“The walleyes aren’t biting….”, was the common theme heard from anglers at this year’s MWC event on Lake Winnebago. Lack of ice meant the shad did not die and there was plenty of bait food in the system for the fish to eat. My partner for the event, Tom Harrison from Chicago, came up to Oshkosh on Sunday, May 28th, to spend the day practice fishing. We did not catch a legal walleye all day. The next two days saw me sharing the Ranger 620 with local angler and NPAA youth educator, Greg Karch. Greg took me to the upper lakes on the system. We battled the tough northwest winds and did it all–pitched jigs, cast, and trolled for the elusive walleye. Again, no legal fish. Tom came back to join the team on Wednesday and we worked many spots on the river and the lake hard, I mean HARD! And…no legal walleye! The first day of the tournament found us fishing below the Hwy 41 bridge (with lots of other anglers) and then moving to the east side of the lake. We caught lots of shorts below the bridge dragging jigs and Phelps floaters using crawlers and leeches. We trolled spinners out in the open water with no takers. Unfortunately, Day 2 was a repeat of the first day–we caught a 14.5 incher below the bridge and ground it out there all day hoping for some legal fish measuring at least 15 inches. Lake Winnebago gave us a real education in the advantage local anglers have in fishing tournaments with the top finishers from close by. Special thanks to Greg and Tom for sharing the boat with me and staying positive during practice and tournament days. Hope you enjoy the pics! (By the way, Tom went out in his Ranger after the tournament in his boat and caught a 16 incher in the spot below the bridge!)