Hi all, I hope everyone had a great opener and caught a lot of eyes. With the late ice off, these walleyes should be going strong here for the next few weeks. Look for them to be concentrating in shallower water with the wind blowing in. The wind will blow the baitfish up and the eyes will be following them. Once the water temp warms up, they will slide down to deeper water along steep breaks and weed lines. As for the tournaments this year, I will be fishing the 2011 Masters Walleye Circuit along with the Spirit Lake Casino and Devils Lake Chamber tournament. The first event is the Casino tournament on Devils Lake June 11-12. Most of these fish that will be caught will be in 5-6 ft of water either in the trees on a slip bobber or pitching crank baits in back bays. This year, Devils Lake has gone up 3 feet which narrows down the fishing areas. The only fishable waters now will be the main lake. The water has risen so much that boats will not be able to get under the bridges. A lot of anglers will need to find new spots because the majority of the big fish are up in Pelican and East Bay which is no longer accessible. The next tournament is also on Devils Lake on June 24-25 and is the first event in the West Division of the Masters Walleye Circuit as well as the Devils Lake Chamber tournament. These two tournaments are going to be held in conjunction with each other with a possibility of 200+ boats and a first place price potentially over $20,000. From there we will be heading down to South Dakota to fish the 2nd event in the MWC on July 22-23 on the Missouri River out of Morbidge, SD. We will be fishing the waters of Lake Oahe. Here we’re only allowed 2 fish over 20 inches each day so important decision will be made on which fish to keep and not to keep due to the “no cull” rule. Trolling crank baits or pulling slow death rigs will be the preferred technique here. The last MWC event will be held on Cass Lake September 23-24. This lake presents large steep breaks going from 5-70ft of water in just a couple yards. Here we are also only allowed 2 fish over 20 inches. Lindy rigging with large (6-8in) redtail chubs and creek chubs will be the technique for the larger fish and rigging with smaller chubs or jigging with mister twisters will be the technique to land those “under” fish. Please ask any and all questions that you may have. I will be happy to get back to you ASAP. Everyone have a great year of fishing and stay safe! SpennyD

The 2nd event in the MWC West Division is coming up on Lake Oahe. To read the pre-tournament reaport go to: http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com/Headlines/tabid/161/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/Cabelas-MWC-West-Division-Returns-To-Lake-Oahe.aspx

Pre-Fishing Update from Lake Oahe: The fish are on fire right now...literaly! It has been close to 100 degrees for the last 5 days here and the fish are biting. We have had 5-10 fish over 20 inches with the biggest being 25. We are catching 30+ walleyes a day of all sizes. We are allowed to weigh 2 over 20 inches and 3 must be under 20 so those 19 3/4 inch eyes are just as important as those 25 inchers. To see some pre-fishing pictures visit the BU facebook page. To read what come anglers have to say about the river systems visit: http://www.walleyecentral.com/articles/?a=2657

Sorry for the late update from Lake Oahe. I finished 3rd at the MWC Lake Oahe tournament with 29.95lb .06 behind first! I was pulling Berkley Flicker Shads over the tops of trees in 24ft of water running the baits 13 feet below the surface to tick the tops of the tress. Went through 50-60 baits but it all paid off! Check out the photos below and read the post-tournament article here: http://www.liveleaderboard.com​/articles/2011/MWC_Mobridge_Da​y_2_PM.htm

Ended the season with a 7th place finish in Cass Lake. We took second place in the West Division and took home father and son team of the year honors. We also qualified for the 2012 National Team Championship and 2012 World Walleye Championship, both will be televised on Versus. Thanks to Barrels Up Outdoors for their support and sponsorship this season, couldnt have done it without them!