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| Game Plan Pays off for Duncan, Farmer at Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing |
Match the forage fish and get down to the walleyes! That game plan paid off big time for the team of Rich Farmer and Doug Duncan from Wichita, KS this past weekend.
They rode that plan to victory at the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup's Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing Tournament held at Wilson Lake near Russell, KS. Farmer and Duncan were the only ones to bring a six-fish limit to the scales each day.
With the walleyes feeding on massive schools of white perch, Farmer and Duncan chose to go with prism colored Shad Raps and to work the 40-42' depths close by the dam. They used downriggers with 8-pound downrigger balls and ran the Shad Raps 60' behind the downrigger weights. The result was a two-day weight of 14.83 pounds and a check for $2500 to go along with the Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing title.
Although Farmer and Duncan were in second place and a little over a pound back after the first day's action, they stuck with their game plan and ended up winning by almost four pounds.
"What an effort by Rich and Doug. Their consistency and strategy put them over the top. Everybody knew it was going to be a tough bite because of the schools of white perch. They definitely deserve and have earned the Great Plains Championship title," said Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer.
Second place and a check for $1000 went to David and Shannon Walker from Piqua, KS with a two-day total weight of 10.85 pounds. They moved from 5th place on Saturday to the runner-up position on Sunday.
Ted Webster from Hutchinson, KS and Robert Riddick from Wakefield KS, who had the Day I lead at 7.97 pounds, managed only one walleye on Sunday and slipped to third place with a total of 9.60 pounds. They cashed a check for $750.
"We had a really strong wind on Sunday after a relatively calm day on Saturday. We definitely knew we were in Kansas!" joked Barringer. "In all seriousness, this was a very competitive tournament, and I'm proud of the effort these teams gave this year. Even though the second day didn't go so well for Webster and Riddick, they are to be congratulated for their Great Plains Team of the Year honors."
Several other special awards were presented at Sunday's weigh-in. The Berkley Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley product for the largest walleye of the two-day tournament went to Dennis and Shelby Vance from Selden, KS with a 1.88-pound walleye.
The "Yo So Close" award of a Yo Net folding net valued at $80 went to the teams that placed just out of the money. They include David Thurman from Kech, KS and Paul Hovorak from Wichita, KS in 6th place; Wayne Human and Kecia Shellito from Athol, KS in 7th place; and Dick Bacon and Cliff Doty from Lincoln, NE.
The VIB"E" Lure award of two six-piece lure sets valued at $40 went to the two teams who finished behind the Yo So Close award. They include Dennis and Shelby Vance from Selden, KS in 9th place; and Randall and Randy Horine from Minden, NE in 10th place.
The Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector boat protector valued at $250 went to the team advancing the most places from day one to day two. This award went to Randall Horine and Randy Horine from Minden, NE. They drew a blank on Saturday but came back with 4.07 pounds on Sunday to move up five places in the standings.
The winner of the Gander Mountain "Need More Stuff" drawing of $200 for a Gander Mountain Shopping Spree went to JD Baker from Hoxie, KS and Greg Mekelburg from Yuma, CO.
"There is no doubt that Wilson Lake is a great place to hold a tournament. It's a beautiful lake with its steep, rock bluffs. The community of Russell and the Russell County Convention and Visitor's Bureau were just great. They made our stay very enjoyable," noted Barringer.
The Walleye Wisdom camera crew was also on hand to film footage of the Championship. "The Walleye Wisdom camera crew is at all of the State Championships to capture the excitement of the tournament action. The highlights of these State Championships and the National Championships, along with some great walleye fishing tips will appear on our 13-week Walleye Wisdom television program," added Barringer.
Those interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases about any of the eight regions or simply learning more about the circuit can access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain. Other major national sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel, Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorthOutdoors.com. |
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| Russell, KS Welcomes Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing Teams |
The first ever Great Plains Championship of Walleye Fishing will be held at Wilson Lake (reservoir) in Kansas on August 14-15. It will feature the top teams on the Great Plains Region of the Gander Mountain Grand National Walleye Cup (GNWC). At stake will be a guaranteed $2000 for first place plus trophies, and with bonus opportunities the winners could take home up to $2500.
Leading the way will be the Great Plains Region Team of the Year Ted Webster from Hutchinson, KS and Robert Riddick from Wakefield, KS. According to Gander Mountain GNWC Executive Director Bernie Barringer, "We have some excellent teams representing both Kansas and Nebraska in this Great Plains shootout. Webster and Riddick walked away with the regular season honors, but everybody starts even as we begin this two-day Great Plains Championship."
