Washington Walleye Championship Has New Director ... - Mack's Lure

December 2011
Washington Walleye Championship Has
New Director & Direction
By Chuck De Bruin
Looking to add some pizzazz to
your fishing experience next summer?
Consider, then, the 2012
Washington State Walleye Championship
on Lake Roosevelt out of
Kettle Falls. It’s the culmination
of the five-tournament Washington
Walleye Circuit and encompasses
the entire lake. But that didn’t scare
the 2011 winners from Monroe,
WA who reportedly caught their
limits within 20 minutes of the
Kettle Falls boat launch. Others did
extremely well even closer to the
launch. For those who feel more
comfortable fishing the south end
of the lake, the north end near China
Bend and Northport, or places in
between, more power to you. It’s
your choice, but there are walleyes
throughout the lake which extends
more than 100 miles from just south
of the Canadian border to Grand
Coulee Dam in Washington as part
of the Columbia River system.
Preparations for 2012 were underway
even before the last championship
tourney was completed. It was
during that last weekend of July I
was approached by Merlin Thykeson
of Mark’s Marine in Coeur
d’Alene, ID about possibly becoming
the new tournament director. He
caught me completely off-guard,
and I replied that I would need
some time to consider it. I talked it
over with outgoing tourney director
Mike O’Donnell and Washington
Walleyes Unlimited representative
George Allen after the awards ceremony
on Sunday evening, and they
were both supportive of me tackling
the job. So here we go…off and
running to make the Championship
more exciting and inviting than in
years past.
The tournament dates in 2012
are July 28 & 29 with the drivers’
meeting on the afternoon/evening
of July 27. Plans are in progress to
have added incentives at the drivers’
meeting and throughout the
tournament including the awards
ceremony. A few of our major sponsors
from previous years have been
approached and are working on being
an integral part of next year’s
event. That would include Mark’s
Marine, Mack’s Lure, Cabela’s and
several other companies. Those who
have participated in the Championship
in past years know that Mark’s
Marine and Lund Boats have guaranteed
a $10,000 purse for the 1st
place team. Thykeson is working on
making that a reality again.
The entry form for the
Championship is posted at:
www.SpokaneWalleyeClub.com.
Just click on tournaments and you’ll
find it.
Although the tournament is classified
as the championship of the circuit
with special plaques and money
handed out to the top anglers of the
year, all two-person fishing teams
are welcome to compete for the big
bucks and prizes.
Here’s a quick tip for success at
Lake Roosevelt: While observing
lures already rigged on rods during
boat inspections each morning,
and hearing what the anglers have
to say each day, Mack’s Lure Smile
Blades, Double Whammy’s, Wally
Pops, and various jigs are the most
popular walleye-getters. Wally Pops
are especially popular for bottom
bouncers since they can be trolled
slowly but still “pop” up off the bottom
where the fish are looking for a
meal. The lure incorporates a worm
harness for fat and sassy nightcrawlers
and comes in two-tone colors.
Chartreuse and pink combos have
always been winners throughout the
lake.
Page one

