “Fortunately, they were there, and it ultimately laid the foundation for an incredibly consistent bite I was able to enjoy for the next month.”
Week One started with a 5th place finish, and Week Two was literally more of the same.
“Week Two I had a lot of pre-fish under my belt as I was working to get ready for Sharpe Showdown, and I went to the A spot and put four nice ones in the boat,” elaborated Harrington. “I stopped in a second spot to catch a few more, and ultimately that’s what turned into my go-to over the next several weeks.”
Week Two saw another 5th place finish, and heading into Week Three the stage was set to build on the best start to a season yet.
“Week Three I hit two spots very unproductively before I pulled into the same spot we finished Week Two and from there the bite was lights out,” elaborated Harrington. “We went from two in the boat to non-stop action for 40 minutes and jumped into at third place finish.”
Through the first quarter of the season, three Top 5s proved to be good enough to be in the Top Two for Team of the Year points and the fun bite was just beginning.
“It was heading into Week Four and Five that the fun was really beginning,” detailed Harrington. “The bite I was on was just fantastic, and we were putting fish in the boat so fast that we’d have our five in an hour then weigh every fish to make sure we were maximizing our weight. It was incredible.”
This incredible bite led to a second-place finish in Week Four, and a third-place finish in Week Five. The fishing was fantastic; the weights were great and heading into Week Six the boys were at the top of the points standing.
“Week Six was where things started to unravel, we had some heavy rains and the water got very dirty,” admitted Harrington. “This combined with a week I was out of town and we were in a tough spot going into Week Six. Ultimately I did find some fish, but it was too late in the night, and we were only able to bring three to the scales.”
The 13th place finish broke the Top Five streak, but didn’t cause major damage to the points lead. The coming weeks was when things started to go off of the rails.
“Week Seven I made the decision to head into Hipple Lake in Farm Island Recreation Area, which is our go-to spot as the season progresses,” said Harrington. “We did get our five fish, but didn’t get any of the big ones I was hoping for. Fortunately, it was good enough for a seventh-place finish.”
Week Eight was an automatic zero, as a Hawaiian vacation for Nick and a busy day for Mason met there were no eligible anglers to compete on behalf of the team. The lack of pre-fish, and loss of momentum, lead to a 12th place finish for Week Nine as well.
“The zero was tough, but ultimately it was leaving a few fish out there in Week Nine that probably hurt the worse,” admitted Harrington. “It goes to show how important momentum and confidence is, the first five weeks I had it and the last five I didn’t.”
Week Ten, The Fish Off, saw a 3rd place competition between Propst/Harrington and Merrill/Hight.
“The Fish Off wasn’t exactly a heavy weight contest,” confessed Harrington. “I had two and Merrill/Hight had three, which ultimately landed us in 4th place for Team of the Year points.”
The highlight of the season was the number of partners that were able to get in on the fun.
“My personal favorite was the various partners I was able to fish with and ultimately do really well with,” detailed Harrington. “Tom Sieburg helped score a 5th place in Week Two, Jett Kirschenmann got a 3rd place Week Three, Chris Hull helped me keep my sanity Week Six, Jake Sieburg caught a lot of fish with me Week Seven, and Spencer Anderson joined me for the Fish Off on very short notice. I want to thank all of them for jumping in the boat with me!”
Another partner shake-up is in the works for 2026, with Mason Propst announcing he will no longer be fishing Tuesday Night League.
“It won’t be ‘Propst’ on the first line for next year’s weigh sheet, everything is pointing for it to say ‘Harrington’ and I’m excited for that challenge,” concluded Harrington. “I’m proud of how this year went, but saying I’m hungry for next year is an understatement!”
The Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League in Pierre runs for 10 weeks through mid-April through June. Teams launch out of Downs Marina in Pierre onto Lake Sharpe at 6 p.m. and are due back in to check in by 9:30 p.m. each week. Points are calculated by finishing position each week, with teams given two drops of their lowest weeks to set the seeding for the ultimate Fish Off.
