Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - October 2019

HOYER/MCCARTHY WIN NATIONAL WALLEYE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT PRESENTED BY BASS PRO SHOPS AND CABELA’S AT DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA

Pro angler earns more than $97,000 in winningsJohn Hoy- er of Orono, Minnesota, weighed a three-day total of 67.73 pounds to win the National Walleye Tour Presented by Ca- bela’s and Bass Pro Shops Championship event at Devils Lake, North Dakota, September 13. The angler won a fully rigged Ranger 621FS Pro package, $15,000 in prize mon- ey and $2,225 in Anglers Advantage cash for a total of $97,320 in winnings. Four years ago, John Hoyer decided to commence his transition from guide and co-angler to professional wall- eye fisherman. His teammates and travel partners knew he was ready. After all, in 2015 he won the Co-angler of the Year award on the National Walleye Tour, presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s. What they didn’t know was that Hoyer would soon become the hottest walleye stick on the planet. In his last three NWT events, Hoyer has finished first, second and first. The one common denominator from each event is casting. Hoyer’s latest casting crusade came at Devils Lake during the premier event in walleye fishing.

Hoyer started the final day of the championship essentially tied with friend Dusty Minke. While Minke had an excellent final day, Hoyer put the hammer down with a 24.59-pound limit. He fished six different spots in East Devils Lake, but one clearly stood apart from the rest. “It was a sand-to-rock transition that went from the bay to the point,” said Hoyer. “It was basically a sand runway. The water was 8 to 10 feet, and they were feeding on perch. My fish weighed heavier because they were eating those perch. That made a huge difference.” Hoyer didn’t catch many fish on this spot in practice. In fact, he didn’t know how stocked it was until he started looking at his graphs. Five of Hoyer’s 15 weigh fish came via slip bobbers and leeches under 1/16-ounce jigs. The others came from a mix of Shiver Minnows, Jigging Raps and Johnny Darters. “The best color was anything perch with an orange bel- ly,” said Hoyer. “I used the No. 2 Shiver Minnow, the No. 7