NPAA Member Mike Gofron Wins AIM Oahe
Tournament
NPAA Member Mike Gofron #93 rode a consistent
main-lake pattern to victory in the Anglers Insight Marketing
(AIM) Pro Walleye Series tournament on Lake Oahe and the
Missouri River at Akaska, South Dakota, August 13-15. It
was the fourth major tournament victory for the decorated
touring pro known as “Mr. Consistency.”
“I've always enjoyed the Missouri River
system, and after a few days of pre-fishing knew I needed
to catch good numbers of fish to be consistent,” said
Gofron, of Antioch, Illinois.
Though Gofron’s favorite presentation
is walleye finesse jigging, he dialed in a bottom-bouncer
program on a series of fish-rich main-lake points in 15
to 30 feet of water. True to form for reservoir walleyes,
the fish forced him to move around in search mode a bit
each day. After marking his quarry on sonar, Gofron pulled
a half crawler impaled on a Tru-Turn hook at .4 to .8 mph.
A 4- to 5-foot leader of 10-pound-test Berkley Trilene XT
with 10/4 FireLine mainline rounded out the go-to rig.
One of Gofron’s key techniques was after
marking what he deemed a “good” fish, he would
slow down to entice the bite. The strategy helped him put
together a total of 407 inches of walleyes in AIM’s
innovative Catch-Record-Release format, good for 61.18 pounds
and a $30,000 first-place check. His sponsors include: Lund
Boats, Mercury, Motorguide, Carhartt, Halings Marine, Glyde
Ryde, Triangle Sports Shop, Plano, Navionics, Lowrance,
Northland Fishing Tackle, Rapala, and Berkley.
NPAA Member, Todd Riley #19 placed third with
400.75 inches and 58.08 pounds. Riley’s consist pattern
was similar to Gofron’s, contacting big numbers of
fish each day. In all, NPAA Members claimed nine of the
top 10 places—yet another impressive showing on the
AIM trail. Association members dominated the Saginaw Bay
tourney in May, capturing the top 24 spots, and took nine
of the top 10 places at Green Bay in July.
Another highlight of the Akaska event was
the youth clinic presented by AIM and the NPAA on Saturday
at 4 p.m. NPAA members Dennis Gulau #504 and Jesse Buechel
#711 conducted a seminar attended by roughly 65 enthusiastic
young anglers and their parents.
Next stop on the AIM circuit is the International
Walleye Championship on Lake Winnibigoshish out of Deer
River, Minnesota, September 2-4. For more information, visit
www.aimfishing.com. The NPAA is dedicated to improving and
bringing professionalism to the sport of walleye fishing.
Membership is open to all anglers wishing to become affiliated
and learn more about tactics, sponsorships, the industry,
youth events, and to help grow fishing participation. NPAA
supporting partners who share the same goals include Northland
Fishing Tackle, Navionics, Mercury Marine, Evinrude Outboards,
Lund Boats, Ranger Boats, Off-Shore Tackle, Fin-tech Tackle,
Berkley, Bartness Industries, Walleye’s Inc., Greater
Insurance Services, Masters Walleye Circuit, Anglers Insight
Marketing, and FLW Outdoors. To learn more about the NPAA
and its members go to www.npaa.net.
Top 10 AIM finishers with their NPAA number:
1. Mike Gofron #93
3. Todd Riley #19
4. Gary Parsons #24
5. Chase Parsons #806
6. Mike McMaken #97
7. Dave A. Anderson #509
8. Mark Martin #226
9. Mark Brumbaugh #70
10. Tom Kemos #913
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