Lake Oahe - Akaska, SD

AIM Fishing
Published January 12, 2011

Akaska, South Dakota Will Host the 2011 AIM International Walleye Championship™

The 2011 AIM International Walleye Championship™ will be held in Akaska, South Dakota on September 15, 16, and 17, 2011. Akaska has previously hosted AIM Pro Walleye Series™ tournaments in 2009 and 2010. Both of these tournaments featured huge walleyes, huge daily limits, and huge crowds of fans. It was for these reasons that this small town on the central Missouri River was selected to host the final event of the 2011 AIM® season.

Anglers Insight Marketing, LLC will conduct a series of three qualifying Pro-Am walleye fishing tournaments in 2011: the AIM Pro Walleye Series™. Each tournament will host fields of the top walleye fishing Pro Anglers. The fourth tournament of 2011 is designated the AIM International Walleye Championship™ and will provide increased payouts and special prize packages. Pro Anglers qualify for entry by having participated in at least one 2011 AIM Pro Walleye Series™ tournament.

The AIM International Walleye Championship™ will also include a “tournament within the tournament” as Akaska will also host the 2011 AIM International Team Championship™. Teams of entrants will have the opportunity to match their skills against each other in this special, added event that will run alongside the AIM® Pro-Am tournament. These teams will have qualified through their top finishes in as many as 50 regional “AIM® Sanctioned Series” walleye tournaments across the U.S. and Canada during the 2011 season.

Like all AIM Pro Walleye Series™ tournaments, both events will feature the exclusive AIM Catch-Record-Release™ format – or CRR for short. CRR uses digital photo technology to verify each fish as it is caught and recorded on the Official Scorecard. The fish are then immediately released – where they were caught – and NOT transported to the landing. This means the Pro Anglers can continually upgrade their catch all day to arrive at their limit of the seven largest walleyes. CRR also means that NO “dead fish” penalties will be assessed at the weigh-in.

With the AIM Pro Walleye Series™ exclusive Catch-Record-Release™ format, Pro Anglers will be able to “weigh” their seven largest fish each day. The immediate release format will allow the Pros to bypass the restrictive slot limit that would otherwise restrict the daily catch to only ONE fish over 20 inches. The AIM Pro Walleye Series™ format will allow ALL seven fish to exceed 20 inches! A healthy 20-inch Lake Oahe walleye may weigh more than two, or even three 14-inch fish that would otherwise be included in daily baskets.

Bill Waeckerle, President of the South Dakota Walleye classic welcomed the AIM® competitors to Akaska. He said, “Akaska is honored to host the 2011 AIM International Walleye Championship™. This will mark the third year of hosting the finest walleye fisherman in the world along with their families and guests. We consider the AIM International Walleye Championship™ the pinnacle of professional walleye fishing. South Dakota and the entire Akaska area welcome our walleye Pro Angler friends and will endeavor to again make this event one of their fondest memories. The walleye fishing on upper Lake Oahe is forecast to be even better than 2010 - and for those of you that were here in 2010 you know full well how good that will be!”

Lake Oahe is the 4th largest man-made reservoir in the United States. Lake Oahe stretches 231 miles (372 km) up the course of the Missouri River to Bismarck, North Dakota. The shore line encompasses 2,250 miles, beginning at the dam just north of Pierre, South Dakota. The AIM® Pros will hope to unravel these hundreds of square miles of Missouri River to find heavy daily limits of Lake Oahe walleyes.

The AIM® Pros will need to bring all their expertise to Lake Oahe. This body of water has features of a river (with distinct channels), reservoir (including flooded timber), and a lake (with hundreds of miles of shoreline, points, and bays.) Past experience predicts that presentations will include crank bait trolling, live bait rigging, and many variations of jigging. Complicating the Pros’ decisions will be varying water levels that are common on the huge Oahe system.

The AIM International Walleye Championship™ will not only crown the 2011 season Champion but will also determine the winner of the AIM® Angler of the Year title. The Angler of the Year recognizes the AIM® Pro Angler who has demonstrated the most consistently high performance over all four of the 2011 tournaments.

Co-angler entries for the AIM International Walleye Championship™ in Akaska, SD are now being accepted. The Co-angler entry fee is $250 for two days of fishing, each with a different AIM® Pro Angler. After Day Two the number of Pro Anglers is reduced to the top 50% of the field. Half of the Co-angler field will also be selected to fish with the AIM® Pro Anglers on Day Three for free!

Quotes from the Pros

“Akaska, I travel all around the country chasing walleyes, but I always look forward to coming home. I am very privileged to get to enjoy Lake Oahe and the billions of hungry walleyes that live there.”
- Chad Shilling

“Akaska, very good bite, lot of fish in the 18 - 22" range.
- John Kolinski

“Akaska South Dakota was the start of my walleye career as a co-angler. Good fishing—great people!”
- Jesse Buechel, 2010 Akaska Champion

“Lake Oahe is back and better than ever. This fish factory produces fast and furious bites. Precision trolling tactics will rule in this event.”
- Tom Kemos

“Akaska, another great reservoir that has flourished the last few years. Abundance of walleyes anywhere from shallow to deep can and will be caught during this hot summer bite.”
- Jason Przekurat

“Akaska SD - Some of the nicest people on earth mixed with walleyes that have nasty appetites”
- Tom Gatzke

“Oahe is booming for fishing and the fish are big. Since the water is rising, we will have many choices. Fish by the landing, go North or South, fish shallow or deep or find trees. Besides the fish we will have Dakota landscape which is priceless”.
- Doc Samson

“Combine the pristine beauty of the Missouri River, the down home goodness of communities such as Akaska, Selby, etc. along with the phenomenal fishing that is present on Lake Oahe, and this tournament will not only AIM to please - It will satisfy your walleye hunger!”
- Tommy Skarlis

“Akaska – I am really looking forward to a tournament in South Dakota where, because of CRR, we will be able to catch as many of the biggest fish on the system as possible. Get out the Leadcore and Flicker Shads – it’s going to be an Old West shootout!”
- Keith Kavajecz

“Akaska - Lake Oahe is my favorite body of water and it's been a long time since I fished a tournament there without the restrictive slot limits, it's going to be great!!”
- Rick Olson

“Akaska the fishing is superb with a diverse river system and possibly the best fishing the Missouri has had in many years with fish over 23" abundant”
- Rich Boggs

“Lake Oahe is a perfect venue to use the CRR format. At this time of year on this body of water there should be several anglers who hone in on those 22-27” fish that are abundant in the system. It’s going to be a real shoot out with the CRR format”
- Pat Neu