Three Wins. Six Weeks. One Lund.

Minnesota walleye ace Randy Topper has had an incredible 2026 walleye tournament season in his Lund. Topper’s victories began with a top finish at the Grand Rapids Walleye Shootout, June 27 on Pokegama Lake (Grand Rapids, Minn.). Two weeks later, Topper won Lund Mania on Otter Tail Lake (Ottertail, Minn.), and shortly thereafter captured the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's National Walleye Tour (NWT) event on Green Bay in Oconto, Wisconsin, July 30-31.

Winning these local, regional, and national events, Topper demonstrated confident decision-making. He also worked through several tough bites and consistently relied on his Lund’s superior boat control features to help present his baits to walleyes with surgical precision.

An NWT Win, A Lifelong Dream Realized in a Lund

On July 30, Topper got in his Lund Pro-V GL 219 to fish the first day of the NWT event on Green Bay, prepared to execute a plan he'd refined throughout practice. The strategy centered on one of the first areas he pre-fished where he found quality fish.

"Knowing that some of the right fish were there, I realized that instead of getting too spun out on a massive water system like Green Bay, I was going to focus in on a 5-mile square and learn every single in and out of that whole piece," Topper said. "The last day of practice, I identified some really big fish and kind of left them alone. They ended up being the fish that I needed to win."

Big fish, indeed. Topper’s Day 1 was epic. Alternating between a 1/4-ounce VMC RedLine Series Jig with a crawler and a #7 Rapala Jigging Rap, he secured a massive 49-pound, 4-ounce bag, reportedly the largest no-cull, live weight ever recorded on Green Bay. On Day 2, he returned to his "5-mile square" and caught enough fish to claim victory with a two-day total of 92 pounds, 1 ounce, which saw him take home a boat package valued at $76,890 and $15,000 in cash, along with the coveted Iron Hook trophy.

Precision is Paramount

Lund’s legendary boat control played a critical role in Topper’s success. His tournament-winning presentations required making precise casts and presenting baits accurately to target specific walleyes he scoped using forward-facing sonar.

"The bow of the boat on a Lund just stays stuck like glue. When you’re on a fish, you’re not back and forth on your trolling motor a ton. Even in big waves, a Lund just stays riding with the waves and doesn’t let you get blown all over the place, so you can make accurate casts." 

Lund’s true-tracking and responsive IPS hull also helped Topper fish areas thoroughly and efficiently. He explains how this unfolded during the crucial first pass he and teammate Brock Anderson made through a well-known, productive area at the GR Walleye Shootout.

"I knew there was going to be some angling pressure in there and plenty of fish that had been bothered. But there is one line in that particular area where, when the fish hang on it, they seem to bite, but I knew it wasn’t going to be a long bite. You have to catch them fast, and that’s where our first four fish came from. It was maybe a 200-yard stretch."

Catching these four fish paved the way for the team to claim their fourth victory at the GR Walleye Shootout and the top prize of $18,000. 

Adaptability Important at Lund Mania

Astute decision-making and tactical adjustments were key factors in Topper and Nate Leninger's win at Lund Mania, one of the premier grassroots walleye events in Minnesota and a signature Lund-sponsored tournament.

"The lake went flat the night before, so our program totally changed," Topper said. "Then, for some reason, we had wind in the morning, so our plan changed again because I knew if we got wind, we had to get into the shallows where we had won it before, and at least get a few fish quick… and that’s basically how it went. We had a pretty nice bag before the lake flattened back out, and the bite slowed down on us. We left the shallows and switched over to the breakline in deeper water. That's where we caught a 28-1/4-inch fish, and that's when I realized we had a shot at winning."

Fishing a jig-and-crawler and a bobber rig with either a leech or a minnow, Topper and Leninger took first place with a total weight of 34.92 pounds, and became three-time Lund Mania champions.

"It’s always a blast breaking down the water because it changes every time I go there," Topper said. "It’s so neat at Lund Mania how much the community gets behind the tournament with the parade and the small-town welcome."  

Attention to Detail

From learning the intricacies of an area on Green Bay to weaving his Lund along waypoints on Pokegama, and adapting tactics at Lund Mania, Topper’s wins showcase his meticulous angling style.

"Tournaments are won in the details," Topper said. "If you think you’re nitpicking on a small detail, you better nitpick that even harder. The tiniest little details are often the only thing that can set you apart. Everybody’s so good nowadays."

All of us at Lund Boats congratulate Randy on the remarkable accomplishment of winning three premier walleye tournaments in just six weeks. We look forward to watching his continued success on the tournament trail.