Japan seems to have yet another Elite Series angler coming down the pipe. Yui Aoki. The 25 year old angler form Minamitsurugun, Japan, (please don’t make me try to pronounce that) won the Bassmaster Open at Kentucky Lake with 66lbs 14 ounces. Throwing swim baits to deep timber was the key to success in an event that had varying springtime conditions. Aoki clinches a spot in the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series $50,305 (a lot of Yen), and points good points towards the 2025 Opens EQ series.

Drew Gill Hold off Jacob Wheeler for the win in the MLF Stage 3. Gill walks away with the Trophy and $150,000. Gill and Wheeler were back and forth throughout the last day of competition, making for some exciting scenes with every fish counts format of MLF, and while I am admittedly not the biggest fan of the sometimes can and sometimes cannot of their FFS rules, it is helping to show that the best anglers are the best with or without it. Gill and Wheeler have win almost everything over the last few years and are continuing to be at the top of the leaderboard.

WalleyeX Tip of the week. Springtime brings finnicky bites and ever-changing conditions both above and below the water. Water that has been crystal clear all winter long is now going to start getting really muddy due to springtime runoffs. Baits that make a lot of noise and vibrations can help you land more fish than the guy next to you who is just throwing minnows. I love a good lipless crank this time of year and it is hard to beat the WalleyeX Ripper. Coming in 12 colors plus clear and Chrome for you custom painters, the Ripper makes a ton of noise under the water, and ranging from 1/4 ounce to 3/4 ounce you can fish it in any depth or current. Go to WalleyeX.com today and give it a try.

Garmin Releases New Force Pro trolling motor. Photo from Garmin Website. I have to be honest here. While you won’t find more of a Garmin Stan than me. I don’t really see what you get as an upgrade here from the previous Force model. The website says it has better spot lock, and not it has a lighted arrow on the top. So I guess you can see better if you are a big night troller, but other than that it looks like the same thing with a much higher price tag. One thing I have always appreciated from Garmin is when they release something it is usually a big upgrade from the previous model. Hopefully time will prove that to be true once again, but for right now I’m just not seeing it.

Minnesota Lawmakers look to give the old guys a break. Photo by the Harold Review, Mark Sauer. Minnesota is looking to pass a law that would reduce the price of a license from $25 to $15. While it’s not like that is life changing money or anything. I think it is a great idea to give back to those who have spent years of time and money supporting out fisheries. Plus, the more dollars we can keep coming to state DNRs the more we can put back into the system. If that means, make a license ten dollars cheaper from someone likely on a fixed income. I am all for it.