Although the tournament competition begins on Saturday, August 14, the activities for the Great Plains teams actually begins on Friday evening with the Championship banquet. "I'm impressed with the way the Russell County Convention and Visitor's Bureau, along with the entire community of Russell, has rolled out the red carpet for these teams." The banquet dinner will be held at the Log Cabin Inn on Hwy 40 West and is sponsored by the Russell County Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
The Great Plains Championship competition will be at Boat Ramp Cove at the Hell Creek Recreation area. Saturday's action begins at 7 a.m. with the opening ceremonies and take-off. Weigh-in will be at 3 p.m.
"We hope to have a good crowd at each day's weigh-in. It is a great way for the public to be part of the excitement generated by these teams as they compete for the Great Plains Championship title," noted Barringer. "Weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. each day. The first day will be a day of positioning, but the second day will be for all the marbles. Plus, on the second day, we will get answers from the top teams as to where and how they caught their fish."
With its 9,040 acres, Wilson Lake is known for its clean and often times clear water conditions. According to fisheries biologists, late July found the fishing to be up and down with some success coming from anglers working deeper water. "Pre-fishing will be very important to the success of these teams. Their goal will be to find different areas and a variety of presentations that will work, because when you have a two-day tournament like this, you have to be able to adapt with the changing situations," added Barringer.
For those anglers making the trip to Wilson Lake, Gordon Gorton, station manager for KRSL, the local radio station, suggests checking out their website (www.krsl.com) for the latest weather conditions and forecasts. Gorton, an avid angler himself, also noted, "The teams need to prepare for both south and north winds. The lake is surrounded by rolling hills and sandstone bluffs. With all of the canyons and draws, the wind has quite an effect and actually channels down through these canyons."
Gorton also noted that the teams will find that Wilson Lake holds an excellent walleye population. "They need to know, though, that there is an abundance of walleyes just under the 15" minimum length limit, so if they are using live bait, they will go through a lot of bait. Although there are big fish in the lake, the predominant keeper taken will most likely be in the 15-17 inch range."
Along with the tournament action, the Walleye Wisdom television crew will be on hand filming footage of the Great Plains Championship, for its popular 13-week television program Walleye Wisdom which airs on the Sportsman Channel, Fox Sports and several regional outlets. "Our goal is to showcase the successes of our walleye teams, share the techniques that the GNWC teams used to catch their fish and to finally give fishing hints that will help our viewers become better walleye anglers themselves," said Barringer.
Special awards will be give out at the Championships including the Berkley Big Fish Award of $400 in Berkley product for the team that catches the largest walleye during the two-day Championships. In addition, an optional Big Fish Pot will go to the team catching the overall big fish during the Championships.
Next, will be the $200 Gander Mountain Shopping Spree. A drawing will be held of teams who do not weigh a fish, and the winner will be able to spend the $200 on gear of their choice at any Gander Mountain Store. If all teams weigh fish, all will be entered in the drawing.
YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO will offer the Yo So Close Award of an $80 folding net to the three teams finishing just out of the money.
The VIB"E" Lure Company will sponsor the VIB"E" Lure award of two six-piece lure sets valued at $40 to the two teams who finish behind the Yo So Close award. Lure sets will also be given away as door prizes at the Championship banquet.
TowTector, maker of the premium boat protector for towing vehicles, will offer the Towtector Comeback Award of a Towtector Shield valued at $250 for the team advancing the most places from day one to day two.
Skeeter Boats is offering any owner of a Skeeter boat who wins the Great Plains Regional Championship while fishing in the Skeeter an additional $1000 above their GNWC winnings.
Aqua Innovations will give an additional $250 to any team who wins the Great Plains Championship if their boat's livewell is equipped with the Aqua Innovations oxygen enhancement system. Plus they will be awarding systems to the anglers as door prizes at the Championship banquet.
Those interested in checking out the standings, reading the releases about any of the eight regions or simply learning more about the circuit can access the Gander Mountain GNWC website at www.walleyecup.com.
Title Sponsor for the GNWC is Gander Mountain. Other major national sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, the Sportsman Channel, Berkley, Aqua Innovations, YoNet Folding Nets by AMFYOYO, VIB"E" Lure Company, TowTector Shield and UpNorthOutdoors.com. |
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