Springfield, Mo (April 28th, 2025) – The 2025 Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s National Walleye Tour presented by Progressive kicked off the season last week at Lake Sharpe in Pierre, SD. The first day of the tournament presented anglers with challenging weather conditions, which consisted of cloudy skies and rain throughout most of the day making many anglers reach for the AFTCO rain gear. On the final day, things made a complete turn-around and the top walleye anglers in the nation were able to enjoy a day with sunny skies and mild temperatures.
After two days of competition, it was Washington state NWT Pro-Angler Robert ‘Bobby’ Crow who earned his first NWT victory with a total of 26-13 worth of South Dakota walleye. On the first day of the NWT event on Lake Sharpe, he chose to make a longer run to an area he found in practice that showed consistent signs of quality fish that were up shallow likely relating to spawning activities.
“I was not doing anything too crazy the first day of the event, just pitching plastics around spawning flats. I had been catching the fish a little deeper during practice but found that during the first day the fish had actually moved up in between 2-5 feet of water up on the flat I found. The first day we had two giant fish that really pushed our bag weight higher, I believe one weighed 9 (pounds) and the other was closer to 6”,Crow stated.
Anglers during the tournament on Lake Sharpe were allowed to keep two fish over 20” per boat. Bobby and his Co-Angler were one of the few anglers that brought in two fish over the 20” mark.
Those two fish anchored a 21-02 five fish limit on the first day, giving him over a 7 pound lead over the second place Pro-Angler. On the final day of the tournament, Bobby went out hoping to land 7 to 8 pounds and sealing the win. But Bobby and his Day-2 Co-Angler struggled throughout the day and only brought four fish weighing 5-11 to the NWT Scales.
“That best spawning flat I did most of my damage the first day just didn’t work out on the final day, which even with a commanding lead will do a number on a person’s nerves,” said the eventual tournament champion. “This bite is in such a flip-flip, the bite should be amazing right now, but I think after the final day I had, I almost want to believe that a lot of fish here are done and maybe the spawn just happened early this year. But in the end my bag the second day was just enough to get the job done.”
The tough bite on day two forced Bobby and his co angler to run around the second day, to cover a lot of water and reported only catching a single fish per spot they moved to. He reported catching all his fish on plastics throwing paddle-tail style swimbaits. His primary best bait was a Yamamoto Shad Shape Swimmer rigged on a lighter jig head. He also rotated other soft plastic swimbaits, but the all of them were in a pearl/white shad color.
For the win, Bobby Crow is the new owner of a 2025 Ranger 620FS paired with a Mercury 250 Pro XS and was a part of the Angler’s Advantage side cash pot. In total he goes back to Washington with $110,190.00 in cash and prizes. Adding to his final total winning, Bobby took home the $200 T-H Marine Atlas Jack Plate contingency award for owning a T-H Marine Atlas Jack Plate.
“Before I leave, I just want to thank my wife and family for taking care of the cows and the business while I was out here. My wife is a major reason why I am out here and without her support, stuff like this does not happen to a guy like me.”
Ranger Owner Nate Lininger Takes Second with 23-14
Finishing in second place and earning a check worth $20,882 was Ranger Boat Owner Nate Liniger. His check included a Ranger Cup Bonus for being the owner of a Ranger 622FS.
Nate was sitting in second place after Day-1 when he and his Co-Angler weighed in a five-fish limit worth 13-08. He backed that up on Day-2 with another limit of South Dakota walleye that weighed 10-06. He was one of the only anglers to bring in a bag over 10 pounds on Day-2. In total, he weighed 23-14.
“I was running over 120 miles each day round trip to catch the fish I did”, reported the Minnesota angler. “I found some fish in the trees in one particular area on the final day of practice. I did not hook them on purpose, so this tournament was literally a gamble.”
Nate reported that fishing trees on Lake Sharpe is almost like hunting White-Tail Deer in their bedroom, an angler can sneak into an area they seem the most comfortable and just pick them off one at a time. The first day, his gamble paid off and he started the day catching two walleyes over the 20” mark. One key that he reported was using a heavier jig head that what most anglers would typically use.