Cookin’ Your
Grilled Cedar-Planked
Salmon
Ingredients:
• 1 untreated cedar plank (14x7x1
inch)
• 1/2 cup KRAFT Sun Dried
Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh
parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped oilpacked
sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 salmon fillet (2 lb.), 1-inch
thick
Directions:
IMMERSE plank in water, placing
a weight on top of plank to keep
it submerged. Soak 4 hours or overnight.
HEAT grill to medium heat. Mix
dressing, parsley and tomatoes; set
aside. Brush top of plank with oil;
top with fish. Place on grill; cover
grill with lid.
GRILL 10 min. Brush fish with
dressing mixture; grill 10 min. or
until fish flakes easily with fork.
Stan’s Space
Four Letter Words Can
Put Fish In The Boat
By Hall-of-Fame Angler
Stan Fagerstrom
Part 3 of 3
The walleyes that call the waters
of Michigan State home undoubtedly
wish Bernadine and Bill Ayres
would get the heck off the water and
take up golf.
It’s a cinch few, if any, husband
and wife fishing teams around the
country have caused those fish more
misery than this talented tournament
angling pair. Ever since the Ayres
really got into tournament fishing
they’ve given walleyes the jitters
every time they back their boat
down the launching ramp.
Bill Ayres has a licensed guide service
for the lakes and rivers of Michigan
State.
Team Ayres, as Bernadine and Bill
are called on the Michigan Walleye
Tournament Trail, took part in their
first tournament in 2003. They’ve
been giving it both barrels ever
since. As I mentioned in my previous
column, this August they’ve
qualified to be one of the 250 teams
participating in Cabela’s Master
Walleye Team Challenge on Bay de
Noc.
I’ve known a few tournament fishing
pros who wouldn’t share squat.
They sit on their secrets. That’s not
how it is with Team Ayres. Something
I’ve discovered about Bill and
Bernadine is their desire to encourage
and educate newcomers to walleye
angling.
Another thing you’ll find out in a
hurry if you’re fortunate enough to
attend a Team Ayres seminar is the
importance they attach to certain of
the products they use to put walleyes
in the boat. Foremost among their
favorite fish catchers are Mack’s
Lure Smile Blades. “They’re one
of our all around products we use
in every presentation,” they say,
“Smile Blades are so versatile.”
Bill and Bernadine Ayres won’t hesitate
to use Mack’s Lure Hot Wings as
attractors if that’s what’s required to
catch fish. They also don’t hesitate to
change the size or color of their Smile
Blades.
The Ayres take full advantage the
things a Smile Blade does for an
angler. Some of these things are
sometimes overlooked by anglers
with less experience. “The Smile
Blade,” Bernadine says, “is so versatile
we sometimes troll at only .06
to 1.0 miles per hour. Then, when
a reactionary bite happens, we step
our speed up to 2 miles per hour
while still using the same Smile
Blade.”
She will tell you they do this just by
pinching the Smile Blade into more
of “V” shape. When it’s pinched
down a Smile Blade spins faster
even with slower boat speeds.
Continued on Page 3
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Continued from Page 2
“Conversely,” Bill says, “when
our boat speed is increased we
might not want our Smile Blade to
spin so fast it’s just a blur in the water.
Then we might need to bend the
wings out to slow down its spinning
action.”
If you have opportunity to visit
with the Ayres it soon becomes obvious
they’re doing something I’ve
mentioned many times before in
these columns. It’s to change everything
from lure action, to boat
speed to lure color or size if necessary
until the fish indicate what they
want.
“We use all sizes of Smile Blade,”
the Ayres say, “because each size
can be used in different ways. We
use the 1.1-inch and the 1.5-inch
most often. The color of the blade
we select depends on the type of
presentation we’re using and the
forage fish the walleyes normally
are feeding on.”
If you, like the Ayres, like to tie up
your rigs in advance you’ll be interested
in how they go about it. “We
use a 10-pound test leader,” they
say, “that’s 10-feet in length. Each
one is equipped with a Stop Knot
and a 4-mm bead.
“These leaders are tied with a loop
knot on one end and a snap swivel
on the other. The reason for using
the loop knot is because it makes it
possible to easily change blade sizes
or from a Smile Blade to a Flash
Lite Blade if that’s what required to
get hits.”
If you’ve not done this yourself,
give it a try. You’ll find you can
pull your leader’s loop knot right
through the hole in the center of the
Smile Blade. Just take a different
blade size, different color or different
whatever and slide it right back
on the way the one you were using
came off.
The ease with which this can be
done helps you get away from the
rut so many anglers dig for themselves.
That’s to use the same lure
set up hour after hour even when the
fish aren’t showing the foggiest
interest.
I mentioned earlier that the floating
Cha Cha was a favorite of these
Michigan specialists. Here’s another:
“After the water goes above 50
degrees and up,” they say, “our next
choice is a Wally Pop crawler series.
We use it just the way it comes out
of the box.
Mack’s Lure Wally Pops are also
among the lures favored Team
Ayres. This husband and wife team
will participate in Cabela’s Master
Walleye Circuit Team Challenge
later this year.
“These soft bodied baits really
shine when walleyes are after minnows.
One of their features is that
they can be loaded with liquid shad
attractants. We do this by just sliding
the body away from the beads
and injecting them with scent. The
pressure of the water against the
blade and the pressure transmitted
on down against the soft body tends
to keep the scent in the body chamber
longer. It just doesn’t wash out
and disappear.”
Finally, there’s one other approach
Bill and Bernadine take that
I’d like to mention before wrapping
up this series on their successful
tournament fishing career. It’s the
use they make of a couple of other
Mack’s Lure products.
“Another of our favorites is the
Mack’s Lure Hot Wings,” they say.
“We use this as an attractor. The
versatility of each blade turning in
a different direction is such an asset
when we need something that
resembles a school of smelt chasing
after a lure. It gets the attention of
the walleyes we’re after.
“We used this exclusively as an
attractor with Smile Blades until
recently when Mack’s started marketing
their Flash Lite Blade packs.
We sometimes used to cut a Hot
Wings apart to use the blades as we
wanted. The new single Flash Lite
Blades make this much easier.
“We know from experience swapping
blades can make a difference
in catching fish. We were fishing
a tournament once on Lake Huron.
We caught a walleye and once in
the boat it coughed up a smelt. We
immediately removed our Smile
Blade and replaced it with a silver
Flash Lite Blade. Then using a Stop
Knot and a bead we added a second
blade. We went on fishing satisfied
that our new lure set up now better
resembled the forage the fish were
after.”
Mack’s Lure Wally Pops are also
among the lures favored Team
Ayres. This husband and wife team
will participate in Cabela’s Master
Walleye Circuit Team Challenge
later this year.
Continued on Page 4
Page three

Continued from Page 3
It would take a book to fully detail
all of the techniques and tactics Bernadine
and Bill Ayers use to catch
one of America’s favorite fish. It
won’t surprise me if that comes
about one of these days. If a book
of theirs does show up---buy it! You
won’t regret it.
And if it does come to pass, that
book will contain generous use of
those two four letter words I mentioned
in the beginning and that I’ve
used as a headline in this three column
series.
Bill and Bernadine “love” to
“fish”. Sharing with others is another
expression of love and the Ayres
do as much of that as any walleye
anglers I’ve ever met. It has been a
privilege for me to share a small part
of their wondrous story with you.
Kyle and I had a great day on the
water yesterday. We finished 3rd at the
Sheboygan Walleye Club’s Fox River
Fall Classic. I was so proud of him.
He caught his first walleye jigging. He
was an excellent net man. And it was so
foggy and cold that I thought he would
want to go in. However, he stuck it out
until we had all our fish 5 hours later.
He actually wanted to stay out longer
but rules are rules. When the 6th fish
is in the boat, you’re done. At one point
the fog was so thick, we couldn’t see the
Hwy 172 bridge when we were only 50
yards away from it. It was a very proud
day for me. Looking forward to fishing
with Ryan and Kyle next year.
Bob Mehorczyk
Photo of the Month
Question of the Month
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I did not have a clue on what to buy
after viewing. Can you offer any
help?
A: If you know where, for what species,
and how your recipient of the
gift likes to fish we can help. Just
give us a call at 800-525-8737 between
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still calling us. We offer a gift
certificate that we can personalize
and mail right out for you.
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Pat Saloky with a nice Lake Erie Steelhead that he caught on the new colored
pill floats and Smile Blade.
Page four