Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - August 2022

not weighing a limit either day, Wiesner took third with 60.98 pounds. “Yesterday I caught all the big ones trolling crawl er harnesses, which I never do,” said Wiesner. “To day we made the same run north. We got around the bend and the fish were there, but it just wasn’t working. We pulled in two boards, and there were two marks on the LiveScope. I dropped down and caught one of my two big ones.” Wiesner said that first fish quite possibly could’ve been the biggest walleye of his life. “I didn’t mea sure it, and I didn’t weigh it, but it could’ve been 12 pounds.” Like Hjelm, Wiesner did his damage today with glide baits in 16 to 20 feet. His best was a No. 9 Jigging Rap that was painted by Hot Shot Cus toms. “We had four fish in the boat by 11, but we never could get the fifth. There were other areas south of Marinette where I could’ve caught a smaller fish, but I tried for the win and came up short. Yesterday, I lost a 5-pounder next to the boat on the second net attempt. That would’ve had me in second. Considering I didn’t find these fish until the last day of practice, I’m absolutely thrilled with third.” HERD RETAINS FOURTH, MCQUOID UP TO FIFTH

Rounding out the top five are Minnesota pros Drake Herd and Eric McQuoid. Walleye fans may remember that Herd and McQuoid stole the show at last year’s championship on Otter Tail Lake. Herd clinched Angler of the Year in front of family and friends while McQuoid became the youngest pro to ever win a tour championship. This week on Green Bay, Herd was remarkably consistent. On day one, the Alexandria, Minn., pro caught a limit weighing 28.18 pounds. Today, he improved to 31.63 pounds, finishing with a total weight of 59.81 pounds.

McQuoid, fresh off a team victory on Green Bay, also improved as the tournament continued. On the first day, McQuoid caught a limit weighing 25.60 pounds, and today he managed 32.91. Combined, the 22-year-old had 58.51 pounds for the week. UP NEXT The final event of the 2022 season is the NWT Championship, the most lucrative event in profes sional walleye fishing. Only the top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers qualified to fish the no-entry fee tournament, which takes place Aug. 24-26 on Lake Erie out of Dunkirk, N.Y.