“The fish are on the move constantly. With the walleyes on the move in and out of the trees it was key when I would see them move back into the trees, that I targeted them with a heavy weight so I could get to them quickly and they would feed.”
Heavier line and Garmin LiveScope were two keys of Nate’s success that he commented on without, he did not think he would have pulled off the Top 5 finish.
“The trees I was targeting and found the better-quality fish were deep, anywhere from 30-50 feet deep. I was literally watching the fish swim in and out at all depth ranges. It was like ‘Wack-a-Mole’ because sometimes they would eat in shallower water immediately and others would not eat until it was a lot deeper.”
Nate reported that his primary arsenal consisted of JT Outdoors spinning rods rigged with heavier jig heads and tipped with minnows.
“I want to thank all my friends and family for the support throughout the week. Also my travel partners, we have had a lot of fun here this week in South Dakota.”
Fishing the first event of the 2025 NWT season, Nate said that he was “just seeing how it would go” but after starting the season with a great finish and currently being in 2nd-Place of 2025 Progressive Angler of the Year points, he will likely be going to Lacrosse, WI for the second event in May.
Randy Topper Finishes in Third by Only Two Ounces
Finishing third at his very first NWT event was Cohasset, Minnesota angler Randy Topper with a two-day total of 23-12. He ended the tournament in 3rd-Place by two ounces to his travel partner Nate Lininger.
“I think one the biggest contributors to my success this week was the fact that the fish I was targeting had a massive amount of big ‘unders’ swimming around,” said the Mercury Outboard angler. “Just like my partner Nate, I was just targeting fish with jigs and a minnow.”
Randy commented that a big help this week was drawing two quality co-anglers that both caught an over each day.
“I was on the fence about joining the NWT and having a Co-Angler but man…. Both my Co-Anglers and I had a ball. NWT provides a platform to just have fun, catch fish and make some money doing it. I would recommend anyone to come out and give this trail a chance.”
After two days of competition, Randy took home a check worth $12,937.
Rest of the Top 10:
4.) JUSTIN COLE MADISON, SD 21-10
5.) JOE BRICKO WOODBURY, MN 20-06
6.) MARK COURTS HARRIS, MN 18-12
7.) TOM HUYNH WOLVERTON, MN 18-11
8.) DYLAN NUSSBAUM ST.MARYS, PA 18-11
9.) STYLES BROWN WHITE, SD 18-10
10.) TYSON KELLER PIERRE, SD 18-05
Full Pro-Angler results can be found here.
Tom Potts Wins the NWT Co-Angler Side
Tom Potts, from Hartington, Nebraska, took home the Co-Angler victory after weighing in a total of 28-06 and had over a five pound advantage over 2nd-Place.
Tom was fortunate enough to fish with Pro-Angler, and eventually Pro-Angler winner, Robert Crow on Day-1 which gave him a total of 21-02. Backing that up on Day-2 with 7-04, that was enough for him to take home the trophy and a check worth $10,640. His check included the Angler’s Advantage side pot bonus.
“I had a really great time out here this week with all of the guys,” said Potts. “I cannot thank my two Pro-Anglers that I drew out with. Obviously, Day-1 was a dream day, but truly all of these guys out here are world class anglers and it’s like a huge family of friends. But I also could not be out here without all of my friends and family back home in Nebraska.”
2nd – 10th Co-Anglers:
2.) JARED NELSON MONROE, SD 22-03
3.) PRESTON YINDRA MISHICOT, WI 18-11
4.) COLIN POTTS BROOKINGS, SD 18-03
5.) BRIAN DOBSON EDMONTON, AB 18-02
6.) ALEX ETTER OSAKS, MN 17-09
7.) JOHN HERD ALEXANDRIA, MN 17-08
8.) ERIC TOBIN MORCROFT, WY 17-08
9.) EMERSON HAUKAAS MOOSE JAW, AB 17-06
10.) TUCKER COOK GREAT FALLS, MT 17-03
Full Co-Angler results from Lake Sharpe can be found here.
The next event of the 2025 NWT season will be on the Mississippi River out of LaCrosse, WI on May 22-23rd. Pro-Angler registration is still open, and registration is due on Friday, May 9th. For anglers interested in fishing the Mississippi River event, you can find out more about registering through this link.