Berkley Professional Austin Tomasek began off the 2026 Nationwide Walleye Tour robust, with an enormous win on the opener on Lake Erie. Coming in with a two-day complete of 86 kilos, 9 ounces of walleye, incomes a money prize of $15,000, a brand new Ranger 620FS PRO powered by a 250 XL Professional XS FourStroke Mercury, and a $500 Garmin contingency bonus. Based mostly out of Monroe, Michigan, top-of-the-line walleye fisheries within the nation, Tomasek is thought for his consistency and talent to remain on quality-sized fish. Retaining to his observe file, he began Day One with a strong bag of 44 kilos, 10 ounces. Then confirmed that Day one wasn’t a fluke by bringing in a 41-pound, 15-ounce bag on Day Two. Tomasek’s 86-pound, 9-ounce two-day complete left him with a lead of over 10lbs to second place. Although making that lead wasn’t straightforward and required Tomasek to assume on the fly each days of the match.
“I knew this occasion was going to be about making good choices and following the fish. I figured to win, I’d must be the man who may find huge prespawn fish,” Tomasek stated. “In observe, I discovered teams of walleye in soiled water areas, and the larger fish had been organising the place I simply had to stick with them as circumstances modified.”
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Day One required Tomasek to regulate his authentic plan, which he had shaped throughout observe. Whereas he had caught 42 to 46 kilos of walleye a day throughout observe, in a single day modifications in circumstances compelled him to relocate. After discovering the dirtier water and prespawn walleyes once more, he managed to capitalize on them in simply a few hours, catching his complete bag. Then, for Day Two, he returned to the identical space however discovered that refined modifications within the water readability had moved the fish once more. However with him shortly adjusting and transferring once more, he managed to seek out the fish once more a couple of quarter-mile away from the place they’d been on Day One.
For fishing the Nationwide Walleye Tour Opener, Tomasek relied closely on the brand new Berkley Lab Series Minnow in Wakasagi, paired with a 3/4-ounce tungsten jig. For his rod & reel combo, he fished a 7-foot, 4-inch medium-heavy, moderate-fast Fenwick World Class Walleye spinning rod with an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket spinning reel, spooled with 10-pound Berkley X9 Braid tied to a 15-pound Berkley GinClear fluorocarbon chief. Whereas he used the Lab Sequence Minnow closely within the match, he didn’t have sufficient of them to make use of for observe days.
“I had a restricted provide of the Berkley Lab Sequence Minnows and wished to avoid wasting the choose few I did have for the occasion,” Tomasek stated.. “So throughout observe, I used different baits to avoid wasting that particular form and Wakasagi colour for match days. It made a noticeable distinction in focusing on greater fish, and I’m glad I held onto these packs till it mattered most.”
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